Yes, that's a New York City cab driving around town and it belongs to a Burnaby car enthusiast
2011 Ford Crown Victoria was retired in 2018 after it aged out of being a taxi
Have you noticed a New York City taxi driving around downtown Vancouver over the past few months?
Car enthusiast Giovanni Porta, who lives in Burnaby, purchased the cab in September from a Facebook Marketplace seller for $5,000 US, picked it up in upstate New York and then drove it all the way to Vancouver, riding from dawn to dusk for five days straight.
The 2011 Ford Crown Victoria is one of thousands that once roamed the streets of the Big Apple, designed specifically for the New York City taxi market. Today there are only two left roaming NYC streets and they are close to retirement, according to the New York Times.
"You see it in movies, you see it in TV shows, it's a very iconic car," said the 22-year-old.
The car, which Porta calls "a piece of history," was retired in 2018 after it aged out, according to the city's regulations. NYC's taxi and limousine commission says vehicles must be replaced after seven years. The Ford Crown Victorias have mostly been replaced with newer car models.
The cab is complete with a functioning meter, a medallion on the front hood, a partition between the front and back seats, decals on the outside, and a taxi light on top. It also has extra leg room in the back, and rear air conditioning vents that can be controlled by the passenger.
Porta says he spent a couple of thousand dollars in maintenance on the taxi, meticulously restoring other features — including a credit card terminal, an information monitor screen that would have been used by the driver to connect with dispatch, and a set of New York state licence plates. His next project is to get the TV on the partition running, he says.
"I'm pretty happy because it's hard to find a taxi like this that's in good condition," Porta said of the car, adding he wasn't sure it would make the arduous journey back to Vancouver.
"I think that I got a pretty good car for that amount of money."
Porta has four cars in his collection, he says, including another Crown Victoria previously used by the Vancouver Police Department.
Not a taxi for hire, to passengers' confusion
Porta says he likes to drive his new wheels for fun, and sometimes drives the car to work. He also likes to take friends and family for a spin — free of charge.
He also says he gets confused looks from cab drivers and pedestrians who occasionally try to flag him down.
Porta says he makes sure he locks the car when he drives it, because several people have opened the back door and tried to get in, thinking it was a taxi for hire.
"That's part of what makes it really unique," Porta said.
"It's so far out of place, it's really, really far away from its original home."
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With files from Maurice Katz