Taxi

It's going to cost you more to take a taxi in Philadelphia starting today. A $1.25 per trip fuel surcharge went into effect at midnight. The Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority,which regulates taxis in the city, approved the surcharge at its meeting April 23. The added cost will remain in effect until May 31. The PPD board will determine if the surcharge needs to be extended through June at its monthly meeting set for May...

A Yellow Cab driver was wounded early today during a robbery by a man he picked up in Southwest Philadelphia, police said. The driver, George Chippendale, 36, picked up the fare at 31st Street and Grays Ferry Avenue about 3:10 a.m. and was instructed to drive to 55th and Regent streets, police said. However, the suspect stuck a handgun to Chippendale's back at 55th and Woodland Avenue and demanded the cabbie's money. Chippendale struggled with the gunman and was shot once in the back of his shoulder; the bullet pierced his right forearm, police said.

Taxi drivers and officials of Philadelphia International Airport said yesterday that they had reached agreement on dispatching procedures and rule enforcement at the airport, clearing up disputes that led to a daylong strike by drivers. Cabbies from four companies went back to work Wednesday night after the agreement was reached about 7:30 p.m. during a three-hour meeting of airport and driver representatives, said Bernie Goldberg, president of the drivers in the United Cab Association.

Four adults and four children riding in a taxicab were injured, one critically, when the taxi was broadsided by a Greyhound bus last night at the intersection of Ninth and Arch Streets in the city's Chinatown section. Several witnesses and the cabdriver said the bus, carrying about 10 people from State College, went through a red light about two blocks from the Greyhound terminal on Arch Street. "I started up at the green light, and the bus was coming pretty fast," said United Cab Co. driver Anthony Wolsak, 63, who suffered a cut on his head.

A battling cab driver wrestled with two armed would-be robbers, starting a fight last night on a suburban road that left one suspect critically wounded, according to authorities. The incident, as recounted by Yellow Cab security officials, began at 7:05 p.m. when the driver, identified by police as Yayha Abdullah-Aziz, 38, responded to a radio call in Southwest Philadelphia. Abdullah-Aziz, who told officials he has been driving for Yellow Cab since January 1986 and had been robbed once before, said he picked up two youths who were sitting on the steps outside a house on 56th Street near Warrington.

Inad Ahmed watches the transformation of Iraq through the windshield of his taxi and hears about the changes in his countrymen from the browbeaten people who climb into his cab and spill their stories. There are hundreds of passengers, Ahmed said, and just as many opinions on how the U.S.-led war and its aftermath have altered the lives of ordinary Iraqis. The view from his dusty taxi is a vibrant testament to the difference a year can make in an American experiment to create a democracy.

I would like to clarify exactly why Philadelphia taxi drivers are opposed to the installation of GPS systems. The adverse effects of this contract are far reaching, and not limited to drivers. Longstanding customers will not be able to be serviced with any certainty or regularity due to drivers being forced to accept unwanted calls while en route. Once a fare is picked up, the driver will have to follow a computer-generated route, regardless of traffic, construction, etc. As for driver safety, it is absurd to let a computer randomly dispatch calls to the city's 1,600 cabs.

Philadelphia taxi drivers would speak English, know how to get to such landmarks as the Betsy Ross House, and operate clean, safe cabs under legislation headed for Gov. Casey's desk. The state Senate yesterday voted 47-2 to clean up and regulate Philadelphia cabs and impound "gypsy" or unlicensed cabs. The measure will get "decrepit, old, dirty-looking cabs" off the streets, said Sen. Frank Salvatore, R-Phila., the bill's sponsor. It also would require drivers to be fluent in English and know all local landmarks.

Police are looking for the driver of a blue and white taxi cab that struck a man crossing Aramingo Avenue in Port Richmond early Thursday and fled after stopping briefly. The injured 26-year-old man was reported in stable condition Thursday afternoon at Temple University Hospital. Police said he was crossing Aramingo Avenue in the middle of the 3300 block shortly after midnight when he was hit by the northbound cab. The taxi stopped briefly and then drove off northbound on the avenue, police said.

