[00:00.780 --> 00:02.580]  Privacy versus utility.
[00:04.220 --> 00:04.760]  Thank you.
[00:25.250 --> 00:26.110]  Yes, it works.
[00:26.410 --> 00:26.710]  Okay.
[00:37.360 --> 00:37.960]  Sorry, folks.
[00:38.040 --> 00:38.600]  Give me a second here.
[00:38.780 --> 00:40.720]  This is what happens when you rely on six-year-old technology.
[00:42.800 --> 00:44.280]  You let your kid write the presentation?
[00:45.820 --> 00:46.040]  Hmm?
[00:47.320 --> 00:49.040]  You let your six-year-old write the presentation?
[01:33.110 --> 01:33.730]  All right.
[01:33.970 --> 01:34.390]  Good enough.
[01:35.850 --> 01:36.370]  All right.
[01:36.450 --> 01:39.450]  Welcome to New York City Taxi Assistance and Privacy versus Utility.
[01:40.250 --> 01:42.990]  My name is Nick Leghorn, and a couple notes before I start off.
[01:43.210 --> 01:46.110]  I am not a spokesman for the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
[01:46.790 --> 01:54.550]  It may be quite obvious as I'm standing up here unshaven with a black t-shirt on, but for those of you who didn't notice the subtle difference, I am not a spokesman.
[01:55.990 --> 02:02.970]  Also, I don't work for the TLC, and anything that is in this presentation, nothing came out of it exactly from the TLC.
[02:03.150 --> 02:04.210]  Nothing in here is going to be new.
[02:04.690 --> 02:10.890]  It's all pulled from data that's already been presented in other medias, which is the only way they've let me present it.
[02:11.110 --> 02:18.470]  So, without further ado, when you think of New York City, you think of three icons.
[02:18.670 --> 02:23.170]  You think, you know, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Yellow Taxi Cab.
[02:23.930 --> 02:28.690]  Everyone also always wants, when they come to New York City, to take that one ride in a taxi cab, at least.
[02:29.250 --> 02:35.850]  And for a lot of people, it's the way they get to and from work, but nobody really thinks about how the taxi industry works.
[02:36.570 --> 02:44.570]  Nobody, you know, gets in the cab and wonders, oh, I wonder if this cabbie is making, you know, how much money this guy is making per year, or how long he's working, or how long he's been in the country.
[02:44.770 --> 02:45.930]  Well, you might worry about that one.
[02:49.590 --> 02:53.890]  So, this presentation is going to be an introduction to the taxi system.
[02:54.670 --> 02:57.650]  It's going to tell you a little bit of information about the taxis in general.
[02:57.790 --> 03:01.770]  It's going to tell you about the TPEP system, which is, cabbies refer to it as the GPS system.
[03:02.770 --> 03:10.070]  It's going to talk about the issues that happened with pen and paper reporting, the solutions, and concerns about the implementation, and what's going to come in the future.
[03:12.030 --> 03:27.930]  My qualifications, or why you should care who I am, I just, I'm in the process of finishing up a two-month internship with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, where I was working with the data coming from the system, but I wasn't actually working on the system.
[03:28.250 --> 03:32.550]  All my research, notes, et cetera, comes from external sources.
[03:33.710 --> 03:36.130]  Like I said, I did original research in the field.
[03:36.990 --> 03:44.870]  That stack of papers, the first day when you walk into the Taxi and Limousine Commission, when you're a new employee, they hand you this stack of papers.
[03:45.150 --> 03:53.070]  It's about three books, and those two manila envelopes contain 15, 20 articles in them, and you spend the entire first day reading it.
[03:53.170 --> 03:59.790]  No matter who you are, inspector through commissioner, you have to read the entire thing, and it took me all day.
[04:01.890 --> 04:07.050]  I'm a junior at the Pennsylvania State University, studying security and risk analysis.
[04:07.570 --> 04:10.570]  My concentration is in information and cyber security.
[04:13.490 --> 04:13.990]  That's me.
[04:14.550 --> 04:15.670]  So a taxi is just a taxi, right?
[04:15.810 --> 04:19.330]  You hop into a taxi, hold your hand out, one comes, picks you up, that's it.
[04:19.510 --> 04:19.910]  You off you go.
[04:20.710 --> 04:24.710]  Actually, in New York City, there are a bunch of different classifications for taxis.
[04:25.110 --> 04:28.230]  The one you might know best is the yellow cab.
[04:29.010 --> 04:36.650]  The yellow cab is heavily regulated by TLC and NYC because it is the main method of transportation for many people in the city.
[04:38.170 --> 04:41.210]  TLC regulates a whole bunch of things which we'll get into later.
[04:41.850 --> 04:43.750]  You can pay cash or credit for your ride.
[04:46.390 --> 04:48.730]  Taxis include Fleet Dove and Independence.
[04:51.850 --> 04:52.290]  Most...
[04:55.910 --> 04:56.790]  The fleet...
[04:56.790 --> 05:05.890]  The different ways that cabbies get to drive the taxis, that they get paid, is that they either own the cab themselves, rent the cab, or they drive someone else's cab for a while.
[05:06.470 --> 05:09.170]  The fleet cabs are basically what you'd think of.
[05:09.290 --> 05:14.630]  They go, they walk in, they slap $100 on the table, and the guy gives them a taxi and a medallion.
[05:15.170 --> 05:17.250]  A medallion is the little thing you see on the hood.
[05:17.450 --> 05:19.190]  It's the license to...
[05:19.190 --> 05:24.490]  It's the exclusive license in New York City to pick up street hails, which is when you hold your hand out and one comes by.
[05:26.050 --> 05:30.070]  So that's where you go in and the fleet gives you a taxi.
[05:30.950 --> 05:33.270]  All these cabbies operate as independent contractors.
[05:33.270 --> 05:36.990]  They aren't tied to a specific base for the most part.
[05:37.370 --> 05:39.190]  They are free to float around wherever they want.
[05:39.910 --> 05:40.790]  Next is doves.
[05:41.410 --> 05:42.550]  Driver-owned vehicles.
[05:42.790 --> 05:44.190]  That's where the driver owns the vehicle.
[05:44.310 --> 05:54.410]  He owns the cab itself and rents the medallion, which is, again, that little license, which they bolt to the hood for a certain amount per day, week, month, whatever.
[05:55.010 --> 05:57.850]  And the third is independents, where they own the whole shebang.
[05:58.110 --> 05:58.610]  Everything's theirs.
[06:00.910 --> 06:07.630]  Independent drivers seem to make the most money because they own the whole thing and they don't have to pay, like, $100 a day to go rent the medallion.
[06:09.390 --> 06:12.570]  But it's really expensive, and I'll get into that later.
[06:13.210 --> 06:16.630]  And, again, you can only hail New York City yellow taxi cabs.
[06:16.710 --> 06:17.590]  They're hail only.
[06:17.870 --> 06:22.730]  Any other way of doing them has been outlawed by New York City.
[06:22.890 --> 06:28.110]  They used to be dispatchable, where you could, you know, get on the radio and call for one.
[06:28.110 --> 06:34.270]  But in 1985, that was taken away from them and given to the livery cabs.
[06:35.030 --> 06:37.710]  Livery cabs are commonly referred to as community cars.
[06:37.870 --> 06:39.470]  These are cars that are tied to a base.
[06:39.930 --> 06:47.590]  That means that they're dispatched by someone who sits behind, you know, the little microphone that you've sometimes seen, like, at a train station.
[06:48.950 --> 06:54.230]  And they're called community cars because for the medallion cabs, English is a requirement.
[06:54.230 --> 06:57.090]  You're required to know at least a little bit of English, and it's on the test.
[06:57.290 --> 07:00.610]  But for these cars, English is not necessarily a requirement.
[07:00.910 --> 07:04.810]  So they're free to talk any language that the community speaks.
[07:05.410 --> 07:09.430]  So, for example, a cab company serving Chinatown, they can speak Chinese.
[07:09.450 --> 07:13.350]  Or a cab company serving Little Italy or what's left of it, they can speak Italian.
[07:14.810 --> 07:16.250]  These are, again, cash or credit.
[07:16.410 --> 07:18.030]  You can pay in advance with these.
[07:18.930 --> 07:20.870]  And they are dispatch only.
[07:21.710 --> 07:24.670]  The third kind is the limousine.
[07:25.530 --> 07:27.270]  Taxi and limousine commission.
[07:27.850 --> 07:29.510]  These are for corporate or private use.
[07:29.670 --> 07:33.730]  Corporations can rent these and, you know, give them out to their employees to take home.
[07:33.730 --> 07:35.850]  Sometimes, if you look in front of...
[07:36.330 --> 07:38.290]  Like, I was out in front of the Merrill Lynch building.
[07:38.370 --> 07:41.890]  And they have, like, a line of these cars lined up to take their employees home at night.
[07:43.810 --> 07:44.970]  Again, they're dispatch only.
[07:46.010 --> 07:55.010]  And when they're lined up like that in front of, like, the Merrill Lynch building, there's actually a guy in a big blue vest that says dispatcher on the back who, like, shuffles people into the cars because they need to be dispatched.
