The End of Taxi Confusion

By Alicia Dorr in News on Mar 14, 2006 4:59PM

People who frequent cabs in Chicago are sick and tired of waving their arms around frantically at cabs when they can't even tell whether or not they are already occupied. For one, it's embarrassing. Two, it's confusing—and the madness is going to stop.

A new day in cab light design has arrived and the quest to find a new dome for taxis is underway. The top pick gets rid of the "Not for Hire" alternating sign that no one really understands and replaces it with just one light: on for available, off for not.

One ambitious cab driver helped make all this happen when, in an effort to end customer confusion, he and others surveyed 1,000 passengers. They all basically said they couldn't understand the current lighting system. The determined driver is still not totally satisfied with the new design proposal, but, eh, you can't win 'em all.

The new design isn't so much about ending confusion as it is about June 1, when rooftop advertising is supposed to show up on cabs. New designs have to comply with the "rules governing rooftop advertising"...but everybody still has to see the ads. The ads aren't allowed to look just like another light, either, because there will be no more flailing after cabs. Period.