I am a big "fan" of mass transit, but every once in a while, I'll take a taxi (especially on a Sunday, when buses like the Q48 run every half hour). I arrived at lga (central terminal, AA) at about 9 pm, and proceeded to the taxi line, which had a huge line of cabs and NO waiting pax^. When I told the driver I was going to Flushing, he was annoyed, and muttered "why I didn't take a bus?"
When taxis doing a short run, return, don't they get a pass to "jump the queue?" [I felt sorry for the driver but I did have to get to my destination, and that is the service he has to provide.]
[PS: I gave him a higher tip than "normal":)]
FlyerChrisK
Jan 8, 12, 11:53 pm
When taxis doing a short run, return, don't they get a pass to "jump the queue?" [I felt sorry for the driver but I did have to get to my destination, and that is the service he has to provide.]
I'm pretty sure the cabs do not. Did you receive your driver get such a token? If not, how would they identify whether or not he had been out on a short-trip.
After dropping you off, he may have taken a fare to a destination other than LGA. Even if he had been able to jump the queue at LGA, he would have been poorly positioned to do so. The reason cabbies prefer to get rides into the city are that the fares are higher (and thus compensate them for the long time they may have already waited in the cab line).
sbm12
Jan 9, 12, 5:31 am
They are supposed to get a "short fare" tag from the dispatcher to jump the queue for certain neighborhoods. I do not know if Flushing counts.
Often1
Jan 9, 12, 5:50 am
I am a big "fan" of mass transit, but every once in a while, I'll take a taxi (especially on a Sunday, when buses like the Q48 run every half hour). I arrived at lga (central terminal, AA) at about 9 pm, and proceeded to the taxi line, which had a huge line of cabs and NO waiting pax^. When I told the driver I was going to Flushing, he was annoyed, and muttered "why I didn't take a bus?"
When taxis doing a short run, return, don't they get a pass to "jump the queue?" [I felt sorry for the driver but I did have to get to my destination, and that is the service he has to provide.]
[PS: I gave him a higher tip than "normal":)]
They should get a local tag to jump the queue. But, that only works if they know to get one from the dispatcher and you give them the local destination before actually moving past the dispatcher.
You shouldn't feel bad because it's a cost of doing business for the taxi and it's frankly a nice thing to give a really good tip.
swag
Jan 9, 12, 6:38 am
I always tell the dispatcher myself that my ride will be a short haul.
nrr
Jan 9, 12, 6:47 am
I always tell the dispatcher myself that my ride will be a short haul.
I did tell the dispatcher. Usually they give me a paper to give to the taxi driver--I did not get such a document. But the taxi driver before starting out, went back to the dispatcher to discuss the issue...
[PS: Based on my location, he got me to my destination in under 10 minutes and should have been back in the queue in even shorter time from then.]
Analise
Jan 9, 12, 7:08 am
When I told the driver I was going to Flushing, he was annoyed, and muttered "why I didn't take a bus?"
When taxis doing a short run, return, don't they get a pass to "jump the queue?" [I felt sorry for the driver but I did have to get to my destination, and that is the service he has to provide.]
[PS: I gave him a higher tip than "normal":)]You felt sorry for the driver? The cabbie mouthed off at you and you rewarded him with a bigger tip? :confused:
nrr
Jan 9, 12, 7:31 am
You felt sorry for the driver? The cabbie mouthed off at you and you rewarded him with a bigger tip? :confused:
It was a "muttered" remark--which I wasn't supposed to hear--but I have good hearing.:)
themicah
Jan 9, 12, 8:06 am
They definitely do "shorty" tickets at JFK, but I don't know if they do them at LGA.
nrr
Jan 9, 12, 8:49 am
They definitely do "shorty" tickets at JFK, but I don't know if they do them at LGA.
Just getting out of the JFK airport is a minimum of 5 (or so) miles; LGA is more like 1/3 of a mile--so having "shorthaul" tickets would be more important for LGA cabbies.
themicah
Jan 9, 12, 9:45 am
Just getting out of the JFK airport is a minimum of 5 (or so) miles; LGA is more like 1/3 of a mile--so having "shorthaul" tickets would be more important for LGA cabbies.
It would appear that I've asked this question and been answered before (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15626055-post12.html). Need to learn to remember....
doctor15
Jan 11, 12, 10:49 am
I took a cab from LGA to Astoria once, and the cabbie immediately got angry. Then he got out to talk to the dispatcher for a few minutes and received the "shorty" ticket.
I asked him about it and he explained it was a pass for him to jump the line so he could return to take a passenger to Manhattan. I replied "oh, that is very nice" and he said "yes, it is a great system"
Perhaps because a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. There's no guarantee that his next fare from LGA will be going to Manhattan, either.
Fornebufox
Jan 11, 12, 4:03 pm
At the NY airports the dispatcher always asks me where I'm going, I guess this is why.
Landing Gear
Jan 14, 12, 12:41 pm
I am a big "fan" of mass transit, but every once in a while, I'll take a taxi (especially on a Sunday, when buses like the Q48 run every half hour). I arrived at lga (central terminal, AA) at about 9 pm, and proceeded to the taxi line, which had a huge line of cabs and NO waiting pax^. When I told the driver I was going to Flushing, he was annoyed, and muttered "why I didn't take a bus?"
. . .