[07:55.090 --> 07:56.190]  They can't be, like, hail.
[07:57.610 --> 08:03.090]  And if you get into one of these cabs that you hail, it's not necessarily legal.
[08:04.330 --> 08:05.570]  And it's a very bad idea.
[08:05.710 --> 08:06.130]  Don't do it.
[08:06.750 --> 08:08.330]  The rates are set by contracts.
[08:09.890 --> 08:15.470]  Contracts are set either by the company or by the individuals themselves, or they can also be paid for a ride.
[08:15.950 --> 08:22.790]  The rates for the liveries, which I talked about before, and these cars are fluctuating.
[08:22.790 --> 08:26.490]  They're set by the market itself.
[08:26.850 --> 08:30.950]  TLC doesn't regulate the prices of the individual fares.
[08:31.190 --> 08:37.310]  So you could have, like, a company that charges $500 a trip, another company that charges $0.20 a trip.
[08:39.330 --> 08:41.150]  A little bit more about yellow cabs.
[08:41.250 --> 08:45.290]  There are exactly 13,237 medallions in circulation.
[08:45.290 --> 08:53.570]  That number was capped in 1935 by Alderman Haas, back when New York City was ruled by a board of aldermen.
[08:53.770 --> 09:00.230]  It was set at that point because Mr. Haas believed that New York City was too crowded with cabs and that they were too dirty.
[09:01.030 --> 09:06.750]  So he decreed, basically, that there were only going to be a set number of medallions given out.
[09:06.870 --> 09:09.710]  Again, those are the permits to pick up hails off the street.
[09:11.970 --> 09:12.830]  That number fluctuated.
[09:13.490 --> 09:15.670]  It went down during World War II and a little bit after.
[09:15.930 --> 09:24.290]  But after the... and during that time, you could really just walk into the Taxi and Limousine Commission, ask for a medallion, and in a couple days they'd basically give it to you.
[09:24.490 --> 09:28.390]  But these days, we're back up at the cap.
[09:28.550 --> 09:30.570]  There are people waiting to get these medallions.
[09:30.670 --> 09:34.090]  And these medallions, once they're given out, are traded like private property.
[09:34.250 --> 09:36.850]  So one person could sell their medallion to another person.
[09:36.850 --> 09:41.030]  And at the moment, I believe the going rate for a medallion is somewhere in the range of $500,000.
[09:42.150 --> 09:45.190]  So, yeah, you could see why the independents are pretty small.
[09:47.070 --> 09:52.870]  Also, these are really good investments because they depreciate in value for some reason.
[09:53.090 --> 09:56.930]  And so you could have this $500,000 write-off on your tax return.
[09:57.150 --> 09:57.630]  Good stuff.
[09:58.950 --> 10:01.790]  The maximum lifespan of an average taxi is five years.
[10:01.950 --> 10:06.170]  The maximum lifespan depends on whether it's owned by the driver or it's owned by the fleet.
[10:06.170 --> 10:09.150]  Fleet vehicles are only three years because they get beaten up more.
[10:09.330 --> 10:10.550]  Because, you know, the guy doesn't own it.
[10:11.950 --> 10:18.270]  But independent urbaners and doves are five years because, you know, they shelled out the money to get the taxi that should get a little bit more use out of it.
[10:19.530 --> 10:22.250]  However, they're all inspected to the same standards.
[10:22.410 --> 10:30.990]  A 200-point inspection three times a year at a facility out in Woodside where they literally go at the car with a BF crowbar and poke at everything and make sure that it's working.
[10:32.470 --> 10:34.010]  That was put in a little bit a while ago.
[10:34.530 --> 10:35.970]  That wasn't always standard.
[10:37.030 --> 10:41.430]  Most taxis operate in two ships because to get the most money out of it, you know, you do two ships.
[10:41.610 --> 10:43.470]  You have a day driver and a night driver.
[10:43.650 --> 10:47.470]  Or fleet vehicles are required to be operating continuously.
[10:48.510 --> 10:52.910]  The only time that they aren't operating continuously is when they have major repairs needed.
[10:54.330 --> 10:57.390]  As you can see, that chart is from...
[10:58.690 --> 11:07.850]  I believe it's from the Taxi 07 Rhodes Forward book, which by the way, all this information, my presentation and the Rhodes Forward book is available free for download at blogged at nickleghorn.com.
[11:08.870 --> 11:11.930]  So people listening afterwards, you can go download it.
[11:12.170 --> 11:13.150]  It'll still be there.
[11:15.130 --> 11:17.490]  This is relatively recent, I think, though.
[11:18.230 --> 11:21.030]  Crown Victorias are basically the workhorse of everything.
[11:21.030 --> 11:24.090]  They're the giant workhorse of New York City.
[11:24.250 --> 11:25.830]  They can take a beating and still kicking.
[11:26.010 --> 11:26.770]  I've seen things...
[11:26.770 --> 11:31.930]  I've seen Crown Victorias that get, like, run over by a dump truck and they still work.
[11:32.990 --> 11:34.630]  It's amazing what these things go through.
[11:35.110 --> 11:38.190]  And the weird thing is they're only bolted to the frame in, like, three or four places.
[11:39.810 --> 11:40.590]  It's really weird.
[11:42.550 --> 11:47.030]  But gaining on them is things like the Toyota Sienna and hybrids and stuff like that.
[11:47.670 --> 11:53.350]  Matter of fact, I'm going to talk a little bit more about how the fleet is aging and how they're changing that a little bit further in the presentation.
[11:54.390 --> 11:58.190]  That's just really neat to see that, you know, it's all Crown Victorias.
[11:59.790 --> 12:01.130]  A little bit about the riders.
[12:01.390 --> 12:09.790]  They're about... depending on time of day and depending on what day of the week it is, it's about 17,500 riders an hour.
[12:10.070 --> 12:10.470]  Just about.
[12:10.790 --> 12:14.230]  You can see that Monday is, like, the slowest day because everybody hates Mondays.
[12:14.230 --> 12:17.710]  And Saturday is, like, the most busy day because everyone's going out to the theater.
[12:18.770 --> 12:21.850]  And Saturday night is, like, the night to be a taxi driver.
[12:22.770 --> 12:24.850]  The average distance they travel is about three miles.
[12:25.210 --> 12:29.470]  So that's, you know, further than a couple blocks, but not as far as, you know, you take a train.
[12:30.870 --> 12:33.550]  Average fare comes out to be about $11.63.
[12:33.910 --> 12:36.790]  This information, by the way, is about 2006.
[12:38.010 --> 12:41.030]  I don't think I found any information newer than that.
[12:41.570 --> 12:44.330]  The average tip, TLC, the Tax and Louisa Commission.
[12:44.430 --> 12:45.870]  I'm going to keep referring to it as TLC.
[12:47.710 --> 12:50.110]  TLC assumes that the average tip is 10%.
[12:50.810 --> 12:54.370]  Cabbies are required to report their own earnings to the IRS.
[12:55.210 --> 12:58.170]  So we don't know what their tip is.
[12:58.370 --> 13:01.070]  Because A, with the new system, it doesn't report it.
[13:01.150 --> 13:04.150]  And B, because, you know, it's your tip.
[13:04.270 --> 13:04.870]  We don't ask.
[13:05.450 --> 13:06.950]  But they assume it's at 10%.
[13:06.950 --> 13:12.950]  However, there is information indicating that, especially with credit cards, it could be as high as 19%.
[13:14.510 --> 13:16.170]  So, again, that fluctuates.
[13:17.230 --> 13:19.290]  Like I said, this information from 2006.
[13:21.170 --> 13:22.530]  A little bit about hacks.
[13:22.970 --> 13:30.310]  And you might be interested to know that taxi drivers in New York City are called hack drivers, especially yellow medallion drivers.
[13:30.310 --> 13:34.290]  That name comes from, in the 1600s, hackney cabs.
[13:34.590 --> 13:40.550]  Where cabs that were defined as being small cars that were pulled around by two strong horses.
[13:40.790 --> 13:43.270]  And essentially, getting in meant you take your life in your hands.
[13:43.410 --> 13:45.290]  Because they whipped around London so fast.
[13:46.590 --> 13:48.490]  And the drivers themselves were called hacks.
[13:49.350 --> 13:53.330]  This has been rejiggered a little bit.
[13:54.070 --> 14:01.870]  To also refer to the process of making a taxi cab, or taking a regular car and turning it into a taxi cab, is called hacking up a car.
[14:02.110 --> 14:07.630]  Because you're taking this car, which is intended for, you know, family use, and you're turning it into this taxi cab, which is built like a tank.
[14:07.630 --> 14:12.010]  And one purpose for another, hacking.
[14:14.270 --> 14:18.250]  50% of the drivers... 90%, 97% of the drivers are male.
[14:18.410 --> 14:22.790]  That chart, by the way, is again from Taxi07 Roads Forward, which is again available for download.
[14:23.550 --> 14:28.670]  And that includes also FHB drivers for higher vehicle drivers.
[14:28.890 --> 14:30.110]  All drivers, essentially.
[14:30.410 --> 14:32.550]  That's based on a small sample that we did.
