by KYW’s Mark Abrams and Steve Tawa
Philadelphia cabbies say they won't be picking up fares through Wednesday morning in a protest over a new requirement for new electronic meters that include GPS tracking technology. And they made their point in a noisy demonstration Tuesday around City Hall.
A group representing some 3,000 city taxi drivers says its members are protesting the Philadelphia Parking Authority's orders that new electronic meters with GPS technology be installed in their cars by October.
The Parking Authority says the new meters will help them manage the city's taxi fleet, and detect drivers trying to pad fares.
At 30th Street Station there were no taxis at 8am. Officials were telling commuters to take SEPTA or be prepared to walk to work.
Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance, says this strike is aimed at the hotel and hospitality industry, which was pushing for the GPS meters, as well as the Parking Authority:
"We're going to keep striking every major convention that comes in this summer, we're going to strike. If they're going to impoverish the taxi drivers, we're going to impoverish the hospitality industry."
The Parking Authority was allowing limousines to operate as cabs for Tuesday only, in order to pick up the slack.
The work stoppage was expected to last for 24 hours, with a rally at 11am on Tuesday by cabbies around Dilworth Plaza, just across the street from City Hall.
Stay tuned to KYW Newsradio throughout the day for "Traffic and Transit on the Twos."
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