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Read the press release here.

Taxi Riders Pick 'Lincoln' as Big Winner in TLC's First-Ever Oscars Poll

By Jill Colvin | February 21, 2013 5:21pm

NEW YORK CITY — Taxi riders weighing in on this year's Academy Award contenders tipped their hats to "Lincoln," choosing the Steven Spielberg drama as their Best Picture pick.

Over the past month, the Taxi & Limousine Commission has transformed its backseat touch-screens into instant polling machines, asking nearly 100,000 riders to choose who they think will take home the statues at this year's Oscars, airing Feb. 24.

In the Best Picture category, 25 percent of nearly 28,000 riders predicted that "Lincoln"
would take top honors, followed by "Zero Dark Thirty," about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, with 15 percent of the vote.

"Lincoln" star Daniel Day-Lewis won the taxi poll for Best Actor, with 43 percent of 19,865 votes, followed by Hugh Jackman in "Les Miserables," at 22 percent.

Jessica Chastain was the favorite in the Best Actress category for her performance in "Zero Dark Thirty," with 33 percent of the 19,231 votes cast in that category, and Jennifer
Lawrence ran a close second at 30 percent for the critically acclaimed "Silver Linings
Playbook."

"Lincoln"'s Steven Spielberg was predicted to win the Best Director trophy by 42 percent of the 14,337 riders who weighed in on the question, with "Life of Pi" director Ang Lee coming in second with 30 percent.

While the system has been used to quiz riders on their opinions of cab-related programs like cellphone apps in the past, this is the commission's first foray into film surveys, a spokesman said.

“There are few things that New York City loves more than its movies and its taxicabs, and people really enjoyed the combination of the two in this survey," TLC Commissioner David Yassky said in a statement.