[14:33.190 --> 14:39.190]  Taxi and Limousine Commission, I'm sorry, doesn't ask people for their country of origin.
[14:39.210 --> 14:41.890]  But they did do a small survey, and that's what came back.
[14:42.570 --> 14:46.610]  97% are male, because this is the most dangerous job in New York City.
[14:47.190 --> 14:49.410]  Like even liquor store owners don't want to do this.
[14:50.790 --> 15:01.630]  Because according to the Hispanic Drivers Association, I believe it is, like some ridiculous number, like 75% of all drivers have been the victim of a crime in their taxi cab.
[15:02.950 --> 15:11.750]  50% have driven five or more years, which seems to indicate that while they do drive for a long-ish time, they don't necessarily drive for their entire career.
[15:12.350 --> 15:13.990]  So they do go on to other things.
[15:14.610 --> 15:15.990]  The average age is about 45.
[15:16.930 --> 15:30.510]  And you couple that with the driving for about five years and the country of origin of most people, and it seems that people, it's people who have come to this country for, say, they are expecting a job in a manufacturing place.
[15:30.570 --> 15:32.790]  And then they either are laid off or don't get that job.
[15:32.910 --> 15:35.850]  And then they go be a taxi driver instead, because it's good work.
[15:36.070 --> 15:38.550]  So it seems like that's the way it's going.
[15:39.030 --> 15:46.650]  They work about nine and a half hour shifts, stopping only for food and gas, because you're renting this taxi cab, essentially, and you've got to make that money up.
[15:46.830 --> 15:53.790]  You shell out the hundred or so dollars before you get in the cab, and you've got to make it up as fast as you can to get to that pure profit.
[15:54.250 --> 15:58.270]  And again, the majority of these people, these taxi drivers, are immigrants.
[15:59.830 --> 16:02.650]  And now for the interesting part, after I bored you to death with that.
[16:03.850 --> 16:14.910]  So there were a couple problems with the pen and paper reporting system, as it was back between 1935, when the Hoss ordinance went into place, and 2006, I believe it is.
[16:15.490 --> 16:17.890]  There's a lack of usable data for regulatory purposes.
[16:18.350 --> 16:31.850]  Taxi and Limousine Commission looks at how the industry is doing, and based off of that, regulates, you know, how much the fare is, or how much the lease rate is for certain days, because the lease rate changes with the day and the time.
[16:32.150 --> 16:36.990]  So, like, there are more cabbies on the road Saturday night than there are Monday morning.
[16:38.730 --> 16:41.930]  There was a lack of universal card payment system.
[16:42.270 --> 16:48.230]  It used to be a voluntary, like, some cabs would put the payment in their car just to be nice.
[16:48.630 --> 16:51.430]  But now it's pretty much mandatory.
[16:53.930 --> 17:03.110]  And as of sometime this year, it's going to be roughly 100% penetration into the cabs with credit card systems.
[17:04.010 --> 17:05.710]  Riders wanted to watch their progress.
[17:05.990 --> 17:10.630]  You know, you've got these out-of-downers coming in, and they don't know that they're being taken for a ride somewhere.
[17:10.750 --> 17:15.630]  Like, they're circling Central Park five times before they drop them off somewhere.
[17:16.410 --> 17:20.070]  So, they wanted to make sure that they weren't, you know, spending their money unnecessarily.
[17:20.350 --> 17:25.550]  So, they wanted to see where they were on a GPS real-time map.
[17:26.230 --> 17:28.150]  And the backseat isn't really pretty.
[17:28.450 --> 17:29.610]  You know, it's not something to look at.
[17:29.710 --> 17:37.350]  You've got the big partition in front of you with the black bar and then the semi-clear glass, which may or may not be smeared with something.
[17:39.630 --> 17:42.270]  And, you know, you're trying to look out the window the entire time.
[17:42.270 --> 17:43.630]  And if it's raining, it's miserable.
[17:43.910 --> 17:45.650]  And so, you want something to look at.
[17:49.050 --> 17:54.210]  So, this is what one cab driver came up as a solution.
[17:54.990 --> 17:57.510]  This was back before the system went into effect.
[17:57.750 --> 18:00.110]  And basically, all the stickers fell off.
[18:00.230 --> 18:03.630]  All the information was in stickers on the inside of the partition.
[18:03.830 --> 18:05.470]  And his stickers fell off.
[18:05.470 --> 18:11.790]  So, he made the sign, which, you know, please, if you could have the money ready.
[18:11.990 --> 18:13.530]  After paying, step out of the car on the curbside.
[18:14.130 --> 18:15.470]  Thank you, driver, door.
[18:17.150 --> 18:18.450]  And it says all the information.
[18:18.630 --> 18:23.050]  This would have been replaced as soon as he got to the inspection facility in Woodside because they'd be like, no.
[18:24.310 --> 18:26.550]  But, for the time being, it was relatively effective.
[18:26.850 --> 18:30.830]  And, you know, information that wasn't available generally on the stickers.
[18:33.310 --> 18:34.010]  Trip sheets.
[18:35.630 --> 18:36.810]  I can't read that.
[18:36.910 --> 18:37.970]  And I don't know anyone who can.
[18:38.390 --> 18:41.970]  This used to be the way of keeping track of taxis.
[18:42.910 --> 18:50.230]  Taxi drivers had to write down where they started, where they ended, how much they paid, and what time it was on these sheets and keep them with them in their cab at all times.
[18:50.690 --> 18:54.190]  So that, like, someone ran over someone's foot in Times Square.
[18:54.210 --> 18:55.430]  They know which cab did it.
[18:56.490 --> 18:59.730]  The problem is that it's illegible.
[19:00.090 --> 19:02.970]  I don't know if you can see that, but it's completely illegible.
[19:03.890 --> 19:13.190]  I've heard stories of taxi drivers, like, mocking up one, just scribbling on it, and leaving the times blank, so that if they ran over that foot, they could just make them somewhere else at that time.
[19:14.550 --> 19:23.450]  This is also what Taxi and Lizzie permission sends to the IRS when they audit someone, which happens a lot, apparently.
[19:24.510 --> 19:34.110]  And the IRS gets to have fun with it, so it's not really that good for keeping track of, A, how the taxis are doing, and B, what's going on.
[19:34.690 --> 19:45.350]  All the information, by the way, all the private information is on the back, and it says, somewhere on it, I forget where, please use pen only, because pencil was being used a lot, and that's bad.
[19:47.750 --> 19:56.510]  So, the solution is the TPEP system, the Technology Passenger Enhancements Project, called, affectionately by the drivers, the GPS system for the main component.
[19:56.510 --> 20:06.530]  That, shown there, is, that's the display version they have of it, that's at the Woodside facility, it's like right when you walk in, off the inspection line.
[20:06.970 --> 20:08.710]  I took that one, because I thought it was pretty cool.
[20:08.890 --> 20:13.870]  But it just shows you, you know, all the parts, all the technology that goes into the cab to make it a taxi.
[20:16.090 --> 20:17.410]  So, what is it?
[20:18.610 --> 20:22.110]  You've got the PIM, which is the Passenger Information Monitor.
[20:22.110 --> 20:29.230]  That's going to have all your important information, which is updated daily or hourly, depending on which service the cab uses.
[20:30.830 --> 20:39.650]  It'll either have, some cabs have, like, Channel 7 News running in there, or Channel 4 News, or some cabs just have, you know, advertisements in there.
[20:40.630 --> 20:45.070]  It uses real-time GPS positioning to figure out where you are and plot it on a map.
[20:45.750 --> 20:50.490]  And there are three different companies that supply these.
[20:50.490 --> 20:56.350]  There were different three, and then there were four, and then there are three again, because something happened to one of them.
[20:57.310 --> 20:59.770]  But there are basically three different companies that do this.
[20:59.850 --> 21:01.790]  And there are three different implementation styles.
[21:02.150 --> 21:04.270]  So, as you drive in cabs, you'll see this.
[21:07.710 --> 21:09.130]  The 20% of the...
[21:09.850 --> 21:13.930]  Yeah, 20% of the time on the screen is reserved for Tax and Limousine Commission announcements.
[21:14.290 --> 21:17.930]  Like how much the fare is, or how much you're going to be paying, or how much...
[21:18.510 --> 21:21.810]  Or other news items that TLC might want to put in there.
[21:22.850 --> 21:27.810]  So, rather than having all the time for advertising, you have to have this chunk laid out for TLC.
[21:29.030 --> 21:32.870]  Other things, you have to be, by TLC mandate, able to control the thing.
[21:33.050 --> 21:35.910]  So, you could either turn it off, or turn the brightness down, or turn the volume down.
[21:35.910 --> 21:41.190]  So, you know, you don't have the Today Show blaring in your ears while you're driving to work.
[21:41.290 --> 21:41.910]  Because that's annoying.
[21:45.850 --> 21:47.350]  SMS messages to the cab.
[21:48.250 --> 21:50.110]  This was added right next to the...
[21:50.110 --> 21:53.590]  Or right next to, or right under, what's called the meter.
[21:54.510 --> 21:57.350]  And it's basically a little cell phone in a box.
