By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Riders looking to catch a cab at W. 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue for the city's new taxi-sharing program may want to look elsewhere. Like W. 73rd Street.
A street sign for the new program is nearly a block away from its advertised location, which has confused riders, confounded the local community board, and caused city agencies to point fingers.
"I was trying to do it, but there are no signs," said Mark Anthony, 45, of the Upper West Side, who walked to work in the rain last Wednesday, the first day of the new program, after failing to find riders to share a cab. He was looking for a sign showing the pickup spot at 72nd Street, but the small yellow marker was nearer to 73rd.
When asked about the sign placement, the Taxi and Limousine Commission referred the question to the Department of Transportation, which installed the sign.
The Department of Transportation defended the placement, saying the current location allows for more taxis to pick up passengers.
"A sign closer to the W. 72nd and Columbus intersection
would only yield one-and-a half spots because of existing metered
parking spaces," a DOT spokeswoman said in a statement.
Community Board 7 claimed it warned the TLC two months ago that establishing the pickup point at that intersection didn't make much sense given the area's traffic congestion and proximity to public transportation — there are subway stops at Broadway and Central Park West.
"They were just going to implement this anyway,” said Andrew Albert, co-chair of CB7’s transportation committee. “So much for community input."
As an alternative, the community board recommended stops at Riverside Boulevard and the Riverside South complex.
The board also took issue with its placement in a loading zone for the nearby retail stores that rely on the curb space for deliveries, Albert said.
When DNAinfo visited the sign at W. 73rd Street last week, it was hidden behind a truck attempting to unload. Two TLC representatives, who were stationed at the pickup point to assist commuters with the new program, were seen sitting in their car at 9:30 a.m.
The new program, which operates from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, allows riders to share cabs at a discounted rate. Participating drivers pickup passengers at four stops in Manhattan and ultimately converge on Park Avenue, continuing down to Grand Central Terminal. Riders hailing cabs at the Upper West Side location can expect to pay about $4 each for the trip.
A spokesman for the TLC said the W. 72nd/73rd Street location was chosen because electronic “tripsheets” showed high amounts of taxi drop-offs and pickups there during peak hours. He added that the commission could be flexible with the group-ride locations throughout the trial period.
Still, when the community board inquired why the sign was mounted a block from its intended location, Albert claimed the TLC passed the buck.
"We told [the TLC] all of these things," he said. “And it was like, 'We don't care — we are doing it anyway.'"
