TAXIS SHARE

For Upper East Side commuters who do not mind sharing a taxicab, the city is about to launch a pilot program that aims to make the hailing process faster's and lower the price of a ride. The Taxi and Limousine Commission is proposing six Manhattan locations for a group yellow taxi stand where riders can hop on and ride to Midtown, or anywhere on the route in between. On the Upper East Side, a group ride spot is planned for East 72nd Street and Third Avenue. For $4, a rider could share a cab from the stand and take it to anywhere along the route until Park Avenue and East 42nd Street. The average fare for someone riding alone is $6.86. â??This is sort of making it more organized and more structured and giving [riders] a start point and an end point and a travel corridor that is very predictable, said Allan Fromberg, deputy commissioner of public affairs at the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Manhattan locations were chosen for their heavy taxi usage. â??We wanted to make one taxicab to do the work of potentially four taxicabs and improve the capacity of the industry without adding cars, Fromberg said. He said the pilot program would operate for at least a year. The first three group taxi stands's two on the West Side, in addition to the Upper East Side location's should be installed by the end of January. Until then, the commission will be gauging the interest of the community.