Some local taxi companies leery of one-company airport service August 30, 2010 12:01:00 AM PAT KELLY / News Herald Writer WEST BAY — Representatives from several local taxi companies expressed skepticism this week of plans by the Airport Author-ity to employ a single cab company for the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Lisa Rhodes, general manager of Checker Transit, which has operated in Bay County for 15 years, said a single company would have to deploy 100 cabs or more to keep up with the business, and no local company has that capacity. “It doesn’t make sense to me unless it’s a very large company,” she said. Rhodes said her company, which operates 12 vehicles, would not be able to handle the airport traffic and continue to service customers throughout the county as well. Wayne Hobson, manager of Yellow Cab Co., said allowing only one company to operate from the airport would create a monopoly. He wasn’t a legal expert, he said, but it sounded un-American. “It just wouldn’t be right,” he said. “Personally, I think it’s a free market and people should be able to choose the company they want.” Hobson said Yellow Cab employs 25 people and operates 15 vehicles that meet airport regulations. Airport Authority board members on Tuesday voted to develop specifications for a bid proposal for a single ground transport company for the airport, which currently lists 26 companies on its website that operate from the airport. - more... News Herald - (Panama City, Florida) Cab Controversy Continues at New Airport 08/30/10 - 05:10 PM Mary Scott Speigner Cab drivers, like Jim Vandommelen, work the airport everyday. Some drivers claim to get 80% of their business providing transportation to and from the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Vandommelen is worried he won’t have the gig much longer if the airport board decides to bid services out to one single company. The board voted last week to begin excepting proposals from cab companies. Right now 19 different companies service the airport. “It will cut into my income. It’ll cut into a lot of people. We will probably loose people,” said Vandommelen. He believes passengers should have a choice when it comes to cabs. “When you go to rent a car, you have a choice between four or five rental companies. When you come out [to get a cab], I think you should have the option to ride in whatever cab you prefer,” said Vandommelen. - more... WMBB-TV Channel 13 - (Panama City, Florida) So I Was Held Hostage By Yellow Cab Written on August 27, 2010 This isn’t a work of fiction. This isn’t a lie. This isn’t a stretch of the truth. This is, in fact, a 100% completely true story of how the Pittsburgh Yellow Cab Company essentially held me hostage for roughly 30 minutes. Let’s start with the definition of “hostage,” just to make sure we are all on the same page. Webster defines a hostage as: * a person held by one party in a conflict as a pledge pending the fulfillment of an agreement * person taken by force to secure the taker’s demands My trip into Pittsburgh was going amazingly well. The flight from Chicago took off on time, arrives 15 minutes early, there was a cab waiting, no line for the cab and we made it into Pittsburgh quickly. I was just praising the gods for all this great fortune, when things took an abrupt turn toward crazy town. The cab driver stopped at the MARC USA Pittsburgh office and read me the fare; $34.00 and change. I pulled out my Discover Card (it’s my card of choice and I’ve used it for every cab ride I’ve ever taken from and to the Pittsburgh airport) and handed it to the driver. The driver snapped his head back at me, pursed his lips and in a clearly irritated tone said to me, “I don’t take Discover, only Visa or Mastercard.” I mumbled under my breath, that this was ridiculous and the said to him, “well, that’s the only card I have.” This was technically a lie. I had my Visa CheckCard that’s tied to my banking account; however I never use that card for cab rides. In the past I’ve witnessed and heard of stories where a vendor/service will run up charges once they have your CheckCard info. I should also mention that the Yellow Cab website clearly indicates that they do in fact take Discover Card. But, I digress…back to the story. The driver snapped back to me and said, “Bullshit, I want my money now. You’re not going to rip me off.” Woah, this totally caught me off guard. I was completely confused. At this point, I said, “Well, there’s an ATM over there (roughly 15 feet away), I’ll go there and get you your money.” That seems fair, right? Well, not to this guy. No sooner had I put my hand on the door handle to exit the cab, the cab driver locked the doors and yelled to me, “no, no, no, I’m not going to fall for this trick.” - more... The Kmiec Ramblings - (Blogosphere)