[21:57.790 --> 22:00.330]  It's short messages that can be sent to the cab.
[22:00.530 --> 22:05.410]  Like it says there, traffic alerts, fair opportunities and emergency information.
[22:05.410 --> 22:10.130]  So, if you remember, when the wall fell down on...
[22:10.130 --> 22:10.590]  What was that?
[22:11.590 --> 22:11.990]  The...
[22:12.430 --> 22:13.430]  I forget what that was.
[22:13.630 --> 22:15.890]  But when the wall fell down the highway on the...
[22:16.690 --> 22:18.410]  Left is west side.
[22:18.890 --> 22:19.270]  Thank you.
[22:21.150 --> 22:24.330]  When the wall fell down the west highway, they could...
[22:24.330 --> 22:27.170]  They could have told all the drivers that, hey, this thing happened.
[22:27.310 --> 22:27.710]  Avoid it.
[22:28.770 --> 22:30.690]  Fair opportunities, a cruise ship docks.
[22:30.970 --> 22:32.570]  Or a show gets out a little bit early.
[22:32.710 --> 22:34.690]  They can message the cabs and say, hey, this thing happened.
[22:34.690 --> 22:36.410]  Why don't you go pick these people up?
[22:36.570 --> 22:38.330]  So that they know where the stuff is going on.
[22:39.170 --> 22:40.290]  And emergency information.
[22:40.750 --> 22:46.470]  I haven't heard of a specific instance where this system was actually used to broadcast emergency information somewhere.
[22:47.770 --> 22:49.410]  But it is available for use.
[22:50.310 --> 22:53.710]  And they can also use this to send messages to specific cabs.
[22:53.790 --> 22:55.830]  For example, you leave your purse in the back of a cab.
[22:55.950 --> 22:56.790]  They can message the cab.
[22:56.790 --> 23:00.750]  And this only works if you're going five miles an hour or less.
[23:01.090 --> 23:02.430]  So cabbies don't get into a lot of accidents.
[23:03.490 --> 23:06.310]  And it's because, you know, not everyone listens to the radio all the time.
[23:09.260 --> 23:10.590]  Credit card payment systems.
[23:11.340 --> 23:13.050]  Cabs no longer predominantly cash only.
[23:13.700 --> 23:17.780]  It used to be that you had to carry, like, $50 cash to take a cab ride to JFK.
[23:18.020 --> 23:19.380]  Now you just need your credit card.
[23:20.320 --> 23:22.180]  It uses wireless credit card authorization.
[23:22.180 --> 23:27.040]  So it's not like they have to plug in the cab to an Ethernet jack every time they want to get their money.
[23:28.070 --> 23:29.610]  All major credit cards are accepted.
[23:30.160 --> 23:35.160]  There was something a while ago where some cabs didn't want to take certain credit cards.
[23:35.260 --> 23:36.920]  But all major credit cards have to be accepted.
[23:38.500 --> 23:41.110]  And payments under $25 don't require a signature.
[23:41.940 --> 23:44.880]  So going to JFK will still require you to write your name.
[23:45.070 --> 23:48.800]  But going down the block, you can just swipe your card and get out.
[23:52.800 --> 23:54.020]  In-cab GPS.
[23:55.380 --> 23:56.880]  This display, by the way...
[23:56.880 --> 24:02.420]  This is the display that drivers and owners of fleet vehicles get to see.
[24:02.580 --> 24:05.000]  Taxi Unlimited Commission does not see this screen at all.
[24:06.260 --> 24:08.920]  But the GPS is constantly updated in position.
[24:09.060 --> 24:11.540]  It sends it and pings it back to the server where it's stored.
[24:11.980 --> 24:15.060]  And drivers and owners can see, you know, where the cab's been.
[24:15.740 --> 24:19.640]  It has automatic trip sheet generation so that mess that you saw before doesn't happen again.
[24:20.140 --> 24:21.820]  And they can't fudge the numbers.
[24:22.460 --> 24:24.080]  It's got pretty easy fleet management.
[24:24.220 --> 24:25.340]  So you can see where your fleet is going.
[24:25.480 --> 24:26.320]  What it's doing.
[24:26.780 --> 24:31.260]  You know, if it's clustered around one little place, you can advise them to move other places.
[24:31.260 --> 24:36.740]  And it's, again, seen by the fleet owner or the owner only.
[24:37.540 --> 24:39.880]  So none of that is seen by the Taxi Unlimited Commission.
[24:40.440 --> 24:55.340]  The only thing that TLC actually sees is the trip pickup location, drop-off location, the distance that they went, the time that it took to get there, and the amount that the fare was, and I think the last four digits of the credit card.
[24:55.820 --> 24:58.620]  So it's not a lot of data that TLC actually gets.
[25:00.720 --> 25:03.520]  Like I said, it's constantly updated, and there's a little graphic of why.
[25:03.700 --> 25:06.120]  This is the digital dispatch system on display here.
[25:07.940 --> 25:13.540]  Basically, there's a cell phone link to a set of servers that the company owns.
[25:13.640 --> 25:16.440]  There's three different companies, so three different servers, three different systems.
[25:17.940 --> 25:21.380]  And so it sends out data and pulls in data depending on what it needs.
[25:21.560 --> 25:23.740]  Like if the entertainment's being updated or something.
[25:24.980 --> 25:28.760]  Or if a passenger gets out of the cab, it relays back all that information.
[25:29.300 --> 25:34.660]  And the drivers can then query that server and see, you know, what their trip sheets look like.
[25:34.820 --> 25:38.260]  Or the drivers or the owners can see, you know, where the cabs have been.
[25:38.960 --> 25:41.160]  And GPS also gets in there.
[25:42.620 --> 25:44.180]  So what are the concerns about this?
[25:46.560 --> 25:49.900]  Well, wireless payment problems, you got a lot of dead spots.
[25:50.480 --> 25:51.620]  You know, New York City isn't perfect.
[25:51.800 --> 25:54.880]  I was just, you know, a couple blocks away and couldn't get a signal at all.
[25:56.100 --> 25:58.940]  So authorization is time out in a maximum of 25 seconds.
[25:59.080 --> 26:02.660]  If you're waiting more than 25 seconds, it'll just auto-authorize your card.
[26:03.220 --> 26:04.860]  Most payments take two to three seconds, though.
[26:05.140 --> 26:10.160]  And the maximum time when it is in range is seven seconds or else it's auto-authorized again.
[26:10.820 --> 26:12.180]  And then it just sits in a queue.
[26:13.080 --> 26:15.260]  And when it gets back in range, it auto-authorizes.
[26:15.680 --> 26:24.760]  But the thing is, if the card is fake and you swipe it through and it times out, the driver absorbs all that money.
[26:25.040 --> 26:26.460]  He takes the loss on that.
[26:26.460 --> 26:34.520]  So while it's a really good system and it works in a lot of places, there's still that opportunity, I guess?
[26:34.740 --> 26:39.900]  Or there's still that possibility, sorry, that someone could do something malicious with this.
[26:40.020 --> 26:45.140]  But again, you know, who's going to be directing someone to a known dead spot and then swiping their card to get out?
[26:57.290 --> 26:59.330]  But the thing is, those are illegal.
[27:04.470 --> 27:06.470]  The card number storage and transmission.
[27:06.730 --> 27:09.290]  Card numbers are only stored on third-party servers.
[27:09.710 --> 27:14.150]  Those are the full card numbers and that's in compliance with PCI standards.
[27:14.150 --> 27:16.910]  Everyone does that from 2600 all the way up to Kmart.
[27:17.170 --> 27:20.830]  Stores your credit cards somewhere in a database because they have to if they want to authorize them.
[27:21.490 --> 27:23.950]  Taxi and limousine commission only sees, again, the last four digits.
[27:24.770 --> 27:29.530]  Transmission is over a cell network, but it's illegal in the United States to listen to the cell phone frequencies.
[27:29.850 --> 27:33.090]  And the only equipment made for it doing that is, like, 20 years old.
[27:33.690 --> 27:35.130]  So it's hard to get at it.
[27:35.230 --> 27:42.310]  And also, when you're sniffing for this data, you have to remember that you're going to have, like, maybe 50 cabs in the vicinity.
[27:42.310 --> 27:48.130]  And in that vicinity, you're also going to have at least two people per cab because you've got driver and passenger.
[27:48.330 --> 27:52.990]  And so that's already one-third of the data, only one-third of the data being actual cab data.
[27:53.050 --> 27:54.690]  So there's that signal of the noise ratio.
[27:54.890 --> 27:56.670]  And then you've got the people walking around.
[27:56.670 --> 27:58.470]  And then you've got all the other stuff going on.
[27:58.490 --> 28:00.830]  So picking out the signal is very hard.
[28:05.040 --> 28:05.900]  Other concerns.
[28:06.160 --> 28:09.840]  The Canyon Effect is something that's used with GPS and satellite technology.
[28:09.840 --> 28:12.920]  It's where, in New York City, you've got a lot of tall buildings.
[28:13.020 --> 28:15.740]  So you can't always see all three GPS satellites.
[28:16.360 --> 28:18.860]  And I just saw this in the cab going over today.
