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December 14, 2012 01:54 am GMT

All Hail Cabs In NYC! (Soon From Smartphones)

1zq82eoStarting February 15th, New Yorkers will be able to hail cabs via smartphonesin Manhattan. The contentious one-year pilot program is being hailed as a win for transportation innovation, smartphone rideshare apps like Uber, and people who dislike holding their arms at a 45-degree angle. Taxi and Limousine Commission Chairman David Yasskycalled e-hailing apps “inevitable.” The pilot will test the waters for cabs within 1.5 miles ofpassengers in norther Manhattan and the outer borosand half-a-mile in most of Manhattan, according to transportationnation.org. Despite some early trepidation from five of the commissioners, the program was approved unanimously, 7-0, with two abstaining. Additionally, apps must comply with the current payment systems administered by Verifone and Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT), which, for the moment, could exclude popular smartphone payment system Square. “Look, if were gonna bring e-hailing apps to New York, were gonna do it right, and we dont want a kind of half measure that wont provide real service to customers,” Chairman Yassky told Betabeat about the upcoming limited pilot. Uber is declaring the ruling a victory for its smartphone app for taxis, UberTaxi, which had been shut down over alleged legal difficulties. But it’s unclear how Uber will be able to adjust to the metering requirement. We will update readers as the story develops.

Original Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/2Ps8waEiY4Q/

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