sickoftravel

I took a taxi this evening from EWR airport (at the authorized taxi stand) to my hotel in Times Square (Premier Hotel, 133 West 44th).

Once we got into the city, the driver was rather short-tempered - cursing under his breath at other drivers. As we approached Times Square, I started entering the figures into my credit card voucher (the fare was a flat $60, plus toll as agreed at the airport stand). He told me to include $18 as the toll (is that the true toll or did he inflate it?). I trusted him and did not ask for the receipt, but simply added $18 to the fare.

He could not find the hotel on the street, so he started muttering again about how he had told me to check the address (I had given him the correct address TWICE), that he was going to have to circle the block all over again, etc. I was tired, AND I did not want to put myself in an unsafe situation (I am petite woman; he was a big guy), so I remained silent. Then at a corner, he asked me if I would get down and walk to the hotel. He pointed to a direction and said, I know the hotel is on this street. He did not want to go round the block. When I looked uncertain, he pressed the gas pedal hard, lurching the taxi forward, and said: I am not going to beg you, what kind of a person are you, so inconsiderate, etc…etc).

He entered the street of my hotel location saying, "if we don't find the hotel now, I am not going to move an inch from here". He was ranting all the way. Finally I saw the hotel and asked him to stop; gave him the voucher and just rushed into the hotel, glad to get away from him. I am not a timid or fearful person, and have traveled all over the world, without mishap. But I felt rather threatened in this situation and want to at least make sure this does not happen to other women. I am also very angry - I know I acted wisely in putting my safety first and not arguing with an seemingly unbalanced person who had control of the wheel, but I hated being in that situation.

I have noted the taxi number and the phone numbers posted in the taxi: 973-733-4311 and 973-733-8912. Is it worth the hassle to call and complain? It seems to be the Newark Taxi Commission. Anyone dealt with them before? Do they take complaints seriously?

stevenshev

Hard to say about toll, depends on route he took. Sounds a little high, though.

Can't help about complaint, other than to say Newark taxis suck, pre-book car services for less money and less hassle in the future.

darnie

you probably took the turnpike which is a couple of dollars, and then you took the Lincoln tunnel which is $13, so i would say around $15-16 is the tolls. Not sure if its worth it to report for couple of dollars.

lapo1234

That seems to be pretty standard from EWR to the Manhattan. I do not think it is worth filing a complaint.

CodeAdam10

Next time you can try Uber (on-demand App-based car service.)

Their UberX flat rate is $65 between EWR>NYC and tips are included (tolls extra.) Plus everything is automatically billed to your credit card on-file so no need to worry about paying in cash, etc.

There are plenty of new user promos available, giving you $40 in free credit to try out their service. For example, here is one from VFTW: http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthew...service-users/

Often1

Even if you are not the Uber support, one of the generic car services such as Elite or DIAL-7, have plenty of cars on tap and you know what you're in for. Those generally also run a bit less than a taxi.

The concern sounds like a typical EWR-midtown ride. If it cost a buck or two more than it should have, not really significant.