NEW YORK -- The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has announced it will fine taxi drivers who refuse to accept cards as payments for taxi fares.
Beginning Jan. 23, undercover inspectors from the Commission fanned out across New York as part of Operation: Secret Rider. The inspectors were tasked with operating in much the same was a "secret shoppers" do in retail stores, only with the power to levy fines for
violations, including the refusal to accept a credit or debit card as payment for the fare.
The fines can range from $150-$350 dollars, the commission said in announcing the program. However, refusing to accept the cards will not carry the additional penalty of points toward the commission's Persistent Violator Program. Accumulation of points under Persistent Violator can mean temporary suspensions of drivers' taxi licenses.
Taxi drivers have resisted the introduction of payment by cards, citing the increased fees, the additional expense for card acceptance technology and the additional time it can take to process a fare payment.
--dmorrison@cutimes.com
