Abdul Quyyam, a driver who has installed the new system, was sore at having to pay five per cent of all credit card fares to the garage as service fee. At times, the credit card is denied, but the passenger has swiped it and left already, he said. "Who's responsible for the money?"
New York City drivers offer 800,000 rides a day. There are about 40,000 licensed yellow cab drivers, Matthew said. About 26,000 of them are active at any time, and around 55 percent of them are South Asian, he said.
The NYTWA led by Desai, is remembered for successfully organising in 1998 the city's first yellow cab strike in more than 20 years. Over 40,000 licensed drivers kept off the road in protest against then Mayor Rudy Giuliani administration's push for higher fines for drivers.
Image: A parking lot at La Guardia Airport where cab drivers usually wait to pick up passengers sits empty during the strike on September 5.
Also read: New York cabbies up in arms against GPS
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