NEWS

Eight men slouch in desks that form a slight semi-circle within the windowless classroom. Bags hang below their eyes. Most are immigrants: Indian, Ghanaian, and Bangladeshi. All are taxi drivers who don’t want to lose their jobs. The younger guys — most have only driven for a few years — pay more attention to personal style, sporting the finest discount threads the main drags in Queens or Brooklyn have to offer. The two older guys, the veterans, are more disheveled, their shirts tucked in haphazardly. "Om Dutta Sharma, 71, sits peacefully, a slight smile on his face. He stands up to survey the crowd and adjust the belt beneath his hanging belly.... Click here to read the whole article.

Andrew Vollo who loves to tells about the time Tony Danza rode in his cab in the early 80's. "I said, 'You look familiar,' " recalls Vollo. " 'You drive for the same garage I do?' " The Taxi star was amused.  "It was a $4 or $5 ride," says Vollo, "but he doubled it for a tip." The moral: an engaged passenger is often a generous passenger... Click here to read the whole article.

What, Andrew Vollo asked the 20 taxi drivers gathered in a classroom in Long Island City, Queens, is the prevailing view of a city cabby? "View? It's bad" said one driver, a Chinese immigrant, "They hate us, period"... Click here to read the whole article. (PDF Document)

Yoga class helps cab driver relax "The first thing I ask the class is, 'What are you doing in your car?' " Vollo said. "If you're sitting on your wallet, first of all, you've got a problem. You've also got to support the lumbar section of your back. Then I talk about breathing, how important it is to breathe properly. You've got to breathe from the belly. Just with those few things, it's gonna change how a driver feels in the car."... Click here to read the whole article.

Using Yoga to Help Cabdrivers Relax Body and Mind. "Taxi Yoga", declared the flier in his hand. "No more Road Rage. Become a Road Sage!"... Click here to read the whole article.