NEWS NISSAN’S ‘TAXI
NEWS NISSAN’S ‘TAXI OF TOMORROW’ STANDARD NEW YORK CAB NAPCAPS SUBSCRIPTION From September 1, 2015, the Nissan NV200, known in New York City as the ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’, will (finally) be the new New York City taxicab. This is what a relieved Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) announced mid-July. After a legal battle which lasted years and centred around the question whether TLC had the right to mandate one taxi model, most taxi owners will be required to switch to the Nissan cab when they change their taxis. In June the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that the City (TLC) indeed had the right to pick one taxi model. This ended a lengthy challenge by opponents of the taxicab, mostly large New York medallion owners (licence holders). Apart from the Nissan NV200, taxi operators, depending on the type of medallion they hold, can also choose to run certain hybrid or wheelchair-accessible vehicles, also prescribed by the City. Already the boxy NV200 is the prevalent New York taxicab. Hundreds of medallion owners have already ordered the Nissan model, which has sliding doors and offers room for four passengers. It’s not known how many of the 13.500 taxi operators will go for the NV200, as TLC also wants to promote the use of cleaner and wheelchair-accessible taxi models. wf Taxicabs can be found everywhere. But these ‘Napcabs’ are rarely found on a taxi rank. At some German airports they offer weary travellers the chance to rest a while. But here the meter is running too … PUBLICATION INFORMATION Publisher taxi-times Verlags GmbH Frankfurter Ring 193a 80807 Munich, Germany Tel: +49 (0) 89 – 14 83 87 91 Fax: + 49 (0) 89 – 14 83 87 89 E-Mail: info@taxi-times.com Web: www.taxi-times.com Managing Director: Jürgen Hartmann Bank details Stadtsparkasse München BLZ 70150000, Account number 1003173828 IBAN: DE89701500001003173828 BIC: SSKMDEMM UST-ID: DE293535109 Handelsregister: Amtsgericht München HRB 209524 Desk Telefon: +49 (0) 89 – 14 83 87 91 Fax: + 49 (0) 89 – 14 83 87 89 E-Mail: redaktion@taxi-times.com Editor in Chief Jürgen Hartmann, j.hartmann@taxi-times.com Managing Editor (International) Wim Faber, w.faber@taxi-times.com Contributors to this issue Gunta Anca (ga), Thomas Brinch (thb), Berta Heide (bh), Geert Van Lierde (gvl), Jan van de Nes (jvdn), Axel Ulmer (au); Translation Probicon Layout Daniella Heil, Alan Peacock, Mareike Walter Lotte Rosa Buchholz (responsible) Raufeld Medien GmbH Paul-Lincke-Ufer 42/43, 10999 Berlin Tel: +49 (0) 30 695 665 - 89 Sales Management Elke Gersdorf, e.gersdorf@taxi-times.com Tel: +49 (0) 89 – 14 83 87 92 Fax: +49 (0) 89 – 14 83 87 89 Printing Chroma Druckerei Imwalidow 9, 68 200 Zarky, Poland Taxi-Times is published 6 times a year Price 6,80 € ISSN-Nr.: 2199-4048 Website: www.taxi-times.com/en PHOTO: Wim Faber (2) Fancy Taxi Times? Launch offer! Subscribe to the print issue of Taxi Times now and secure all editions 2015 for free! Simply scan QR code and order free copies! Or contact us: Mail: abo@taxi-times.com Phone.: +49 89 215 48 30 75 Free trial! Chosen in 2011, the Nissan NV200 finally becomes New York’s mandatory taxi model in 2015. COMBATTING THE ‘GRANDPARENT SCAM’ The scam is as simple as it is devious: The scammer poses as a relative, usually a grandchild, hence the name of the scam. He claims that he is in an emergency situation and asks the supposed grandmother to help him out with a few thousand euros as soon as possible. Since the conversation takes place only by phone and the money is collected by a third party under some pretext, the elderly person often does not even realise that the money is not going to her grandchild but rather to a mafia group, usually one from south-eastern Europe. The scammers like to use taxis for the necessary transport of the funds: discreet, anonymous, available on short notice, inexpensive and reachable at all hours. But it does not always work. Several months ago a taxi driver took notice when his passenger told him that she needed to go to the bank for her grandson, whom she had not seen in a long time. The taxi driver had caught onto the scam and took the elderly woman not to bank but instead to the police. In another incident, the police were also made aware of the scam before anything happened. With the help of a radio circuit that aided the officials with the investigation, the police showed up instead of the grandmother with the cash. Fellow drivers should therefore keep their eyes and ears open and be sure to report any suspicious observations to the police. Cowardly scammers prey on the most vulnerable members of our society and shamelessly take advantage of their generosity and gullible nature. Whenever this occurs, taxi drivers should avoid becoming the accomplices of gangsters – even unintentionally. tb News update Know what is happening in the taxi world The newsletter with international taxi topics · This always keeps you up to date · The latest updates from the taxi world · In English and German Register now for free below ... www.taxi-times.com/en/newsletter 26 taxi-times Verlags GmbH new: Frankfurter Ring 193a D-80807 Munich Tel.: Fax: Mail: +49 89 215 48 30 70 +49 89 215 48 30 79 info@taxi-times.com
