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City Searching For New Taxi Company

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – New York City is looking for a new taxi producer and wants the input of everyday New Yorkers.

The Taxi and Limo Commission announced this week that it's seeking a new company to make all of the City's taxis and that the public can help, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports.

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LISTEN: WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports

Commissioner David Yasky said they're looking for the next modern taxi and that they're weighing plenty of factors to find the city's taxi of tomorrow.

"Obviously comfort and performance the most important factors but also points for sustainability and for accessibility," Yasky said. "How do you weigh these tradeoffs? Leg room v. fuel efficiency. Which of the specific features are most important to you?

There are three finalists for the city's taxi of tomorrow and all are tall minivans. So far the finalists are Ford, Nissan and Karsan, a Turkish company.

Yasky said they have a complicated scoring grid to weight out a number of factors, but that's because they want to find the best taxi.

"Cars that are durable enough to be mass market sold often are not durable enough to be New York City taxis," Yasky said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes that New Yorkers will offer their input. You can do so by going to the City's Web site.

"Tell us what you think are the most important features in a modern taxi," Bloomberg said.

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