A man stole a patrol car late Thursday afternoon in Center City, apparently tried to run over a police officer, and then crashed into a taxi, injuring the cabdriver, police said. About 5:20 p.m., a Sixth District patrol car was unmanned during a traffic stop involving a taxi when Derrick Taylor, 28, of the 5200 block of Lebanon Street in West Philadelphia, got into the patrol car and sped toward the officer, said Lt. Frank Vanore, department spokesman. The officer jumped out of the way, and the patrol car crashed into the taxi, Vanore said.

It's going to cost you more to take a taxi in Philadelphia starting today. A $1.25 per trip fuel surcharge went into effect at midnight. The Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority,which regulates taxis in the city, approved the surcharge at its meeting April 23. The added cost will remain in effect until May 31. The PPD board will determine if the surcharge needs to be extended through June at its monthly meeting set for May...

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's capital is ready to stomp out its familiar Volkswagen "Bug" taxis. Officials announced Friday the cab licenses of the last of the old-style VW Beetles would expire by Dec. 31, marking the end of an adventurous if uncomfortable part of Mexico City life. The rounded, two-door sedan nicknamed the Bug - in Mexico, it's a Vocho - has long been an informal symbol of this sprawling city, a tough, rattling reflection of its gritty urbanity and chaotic streets.

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's capital is ready to stomp out its familiar Volkswagen "Bug" taxis. Officials announced Friday the cab licenses of the last of the old-style VW Beetles would expire by Dec. 31, marking the end of an adventurous if uncomfortable part of Mexico City life. The rounded, two-door sedan nicknamed the Bug - in Mexico, it's a Vocho - has long been an informal symbol of this sprawling city, a tough, rattling reflection of its gritty urbanity and chaotic streets.

I'VE NEVER been more grateful for my two good feet than I was after attending yesterday's public hearing about the need for more wheelchair-accessible taxicabs. Disabled citizens spoke movingly about how scary it is to be stranded in a bad neighborhood and know that passing cabs aren't equipped to get you off the street. About the tightened eligibility requirements of SEPTA's paratransit service. About the impossibility of being wheelchair-bound in Center City, unable to get to business appointments.

A taxicab hit a pedestrian and then crashed into a shoe store Thursday in Roxborough, police said. The taxi was traveling west on Leverington Avenue and turning left onto Ridge on a green light at 2:31 p.m. when it hit a 64-year-old man. Medics took him to Temple University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. The taxi crashed into the front of Sneakertown at 6188 Ridge Ave., but no other injuries were reported. - Robert Moran

An Atlantic City taxi driver who was stopped after a hit-and-run that killed an 88-year-old woman Saturday evening has been charged with traffic violations but no criminal charges had been filed by Sunday night. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's office identified the driver as Jean A. Sene, 43, of Atlantic City. Prosecutors said he left the scene of the incident, in the 1300 block of Pacific Avenue. Prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing. The victim, Bu Do Jo, was struck by the cab and subsequently hit by a jitney.

Ferry service between Philadelphia and Camden may be taken over next year by the Delaware River Waterfront Corp., which hopes to expand service and add three 25-passenger water taxis. The RiverLink ferry has been run since 1999 by the Delaware River Port Authority, which also owns four toll bridges and the PATCO commuter rail line between Philadelphia and South Jersey. The agency contracts with HMS Global Maritime Inc. of New Albany, Ind., to operate the ferry. Ridership was down significantly this year, and with ferry docks requiring expensive repairs, some DRPA board members had suggested getting out of the business rather than spending bridge-toll revenue on upkeep.

By Megan Ritchie Dear thief: You stole my wallet, my cameras - rendering my work temporarily impossible - my journal, and my new Colour Riche lipstick (Raspberries 231). You now know my address, my Social Security number, and my bank information. You know I am writing a children's book, that I collect grocery lists left behind at the supermarket, and that I keep a small chestnut in my bag that I found on the street when I met my husband - a talisman I took as a sign that I was in the right place at the right time.

Eileen Sabel's protest signs could be seen from all angles. She had a flier taped in front on her lap and three big signs fastened on the other sides of her wheelchair. Sabel, known as "Spitfire," wants wheelchair-accessible taxicabs. Monday night, when a bus she was riding broke down, she had to steer her powered wheelchair home in the rain. "I'm not a villain," said Sabel, 61, who lives in Germantown. "It's not fair. The word is dignity . " About 200 protesters from three groups gathered Tuesday morning outside the Convention Center to demand accessible taxicabs.