Cheating cabbies are still ripping off passengers by running meters at the much higher suburban rate for intracity trips — the same ruse that cost riders millions of dollars in an earlier scandal revealed in 2010, the Post has learned.
Hacks in 2013 were busted by the Taxi and Limousine Commission for overcharging their fares 659 times.
Many drivers settled and paid a $100 penalty, while 28 were found guilty in hearings and 137 had their summonses dismissed.
No cabby pulled the trick more than three times.
Special taxi-meter software known as TPEP helps the TLC catch drivers who break the rules.
The agency uses a GPS-data algorithm that analyzes trip information to catch rogue drivers, who are then automatically hit with a summons.
Drivers are supposed to hit the “rate code 4” setting on their meters only if they’re headed to Nassau or Westchester counties.
A system installed in cabs flashes a 30-to-60-second alert on backseat Taxi TV screens to alert passengers when drivers select “rate code 4.”
Riders who believe they’ve been charged the wrong rate can call 311 to report the driver and be reimbursed.
“The TLC’s ability to use technology to protect passenger safety as well as their consumer rights is improving all the time,” said Commissioner Meera Joshi. “The vast majority of drivers do a great job, with honesty and integrity, but we will always be vigilant for the small number that don’t.”
The number of drivers cheating passengers with that tactic in 2013 is a drop from the year before.
The Post exclusively reported that almost 2,000 passengers were fleeced in 2012, even though the alerts had already been installed.
Driver advocates claimed most violations came from cabbies accidentally hitting the wrong button, rather than trying to cheat riders.
A sweeping 2010 investigation revealed that thousands of cabbies had for years overcharged passengers.
The probe unfolded after a doctor complained to the TLC about being charged higher than his normal rate for a ride home from NYU Medical Center.
His driver, Wasim Khalid Cheema, lost this license after the city learned he had cheated 574 passengers in one month, and had taken in an extra $40,000 in just six months.
The TLC then determined that 75 percent of cabdrivers had overcharged at least one passenger by changing the meter’s rate setting.
Authorities hit 59 drivers with criminal charges, and 318 cabbies were taken off the road.