NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the Boro Taxi. — Afp picNEW YORK, May 5 — A sight which shocked New Yorkers appeared on the streets of the Big Apple this week — green taxis. 

Known world over for its bright yellow cabs, as commonplace in real-life as they are on programs like Sex and the City and Friends, New York has shown nerves of steel by introducing a new taxi colour. 

The faded green, described as Apple Green by city authorities, will be applied to 18,000 cabs over the coming years, in a bid to improve transport outside of Manhattan. Many visitors won’t have noticed, but the yellow cabs (formally ‘livery cars’) which ply New York’s streets aren’t allowed to pick up passengers outside of Manhattan, leaving residents and visitors in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Northern Manhattan rather stuck. 

Of course, with over seven million New Yorkers living in those areas (and more and more tourists visiting), that hasn’t really stopped the city’s ever-practical residents — over 100,000 illegal hails are estimated to take place every day. 

Now though, people in the boroughs that aren’t Manhattan will use the green ‘Boro Taxi’ services, all of which will be kitted out with credit-card machines, the familiar lights on the roof and taximeters charging the same as yellow cabs. 

“Apple Green is very fitting for the new Boro Taxis. It’s pleasing to the eye, easy to see from a distance and blends well with the urban landscape.” said New York taxi official David Yassky. 

Not everyone in famously rude New York was pleased with the addition of green taxis to the city’s palette though. 

“Presumably that “urban landscape” includes the puke-splattered sidewalks of Bedford Ave on a Sunday morning,” raged Gothamist, “need a morning eye-opener but gave up caffeine? 

Hail a Boro Taxi!” “Just don’t stare at them too long.” — Afp-Relaxnews