Are Green Cabs game changers? Depends if anyone wants to drive them.

The Times has touted the green cab often enough, as have others such as this piece from something called the New York Business Journal.  According to the Times, the TLC says 200 such cabs are on the road, which is a far cry from the 18,000 planned. I have heard scuttlebutt that the drivers are slow to sign on to drive the greenies despite some hard sell from the city. Why not? First, because it turns out the cruising for fare in the outer boroughs is not such a good business plan-- as yellow cab drivers have known for years. Second, there are already plenty of cabs cruising the the green areas. These are traditional livery cabs, which have long accepted street hails, in the outer boroughs and in Manhattan as well, albeit illegally. So why would a livery cab driver pay to buy a cab, obtain a license and hack it up with green pain and mandatory technology-- which, all told could cost $10,000-- when he is already doing what the green license allows. It seems like a lot of drivers have decided there is no good answer to this question.