Liu hails taxi prototype

City Councilmember John C. Liu, Chair of the Transportation Committee, test-drove a prototype of the new “Standard Taxi” vehicle through downtown Flushing last Saturday, and gave the design a “thumbs up.”
The boxy, slab-sided prototype, which is expected to start production in about 18 months, appeared at the taxi stand on Roosevelt Avenue near Main Street in Flushing. It had been shown in the Taxi Week exhibit at the Javits Center in Manhattan, where it helped mark the centennial of the motorized taxicab in New York City.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - New Yorkers are famous for caring more about function than form - and from this perspective, this new taxicab design is a sight for sore eyes.” Liu said.
According to Marc Klein, President of the Standard Taxi Company, the new cab “was designed to accommodate the many needs of city life and can hold four adults with room for a baby stroller, loads of groceries and packages.” New Yorkers were “overwhelmingly positive” about the new cab’s amenities, which include a quick-deploying wheelchair ramp and easy-to-clean interior, Klein said.
This is the first purpose-designed taxicab since 1961, when the Checker Motors Corporation introduced the A-12, which came to be known as the iconic movie taxicab, the “Checker Marathon.” In actuality, that vehicle used parts from both Ford and General Motors designs, and could seat up to eight, in an era before most safety laws.
The new cab created quite a stir in Flushing. Gene Kelty, chair of Community Board 7 was excited. “You should get inside and see this prototype” he said, continuing, “It’s great. The interior is very roomy and spacious.”
Peter Koo, President of the Flushing Chinese Business Association and Mabel Law, Executive Director of the Flushing Business Improvement District agreed that the new design would be a boon for Queens residents.
The wheelchair accessibility would be “helpful to our aging demographic” according to Koo, who said it would allow wheelchair-bound citizens to “remain mobile.” Law added that many, “who work, shop and live in Flushing will benefit” from the new design, especially, “parents with baby carriages and consumers with shopping bags.”