Sunroof Of A 'Taxi of Tomorrow' Shatters On Passengers

The Taxi of Tomorrow has run into yet another problem, and it's a big one: the glass sunroof on one of the vehicles shattered and rained down on passengers. Then the roof collapsed. Amazingly, no one was hurt. The Observer obtained an email from a Greater New York Taxi Association executive to Deputy TLC Commissioner Raymond Scanlon detailing the accident: "According to the driver, he heard a cracking noise – shortly thereafter two of the three passengers started complaining that glass was falling onto them from the roof of the car. The third passenger, a small child, was terrified." The email notes that the vehicle was serviced that same morning and no problems were found.
The Taxi of Tomorrow, a plan concocted under the Bloomberg administration to replace all existing taxis with one model, has had a lot of detractors—from state judges to the Greater New York Taxi Association to ADA advocates to hybrid car-supporters—and this glass-raining incident certainly isn't winning it any fans. The Greater New York Taxi Association has sued the city three times over the Taxi of Tomorrow, and the director, Ethan Gerber, had previously voiced concern over the sunroofs. About 40 of these vehicles are on the road today, but they never went through a pilot program. Gerber told the Observer, "Cabs operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on uneven potholed roads that you can't even walk on without twisting an ankle. Glass roofs are absurd in these conditions. Taxis are not tour busses." Click through for more photos of the carnage.
· EXCLUSIVE: TLC's 'Taxi of Tomorrow' Rains Glass Shards Onto Passengers [NYO]
· All Taxi of Tomorrow coverage [Curbed]