By Polly Kreisman
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
After the city uncovered a taxi scam involving cabbies overcharging riders on local trips, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has outfitted 5,000 yellow cabs with a new feature to alerts passengers when their rates have been changed to reflect out-of-town rides.
The TLC, analyzing GPS data over a two-year period, discovered that nearly 36,000 cabdrivers cheated passengers out of $8.3 million by upping their rates to show trips that command higher prices, to places like JFK and Newark airports, Long Island and Westchester.
The new notification systems were reportedly installed on Tuesday to inform riders when the higher rate has been activated by displaying a message on the backseat monitor encouraging passengers to report any suspected overcharges.
The out-of-town rate represents double what riders would normally pay on trips within the city, NY1 reported.
The TLC is also working on an audio component to alert riders of the rate change, and a longer-term fix that would prevent hacks from manually switching the meter is reportedly in the works, NY1 added.
Cabdrivers say their reputations have been unfairly tarnished after the revelations emerged last week.
Driver Sammi Medgahed told WNYC that he has accidentally pushed the higher-rate button instead of the button to print a receipt.
"It doesn't mean I overcharged,” he said. “A human being can make a mistake driving 10 hours."