[28:19.200 --> 28:23.280]  Like, we started off from Grand Central, and then we, like, took a right into the building.
[28:24.740 --> 28:32.900]  What happens is that when it loses the signal, it continues going using the odometer on the path that it was going before.
[28:32.900 --> 28:36.240]  So if it, like, made a right turn, then it'll keep going in that direction.
[28:36.960 --> 28:42.220]  So that's, like, when you get into the middle of New York Harbor and get dropped off, like happened to me once.
[28:42.900 --> 28:47.660]  But these things are required to be 95% accurate, at minimum, when they're working.
[28:48.720 --> 28:55.900]  And honestly, when you lose your GPS signal, it's still going to report the distance, time, and other things accurately.
[28:55.960 --> 28:58.240]  It's just, you know, you might have a weird drop-off location.
[29:01.930 --> 29:05.650]  So does having GPS mean that you're tracking drivers wherever they go?
[29:06.810 --> 29:10.130]  Again, by contract, GPS data is only collected at pick-up and drop-off.
[29:10.490 --> 29:13.690]  All that data is sent to the third-party servers.
[29:13.690 --> 29:17.590]  Because if you think about it, you know, these owners own the cab.
[29:17.790 --> 29:19.050]  They own the whole thing.
[29:19.190 --> 29:23.470]  So seeing where their property is is an acceptable idea.
[29:23.830 --> 29:25.770]  Rental companies do this with their cars.
[29:26.170 --> 29:29.130]  And private citizens do this with their own cars as well.
[29:29.130 --> 29:34.190]  So it's not a new idea of having GPS tracking your property.
[29:34.470 --> 29:38.490]  And again, only the owners of that car and that GPS system can see it.
[29:39.210 --> 29:40.610]  Breadcrumbs every few seconds.
[29:40.810 --> 29:43.770]  But they're stored by the company and dropped by the TLC.
[29:45.510 --> 29:50.630]  So you've got credit cards and GPS in the same database.
[29:50.910 --> 29:52.770]  Does that mean you can track the citizens?
[29:54.170 --> 29:57.210]  The initial data collection storage is handled by third parties.
[29:57.210 --> 30:01.110]  Which means you've got three different servers that this stuff is residing on.
[30:01.370 --> 30:04.590]  It's not just one central server where all the information comes.
[30:04.770 --> 30:07.070]  So you've got that working for you.
[30:07.190 --> 30:10.550]  That you have a one in three chance of actually getting the information that you're looking for.
[30:11.070 --> 30:13.190]  Second thing is that a lot of people still pay in cash.
[30:13.190 --> 30:19.310]  So if someone takes a ride and pays in cash, it's not stored in the database, you can't do it.
[30:20.510 --> 30:22.750]  And again, the last four digits were received by the TLC.
[30:23.510 --> 30:25.390]  So you can't track it through the TLC database.
[30:25.570 --> 30:26.670]  It's very difficult.
[30:27.890 --> 30:33.030]  Seeing as there's like, again, 17,500 rides per hour, it's going to be...
[30:33.030 --> 30:36.010]  The math is pretty good that you're going to have multiples of the same last four digits.
[30:40.610 --> 30:42.290]  My slightly helpful network diagram.
[30:43.170 --> 30:50.990]  For those of you who haven't quite gotten it yet, it's that yellow tabs report to the system servers that their system belongs to.
[30:51.190 --> 30:57.710]  And then those system servers filter their results and send only the results that TLC requires to the TLC servers.
[30:58.190 --> 31:02.410]  TLC doesn't get any of that potentially hazardous data.
[31:02.670 --> 31:04.910]  It only gets the cleaned up version of the data.
[31:08.430 --> 31:10.130]  So why did the cabbies go on strike?
[31:10.290 --> 31:12.510]  It seems like most of these things are mitigated.
[31:12.990 --> 31:14.870]  Only the owners get to see where they're going.
[31:15.630 --> 31:17.890]  You're not really tracking them all the time.
[31:18.570 --> 31:21.890]  You're tracking them in a matter that can be harmful to them.
[31:22.050 --> 31:23.130]  You're tracking them by the owner.
[31:23.450 --> 31:26.890]  You're not reporting all that data to the TLC.
[31:26.890 --> 31:32.110]  You're not reporting all that data to a government agency.
[31:32.810 --> 31:35.290]  You're storing that on a third-party server.
[31:35.870 --> 31:41.790]  It's not so hazardous that you'd want to go on strike and lose thousands of dollars a day.
[31:41.930 --> 31:51.270]  But the thing is, the main reason behind this, and this is my opinion here, the main reason behind this is money.
[31:51.690 --> 31:55.230]  These drivers report their own earnings to the IRS.
[31:56.090 --> 31:59.370]  Their earnings are being reported to a government server.
[31:59.710 --> 32:01.410]  They are concerned about this.
[32:01.630 --> 32:08.950]  Because before, where they could maybe under-report their earnings, now, if they're audited, it's all there in black and white.
[32:09.590 --> 32:10.650]  They don't like that.
[32:12.130 --> 32:18.750]  Also, the GPS system, I've heard this from cabbies, is about 5% of the total cost of the car.
[32:18.750 --> 32:28.470]  So when you're taking that into account, you know, independent drivers and fleet drivers, or fleet owners rather, are taking a bigger hit on this than they would originally.
[32:28.890 --> 32:37.930]  But the good news is that the GPS system was implemented when a hefty increase in the taxi fare was put in place by one of the mayors.
[32:37.930 --> 32:38.750]  I forget which.
[32:39.310 --> 32:44.230]  But he put a taxi increase in, and tacked onto that was that this GPS system would go in.
[32:44.430 --> 32:49.130]  So, in theory, they shouldn't be losing, really, any money on this.
[32:50.570 --> 33:00.170]  But they still struck, because, you know, they were afraid that all their data would be reported, and that they'd be audited more easily, and then they'd start, you know, having to report all their earnings, and there'd go all that nice money.
[33:04.030 --> 33:07.830]  So, what are the benefits of the cuffs of the driver in the industry that would make us want to do this?
[33:07.910 --> 33:12.650]  What can we now do that would rationalize the even minute risks that we're taking?
[33:15.510 --> 33:17.910]  The first benefit is that the most obvious one.
[33:18.350 --> 33:19.650]  Lost items are not lost for long.
[33:20.910 --> 33:28.870]  If you look in the database of lost items, you see, like, cell phones, pocketbooks, things that are left in the back of the taxi cab that people call in, and like, oh my god, I forgot this.
[33:29.030 --> 33:29.970]  I was just here.
[33:30.690 --> 33:38.390]  And now, back in the day, you couldn't look at, like, all the trip sheets in real time, and figure out, oh, this cab was over here.
[33:38.510 --> 33:39.590]  You're obviously in this one.
[33:39.650 --> 33:40.130]  Let's call him.
[33:40.250 --> 33:56.010]  But now, with the system in place, there's a method for you to call 3-1-1, and then get forwarded to TLC operators, and then they will take care of you, and you tell them, you know, I went from here, and I got dropped off here, and here's the last four digits of my credit card,
[33:56.010 --> 33:58.190]  or here's the medallion number.
[33:58.350 --> 33:58.830]  That's beautiful.
[33:59.010 --> 33:59.770]  Always keep the receipt.
[33:59.890 --> 34:00.790]  Medallion numbers are great.
[34:02.590 --> 34:07.050]  And they can figure out from, like, three or four of those data points which cab you're in.
[34:07.150 --> 34:17.610]  And from that, they can either SMS the cab, or they can give a call to the fleet owner and say, hey, when this cab comes in, check it for, like, this cell phone in the back.
[34:17.950 --> 34:23.290]  And then you can have your data back within, like, minutes instead of weeks or never.
[34:28.860 --> 34:31.020]  The other good thing we get from this is statistics.
[34:31.550 --> 34:35.940]  Statistics are always great when you have a regulatory agency regulating all the stuff that happens.
[34:37.400 --> 34:43.090]  Data... the data that's available helps set the rate that cabs are leased at, and the rate of fares.
[34:43.090 --> 35:04.400]  So, if, for example, the TLC starts to see that cabbies are getting less money, that gas is increasing but fares aren't increasing with it, that, you know, certain times of day there's no cabs on the road, they can adjust the lease rate and adjust the fare rate to make it so that cabbies are doing better.
[35:07.110 --> 35:09.380]  Also, evaluating the implementation of different projects.
[35:09.520 --> 35:12.880]  For example, the fleet is shifting over to hybrids now.
[35:14.440 --> 35:18.660]  So, they're tracking, you know, does the hybrid cab do more business than an average cab?
[35:18.820 --> 35:19.840]  Does it get a better tip?
[35:19.960 --> 35:21.640]  Does it, you know, make more trips?
[35:21.780 --> 35:23.050]  Does it go to certain places more?
[35:24.700 --> 35:29.800]  The other thing is also accessible dispatch is another one of the things that we're doing, or TLC is doing.
[35:31.660 --> 35:38.820]  The accessible dispatch program is where you call 311, ask the dispatcher, or ask the operator to send you the dispatcher.
