By paying about 50 percent more than a typical taxi cab fare, Uber cars will find their clients via GPS from smartphones. more ›

In order to reach the carbon emission goals laid out in the Chicago Climate Action Plan, Chicago just unveiled a new program where it could help taxi companies around the city purchase hybrid and "alternative fuel" vehicles, excluding electric cars. more ›

It's safe to assume a few of us have passed out in a cab before. But how many of us were taken to a police station by the cabbie? And how many of us were holding when said cabbie pulled up to the police station? In short, we're glad we weren't 25-year-old Joseph Andrew Hoffman on Christmas Day. more ›

Again with the cameras. Your odds of ending up on Taxicab Confessions might get better in Chicago. The city plans to install tiny cameras inside taxis in the hope of deterring violent crime directed towards drivers. The cameras would photograph riders as they hop in and out of the vehicle. Presently the Tribune estimates around 1,000 cameras already keep an eye on passengers. Taxi companies heralded the move, especially given the recent uptick in violent incidents against drivers. A survey by the University of Illinois at Chicago found that crimes against cab drivers have increased in Chicago and across parts of the country. Selvin Quire, a driver for 30 years told the Tribune that questionable passengers “see the camera, and they hold back.” more ›

The Illinois State House unanimously voted to impose tougher restrictions on Chicago cab drivers recently, and the crackdown on unsafe cabs in the city are continuing at full speed. Some ordinary cars that are involved in accidents are repaired and reused as taxi cabs. The problem is that Chicago has a law which prohibits cars with titles indicating that they have been "salvaged" or "rebuilt" to become taxi cabs. Prompted by the discovery of one car in very poor condition, which turned out to be a salvaged car in disguise, the city began a full-on investigation last October of all taxi cabs by running a more careful inspection of title histories of each cab. more ›

We'd never thought we'd be so blessed as to write the phrase "vomit fee," but that's exactly what Chicago cab drivers are asking for in their latest round of demands. The new fees cabbies are asking for from a City Council committee today are: more ›

Thanks to a new state law, assaulting an on-duty cab driver is now a class-3 felony. Now cab drivers want a sign in the back of cabs indicating the new law in the hopes that it will keep them safer, but Norma Reyes, the City's commissioner of consumer services, says "You don't want to put too many messages back there." What the hell? more ›

Could Chicago cabs be going hybrid? Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) and Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Allen (38th) are proposing a city mandate requiring cab companies to begin incorporating hybrids into their fleet of vehicles, with a complete conversion of all Chicago cabs by January 1, 2014: more ›

Police say two sailors kidnapped a cab driver, carjacked his cab and drove it around Gurnee before setting the car on fire. Aaron Couch, 21, and Terry Gappa, 20, both face felony counts of theft of services, assault, theft of a vehicle and criminal damage to property. more ›

Two Chicagoans will be facing off in tonight's NCAA basketball finals: Derek Rose, a star for Memphis, and Sherron Collins, more of a supporting player for Kansas. [Trib] more ›