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This must be cabbie bitch week
By adamg on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 10:57pm
Now cab drivers are pissed that the mean city is going to make them accept credit cards. Next up: Cabbies complain about the new regulation that makes them wear clean clothes.
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Comments
NYC taxis have accepted
NYC taxis have accepted credit cards for a while. I think it's very convenient. I almost never carry cash. It might be good for business.
Sometimes credit card means bigger tips
I saw one of these for the first time a few weeks ago, and the cabbie got a large tip as a result.
I tend to tip very well, especially if I'm going between towns, but I really didn't want to empty out all the paper in my wallet. The credit card made it less painful.
Expense accounts
Yep. It can mean better round-ups and tips as many visitors are on expense accounts. In Philly, I overrode the automatic tipomatic suggestometer setting and paid a nearly 40% tip because there were four of us travelling together and the cabbie wresteled all the luggage and stopped at three terminals to drop everyone off.
When I travel on my expense account, the makshift receipts that I get in Boston when I grab a cab home from a business trip are really inadequate. We have a routine audit every year and the auditors really hate how lame and crappy the receipts are for cab fares in Boston because you can write in any amount in cash that you want and there is no hard record of what it really cost.
I half wonder if some of the bawling over this is that it will reduce "tips" - i.e. skimming possibilities. Otherwise, I would think the cabs would welcome the opportunity to not carry large quantities of cash!
Boston hardly unique with fill-in-the-blanks receipts
I've had cabbies in other cities give me two blank receipts in case I wanted to claim two trips (no, don't worry, I didn't).
I carry emergency cash, and
I carry emergency cash, and a credit and debit card. Emergency cash is generally around 20 bucks which will handle many situations. The problem is I hate replacing that money and would much rather use my credit card. Plus the credit card gives me reports on how much money Im spending. If I travel I keep track of what Im spending, but get a real play by play when I get home when I view how much money I spent and where on my computer.
I honestly avoid cabs and end up taking the T or walking even if its much less convenient because I never know how much a cab ride will cost. Hey theres another concept, easy to figure out fare structures like in DC. A few years ago I had something I had to do in Cambridge 10 times over the course of 2 months, and it involved taking a cab from Central Square Cambridge to the same point everytime, on the same day of the week at the same time (and back.) I was amazed to see the number of different ways a cab driver would get me there, and how much the price varied. By the time the 8th 9th and 10th trip came along I would tell the cabbie which way I wanted to go and when one went to turn down a street that I knew would extend the trip I told him if he took the turn there was no way I was going to pay the extra 2 dollars for his detour.
Why did it take so long?
I can't think of a city besides Boston that doesn't take credit cards. Even the cabs in Mexico City take credit cards.
Okay, maybe Raleigh/Durham doesn't take them, but they have agreements with some hotels to pay when you arrive. Raleigh/Durham doesn't fancy itself the hub of anything, though.
The whole not taking credit cards thing is one big reason that I hire an outside cab to meet me at the airport rather than taking one from the cab pool. I suspect that I'm not the only one who does this.
As soon as I saw the topic,
As soon as I saw the topic, I knew this commment would be here...
On a recent trip to Europe,
On a recent trip to Europe, my father was worried about needing cash for cabs. I laughed at him and told him that unlike Boston, most cities in the world have taxi fleets that accept cards.
Sorrry, not all of us ride
Sorrry, not all of us ride in the luxury of the Ford Escort that the Rozzie elite use!
No Sympathy for Cabbies
I will extend zero sympathy to cabbies until I have a streak of two (2!) consecutive rides where I get in the cab and don't have to ask, "where the hell do you think you're going" or get asked "how do I get there?"
London-style driving tests for Boston cabs NOW.
http://www.taxiknowledge.co.uk/index4.html
Given my own personal experience with many cabbies,
I can understand your exasperation, issacg, but you know what? Driving a cab has got to be one of the most, if not the most rotten, thankless job(s) around, just about up there with driving a garbage truck or a tow truck. Plus, often enough, it's the only job that these guy can get, given the fact that many of them have criminal records (no sympathy for criminals, btw), and/or they've got no skills or education of any kind that would enable them to obtain any other type of employment.
It's agreed, however, that Boston cabbies aren't that well-trained, and, as I pointed out on another thread on this subject here on UH, they're often rough, crude and discourteous, to boot, and violate traffic laws, by speeding and/or running red lights. They've got to be better-trained.
Ive noticed the cab drivers
Ive noticed the cab drivers on Storrow drive drive VERY slow, Ive always found it odd because elsewhere they tend to be a little more crazy.
I think a cab driver should be expected to know major land marks and be able to make his way across the city. Chances are if Im taking a cab I have no clue how to get where Im going because lets face it if I drove the route everyday I wouldnt be in your cab!
And they're always in the
And they're always in the passing lane on Storrow Drive. I've no idea what's up with that.
YES , so Im not the only one
YES , so Im not the only one seeing this!
It's all about taxes
The NYC cabbies practically rioted when the city made them take credit cards - of course, then they realized that having a cab is a privilege, not a right, so they shut up and dealt. The problem is that with credit cards, they have to report tips to the IRS. When tips are cash, they generally eschew reporting.
They also really hated the cab credit card machines because they have GPS units for the passengers. This makes it (somewhat) harder to really screw somebody over. In any case, the NYC taxi commission stuck to their guns and now they all have the units.