Two drivers shot at, hurt Source: Hueiyen News Service Imphal, August 30 2010: Suspected underground activists inflicted injuries to two drivers of Tata Magic and Van in separate shoot out incidents today apparently in connection with extortion demands. Two suspected underground cadres shot and injured the driver of the Tata Magic in both his legs at Poabitek vehicle parking under Wangoi Police Station of Imphal west district today morning even as miscreants fired guns at the house of the cashier of the Accountant General in another militancy related incident. The injured driver who has been admitted at RIMS hospital, Imphal with bullet injuries has been identified as Pukhrambam Subash (28) son of P Netra of Hiyangthang Makha Pukhrambam Mamang Leikai. The unidentified gunmen shot and injured him at 8.30 am today. The bullets pumped in both his legs exited directly on the opposite sides. Hospital source stated his condition as serious but stable. He was the driver cum owner of the Tata Magic bearing registration number MN-01W/6715 operating passenger service along the Imphal-Poabitek route. - more... E-Pao! - (Imphal, India) 5,000 cabbies stay off roads after 10 taxis found damaged Mumbai Mirro Bureau Posted On Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 04:30:59 AM Taxis in several parts of the city went off roads on Monday after 10 taxis were found damaged by unknown persons at Dharavi, Worli and Chembur. There were reports of a flash strike called by a taxi union floated by the Republican Party of India, but RTO officials said they had no information of the same. “Following the attacks on the taxis, about 5,000 drivers chose to stay off roads out of fear. There were rumours of a strike, but there was no notice nor memorandum regarding it. I heard that cabbies were protesting against Home Minister R R Patil’s decision to increase the fine for not wearing uniforms from Rs 100 to Rs 300,” said A L Quadros, leader of Mumbai Taximen’s Union. - more... Mumbai Mirror - (Mumbai, India) Geelong taxi driver says he wanted revenge for egg attack * Michael Auciello * From: Geelong Advertiser * August 31, 2010 9:34AM AN enraged taxi driver, who chased a car for 20 minutes before demolishing it with a tyre lever, was seeking retribution for his taxi being egged, a court has heard. The Geelong Advertiser reports the damage to the victim's 2001 Holden Astra was so extensive that it was later written off by insurers. The Geelong Magistrates' Court was told Alan Dengler had also ignored instructions from a 000 operator not to follow the car because he had already obtained its registration number. Dengler, 41, of Vines Rd, Hamlyn Heights, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of reckless conduct endangering serious injury, criminal damage and failing to report to police. - more... Herald Sun - (Melbourne, Australia) Hard luck taxi life By Mara Pattison-Sowden 31st August 2010 02:00:21 AM A YARRA Valley taxi driver finds it difficult to satisfy his customer's needs because the taxi conditions in the valley are so bad. Rik Leigh, who has been driving a taxi in the Warburton Highway area for three months now, said the pay was poor, there were not enough drivers to cover the area, and waiting times could lead to customers leaving the pick-up point. He said there was also the problem of base operators making promises they couldn't keep, problems with the country taxi rules, and being abused by customers because the system doesn't work. "I appreciate and understand the frustration of customers and hoteliers but I don't think they understand what we have to put up with," he said. Mr Leigh said he sometimes worked 16-hour shifts and he was the only taxi driver on the Warburton Highway after midnight on a Friday night. "There are also early mornings where I've had to cover from Steels Creek to Yarra Junction and Powelltown," he said. Mr Leigh said the turnaround of drivers was high, and he said it was common to see drivers leave after a few weeks because the pay was poor. - more... Mountain Views Mail - (Melbourne, Australia) Talkative taxi drivers able to help me out of a jam 2010-08-30 10:03:33 (Source: China Daily) BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- I can think of nothing more depressing than being trapped in Beijing's traffic. But, if I happen to be stuck alongside a taxi driver constantly offering opinions about local attractions and reflections on hot events, my depression is soon eased. It is a widely acknowledged fact in town that Beijing has, perhaps, the country's most talkative and knowledgeable taxi drivers. Nevertheless, they don't usually impress at first sight. They are required to dress in a uniform consisting of a khaki shirts and navy blue trousers that unfortunately often dim their vitality. Some wear a pair of cloth shoes that, along with often unshaven faces, somehow make them look aged and gloomy. They talk in, I would say, plainly crafted voices, loud and rude. But the conversation often turns out to appeal to my appreciation for their dramatic Beijing tones. And more admirable than their voices is what they say - their amazingly wide knowledge. - more... Xinhuanet - (Beijing, China) Tales of taxi terrors By Rachel Scully, Multimedia Journalist SOME talk too much, brake aggressively, take a longer route or yell at you to get out of their cab. Then there are those who refuse to pick you up even though they are vacant and you have been flagging frantically. Cab drivers can ruin your travel experience - and your day. However, there are always two sides to a story and some passengers show they too can be just as irresponsible, inconsiderate and ungracious. Common encounters related by cab drivers include refusal to pay the fare, and illegal requests to enter the bus lane during operational bus lane hours. So how has taxi service standards in Singapore evolved over the years? Catch the inside stories of passengers and taxi drivers, as RazorTV goes undercover to uncover if cabbies are your worst nightmare or the other way around. The Straits Times - (Singapore) |
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Updated aug 31 @ 03:07 GMT
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