The Taxi and Limousine Commission wants all cabs to be equipped with anti-fraud software by Jan. 1 to stop unscrupulous taxi drivers from overcharging their customers.
The new equipment will be programmed in the meters to detect when drivers use “zappers” – an attachment to a taxi meter or its wiring system that illegally boosts mileage and customers’ fares during trips.
“We would like to have it in place by the first of the year. We’d like to roll into the new millennium with zapper detectors. The public deserves it,” TLC Chairwoman Diane McGrath-McKechnie said.
The TLC will hold a public hearing on Nov. 12 on the zapper busters.
It’s also awaiting approval of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which sanctions all measuring equipment. An agency spokesman said the device is under review.
“This goes to the heart of the taxi industry. You don’t overcharge people. We want meters out there that can’t be tampered with,” McKechnie said.
Taxi owners support installing anti-zappers.
“It’s a necessity. We have to reassure the public that they’re not only getting a safe ride, but that they are paying a fair price,” David Pollack, of the League of Mutual Taxi Owners, said.
But Pollack also said the TLC should raise the cab fare to finance the device, which costs about $130.
McKechnie said a fare increase is “not on my radar screen.”
The TLC conducted an experimental program with the technology earlier this year and found that it was able to successfully detect pulses in the meter that accelerated trip mileage – and bumped the fare.
The anti-fraud program requires that the taxi meter maintain a log and record and print the last 50 errors, and include the time, date and medallion number.
As an added bonus, the zapper detector also will report when the cab reaches speeds above 65 mph. That information could be retrieved when there’s an accident – to determine if the cabby was speeding, the TLC said.