New York cabbies to get stiffer dress code?

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Work

Checker Cab

The image of the laid-back New York City cabbie may not be long for this world. According to Yahoo News and WNYC, the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission had been slated to vote on a new rule that could force the drivers to maintain a “professional appearance,” but that vote has now been postponed until the end of next month.

As of right now, cabbies are simply required to be clean and neat and forbidden from wearing swim suits, tank tops and the like while behind the wheel. Needless to say, the chauffeurs of the Big Apple aren’t exactly thrilled about the change – some are particularly fearful that the new rule will impact their ability to wear ethnic or religious clothing.

As the argument goes, the Taxi and Limousine Commission believes that cab drivers are the city’s ambassadors – the first people most visitors are likely to come in contact with on a visit – and that they should be dressed accordingly. What’s more, the organization admits that isn’t really even something that they think they can enforce in any legal way. Instead, the move is more about reminding cab drivers of exactly how important they are to the city’s tourism industry.

[Sources: Yahoo News, WNYC | Image: tomodea, CC 2.0]

New York cabbies to get stiffer dress code? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Richard Branson loses F1 bet, will cross-dress as Air Asia stewardess

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Celebrities, Humor

You don’t get much higher stakes than Formula One. And while some teams have their own airplanes, there are a couple this season that have their own airlines: Richard Branson’s Virgin, and Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing and Air Asia.

As you may recall, the rivalry between the two tycoon-backed upstart teams escalated to such a point that Branson and Fernandes made a gentlemanly bet that was anything but: the owner of the team that fared worse in this year’s championship would have to cross-dress as a female flight attendant and serve as such on the other’s airline.

Well, Lotus edged out Virgin towards the bottom of the standings, so it’s Sir Richard who’ll be wearing Air Asia’s finest skirt and blouse. Fernandes is keen on placing his rival on a long-haul Kaula Lumpur-to-London flight, tickets for which he plans to auction off for charity. Looks like the negative effect of downforce isn’t the only kind of drag these guys will be dealing with in the offseason.

[Source: Autosport]

Richard Branson loses F1 bet, will cross-dress as Air Asia stewardess originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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