Nearly half of New York taxi riders have a six-figure income — but still think the fare is too damn high.
That’s the surprising result of a new survey of taxi users, which showed 42 percent earning $100,000 or more — and 46 percent saying they’re being taken for a ride.
Another 19 percent of passengers earn $50,000 or more, and 16 percent declined to answer.
Passengers in the midst of their journeys filled out the poll, which came up on the cabs’ video screens — gizmos that drew the wrath of 17 percent of the riders, who don’t appreciate the annoying “entertainment’’ on offer.
The second-biggest complaint among riders was aggressive driving, with 28 percent saying that’s why they wished they’d taken the subway instead.
And 9 percent complained there are not enough wheelchair-accessible cabs.
Customers did like some things:
n The price of rides may have gone up, but passengers are delighted to pay with plastic. A whopping 58 percent said drivers accepting credit cards was the best thing about taking cabs in 2011.
* Some 27 percent said they were just happy not to own a car.
nFifteen percent were thrilled so many yellow cabs were ecologically green.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission began offering riders the option of answering the survey in October.
Each survey is a variation of three to four questions, a quick quiz that most riders can do during even the shortest jaunts.
So far, the TLC has gotten more than 113,000 responses to 22 questions.
Some of the answers surprised TLC Commissioner David Yassky — and could lead to policy changes.
Most respondents said they could tell by the rooflight whether a cab was available, but 43 percent admitted finding it confusing.
“If 43 percent of your customers don’t understand your basic message, that’s a problem,” said Yassky.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that most passengers — 79 percent — said their communication with the driver was “good” or “great.”
“There’s a stereotype that drivers’ English isn’t great,” he said.
Other interesting tidbits from the survey include:
nThe vast majority of passengers — 62 percent — said they lived in New York City, followed by tourists from “far away,” at 22 percent; suburbanites, at 9 percent; and commuters, at 7 percent.
nForty-seven percent said they took a cab to save time. The second most popular reason, cited by 21 percent, was that it was too late in the day for other types of transit.