New York, NY —
The taxi strike is being greeted by many New Yorkers with a shoulder shrug and a "whaddaya gonna do?" attitude. But some are feeling the effects strongly. Drivers who are not on the road say it's worth losing some money to keep GPS technology out of their cabs and some drivers who are on the streets today are making lots of extra money. And then there's the Punjabi Deli on First Street in the East Village.
REPORTER: On a typical morning it would be teeming with people... Cab drivers mostly. Even in the morning, the deli's manager Gurjinder Singh says he usually too busy to stop and chat. Today, it was different.
GURJINDER SINGH: On a normal day, we could do that. What he have to do is stand behind the corner and serve that's it. So right now, it's nothing. Not even teas. On a normal morning we sell a lot of teas. Today I don't think we sell 5 or 6 teas, you know.
REPORTER: City officials are downplaying today's strike as little more than a nuissance. The Comptroller's office say it's not even planning to measure the economic impact. But the effect on a small business like Punjabi is striking. Not only is it close to empty, Singh estimates his business will lose about $700 a day, which almost fifty percent of the store's daily earnings.
He says he's heard drivers talking about the strike for at least three weeks. And there are signs posted on the walls inside the deli and on the phone booth outside, calling on drivers to take part. In spite of the losses, Singh says he sympathizes with the drivers.
GURJINDER SINGH: It's like they are in a holding cell. Like ah, you probably heard of one of those home arrests, you know, they got to wear a thing on their ankle. But you know it's the same thing, it's the same thing. They know where they're go, how many passengers, they have to press, if they make any wrong turns…
REPORTER: Arvind Singh is one of the few yellow cab drivers who came into the deli Thursday morning. He's only been driving for six months, and last week he made a few bad turns. He said he would have gone on strike today too, but…
ARVIND SINGH: I got too many tickets this week, last week, so I need to cover that money. That's why I'm working, otherwise I'd stay home, like other taxi drivers. But I got it bad last week so I have to cover that money.
REPORTER: For drivers and business owners, there is real economic impact to this strike. Drivers argue that the new global positioning system and credit card machines will hinder their ability to turn a profit. And as they protest, businesses like Punjabi feel the pinch.