NYC Cabbies' Group Plans Strike, Bloomberg Plays Down Threat

NEW YORK (AP) -- A group of New York City taxi drivers is threatening to go on strike Wednesday over new rules requiring all cabs to have GPS and touch-screen monitors that will let passengers pay by credit card.

Read: City's Taxi Strike Contingency Plan

While playing down the likelihood of widespread disruption, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans Tuesday to institute group rides to and from LaGuardia and Kennedy airports if cabbies strike. Currently, drivers are allowed to pick up only one fare at a time.

"Our expectation at the moment is that there will be very few, if any, taxi drivers striking tomorrow and the next day,'' Bloomberg said at a news conference. "I think cooler heads will prevail.''

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is calling for drivers to go on strike for 48 hours beginning at 5 a.m. Wednesday to protest a requirement that the city's more than 13,000 cabs have the high-tech equipment when they come up for inspection, starting Oct. 1. The alliance claims to represent about one-fifth of the Taxi & Limousine Commission's 44,000 licensed drivers.

Some cabbies fear the video systems could be used to track drivers' movements and that drivers would get stuck paying hefty fees for credit card processing.