Yesterday, March 3rd, 2010, marked the first day of the Taxi & Limousine’s Cab Sharing Program. The program, which encourages city denizens to (gasp!) share their cab with other individuals, launched in three different Manhattan locations. The program allows up to four passengers to share cabs, car pool style, from designated stands along three set routes in Manhattan, for $4 each. It’s worked for suburbanites for years now – why not try it in our fine city?

The flat fare will be $3 or $4 a head, significantly less than the regular metered rates, and riders can ask to be dropped off at most points along the route. The shared rides, which will pick up passengers at designated taxi stands, will be allowed only on weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. The city is hoping that this new system will deflect some of the social hierarchy that currently supports the cab system.

Well, for starters, the cranky citizens of New York City aren’t so hot to share. In fact, us New Yorkers appear to hate the idea. We’re not big on strangers, and we’re certainly not big on small talk (which has earned us the reputation of being meaner than we really are). Apparently, on yesterday’s cold, wet and rainy morning, hardly any one showed up to the shared stands. The stands are marked by small yellow signs; so it’s possible no one could find them. It’s also possible that people hadn’t heard about the program. We hadn’t until we stumbled upon one of the signs for ourselves. A total of six rides were shared yesterday, which isn’t a prolific number by any means.

However, taxi commissioner Matthew W. Daus say he’s not worried. He expects things will catch on in the next few months. As with most social experiments, these things take time. “Some people are into it, and some people are not into it, and that’s fine,” Mr. Daus said. “This is New York.”

Would you share your cab with a stranger? Why or why not?