Taxi officials announce contingency plan for NYC taxi strike

NEW YORK (AP) - Under a contingency plan for Monday's anticipated taxi strike, the city's remaining yellow cabs will be required to pick up multiple passengers, the Taxi & Limousine Commission announced Thursday.

Under the plan, passengers will each pay $10, plus $5 for each new “zone” they pass through. Manhattan will be divided into four zones, and each of the outer boroughs will be considered a zone.

Rides between Manhattan and the city's airports will also be subject to a flat, per-person fare of $20 for LaGuardia and $30 for Kennedy. If necessary, city officials will also allow livery cabs to pick up passengers trying to wave down a ride.

The Taxi Workers Alliance says it's calling the 24-hour walkout—the group's second in as many months—because of planned GPS and credit-card systems that the group believes invade drivers' privacy and cut their incomes. The group says it represents about one-fifth of the city's 44,000 licensed cabbies.

The taxi commissioner says passengers in taxis equipped with credit card machines are better tippers, and the city has said the technology won't be used to track drivers.

The Alliance pronounced last month's two-day strike a resounding success, but city officials said its impact was minimal. The two sides disputed the extent of cabbies' participation, but probably thousands of drivers idled their taxis, with the Alliance putting the figure at tens of thousands.