NYC wants cab horns to be gentler on ears

If Mayor Michael Bloomberg has his wish, the discordant din of taxicab horn-blaring in New York City's soundscape will soon be replaced by more dulcet tones.

A "low-annoyance horn" is among the unique features of the "taxis of tomorrow" -- a fleet of sleek Nissan NV200 vans set to be integrated into the city's cab corps beginning in 2013.

What exactly such a horn will sound like has been left up to focus groups of cab owners, drivers and passengers who will meet in the next several weeks, according to Nissan and the city. The right sound may have yet to be created, said Steve Oldham, a Nissan North America spokesman.

"It's not going to be bluebirds chirping because that would not do the job necessary," said David Yassky, chairman of the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The focus groups "will give feedback on what would be less annoying rather than more annoying while still serving its purpose of alerting other drivers and pedestrians in dangerous situations."

Excessive horn-honking by cabdrivers is a chief gripe by passengers to the city's 311 phone line and website, and to the commission, Yassky said. The commission has received 1,143 such complaints since 2003, a spokesman said.

The friendlier-sounding horn of the new cabs would help ease noise pollution as well as headaches, authorities said.

And their use will be moderated thanks to a corresponding exterior light that would be placed atop the vans, Nissan and city officials said. The light would alert police to which cab is leaning on its horn and, thus, deserves citation for violating a noise ordinance, they said.

The concept wasn't popular with any taxicab representatives or drivers.

"It's ridiculous and such an obvious revenue generator," said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Of the low-annoyance horns themselves, she said, "It just seems really excessive. What control freak invented this?"

Some cabdrivers blamed Bloomberg. "I'm all for regulations, but sometimes it just feels like, 'Why is he always picking on taxi drivers?' " said Wilner Millien, 50, who was waiting for fares Saturday outside a midtown hotel.

His colleague, Lev Gurevich, 63, said new horns and exterior lights are just the latest in a long list of woes for cabbies that includes mandating credit card machines with high processing fees and proposed fines for refusing to take passengers to the outer boroughs.

Gurevich tapped the horn of his Toyota Siena cab, letting two high toots. "I don't even use this that much, but it doesn't matter," he said. "No one worries about us drivers."