As the TLC will soon be requiring all NYC Taxis to accept credit cards, I sincerely hope they get it right this time. Based on what I am seeing however, I don't have much hope for success. I've followed the first two pilots closely and at this point it's clear what will be required. The success of this initiative will depend heavily on whether someone is able to come up with a taximeter truly suitable for credit card transactions. The current variety, although somewhat more reliable than previous, simply doesn't have a human interface usable enough to be practical. They're unintuitive, complicated and unreliable. As a result, drivers shy away from using them, or simply can't get them to work. (Many actually lie and tell pbuttengers the equipment is out of order). I attempt to pay with a credit card each and every time I get in a cab equipped to accept them. To date, I've only been able to successfully pay about 50% of the time. (� and that's much Essentially, what will be required is a meter that has all the basic features, plus the following: 1) A Large LCD Display - Backlit, multi-line, so as to provide prompts and status messages. 2) A Numeric Keypad - A simple flat pullout type for easy data entry. Once the meter has a usable familiar interface, drivers will be much less reluctant to use it. Wireless communication is the other big issue. The current meter uses a cellular link to approve CC charges. I don't know what provider they're using, but coverage is extremely poor and unpredictable. (Probably T-Mobile GPRS) As is so often the case, they're rolling out a consumer product before the technology can solidly support it. AC
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