Correct me if I’m wrong but if a taxi has it’s light on you’re supposed to be able to flag it down.
I got fed up waiting at the taxi rank because every taxi I saw approaching the rank with it’s light on disappeared out of site before the rank, and then snook past with it’s light off and passengers inside.
They were disappearing because the taxi rank is placed a few hundred yards down THEEE busiest road for taxi-flaggers on the island.
So I decided to begin walking home, thinking… if they can flag one down so can I.
WRONG. Every taxi I tried to flag pretended I didn’t exist.
My opinion of taxi drivers was never very high. It’s considerably lower tonight.
Until such time as someone comes along and explains that what they were doing made perfect sense and wasn’t some sinister conspiracy to ignore service in favour of profit or convenience.
They were pre-booked?
Someone called (phoned) them to a location not quite near the rank?
More chance of picking up a double fare from a hail than at the rank?
So why didn’t they turn their lights off? (the light is supposed to indicate they are ‘available’)
and why the greater chance of a double fare from a hail?
The lights are often busted. If it’s a company car you can’t screw with 'em.
The big light in the middle does not necessarily always mean available. On the cars I drove, the big white thing that said “Taxi” was always on; if we were hired, a little orange light would go off next to it. It varies from city to city and company to company.
If they are answering a call-in, the light will still probably show available because it’s connected directly to the meter and the driver may not have the ability to switch it off manually. Again, it varies from city to city and company to company.
If they moved the rank/stand down 50 yards farther down the street, people would just move farther farther down to flag them. They don’t want to wait in line. The drivers will pick them up because it’s hoped that if they effectively help the fare cut in line, the fare will in turn give a better tip. No guarantee, obviously, but in my experience I’d rather pick up the guy who may feel like he owes me a favor than the shlub that waits in line at the queue.
If this stand is in front of a hotel or something like that, it may be their fault; it’s pretty easy to send a guy out once in awhile to write down the numbers of cabs that are stopping before the queue and write them up them. Without knowing the city you’re in and how the business works there, it’s hard to say, though. It could be as simple as the people getting picked up looked like they were going a long way.
In the absence of regulation, people in a very competitive industry are going to look for any advantage they can get. If there are more fares than cabs at a given time and place, supply and demand may work against you.