[35:38.860 --> 35:43.500]  The dispatcher will dispatch an accessible medallion cab to come pick you up if you're in a wheelchair.
[35:44.240 --> 35:46.940]  And this is hopefully making, you know, New York City more accessible.
[35:47.200 --> 35:48.260]  It's still in alpha testing.
[35:48.420 --> 35:49.200]  You can't use it yet.
[35:49.500 --> 35:50.460]  But it's coming.
[35:50.640 --> 35:52.120]  And if we see...
[35:52.120 --> 36:00.500]  If TLC sees good results from the accessible dispatch program, which will be borne out in the statistics, then they can go ahead and, you know, make changes to it or implement it.
[36:00.960 --> 36:02.660]  And also the effectiveness of incentives.
[36:02.780 --> 36:03.620]  They raise the lease rate.
[36:03.720 --> 36:04.840]  They raise the fare rate.
[36:04.960 --> 36:06.060]  How does that affect it?
[36:06.160 --> 36:08.960]  And if it affects it in a bad way, they can change it again.
[36:09.300 --> 36:26.020]  So the benefit that the average user and the owner and the fleet driver and the independent driver and the dubs gets from this more than outweighs, at least in my opinion, the possible risks of the system.
[36:28.260 --> 36:32.380]  The other projects that they're working on, they are working on...
[36:32.380 --> 36:33.800]  What time is it?
[36:34.140 --> 36:34.420]  Good.
[36:34.560 --> 36:34.820]  Perfect.
[36:36.060 --> 36:38.800]  By October, all new cabs...
[36:38.800 --> 36:41.520]  Again, I said, you know, cabs are phased out in five-year implements.
[36:41.700 --> 36:48.880]  So the next phase of cabs that's going in, by October, 25 miles per gallon mandatory for all cabs.
[36:48.880 --> 36:53.280]  All new cabs bought will have to be 25 miles per gallon or better, city mileage.
[36:54.080 --> 36:57.320]  The Crown Victoria gets, I think...
[36:57.320 --> 37:02.260]  It gets 16 on paper and about 11 on the books, or in real life.
[37:02.460 --> 37:03.820]  So it guzzles the gas.
[37:04.020 --> 37:06.760]  And this mandatory 25 miles per gallon...
[37:07.620 --> 37:12.340]  I was listening to the city council meeting, and a lot of the drivers are griping that, you know...
[37:12.340 --> 37:15.520]  Or a lot of the owners, rather, are griping because, you know, there's not enough hybrids.
[37:15.620 --> 37:17.640]  They take too much to hack up.
[37:17.640 --> 37:20.380]  They're not as safe as the Crown Victoria, which, again, is a tank.
[37:21.780 --> 37:25.700]  But, you know, 25 miles per gallon, you're going to make up that saving...
[37:25.700 --> 37:26.760]  You know, saving gas.
[37:27.020 --> 37:28.380]  Or make up that cost-saving gas.
[37:29.400 --> 37:31.180]  It's going to be 30 miles per gallon next year.
[37:31.500 --> 37:41.000]  And starting in 2009, black cars, which, you remember, the limousines, are going to start following roughly the same schedule of implementation in regards to timeline, but starting in 2009.
[37:41.500 --> 37:45.000]  Like I said, the Accessible Dispatch Program is going to start working again.
[37:45.000 --> 37:46.040]  It's still in alpha testing.
[37:46.820 --> 37:50.240]  They've got testers going out there, you know, working on this stuff.
[37:51.080 --> 37:52.700]  I've heard good reports, so that's good.
[37:54.900 --> 38:04.820]  But it's something that's coming up, that hopefully next time a foreign mayor comes to visit our city, he doesn't have to, like, strap himself to the back of a taxi if he's in a wheelchair.
[38:07.220 --> 38:08.880]  And the Taxi of Tomorrow.
[38:11.660 --> 38:12.100]  This...
[38:12.100 --> 38:13.100]  I know.
[38:13.380 --> 38:14.180]  It's really weird.
[38:14.340 --> 38:18.960]  But this is one of the designs that's coming out of the Taxi of Tomorrow program.
[38:19.160 --> 38:23.500]  There is no actual taxi on the market right now.
[38:23.600 --> 38:27.080]  You have to buy a family vehicle and hack it up to make it into a cab.
[38:27.380 --> 38:31.500]  So what New York City is trying to do is design the perfect cab.
[38:31.680 --> 38:33.140]  What would be the perfect cab?
[38:33.780 --> 38:37.340]  It has to be wheelchair accessible for disabled people.
[38:37.520 --> 38:38.580]  It has to be...
[38:39.050 --> 38:40.460]  People with disabilities, excuse me.
[38:40.680 --> 38:43.480]  It has to be safe for the driver.
[38:43.620 --> 38:45.520]  It has to have, you know, a large cargo capacity.
[38:47.100 --> 38:48.160]  This is a side view.
[38:48.460 --> 38:49.560]  This is how it'll open up.
[38:49.700 --> 38:50.300]  It's got...
[38:50.300 --> 38:52.780]  This is one of the designs that they're thinking of.
[38:55.500 --> 38:55.920]  Well...
[38:57.380 --> 38:59.040]  They're not necessarily thinking of this one.
[38:59.840 --> 39:02.700]  But in post-apocalyptic New York City, it might do well.
[39:04.880 --> 39:06.560]  And because everyone loves rims.
[39:09.200 --> 39:12.120]  That was at the Taxi07 kickoff.
[39:12.340 --> 39:15.560]  This was one of the models that was presented as sort of a joke.
[39:15.680 --> 39:16.780]  But it's still pretty cool.
[39:18.400 --> 39:22.900]  This is really exciting for the taxi industry.
[39:22.940 --> 39:25.380]  Because this is the Ford Transit Connect.
[39:25.580 --> 39:31.760]  This is one of the first cars that Ford has specifically made, or any company that's specifically made for a taxi.
[39:31.980 --> 39:35.860]  This is the first time that they're taking notice that the taxi industry is an actual industry.
[39:36.900 --> 39:39.880]  And an industry that they can market to and make money off of, rather.
[39:40.340 --> 39:43.040]  So, as you can see, it's small.
[39:43.320 --> 39:44.700]  Fits nicely on New York streets.
[39:45.040 --> 39:46.920]  Got big open doors.
[39:46.920 --> 39:48.660]  This is a look inside.
[39:49.900 --> 39:50.740]  Bench seating.
[39:51.120 --> 39:52.620]  You know, nice cleanable floors.
[39:53.040 --> 39:53.880]  Good partition.
[39:54.460 --> 39:58.400]  A really weird map of New York City that's in relief, but that's okay.
[40:00.280 --> 40:01.880]  Doors that open on both sides.
[40:02.440 --> 40:03.100]  Strongly built.
[40:04.300 --> 40:08.580]  This is another, slightly weird, car that's coming out.
[40:08.660 --> 40:09.380]  This is the...
[40:11.700 --> 40:12.900]  I forget what it's called.
[40:13.120 --> 40:15.320]  But this is another...
[40:15.320 --> 40:16.020]  The box.
[40:16.460 --> 40:22.880]  This is another cab that was developed by a car company to be marketed to taxis, specifically.
[40:23.180 --> 40:26.160]  And it fits an entire family inside.
[40:26.740 --> 40:31.360]  You might remember that the Crown Victoria is a little cramped in the back.
[40:31.360 --> 40:33.480]  You can fit in three, four people.
[40:34.860 --> 40:36.600]  But there's a family inside of that one.
[40:37.280 --> 40:38.480]  Which is exactly what you want.
[40:38.580 --> 40:43.140]  Because you want space for people with disabilities to be able to get in there.
[40:43.260 --> 40:45.340]  You want people with strollers to be able to get in there.
[40:45.400 --> 40:47.600]  You want people with luggage to be able to take their luggage in there.
[40:49.040 --> 40:50.580]  And it fits them rather comfortably.
[40:54.170 --> 40:55.240]  So, that's about it.
[40:55.340 --> 41:00.580]  Special thanks to TLC for letting me do this.
[41:01.720 --> 41:02.600]  Bear Stearns.
[41:02.900 --> 41:05.200]  Because I was originally working for Bear Stearns this summer.
[41:05.400 --> 41:06.520]  Which didn't work too well.
[41:08.340 --> 41:12.080]  And so, JPMorgan Chase placed us at non-profits around the city.
[41:12.240 --> 41:14.340]  And I got really lucky and was placed with TLC.
[41:14.820 --> 41:16.040]  Which are a great bunch of guys.
[41:16.320 --> 41:16.980]  And girls.
[41:19.680 --> 41:20.920]  2600 and The Last HOPE.
[41:21.280 --> 41:22.420]  Because here I am.
[41:23.040 --> 41:24.300]  Dr. Skippy the Wonder Donkey.
[41:24.500 --> 41:25.020]  Who I always thank.
[41:26.240 --> 41:27.920]  Kat for being my photographer.
[41:28.260 --> 41:29.700]  And, of course, the New York State DMV.
[41:30.340 --> 41:33.440]  Again, I am not a spokesman for the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
[41:33.580 --> 41:36.360]  Please do not take anything I've said at all as gospel.
