Rome cab drivers forced to be honest

by Annie Scott on

All over the world, taxi drivers seem to love to scam tourists. Hapless visitors with no idea what a taxi from A to B should cost are so easy to drive around for an extra ten euros or so.

In New York City, they’ve made an effort to combat the problem by adding video maps in cabs (so you can see when you aren’t between your pickup point and your destination) and charging flat fees to bring people into Manhattan from the local airports. Now, in Rome, there’s a new method of keeping drivers honest afoot.

According to Reuters, Radiotaxi 3570 in Rome is “trying to improve the bad name of the city’s cabbies” by allowing visitors to pay for their ride from the airport into the city in advance, even from their home countries. You will soon be able to book online and request a driver who speaks English, German, French or Spanish, and a text message payment/reservation service is in the works, as well.

Though we’d never scoff at a trip to Rome simply because the taxi drivers have a bad reputation, this development is heartening; it shows that Rome wants and appreciates its foreign guests.

[via Reuters]

Puking in a Chicago taxicab may soon cost you $50

by Scott Carmichael on

Cab drivers have always had a bit of a conundrum with drunk passengers – they provide a decent chunk of their income, but they also regularly leave other chunks in the back of their cars.

Of all the tasks a cabbie has to deal with, cleaning up someone’s vomit has to be the worst possible one. It’s tough enough when you have to clean up your own mess, but having to scrape puke off the back seat of your car must be pretty miserable. The problem is so bad, that Chicago cabbies are asking the city for permission to charge $50 for anyone that loses their liquid dinner in their vehicle.

Cleaning a soiled cab takes several hours, and a professional vomit cleaning kit costs almost $100. The last thing you want is to try picking up passengers in a vehicle that stinks of puke.

The “vomit surcharge” is just one of many fare hikes the drivers want. The other fees include a $1.50 credit card surcharge, $1 for each additional passenger and a 22% per-mile fee increase. The proposals are under consideration, but there appears to be little support for it.

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Vermont cab driver offers “pay what you want” fares

by Katie Hammel on

Websites like eBay and Priceline let consumers pay what they want for everything from designer gowns to airline tickets. Now, if you live in Essex, Vermont, you can exercise that same financial control when it comes to taxi fares. Eric Hagen, a part-time cab driver has been offering “pay what you want” rides in his Recession Ride Taxi since June.

Hagen not only offers passengers the right to pay whatever they feel is fair for the ride, he also applies his unique pricing model to cold drinks available in the cab, and offers a “frequent rider” punch card. After 7 paid rides, your next trip is free.

The local Days Inn now uses Hagen to transport guests to the airport whenever possible, and Hagen says he has been so successful that he’s thinking about expanding and hiring more drivers. He says no one has undercut him, though he has been paid with items like a $10 grocery card and a music CD.

Unfortunately, I doubt this business model could become widely popular, as taxi companies are strictly regulated and drivers are required to turn on their meters for every fare. But perhaps a few intrepid private cab operators will follow Hagen’s lead and bring “pay what you want” fares to more locations around the country.

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[via CNBC]

Family leaves child in the back of a cab

by Katie Hammel on

First some poor kid was left sleeping on a park bench when his family drove off without him in their motor home. Now another sleeping kid has gotten left behind, this time in a cab that her family had taken from the airport to their house in Boston. When they got inside, they realized the five-year old child wasn’t with them, and called the police.

The police were able to locate the cab driver, who had no idea he was carrying extra cargo. He returned the child to her parents and received a $50 tip. Then he found out he might face suspension of his license for failing to thoroughly check the backseat. The driver appealed and on Tuesday, according to the Boston Herald, police dropped the suspension with a warning for the cabbie to check his car more carefully next time.

Just another reason to make sure you keep tabs on your belongings at all times when traveling. . . especially if those “belongings” are your children.

Go Fast Cab brings text message taxi requests to Chicago

by Katie Hammel on

Go Fast Cab, a company that hopes to change the way you hail a taxi, is now offering service in Chicago. Rather than standing out on the street in the cold or rain, waiting impatiently for the sight of a taxi with an illuminated “available” light, all you have to do is text and a cab will arrive at your door.

Here’s how it works. You text your address to 777222 (777CAB) and the request is dispatched from Go Fast Cab to a local taxi company, who sends the next available car off to your location. Of course, that’s where the system has the potential to break down. At high volume times, you could be waiting a while (though you can text with the word STATUS for an update). You might wait just as long outside on the street-corner, but then at least you get to feel like you are doing something. You’ll also have the chance to flag down a cab from another company, whereas with Go Fast Cab, you’re pinning all your hopes on one dispatcher.

Still, on bad-weather days or for trips to the airport when I’m laden with bags, the idea of a cab showing up at my house, without me having to call and deal with cranky operators or endless holds, does sound nice. If you’re not in Chicago, you can still use the service too. The company, which started with San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County, has plans to expand Go Fast Cab to San Jose, Phoenix, Nashville and Charlotte.