I was surprised by the following news item about a taxi driver.
Judging from the cabbie’s broken English, he probably didn’t have much experience dealing with American customers. But still, what could or should he have done to prevent himself from getting ripped off like this - other than the obvious which would be to just refuse to take anyone on such a long trip and, “just say no”.
asking for more money up front of course
Right now, as we speak, somebody’s pitching this story to Disney or one of the other major movie studios. Mark my words.
Assuming this extremely crazy story is true, I’d feel sorry for the cabbie - but he must’ve been the most naive person who ever got a cab license. “Trusting” is not a word I’d apply to any NYC cab driver. I can’t imagine any of the drivers here giving you even a short ride if you told them you couldn’t pay but your friend was going to help you out.
It was already an SNL sketch.
That was very funny. Thanks for posting that.
Back when I was a cab driver I was pretty naive and got stiffed quite a few times. Probably the most I got stiffed for was $100 though. Even back then I think I would have asked for the entire amount up front.
I have never driven a taxi, but I would likely refuse such a long trip. If I had a week’s notice, maybe.
If this is true I can’t understand why the cabbie would agree to it. A flight from Sacramento to North Dakota or a rental car would cost way less than $1,200. He says the passenger volunteered that he didn’t have nearly enough money to cover the cost of the trip. What could this have possibly been except a scam?
I’ve driven a taxi, and I wouldn’t have taken such a load, simply because I was leasing. But even if I had been an owner/operator, I wouldn’t have taken it, because experienced drivers never accept the promise of payment on the other end. Especially for long rides.
The Los Angeles D.O.T. doesn’t allow a driver to demand payment up front–only proof of ability to pay. But even if this person going to North Dakota had shown me the complete fair in cash (at least at that rate), and assuming I had the free time, I probably wouldn’t have taken the ride, because you have to realize that the longer the ride is outside of your licensed area, the more time (and gas) you’ll lose “deadheading”–returning, without a paying passenger.
I’ll be blunt: There are a lot of stupid people driving taxis (at least in L.A.). These are usually the guys that get into the huge holding lot at LAX in the hope that they’ll get that really long fare, to Disneyland (Anaheim) or something. They really don’t realize that they’re losing money while they wait in that lot (or on the stands at the high-end hotels). And the vast majority of the rides from the airport or the hotels are not that far.
Instead, I consistently made much more money than they would by simply taking the short rides of the seniors shopping at places like 3rd and Fairfax, (and in and around Park La Brea). These rides are constant, both directions, and because (at that time) the seniors received coupons (which you could use to pay for lease and other fees), they tip well, sometimes twice the fare. And usually half the fare was the flag drop anyway. These fares were constant from late morning through early afternoon–there was no downtime, and no deadheading, since the shoppers used the taxi both ways. (Closer to NY City taxi driving.) As a result, by working the senior shoppers, I had all my expenses made by 1:00pm or so, and the rest of the day was in my pocket.
But the idiots who constantly went directly to the airport lot just couldn’t understand that. Also, I think they were just lazy, because the senior shoppers kind of expect you to carry their bags into their house/building. Those guys just want to sit around the airport lot playing cards.
Is it even legal to do this? I would assume whatever licencing on the driver or the car would end at least at the state line.
Most places I’ve lived, pickup OR dropoff must occur in the licensed area. Which is usually a town/city or county, not a state.
I usually call a VA cab if I’m going between DC and VA
I’m not sure how rule enforcement works.
I drove part time years ago and have to agree with what was said by Guizot. I was happy to grind away little fares. Hell with sitting in line at the airport wasting time or having a long empty ride bide to where you can get another fare. I mostly had my best luck working the areas around the bars taking drunks home, then going back after closing time and getting fares from staff after they closed out.
In Los Angeles dropoff can be anywhere, IIRC, except we were told we couldn’t go into Tijuana, and that could have been only because of the company’s insurance.
(Pickup is limited to licensed areas, unless it’s specifically ordered by telephone. My company, for instance, can pick up flag downs in Hollywood, but not West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or Santa Monica, and not even the Valley, even though that’s part of Los Angeles.)
I’ve never driven a taxi, and I’m somewhat gobsmacked by the naivete of the taxi driver. I feel badly for what happened to him.
I am self-employed in the building trades, though. On larger jobs, especially with someone I don’t know, I make sure to get a downpayment that will cover my hard costs at the very least. So if the client is a no- or slow-payer, I’ve at least gotten enough money to pay materials, gas, pay for helpers, etc.
This has been done before (e.g. 1 2), except with a happier ending for the cabbie. In these cases they are well aware that a plane would be cheaper.
Such a trip would almost certainly have the meter off, no? That would be even more expensive (article above says $5000 vs. $17,000). I recently saved $20 by taking a cab to an airport rather than directly to a nearby location as it was fixed price. Plus the price has to reflect the cost of returning the cab to Sacramento. If I were rich I’d take a cab from Sacramento to Ocean City, Maryland.
I can’t imagine that wherever this guy is from requires more trusting than the US.
You should do an “Ask the…” thread. Or someone provide a link if you/someone else has done one.
I almost have a hard time believing that the driver has worked 10 years as claimed in the article. I’ve owned and operated taxis for about the same timeframe, and I know almost no veteran drivers who would agree to that. Driving a cab tends to make you very suspicious of “stories”.
Not to mention, charging $1200 for a trip that’s going to take you somewhere around three days and cost you a few hundred in expenses. Plus, if you lease, you’re going to have to pay out the other drivers shifts. The economics don’t make sense. My last large trip was about 320 miles one way, and I charged $700.
I drove a yellow cab for a couple of years in New York City, back in the 80s.
The rules at that time did permit out-of-town trips, and a flat rate could be negotiated. Or I think you could charge double the meter, I can’t really remember.
I dont’ know, I might have done it, just for fun, but I sure as hell would have gotten the money up front. But, like guizot upthread, I was leasing my cab. Some drivers leased by the week, but I was leasing mine for twelve-hour shifts, and so a trip that long wouldn’t have been feasible.
Also, I would have been afraid of a breakdown somewhere. I would have hated to have to call the cab owner and say something like “hey, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m broken down. Where, you say? Minnesota. Yes, I said Minnesota. So, you think you can send out the repair truck?”
Cab driver joke:
A guy is driving his cab, and pulls over for a fare. A guy gets in and says, “look, I’ve got to get to Los Angeles, but I’m terrified of flying. I’ll give you $5,000 to drive me there, plus gas and expenses.” The driver thinks about it, and says, “sure, what the hell.” They get to LA, and he drops off his fare. He’s driving along the street in LA, and someone flags him down. He pulls over, and the person says “hey, I’ve got to get to New York, and I hate flying. I’ll give you $5,000 to take me there, since you’re probably going that way anyway.” The driver says “sure, where in New York are you going?” The fare says “Brooklyn.” The driver thinks about it for a minute, and says “nah, I don’t wanna go to Brooklyn,” and takes off empty.
If you don’t get it, and you’re not from New York, it can be quite difficult to convince yellow cabs to go to the outer boroughts, or at least most parts of the boroughs.
I’m not a cabbie, but a friend of mine had to get a taxi from Brandon to Winnipeg last month (133 miles) it cost him $350.00 including the tip.
This sounds like a scam from the get go. How much would it have taken to fly there? Surely a plane+taxi would have been cheaper than taking a taxi the whole way.
Or greyhound or something. I mean Sacramento to North Dakota?! In a friggin cab?! If he was going to scam somebody, he could have booked a flight and found a taxi that accepted credit cards, then just not paid his bill 
At least the people getting him to his destination would not have been screwed over!