[41:36.700 --> 41:38.460]  This can be completely wrong for all I know.
[41:40.740 --> 41:41.860]  So, that's that.
[41:42.320 --> 41:46.160]  Now, that's not what I wanted to do at all.
[41:46.800 --> 41:47.280]  There.
[41:47.480 --> 41:47.740]  Okay.
[41:49.260 --> 41:50.220]  Hold on one second.
[41:50.680 --> 41:53.780]  Again, all this information is available at blog.nickleghorn.com.
[41:53.800 --> 41:56.420]  There are microphones there and there.
[41:56.560 --> 41:57.860]  If you could please use them.
[41:58.000 --> 42:01.300]  So that people listening in the future can understand what you're talking about.
[42:01.760 --> 42:02.680]  I'd appreciate it.
[42:02.840 --> 42:03.320]  Yes.
[42:03.760 --> 42:04.820]  I have two questions.
[42:05.200 --> 42:06.740]  The entire presentation is online.
[42:08.400 --> 42:08.880]  Yes.
[42:09.100 --> 42:09.740]  I have two questions.
[42:10.600 --> 42:12.000]  One thing I was wondering is.
[42:12.920 --> 42:16.160]  How do media updates go in the cab?
[42:16.300 --> 42:17.860]  For example, the shows and the content?
[42:17.860 --> 42:19.720]  All the data is pulled over the...
[42:19.720 --> 42:25.140]  As far as I can tell, I only saw the innards of the digital dispatch program, which is the photo you saw.
[42:25.600 --> 42:28.100]  But it seems like all the data is transmitted over the cell network.
[42:28.320 --> 42:28.460]  Wow.
[42:28.460 --> 42:31.900]  So, when new data comes out, it goes out to the cabs.
[42:32.160 --> 42:32.320]  Okay.
[42:32.900 --> 42:34.440]  The other question I had.
[42:34.620 --> 42:40.720]  You told me that there are three companies who handle the credit card transactions and the media, everything which is inside.
[42:41.480 --> 42:46.480]  Isn't it possible for these companies to collect both credit card information and GPS data?
[42:46.760 --> 42:48.100]  Because it's safe, right?
[42:49.360 --> 42:50.480]  But that data...
[42:52.800 --> 42:58.880]  Taxing and losing commission has gotten a lot of flack over this program, in particular, because they're collecting all this data.
[42:59.440 --> 43:03.140]  And the three companies themselves are...
[43:03.720 --> 43:05.720]  It's broken up into three companies.
[43:05.720 --> 43:09.600]  So, you've got a one in three chance of hitting the right database for your information.
[43:10.140 --> 43:11.260]  And that is a concern.
[43:12.160 --> 43:15.680]  But, again, the same concern when you swipe your credit card anywhere at any store.
[43:15.860 --> 43:17.280]  I don't know which one I read.
[43:17.400 --> 43:17.740]  I trust it.
[43:18.140 --> 43:20.240]  One government organization with three private owned companies.
[43:20.380 --> 43:20.940]  I don't know what this is.
[43:21.320 --> 43:21.440]  Right.
[43:21.500 --> 43:24.540]  Well, it's the best system that they can come up with.
[43:25.620 --> 43:25.980]  So...
[43:25.980 --> 43:26.540]  Excuse me.
[43:26.580 --> 43:29.980]  Do you know the fastest way to disable that line?
[43:30.610 --> 43:34.400]  Because, A, number one, is that there's like no off button that you can.
[43:34.540 --> 43:35.520]  So, it's like always blaring at you.
[43:35.580 --> 43:39.500]  And second is, sometimes I would just like to stay in Google Maps mode.
[43:39.680 --> 43:43.860]  And it always minimizes after 10 seconds and starts scrolling all these banner ads and everything.
[43:44.140 --> 43:45.880]  So, is there any way to get rid of the ads?
[43:46.080 --> 43:48.840]  Well, at least either get rid of ads or just turn off the frequency.
[43:49.060 --> 43:50.760]  Depends on the system in use.
[43:51.560 --> 43:55.300]  Certain systems, I know, you just hit the maximize button and there it is for the rest of your trip.
[43:56.540 --> 43:58.420]  Some systems have the easy off button.
[43:58.580 --> 44:00.920]  Some you just have to like lower the brightness and the volume to where it's off.
[44:01.400 --> 44:01.780]  Okay.
[44:01.780 --> 44:02.640]  It depends on the system.
[44:02.980 --> 44:03.820]  It's system independent.
[44:04.000 --> 44:07.900]  But they have to have, excuse me, those controls implemented in the system.
[44:08.100 --> 44:09.800]  So, there's always an off switch you're saying?
[44:09.900 --> 44:11.220]  There's always some way to turn it off.
[44:11.360 --> 44:12.160]  There always has to be.
[44:13.700 --> 44:18.500]  Are the, are each cab online full time, is it a persistent connection?
[44:18.700 --> 44:22.280]  Because it sounded like in your presentation they were dropping breadcrumbs like every four seconds.
[44:22.280 --> 44:27.340]  They're going through the city when they're basically, when they have a passenger.
[44:27.580 --> 44:30.400]  So, that, is that self connection persistent then?
[44:30.420 --> 44:30.900]  I'm not sure.
[44:31.200 --> 44:33.900]  Again, I ask a lot of these questions to the providers themselves.
[44:34.180 --> 44:38.200]  But they deem to not respond to me for unknown reasons.
[44:38.480 --> 44:40.220]  Probably because I'm presenting it at a hacker convention.
[44:42.620 --> 44:44.020]  But I'm not sure.
[44:44.280 --> 44:48.660]  All I know for a solid fact is that they transmit the data at the end of the trip.
[44:49.080 --> 44:55.720]  Because you could, it would seem that you could also then triangulate on, on where that cell phone's signal went.
[44:56.380 --> 45:00.760]  And so you not only have the GPS signal, but you also have the cell phone signal that you could key on.
[45:01.280 --> 45:04.840]  And again, you could know the driver's cell phone number and be tracking the driver's cell phone at the same time.
[45:04.840 --> 45:05.100]  Most certainly.
[45:05.620 --> 45:08.100]  So it's, it's not new concerns.
[45:08.280 --> 45:12.540]  It's all, it's the same concerns that we've had for a while now, just in a different form.
[45:13.100 --> 45:13.580]  Okay.
[45:14.100 --> 45:16.480]  Is it possible to send SMS to the driver?
[45:17.120 --> 45:17.600]  Yourself?
[45:17.960 --> 45:19.400]  Or from any other system?
[45:21.300 --> 45:22.200]  I don't know.
[45:23.840 --> 45:25.240]  I don't know how to find out.
[45:25.580 --> 45:26.380]  The answer is no.
[45:26.800 --> 45:27.080]  Okay.
[45:27.480 --> 45:37.580]  And the second thing I just wanted to add, that another reason why the drivers were protesting against GPS, is because the, the system will be able, TLC will be able to see their hours.
[45:37.860 --> 45:40.840]  And there's a 12 hour limit on how long the drivers can drive.
[45:41.220 --> 45:43.920]  And before, TLC could not see that.
[45:44.200 --> 45:46.280]  But now they can and they get less workable hours.
[45:48.340 --> 45:56.580]  Again, it's, it's, it's been a policy of tax and losing commission, I believe, or a rule that they can, you know, only work a certain number of hours.
[45:56.840 --> 46:00.640]  And this is just another way of making sure that they're following the rules.
[46:00.640 --> 46:05.000]  Um, you say that you're not an official spokesperson for the TLC.
[46:05.140 --> 46:05.480]  No.
[46:05.800 --> 46:14.400]  But yet, um, as a TLC taxicab driver, New York City registered taxicab driver, you are a eloquent spokesperson for the TLC.
[46:14.680 --> 46:28.800]  You actually hit every single talking point that the TLC produces through all of its material, that we are forced to take through all of our classes, and that most of the garages and fleets actually hate to talk about.
[46:28.800 --> 46:34.060]  Um, the answers to some of the questions that are, uh, that the people have asked.
[46:34.200 --> 46:40.040]  One, the system is online as soon as the taxicab driver punches in his PIN number.
[46:40.200 --> 46:47.280]  And that system, that actual medallion system, is a high-speed Internet connection.
[46:47.880 --> 46:52.600]  Um, and so each car actually has its own cell phone signal.
[46:52.600 --> 46:59.040]  So if you go to the garage, you can actually sit there and you can start tracking every single car by their GPS system.
[46:59.200 --> 47:02.280]  Or you can start tracking it through their, their cell phone system.
[47:03.440 --> 47:04.620]  Um, let's see other things.
[47:04.900 --> 47:15.740]  The Asian drivers, one of the reasons why they were protesting is because after September 11th, they, uh, received a increased discrimin... there was an increase of discrimination up against them.
[47:15.920 --> 47:24.140]  Um, where taxicab drivers were actually being pulled over out on the street, and, uh, being interrogated and being removed off the job.
[47:24.440 --> 47:34.800]  They didn't want to be tracked because they don't like to be tracked, because they have, uh, uh, a disproportionate amount of discrimination amongst Asian taxicab drivers.
