VolFanDave

Returning home last night from NYC(W 39th), driver took the (I think)Midtown Tunnel to 495 then to LGA. When we got to LGA, the fare was $26.80 which I thought was a little low but I'd not noticed him adding the toll to the extras amount on the meter as we passed through the toll plaza at the end of the tunnel. As he was helping us with our luggage, he told me "add $5 to the amount-I forgot to add the tunnel toll." I paid $31.80 along with a 20% tip in cash-should I have used a credit card and paid the $26.80 + tip and let him eat the toll charge since he didn't add it?

blort

Does it really make a difference if he adds it at the instant you go through the tollbooth or at the end of the ride?

sbm12

No, but the fact that the guy tacked on more than the actual amount is shameful. I'd have paid the actual amount, mostly because I know it, and then tipped less because he tried to rip me off.

I believe in paying the correct price for the service rendered, but not more and certainly not tipping well when the cabbie tries to screw me.

VolFanDave

No, but he didn't add it at all-just told me as I was reaching for my wallet to add the $5. Just seemed a bit unusual.

blort

Of all the ripoffs in NYC, being overcharged 50 cents by a taxi driver who rounded the cost of a toll doesn't rank very high on my list, nor would I consider making him eat the entire cost for failing to mention it earlier in the ride.

cordelli

He didn't forget, he didn't want it on the meter, so it doesn't show as income. It's cash in his pocket he doesn't have to turn in at the end of the shift. He's just skimming off his company.

Landing Gear

+1, but I'd have tipped zero. I don't reward larceny even if it's just attempted larceny.

As well as the IRS and the other taxing authorities.

Blumie

No chance it was an honest mistake huh? I hate to jump to a conclusion based on the limited facts we have. Also, I don't view it as my job to protect the cab company or the IRS (not to mention the fact that most drivers are independent contractors who rent their cabs, and thus are not responsible for turning in receipts at the end of the day). All of that said, I will suggest another way in which the cab driver may have been ripping off the OP: many meters are programmed automatically to add in the toll charge when a cab drives through an E-Z Pass lane; if you're watching the meter, you'll see the extra charge added in without the driver touching the meter. So it's at least theoretically possible that the OP was double charged.

VolFanDave

No, the extras part of the meter never budged from the $1.50 that was keyed in when we boarded the cab. When we got to LGA, the driver pressed the buttons to combine the fare + the extras which resulted in the $26.80 fare. He did have an EZ Pass on his windshield.

On our trip from LGA into the city on Friday, the driver didn't have an EZ Pass but paid the toll in cash, then keyed it into the meter. I knew that was also unusual as the links here in FT note that all taxis are supposed to have an EZ Pass, but from the same links know that tolls are paid by the passenger and it was properly noted on the meter. That's why I paid the extra $5-I felt like I was responsible for it, knowing we had passed through a tolled tunnel and didn't feel comfortable taking advantage of a "mistake," even though now I know it may have not been a mistake at all.

themicah

I'm pretty sure most cab drivers pay a fixed amount to lease their cabs for their shift, so I don't think he's trying to skim off the company. Maybe the IRS, though.

The main foul here in my mind was that he said the toll was $5 and not $4.57, which is the EZ Pass rate he is required to pass through to his customer. It doesn't matter much when he said it.

Blumie

Well, my view is that you did the right thing. I've had my share of bad experiences with NYC cab drivers but, in my experience, the vast majority are honest and provide far better service than you find in most other cities around the world (it's not at London level, but it's far better than, say, Boston, where I spend a considerable amount of time; the "attempted larceny" rate among Boston cabbies, for example by taking a longer route, is far higher than in NYC). These guys work incredibly hard for low pay; I'm not looking for reasons not to tip them. (I would have been pissed at the cabbie who didn't have an EZ Pass, which might have affected the level of my tip, but I still would have tipped, and probably still would have tipped as much or more than most other passengers.)

jbcarioca

I would have just paid. It is only 43 cents difference, and whether he remembered or not it still was yours to pay. IRS scam; really? I once drove a cab in NYC. I made mistakes without intending to rip anybody off. Haven't you made mistakes?

Analise

If you took a tunnel, it was the Midtown Tunnel.

That said, if you saw the EZ Pass amount added to the meter and the cabbie asked you for more, if I were you, I would not have paid the extra amount.

neuron

Is the Queensboro bridge easily accessible from LGA? I think its still free!

I have had a few cabbies try to avoid the meter charge, and usually tell me to add $5 to the tab (before and after the recent hike in E-Zpass rate). I tell them I will add the E-Zpass rate.

When the cash fare was $5, a couple of drivers wanted me to pay the toll up front, but I refused and said that the cabs were supposed to have an E-Zpass. Usually get a mean look but frankly, I really do not care for bs.

Analise

The 59th St Bridge is still free. Cabbies know how to take Steinway Street or 21st Street to the bridge from the GCP to the bridge.