VeriFone Systems, Inc. (PAY) today announced that the company is the first to begin installing payment systems for the new class of for-hire vehicles (FHVs) established to increase service to upper Manhattan and the New York City outer boroughs.
New York City's "Five Borough Taxi" plan enables the city to sell 6,000 street hail livery permits a year for three years. The new class of FHVs will be green in color and permitted to accept street hails north of East 96th street and north of West 110th street in Manhattan, and all of the other boroughs excluding the airports.
"VeriFone has installed multimedia and payment systems in taxis and for-hire vehicles around the globe, from Brazil to the U.K. and has long been part of the effort to provide a great FHV experience in New York City," said Amos Tamam, senior vice president of Taxi Systems for VeriFone. "Our systems will help expand the availability of credit card payments and in-vehicle entertainment throughout all five boroughs."
VeriFone payment systems are now available to the new green FHV drivers who are required to have installed a Livery Passenger Enhancement Program (LPEP) approved integrated hardware and software system that includes a credit card acceptance device, a GPS unit, a driver information screen, and a passenger information screen enabled with an ADA-compliant payments system for the visually impaired.
VeriFone's FHV LPEP systems are similar to VeriFone systems already available in more than 7,000 New York City yellow medallion cabs. They provide credit, debit and prepaid card payment; text messaging; trip data collection and transmission; a Passenger Information Monitor; and automatic vehicle location system and location services.