[PS: I gave him a higher tip than "normal":)]
To hell with him and all the others who don't follow the rules. :td:
You should have written him up for rudeness.
magiciansampras
Jan 14, 12, 12:43 pm
At the NY airports the dispatcher always asks me where I'm going, I guess this is why.
Correct.
magiciansampras
Jan 14, 12, 12:44 pm
You should have written him up for rudeness.
What does that mean? :confused:
Analise
Jan 14, 12, 4:12 pm
To hell with him and all the others who don't follow the rules. :td:
You should have written him up for rudeness.The OP actually REWARDED this cabbie's rudeness toward him by giving him "a higher tip than normal".
nrr
Jan 14, 12, 6:24 pm
To hell with him and all the others who don't follow the rules. :td:
You should have written him up for rudeness.
I felt sorry for the driver; he had been in this long line (with few waiting pax), and he finally got to pick-up a ride--only I was going to Flushing (10 minutes at the most).
[Personally I don't like to tip, but in this instance I gave him $15 (total) for a base ride of $12.50 (20% instead of 15%).]
magiciansampras
Jan 14, 12, 6:27 pm
I felt sorry for the driver; he had been in this long line (with few waiting pax), and he finally got to pick-up a ride--only I was going to Flushing (10 minutes at the most).
[Personally I don't like to tip, but in this instance I gave him $15 (total) for a base ride of $12.50 (20% instead of 15%).]
Good for you. ^
Landing Gear
Jan 15, 12, 6:18 pm
When I told the driver I was going to Flushing, he was annoyed, and muttered "why I didn't take a bus?" . . .
[PS: I gave him a higher tip than "normal":)]
To hell with him and all the others who don't follow the rules. :td:
You should have written him up for rudeness.
What does that mean? :confused:
The OP actually REWARDED this cabbie's rudeness toward him by giving him "a higher tip than normal".
Analise is correct. And if your question is what did I mean by "rudeness," please see the bolded words above.
Let me say it again, if you are a licensed taxi driver, you have no right to decide you will refuse to carry any passenger based on race, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected class or because the passenger wants to go somewhere within the City of New York you don't like.
If you don't like the rules, don't take the job.
dstan
Jan 16, 12, 1:30 pm
Let me say it again, if you are a licensed taxi driver, you have no right to decide you will refuse to carry an passenger based on race, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected class or because the passenger wants to go somewhere within the City of New York you don't like.
If you don't like the rules, don't take the job.
I agree with you there - them's the rules. I recently rode with a very philosophical cabbie who said that, while he would certainly prefer not to have some trips, he figured that when he got them, it was just his 'turn', and if he tried to duck his responsibilities, someone else would just have to take his 'turn' for him.
The discussion was spurred by a refusal by another cabbie, and this one then picked us up. I was on the phone to 311 to file a complaint (which it turns out can be done online now). After I hung up, the guy who picked us up said that, while he cannot defend the guy who refused us, it's also extremely bad for him, because it's very easy to get written up for a refusal and even if the pax no-shows at the hearing, the cabbie still has to appear, loses a days' work, has to hire an attorney, and, IIRC, gets put on some sort of probation (I may be wrong about the last part).
It was a very interesting and insightful discussion. Now he got a higher tip than normal. ^
magiciansampras
Jan 16, 12, 1:41 pm
Analise is correct. And if your question is what did I mean by "rudeness," please see the bolded words above.
Let me say it again, if you are a licensed taxi driver, you have no right to decide you will refuse to carry an passenger based on race, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected class or because the passenger wants to go somewhere within the City of New York you don't like.
If you don't like the rules, don't take the job.
No I meant what does "write him up" mean? If I went through life "writing up" everyone who I thought was rude to me that's all I'd be doing. Are you always nice as can be at work? Do people write you up? Not sure why the cabbie isn't entitled to a bad day. Does it say in the contract of carriage that the driver has to be peaches all day long?
Analise
Jan 16, 12, 5:42 pm
I agree with you there - them's the rules. I recently rode with a very philosophical cabbie who said that, while he would certainly prefer not to have some trips, he figured that when he got them, it was just his 'turn', and if he tried to duck his responsibilities, someone else would just have to take his 'turn' for him.
The discussion was spurred by a refusal by another cabbie, and this one then picked us up. I was on the phone to 311 to file a complaint (which it turns out can be done online now). After I hung up, the guy who picked us up said that, while he cannot defend the guy who refused us, it's also extremely bad for him, because it's very easy to get written up for a refusal and even if the pax no-shows at the hearing, the cabbie still has to appear, loses a days' work, has to hire an attorney, and, IIRC, gets put on some sort of probation (I may be wrong about the last part).Excellent! ^ Glad to read that it's online too. Simple.
themicah
Jan 16, 12, 8:47 pm
No I meant what does "write him up" mean? If I went through life "writing up" everyone who I thought was rude to me that's all I'd be doing. Are you always nice as can be at work? Do people write you up? Not sure why the cabbie isn't entitled to a bad day. Does it say in the contract of carriage that the driver has to be peaches all day long?
I've never reported a driver for being grumpy, missing a turn or smelling like the outhouse at an onion plantation. I HAVE reported drivers who lied about their credit card machines being broken. And I certainly would report a driver who refused to take me to my destination in NYC, Westchester, Nassau, or Newark Airport. If you want to drive a medallion yellow cab, you are required to take passengers to any destination they want within those bounds.