Cab Drivers to Face Dress Code Revisions

Although most New Yorkers don't see much more than the back of a taxi driver's head behind the wheel, cabbies may have to start paying more attention to the rest of their look.

New York City's taxi regulators are planning a new, more general dress code for cab drivers that requires them to "present a professional appearance."

Taxi and Limousine Commission chairman David S. Yassky told The New York Times that proper dress can't be enforced easily. He says the new code is an attempt to communicate standards.

"We want to communicate to drivers that there is a standard of behavior, and that's what the rule should get across," Yassky told The Times.

Currently, cabbies can be fined for violating the dress code. It bans tube shirts, tank tops and bathing trunks.

The revised code doesn't mention specific types of apparel.

But the New York Taxi Alliance's director, Bhairavai Desai, said she'd be concerned if the "idea of professional attire is left to the naked eye to decide." The alliance is an advocacy group for taxi drivers.

Dress code rules were last amended in 1987 after complaints about unprofessionally dressed cabbies, The New York Times reported.

The new code is expected to be approved next month.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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