[47:34.800 --> 47:45.300]  The one particular slide that you showed about Dominicans is, um, slightly incorrect, because the, the for hire, um, uh, population has skewed that.
[47:45.820 --> 47:53.260]  Most taxicab drivers are from the Southeast Asian continent, primarily from Pakistan and India and Afghanistan.
[47:53.660 --> 47:58.800]  Though there has been a very unique trend about, uh, increase of Tibetan taxicab drivers.
[47:59.640 --> 48:08.420]  Um, one particular question to you is that, uh, are there any known, uh, reports of the system being hacked?
[48:09.640 --> 48:10.880]  I have not heard any.
[48:11.380 --> 48:21.840]  Um, I know of one person who, uh, their system crashed in the middle of their, uh, their riot, and they were able to work on the embedded Windows XP system that's behind it.
[48:22.420 --> 48:26.880]  Uh, that's, that's the only, uh, time I've known of it to happen.
[48:26.960 --> 48:29.500]  I don't know of any way to make it crash.
[48:29.500 --> 48:32.200]  I don't know of any way to hack it in particular.
[48:34.060 --> 48:38.400]  Um, and a couple of your other points, uh, that me being the stool pigeon for the TLC.
[48:38.600 --> 48:39.580]  I didn't call you a stool pigeon.
[48:39.720 --> 48:41.040]  I just said that you were quoting for beta.
[48:41.080 --> 48:41.320]  I know, I know.
[48:41.800 --> 48:45.020]  Um, but this is, again, as I said, my own research.
[48:45.220 --> 48:48.640]  They basically said, um, you want to do this, you find out on your own.
[48:48.740 --> 48:50.240]  And so this is what I've came up with.
[48:50.880 --> 48:54.180]  Um, uh, or other things.
[48:54.320 --> 48:55.920]  Thank you for being a New York City taxi driver.
[48:56.160 --> 48:57.660]  Uh, that's good stuff.
[48:57.660 --> 49:01.540]  Um, and, and one last moment to, to anybody who does want to hack it.
[49:01.740 --> 49:05.060]  Don't hack it while the taxi cab driver is in the front seat.
[49:05.140 --> 49:10.080]  Because as soon as they log into that system, I mean, once that system goes down, their day is f*cked.
[49:10.460 --> 49:13.820]  And so, uh, if you want to hack it, become a taxi cab driver.
[49:14.340 --> 49:19.780]  You, you pay $120 to $150 for 12 hours access to the cab.
[49:19.780 --> 49:23.160]  And, and, and, you know, you, you can then do it yourself.
[49:23.540 --> 49:27.480]  And, and you can return the cab back and say, shit's f*cked up, man.
[49:34.160 --> 49:34.740]  Thank you.
[49:36.620 --> 49:39.660]  Hi, um, I've been wondering over the last few years.
[49:40.140 --> 49:42.220]  Two o'clock in the morning, three o'clock in the morning.
[49:42.340 --> 49:44.300]  Cabs are going back and forth, back and forth.
[49:44.600 --> 49:45.800]  They're totally empty.
[49:46.340 --> 49:48.700]  Bus stops are packed, the buses aren't running.
[49:48.700 --> 49:55.580]  Could there be some sort of bidding system, a light on the cab, that the guys could just take a buck less or something?
[49:55.780 --> 49:59.880]  Because it just seems an inefficient marketplace at 4 a.m.
[50:00.300 --> 50:05.320]  With people at bus stops, buses not showing up, cabs going back and forth with the price of gas.
[50:05.580 --> 50:07.340]  It just seems a logical step.
[50:07.340 --> 50:11.880]  So I'm wondering, is there any city that they actually do some sort of a free market system?
[50:11.880 --> 50:13.880]  That's something you're going to have to talk to TLC about.
[50:14.320 --> 50:15.240]  Um, I...
[50:15.240 --> 50:17.600]  Were they even, is that good or bad to them?
[50:17.600 --> 50:18.360]  I don't know.
[50:19.480 --> 50:21.500]  Um, I, you'll have to talk to them about it.
[50:21.580 --> 50:21.860]  All right.
[50:21.900 --> 50:24.960]  Because I'm only here for the TPAP system.
[50:25.280 --> 50:25.340]  Right.
[50:25.560 --> 50:25.740]  Okay.
[50:25.940 --> 50:27.700]  So, again...
[50:27.700 --> 50:28.680]  What, what do you think of that idea?
[50:30.480 --> 50:32.580]  I haven't given enough thought to have an opinion on it yet.
[50:32.840 --> 50:33.040]  Okay.
[50:33.240 --> 50:35.420]  I'll cogitate on that a bit and get back to you.
[50:36.780 --> 50:37.260]  All right.
[50:37.500 --> 50:39.420]  So, uh, this is a hacker conference, right?
[50:39.740 --> 50:54.960]  So, if they're connected by cell all the time, depending on which cell network they are, they could be going through some kind of proxy or concentrator or, in the case of some nameless evils, they could be directly connected to the Internet and, say, an end map scan would probably be really entertaining.
[50:55.760 --> 50:58.940]  Has this been red teamed or, I mean, has anybody tested this?
[50:59.120 --> 51:02.900]  It hasn't been hacked yet isn't really a very good response to it's secure.
[51:03.580 --> 51:03.980]  Yeah.
[51:04.580 --> 51:06.900]  Um, I haven't seen any data on that.
[51:07.420 --> 51:07.820]  Um...
[51:07.820 --> 51:08.860]  Can I get the IP range?
[51:09.260 --> 51:09.380]  Hmm?
[51:10.400 --> 51:10.800]  Get...
[51:10.800 --> 51:11.000]  No?
[51:11.540 --> 51:11.940]  Uh...
[51:11.940 --> 51:13.240]  I haven't seen any data on that.
[51:13.480 --> 51:13.880]  I don't...
[51:13.880 --> 51:17.420]  Again, I asked the systems for any information pertaining to this.
[51:17.620 --> 51:21.780]  I asked them about, you know, uh, what kind of pen-testing did you do on this?
[51:21.880 --> 51:24.640]  What kind of, uh, systems are you running on the back of this?
[51:24.720 --> 51:26.000]  How secure is the system?
[51:26.160 --> 51:27.320]  And all I got was silence.
[51:27.620 --> 51:32.140]  So, you know, I'd love to give you the answers, but I don't have them to give.
[51:32.140 --> 51:32.900]  I'm sorry.
[51:34.860 --> 51:37.540]  I, I do like the idea of running the taxi cab for the day.
[51:37.920 --> 51:38.820]  Anybody else free tomorrow?
[51:39.400 --> 51:46.880]  Uh, if you go to TaxiNYC.tv, it's my blog on how you became, or how to become a taxi cab driver.
[51:47.220 --> 51:51.060]  And it's gonna cost you $500 and pretty much take you a month to get the license.
[51:51.400 --> 51:52.100]  Delivery license.
[51:52.420 --> 51:53.580]  What do I have to pay you for a day?
[51:54.400 --> 51:57.920]  Uh, I, my, my fees are a little bit more expensive.
[51:59.400 --> 52:00.680]  That's how to become a taxi driver.
[52:01.000 --> 52:03.860]  Um, cause I, I thought the question would come up.
[52:04.120 --> 52:09.620]  Um, because, you know, at the beginning of the, uh, beginning of the summer, I'm a guy who likes a lot of licenses.
[52:09.900 --> 52:12.000]  So I figured, you know, I'm not really working for the TLC.
[52:12.220 --> 52:14.260]  I'm a consultant working with the TLC.
[52:15.120 --> 52:18.280]  Um, and, you know, I figured, you know, I might as well get my license while I'm here.
[52:18.280 --> 52:22.320]  So, I upgraded myself to a Class E license and I started the process.
[52:22.520 --> 52:23.700]  I've been too lazy to finish it.
[52:23.900 --> 52:29.700]  But, um, it's relatively easy if you know the city to get a hack license.
[52:29.920 --> 52:32.440]  You just have to pay the money and take the test in the class.
[52:38.600 --> 52:39.000]  So...
[52:39.000 --> 52:39.720]  Next.
[52:39.720 --> 52:43.420]  Is there a fee for using a credit card to the driver?
[52:44.120 --> 52:46.860]  You said he was responsible for any fraud that might happen.
[52:47.580 --> 52:48.440]  But, uh...
[52:48.440 --> 52:54.020]  If, if the credit card is fake, then he, uh, takes, he eats the...
[52:54.020 --> 52:55.740]  I see that my time is up, apparently.
[52:56.240 --> 52:58.240]  Uh, he eats the, uh, fee.
[52:58.240 --> 53:01.290]  But, um, I'm not sure if there's a, uh...
[53:02.420 --> 53:04.720]  If there's an amount that he, he pays for the credit card transaction.
[53:05.020 --> 53:06.060]  I'll have to look into it.
[53:07.260 --> 53:07.600]  55%.
[53:08.120 --> 53:08.860]  There you go!
[53:10.580 --> 53:11.400]  Thank you very much.
[53:11.580 --> 53:11.920]  Thank you.