5 ms·
This is not surprising at all. Traveling around the world, cab drivers are often times some of my favorite people. I like the profession, generally finding cab
by randomdrake 11y ago
This is not surprising at all.
Traveling around the world, cab drivers are often times some of my favorite people. I like the profession, generally finding cab drivers to be interesting and knowledgeable of local areas. In San Francisco, I try to take regular cabs when I can just to meet people and support the old profession and working class folks.
Bay Area, about a week ago. It was dark, cold, and raining around 5:30pm. Myself and the wife, who is at term and therefore obviously pregnant, got off at the train station and attempted to take a cab to alleviate the few minute wait in the rain for a Lyft or Uber.
I didn't have any cash. I know by now that you have to ask if they take credit card ahead of time; fine.
Me: "Hi, do you take credit card?"
Them: "No, no credit card. It's broken."
Me: "You've got stickers on your window that say you take them?"
Them: "Well, how far are you going?"
Me: "No thanks, I'll try the next one.
Me: "Hello, do you take credit card?"
Them: "Maybe. Where are you going? Minimum 15 dollar."
I know that it's about 12 dollars to my house. I tell him where we're going, and he just shakes his head.
Me: "Fine, screw it. I'll just get a Lyft."
I pulled out my phone, standing in front of a line of Taxis, and got a Lyft. About 6-8 minutes later, they picked us up, and took us on our way.
An entire line of cab drivers, my pregnant wife and I standing there in the rain and cold, and not a single one of them trying to actually take the fare.
During the 15 minutes or so of this interaction, and us waiting for Lyft, not a single cab was taken by the very strong flow of people leaving the train station at rush hour. Lots of pickups from friends and family. Plenty of Uber cars. Pink mustaches in quite a few windshields.
It was like something out of a movie. An entire line of real people, sitting there in their cars, often complaining about a lack of business, or how times have changed, or how insurance is X, or Uber is Y.
Not a single one with enough gumption to step up to the plate, smile, and say: "Where to mister?"
- xxpor 11y agoWhy do you let them tell you they don't take cards? From a quick googling, it seems like taxis in SF must take cards. If they drive me somewhere and the machine's broken, that's not my problem.
- BHSPitMonkey 11y agoThey only have to take your card if they want to get paid. They're not required to pick you up in the first place.
- xxpor 11y agoIf it's illegal not to accept cards, it should also be illegal to refuse fares by asking if someone wants to pay with a card.
- mikeash 11y agoIt's easier to go with someone who wants my business than to try to force someone who doesn't want it to take me anyway.
- bdamm 11y agoSF is not Silicon Valley proper, in the sense that the jurisdiction of SF over its taxi fleet does not extend south of San Francisco city proper and its airport. Anywhere else is different county rules.
- xxpor 11y ago
- DrScump 11y agoTraveling around the world, cab drivers are often times some of my favorite people. There is a film called "Night on Earth" (1991) with great stories in cab rides in 5 different cities. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102536/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102536/