Page 382 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

380  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Make sure your driver under- the corner behind as you cross.
stands where you want to go Midtown has several small parks
before you start your ride. If you and plazas where visitors can
have a map of the area, mark the rest. In the Broadway area you
locations you want. A driver should can take a break with a Times
not ask you your destination until Square view on the high tier of
after you’ve sat down, and by law steps behind the TKTS booth
must take you anywhere in the (Broadway and 47th St). Some of
city. They must follow your the surrounding blocks are traffic-
requests not to smoke or talk on a free and furnished with chairs.
cell phone, to open or close a The traffic islands around the
window, and to pick up or drop Lincoln Center also offer seating.
off passengers as you direct.
Each yellow cab Ferries
displays the driver’s
photograph and The 24-hour Staten
Taxis driving through an intersection registered number Island Ferry, also from
in SoHo next to the meter. If Battery Park, travels
drivers don’t comply the channel and offers
Taxis
with your requests, splendid views of
There are more than 13,000 you can report them lower Man hattan, the
yellow cabs in New York, easily to the Taxi & Limou­ Statue of Liberty, Ellis
identified by their color, the sine Commission. Island, the bridges,
distinctive logo on the door, and The use of taxi and Governors Island.
the light on top. A taxi can carry apps has increased, The round trip is the
up to four passengers, with a with Uber over- best bargain in New
single fare covering everyone on taking yellow cabs Signs in Midtown York, since it’s free.
board. All taxis are metered and in 2015. The base
can issue printed receipts. Taxis fare for an Uber is $3, with an
can be hailed anywhere on the additional $2.15 per mile. Lyft Water Taxis
street, but taxi stands are scarce. and Gett offer similar rates. Beginning in 2017, a ferry service
Boro taxis operate in areas that dubbed Citywide Ferry is set
aren’t commonly served by to be launched in New York,
yellow cabs, such as Brooklyn Walking which will connect dozens
and Staten Island, but they need All intersections have lamp -posts of neighborhoods for a single
to be booked. The best places to with clearly marked street names; fare of $2.75. The initial routes
find waiting cabs are outside most have electric traffic signals. will run between Rockaway,
Penn Station and Grand Central The lights show red (stop) and South Brooklyn, and Astoria,
Terminal. Cabs indicate that they green (go) for vehicles, and including Soundview and
are available by turning on the “Walk/Don’t Walk” signals for Lower East Side in 2018.
top light. This goes off if the cab pedestrians. Crossing while the In the meantime, New York
is occupied or if the side lights “Don’t Walk” sign is showing Water Taxi offers various tours
indicate “off duty.” is not recommended, nor is and a weekend hop-on/hop-
Licensed taxis undergo periodic crossing mid-block, referred off sightseeing boat between
inspections and are insured to in the US as “jay-walking.” various Manhattan locations.
against accidents and losses. Vehicles in the US drive on the
Non-licensed, or “gypsy,” cabs are right, and there are no road
unlikely to have these safeguards. markings for pedestrians indicat- Guided Tours
They will have no meters and ing the direction of traffic. It is best Whichever way you choose
charge what they please. to look both ways before you cross, to see New York – with the
Once the cab driver accepts a and beware of vehicles turning help of a knowledgeable
passenger, the meter starts ticking
at $2.50, plus a state tax surcharge
of 50 cents and an improvement
surcharge of 30 cents. The fare
increases 50 cents after each
additional one-fifth of a mile or
every 60 seconds of waiting time.
There is an additional 50-cent
charge from 8pm to 6am, and a
$1 extra charge from 4 to 8pm on
week days. It is customary to tip
the driver about 15 per cent. Taxi
drivers will accept credit cards. A water taxi crossing New York harbor

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