Stealing from the blind won’t be so easy anymore — at least not in New York City taxis.
City Councilman James Vacca and former Gov. David Paterson today unveiled ground-breaking new audio technology in yellow cabs to help blind and visually riders pay by credit card.
Previously, if a visually impaired rider wanted to pay by credit card, he or she had to ask the driver to come in the back, swipe their card and even enter the tip amount.
The technology also allows for the meter to keep an audio running toll of the fare throughout the journey.
Paterson — who is legally blind — said that’s an important feature for those with visual impairments.
“I’ve had at times felt the fare had to be a whole lot less than what I was being charged,” said Paterson.
“But I could never prove it.”
Those interested in using the technology have two options.
Riders can ask drivers to turn it on at any point during the trip, or they can request a special card from Creative Mobile Technologies — the taxi software company that created the program — that will let them start the audio instructions themselves with a swipe.
At the end of the trip, a voice command will prompt the rider where to press on the screen for credit card payment.
The screen is then transformed into large, easy to use blocks that riders can press to pay, complete with step-by-step audio instructions.
Paterson said he’d never paid a cab by credit card before, because it was too difficult. He plans to now.
Meanwhile, Ellen Rubin, an access consultant who is completely blind, said most drivers are helpful when she needs to pay by credit card.
But not all.
“I’ve even been ripped off by someone who thought a 30 percent tip was a good idea, despite what I wanted,” she said.
The new software comes after Vacca — chairman of the council’s transportation committee — introduced legislation requiring cabs to find a way to provide better credit card payment options for blind passengers.
But before the bill passed, CMT — which provides credit card billing software for about half of the city’s taxis — voluntarily agreed to create a program.
Vacca said his reasons for introducing the bill was “personal” because his father was blind.
“New York City is one of the most difficult places for blind and visually impaired individuals to navigate,” he said.
The technology will be implemented in 1250 taxi screens in New York City by the end of May, eventually climbing to all 6,600 CMT yellow taxi cabs.