An unlicensed, unmarked sedan that drives up and down a major thoroughfare in
Brooklyn, presumably also Queens and the Bronx. Passengers hail the cab, or the driver may honk at people standing on street corners or at
bus stops to solicit passengers. When a passenger is about to reach the cross street they want, they tell the driver where to let them off, and pay for the ride ($3 now due to inflation; it was a dollar in the 90s). The cabs only run up and down the busiest part of the same street, they do not take passengers all the way to another destination. These cabs are a good alternative to the
bus when it is running
late or when a person is in a hurry. However, some prefer the
bus if they are going to transfer to a
train, because the transfer is free so they wouldn't pay
twice.
On the biggest busiest streets, such as Flatbush Avenue,
white minibuses are used, which are known as "dollar vans."
One might think that these are harmful to the MTA's ability to
run its systems, but in
fact, without the dollar cabs and dollar vans, the buses would be overwhelmed with riders. Dollar vans and dollar cabs carry thousands of people a day; all those people aren't going to fit onto the existing
bus service, which is often extremely crowded as it is. These conveyances are an important part of NYC's transit ecosystem and provide a valuable service.
