Herman Yung from Dooby Brain compiled this great list of tips on how to spot one of the NYPD's fake taxis when out and about. He used data from a few New York State Freedom of Information Law requests made by Matthew Guariglia from Muckrock.
- Look for a missing center divider. Undercover NYPD taxi cabs don't normally have the plastic divider separating the backseats from the front seat.
- Disconnected or fake meter. It's just for show and on some of these vehicles, the meter is missing completely from the dashboard.
- Grey bumpers. This one used to be an easy tell, but nowadays the vehicles have been updated to sport the regular yellow bumper.
- Extra black side skirts. This is another trait that has slowly been phased out since it made it too easy to spot to those on the lookout.
- A computer in the front seat. If you can get close enough, look for the NYPD computer mounted in the center console area in the front seat.
- 2W and 6Y. This is probably the easiest way to tell. All of the undercover taxis sport a license number starting with 2W and 6Y (important note: Not all vehicles starting with these characters are undercover).
via Dooby Brain
Something wrong with this post? Let us know!