New York cabbies discover politeness

It is years since crime was rampant in New York and Times Square was a seedy den of sex shops and drug dealing. Only now, though, comes definitive proof that the city really isn't what it used to be: according to new statistics, the taxi drivers aren't rude any more.

The alarming news is contained in the annual report published by New York's taxi and limousine commission, which says that complaints from the public about drivers' rudeness fell to the lowest figure for art least 10 years.

September 11 played a part, the taxi commissioner, Matthew Daus, said, but it was not the only factor.

"That played a role, and people are friendlier across the board, but this trend has been something we've seen for several years now."

Attendance at classes on courtesy - described as "a finishing school for cab drivers" - has been compulsory since 1998.

And tougher penalties for drivers who refuse to pick up customers for no good reason has been in effect since 1999, when the black actor Danny Glover led a campaign against taxis which did not stop when hailed by members of ethnic minorities.

But Raymond, a Haitian driver, had another explanation. "The last mayor turned people against the drivers, always on the TV and the radio saying bad things," he said. "The new mayor is different, and people treat the driver a little bit more like a human being."

His colleague Frethly Jean, also from Haiti, was blunter. "Complaining," he observed, "is the nature of the American people."