Metro

All ‘hail’ the iPad

ON THE WAY: Cabby Mohammed Masum last night drives through Times Square in a taxi that could become equipped with an iPad, instead of one of those annoying old TV units, under a pilot program.

The city may ditch the blaring taxi TVs that drive passengers and cabbies nuts and replace them with iPads, officials said yesterday.

A private company has proposed a pilot program that would remove the current screens — which run a continuous loop of local news segments and commercials from TV stations — and install the tablet computers, city officials told The Post. It would be tried out in 50 cabs.

“It sounds better than this,” said Orlando Morales, a cabby for two decades, as he pointed to the screen in the back of his yellow taxi.

“It’s all the same garbage over and over. It drives me nuts listening to this s–t all day long.”

One regular cab rider said he’d definitely use the iPads instead of his own smartphone for games or looking up information.

“I think its a great idea, so I don’t have to use up the battery in my phone,” said the Queens resident, who asked not to be identified.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission is set to hear the bid from the San Francisco-based company Square on March 1.

The company is still working out specifics about which apps and games would be available in New York.

Passengers would still be able to swipe their credit cards to pay for their rides.

The switch from the TVs, which were first installed in 2007, would be a boon to hacks, who currently pay 5 percent on credit-card transactions.

Under the deal with Square, that would drop to 2.75 percent.

“That’s one of the best things they can do for us right now,” said cabdriver Amrit Singh, 51.

“I paid $2,000 last year for that and now I can give that money to my kids. And we really need that. It’d be a great help.”

A spokesman for Square said its system is “a simple, cost-effective way,” for cabbies to get paid.

“We’ve built a system that meets the specific needs of NYC taxi drivers,’’ the spokesman said.

But not everyone likes the plan.

“That’s a big waste of money,” said one passenger, Isaac Cocco.

“Everyone has a Droid or iPhone. Why the hell do they need a tablet in front of them?” the 32-year-old Bayside, Queens, resident wondered.

Additional reporting by Candace Amos