On Thursday, scooter startup Bird hosted a demonstration of its electric scooters in preparation for legislation that aim to make the company’s scooter-sharing service legal on the streets of New York City. While the scooters themselves are a joy to ride, I can’t help but worry New York will find a way to ruin the idea, like it ruins everything. As cities and states across the country seem unwilling to invest in public transit and infrastructure, they’re desperately turning to someone else—often tech companies—to figure out the problem of how people will get around. Hyperloops! Autonomous taxi cabs! Flying Ubers! The latest darling of the #mobility world is the electric scooter, but they aren’t legal in New York City. At least not yet. Bird, and some city officials want to change that, and they showed off what they have in mind. What yesterday’s demonstration proved is that electric scooters have a lot of potential in attracting a diverse group … [Read more...] about Will E-Scooters Be a Disaster For New York City?
Uber in new york city
The Night A Mazda Rotary Army Invaded New York City And R34 Skylines Were Legal
Crammed into a red Porsche 911 Turbo S Porsche convertible, we slotted into the traffic rolling towards Times Square with an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R pulling ahead of us. Beside it waited another R34 Skyline, a hen’s tooth Spec V Nür. For one moment, for that whole night, really, there was no 25-year import rule. There were no boring cars. Only rows and rows of rotary Mazdas, Japanese-market Toyotas, and Skylines upon Skylines. It was 7/7/2018, 7s Day New York City, put on by Prime, a celebration of all things Mazda rotary with hundreds of like-minded friends joining in the fun. Just as it was last year, when photos of widebody FD RX-7s cutting through the glow of Times Square, rubbing shoulders with lowriders, blew up across the automotive internet—except even bigger this time. This year, my boss Patrick George and I tagged along, invited a long with a set of directions not to be shared around (to “preventing questionable individuals from showing up and … [Read more...] about The Night A Mazda Rotary Army Invaded New York City And R34 Skylines Were Legal
By Subway, Bus and Uber in New York, With Twitter and Other Apps in Hand
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Personal Tech Subscribe Log In Subscribe Log In Advertisement Supported by Tech We’re Using ByEmma G. Fitzsimmons June 20, 2018 How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Emma G. Fitzsimmons, a reporter for The Times who covers New York City transit, discussed the tech she’s using. What tech tools are most important to stay on top of your beat covering New York City transportation? I take the subway to our newsroom in Times Square every day and experience the constant delays that New Yorkers love to complain about. Right now, I’m focused on what’s being done to fix the system and whether it’s working. I monitor the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s website to see if trains are running on time and use Twitter to find riders who are swept up in major incidents. The M.T.A. is working to … [Read more...] about By Subway, Bus and Uber in New York, With Twitter and Other Apps in Hand
A Sixth New York City Taxi Driver Has Committed Suicide After Falling Into Debt
A sixth New York City cab driver has committed suicide after falling into significant financial straits. It’s the latest in a string of deaths that, according to driver advocates, is connected to the proliferation of ride-hailing apps in the city like Uber and Lyft. Abdul Saleh, a Yemeni immigrant who worked as a yellow cab lease driver, was found dead Friday in his Brooklyn apartment, according to a statement from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. He’s at least the sixth financially struggling driver to commit suicide since November, and he’d been having difficultly covering his portion of a lease he shared with his driving partner. “Six of our brothers have now committed suicide in recent months, their livelihoods devastated by a business model that fails to recognize the basic humanity of the workers who keep our city moving and by a political system that prefers sound bytes to solutions to economic desperation,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive … [Read more...] about A Sixth New York City Taxi Driver Has Committed Suicide After Falling Into Debt
Taxis Drivers In New York City Are Taking Their Own Lives Due To Debt
It’s the fifth suicide in five months. Yu Mein Chow, a 56 year old living in Queens, was found dead in the East River on May 11. Having spent $700,000 on the coveted medallion that would allow him to operate a cab in the city, he found that he just couldn’t make enough driving his cab to make it worthwhile. With no other options, he chose to end his life. The New York Times has been following developments on these taxi driver suicides as they happen. In a world proliferated by ride shares like Uber that don’t require a taxi medallion and therefore undermine the importance of taxis, drivers are finding it harder and harder to make a living. The medallions are intended to limit the number of cab drivers and thus ensure their livelihood. But ridesharing apps like Uber had just made that useless because just about anyone can get behind the wheel. It’s a heartbreaking development. Drivers have been begging City Hall to make changes to protect their livelihood, … [Read more...] about Taxis Drivers In New York City Are Taking Their Own Lives Due To Debt