Nissan NV200, with power outlets and a transparent roof, will cost $29,000
As New Orleans officials prepare to vote on comprehensive changes to city laws that govern the taxi industry -- including requiring cabs to have navigation systems and credit card machines, and to be less than seven years old -- New York City leaders recently announced that Big Apple cabbies soon will be required to drive the specially commissioned "Taxi of Tomorrow."
New York City cabbies will be required by late next year to replace their aging vehicles with the specially commissioned "Taxi of Tomorrow," a Nissan NV200.The Nissan NV200 is expected to cost about $29,000 and include airplane-style reading lights, power outlets to charge smartphones and laptops, a transparent roof for skyline views and flooring made from antimicrobial material that kills germs and absorbs smells, according to published reports.
Big Apple cabbies will be required to buy the new vehicles as they retire their iconic Ford Crown Victoria and Checker cabs.
New Orleans taxi drivers have complained that the slate of locally proposed changes will cost them upward of $20,000 per vehicle, though city officials have pegged the price tag at a tenth that cost.
The local overhaul package had been scheduled for a vote by the City Council last week. But all 32 proposed ordinances were postponed so Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration could undertake "minor drafting revisions that could not be corrected simply with amendments," spokesman Ryan Berni said.
"The changes are not substantive," he said.
The ordinances are expected to come up at the council's April 19 meeting.