Our very own Taxi Driver here on websleuths.....so do any cabs or livery cars frequent the hotels in the massapequa area like the best western and budget that were on sunset?
On "sunset"? What are you referring to?
Cabs don't frequent the hotels as they are not allowed to hang there and besides there wouldn't be enough business to sit at a hotel waiting for people to book out. There's more business driving people locally back and forth to the market, stores, appointments, to work. Taxis remain at or return to their base from which they are dispatched and are required to by their companies. I happened to work in the Massapequa area for a time while supplementing my main income and only once drove a family from Best Western to the airport. Mostly people with cars, either their own or rentals, reserve at these motels/hotels.
On Long Island, taxis are not allowed to pick up hails from the street unless there is a special hack license required by a village as is the case in Babylon. There you can pick up people who hail a cab if they are by a bar, restaurant or any number of stores on the main road. People cannot be picked up randomly anywhere or drivers risk losing their jobs and license. There are plenty of village "constables" who watch for violators. Taxi drivers don't make much and it's not worth losing one's taxi license and ability to work. Besides, it's not safe to pick up unknowns as there are no partitions in the cab to protect the driver. The majority of people are regulars and known to the drivers. Taxis are limited to picking up where their bases are and the zones they cover. There are taxi companies that cover different towns. So if a driver is based in Babylon, they can't drive around the Island to other towns looking for customers.
Many taxi companies are based near or at the train station as they are primarily needed by commuters who take cabs to the train and back home rather than pay for parking at the rails. Other than commuters, most customers are those who don't drive for a variety of reasons or don't have cars or just want to take a cab because they may be dining out or going to a club and may engage in drinking. Drinking and driving is not only illegal but frowned upon and has increased demand for taxis.
Also, many taxi companies have installed GPS systems in their taxis which shows exactly where each cab is at any given time, how fast they're driving, when a door in their cab opens, stopping at traffic lights, etc. At the end of the night a report is printed out and turned in with the money collected for the lease of the vehicle and the dispatchers fee. It's all computerized and visible on a monitor as they are driving, no chance of drivers free lancing or going off route.
As for the strip clubs in the area, the club owners generally call for a cab for the worker to get to the train but there are not that many workers who commute by train.
Many lower priced motels/hotels are home to low income people, welfare recipients and local ladies of the night. The ones you mention are higher priced but are not used by "workers" as the staff are alert and don't allow hourly use.
I covered most of how taxis operate on LI. If you have any questions, ask away! If I have an answer, I'll gladly share it, if not, will find out.
:seeya:
Taxi driver by night, Nutritional Microscopist & Lymphatic Drainage Therapist by day.