No need to bring cash to ride these cabs

Lack of cash will no longer be a problem for students looking to hail a cab.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority is requiring all city cabs to be equipped with a credit-card machine, as well as a global positioning system.

Of the city's 1,600 cabs, about half already have the technology, said Everett Abitbol, the owner of PHL Taxi.

"We were the first to install them in all of our cabs," he said, adding that his company has had the technology in all of its taxis since July.

"Since then, we really haven't had any problems," he said.

And for PHL Taxi, the new technology is proving profitable. Abitbol said the company "processes a ton of cards a month" since the installation of the machines.

And he said he thinks the new regulations are particularly beneficial for the area's college students.

"A lot of students have credit cards, and that is what they

really use," Abitbol said. Having redit-card machines "makes it easier to ride in cabs today."

But not all of the city's taxi companies are excited about the Parking Authority's requirement.

Co-owner of All City Taxi Maria Perri said her company began to install the technology in October, and most of her cabs are now fully equipped.

But, "half the time, [the credit-card machines] don't work," she said.

Because the GPS system and the credit-card machine are hooked up together, "if one thing doesn't work, then the cab shuts down," she said.

James Atalah, also a co-owner of All City Taxi, said that Philadelphia cab companies feel ignored by the city, and that most companies do not want to install the technology.

"Nobody asked for [this regulation]; nobody wanted it," he said. "If you call any company in Philly, you will hear the same voice."

Abitbol said the success of the machines in PHL Taxi cabs may be due to the fact that the company trains its drivers to use the machines properly.

And, regardless, he said the new system is an improvement over the old one, in which passengers would hand a driver their credit cards and listen to the driver recite the information over the phone to a third party.

"Many passengers were uncomfortable with that," Abitbol said.

College sophomore Sarina Da Costa Gomez observed that many college students split cab fares and may want to stick with cash. However, she said it may be useful for those travelling solo.

"A lot of people carry around cards instead of cash," Gomez said.

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