Sunday, August 24, 2008

VACATION!

The beaches of North Carolina call and I am going to answer that call. Hope everyone has had a good summer so far. Will be back in cabs when I return in September. In the meantime, take care all!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

That $19 Maximum Rate - Take Two

Lots of good comments on this topic, interesting to read.

As someone noted in the other comments, the rate is an inside DC maximum rate, so does not apply for trips from inside DC to Maryland or Virginia. DC is about 68 square miles in total area.

The $19 maximum rate is the law, making the driver's claim of restarting the meter, or other drivers' stories of dumping people out at $19 quite illegal. As for the $19 max rate = socialism, I'd probably have little more sympathy for that if I'd been hearing that for the top zone rate in the pre-meter years too :).

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

That $19 Maximum Rate

I was chatting with a driver last week about DC's $19 maximum fare rate which was set when the switch came from zones to meters.

I asked if he'd had many $19 fares yet and boy did he have some interesting answers. Yes, he said, he'd had a couple. And each time he tossed the meter back to the start and added that fare onto the $19 maximum. I said I didn't think that was in the spirit of the law (ok, legal lol), and he said sure it was, since he had the right to get paid for his work. Besides he said, at least he took the person to her destination. So that made me ask - huh? The response was that he'd heard of at least 2-3 drivers who had pulled their cab over when the meter hit $19 and told their passengers to get out, end of the road.

Both moves are quite illegal, and who knows if the second stories were real or new urban legends, but I thought it interesting comments on all of our getting use to DC's life with meters.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Well That Was Fun - Not!

I am stupid - because I didn't write down the driver's cab number (was one of those with great black card with the person's name on the side).

I got in cab, all is going well as we're driving along Eye street late last night heading west. I should mention that I'm not a tall person. So folks may not be able to see me sitting in back there. Anyhow, on with story.

We're going along on Eye street. There's a woman 1/2 block ahead of us trying to hail a cab. A driver on the far side of my cab speeds up, cuts in front of us to pick up the woman hailing the cab, so we slam on our breaks. I figure he didn't see me and was trying to beat out my driver to the fare.

She gets in 2nd cab and by the next block we're side by side at a red light. My driver rolls down the passenger window and starts yelling at other driver. Who of course starts yelling back. Woman & I staring at each other with "can you believe THIS?" looks. The light turns green and the drivers don't move! They're still yelling at each other. Light turns yellow and they yell more.

I check out my meter, grab the exact change toss it in the front passenger's seat and get out of the cab. Driver now screaming at me - I turn around and scream back "are you KIDDING ME?" and walk behind both cabs to get into a third (non screaming driver) cab for rest of trip.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Really Bad Facial Hair Move

Ok, it's not a cab-riding story, but had to share. Was at Union Station a couple of days ago and saw this older guy walking with other tourist-dressed folks across the street. This one guy had a Hitler mustache! You know, that boxy silly looking thing that you never see anybody wearing anymore because who wants to look like the 20th century's greatest psychotic dictator, right? I couldn't take my eyes off the guy. In all other respects he seemed like a perfectly normal tourist. I noticed a few other folks doing double takes as he walked by. Would love to know the story behind that.

That Time of Year Again?

Regular readers know one thing that really annoys me is drivers who hit on me when I'm in their cab. Please guys - I just want a ride! You know, you take me where I'm going, I pay you for that. Simple transaction. My great run of not getting hit on ended last week with two cabbies hitting on me in the same week. Ok, so maybe it's summer and we're not all bundled up in coats or something, but really guys - outside of Mad Cabbies' midnight run passengers, does that ever work?