TV’s in the cabs

Images Tv’s in the cabs.  I hate them.  I turn them off the second I get in the cab.  First of all, there is plenty to look at outside the window of your cab in NYC.  Not only do I now get to hear the music the cab driver is playing in the background while he chats endlessly on his cell phone, I can now listen to Al Roker tell me the latest weather report.  To me, the TV is just one big advertisement.  How much do we think that NBC is paying to own the luxury of being in thousands of cabs around NYC?  If I knew that the advertisements were keeping the fares down or paying for the health care of the taxi drivers, I might feel differently.  Instead, I feel as I am being force fed more media driven nonsense and have to pay for it.  I am thrilled when I get into a cab and they haven’t installed the TV. 

Perhaps, at the end of the day, I should just take the subway more.  At least I can choose to read the ads posted in the subway or not.  I’d like to see a survey of cab riders.  Thumbs up or thumbs down for the taxi TVs?  I am voting thumbs down.

Comments (Archived):

  1. rachel

    they are so terrible…I’m with you.

  2. rachel

    I’m with you — they suck.

  3. nico

    I might be on the opposite side of the fence on this one. TV – the drug of the nation – has the potential to soothe the savage beast, no? So while I myself may not love Taxi TV, I tend to think the drivers might like it. Why? Think of all the kids, drunks, and other people who potentially get in cabdrivers faces on a regular basis with inane, or often completely offensive, behavior. I would be interested to see the stats on drivers’ satisfaction for Taxi TV and also, to see if over time it causes a decline in violence/abusive behavior towards cabbies.

  4. Mary

    I’m definitely with you. I hate the tvs. Too loud and too annoying.

  5. P4aC

    totally. THUMBS DOWN!!! Honestly, they give me a headache, especially at night b/c they’re so bright and noisy. But if they did keep rates down, then it definitely would be a different story. Then again, in Japan they put advertisements on the hand rails in the subway cards. Talk about inundation.