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I used to travel to the Bay Area for work all the time, and the taxis were a nightmare EVERY TIME. Before I got in a cab at SJC I'd look the driver in the eyes

I used to travel to the Bay Area for work all the time, and the taxis were a nightmare EVERY TIME. Before I got in a cab at SJC I'd look the driver in the eyes and ask if his credit card reader "is working". He'd say "Yes, no problem! Hop in!" Then we get to the hotel 15 minutes away, he wants $40 cash. Turns out his credit card reader is broken. I argue with him for a while, and he decides he can write my fucking card number down on a piece of paper. Asks me what the tip will be. It's zero, asshole. Nowadays I have to walk farther to the rideshare pickup area, but the ride is cheap, the service is good, and I don't have to have an argument at the end of it. I tip in cash so that Uber/Lyft can't steal it. I wish there were a version of this where the driver would get 90% of the fare, nobody gets discriminatory pricing, and nobody has to deal with gamified BS, but oh well. I will NEVER ride in another taxi or take any action to help taxi drivers. They had their chance and they blew it.

buildbot 5y ago
I have never been in this circumstance, but at that point paying at all seems like a bad idea. They can choose to kidnap you I guess...
- Firmwarrior 5y ago
  haha, I should've done that "Fuck you then, send me a bill" and throw my business card on the seat
jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
> I will NEVER ride in another taxi or take any action to help taxi drivers. They had their chance and they blew it. Do as you like but keep in mind there are some decent taxi companies. Up here there's a driver owned co-op cab that is reliable and reasonable. No nice app but if you schedule a trip to the airport they show up on time.
mardifoufs 5y ago
Yep the card trick seem to be universal. It happened to me so often here in Montréal that at the end I would just say "I only have 20$ cash does that get me there? Otherwise I have my credit card" so that if they were to have a "broken" machine they'd know how much I would be able to pay in cash from the get go. Sometimes the machine magically worked when the meter got way beyond whatever I had in cash. I get the hustle of not paying taxes or credit card fees but damn if it didn't make for a weird and pushy experience

buildbot 5y ago

I have never been in this circumstance, but at that point paying at all seems like a bad idea. They can choose to kidnap you I guess...

Firmwarrior 5y ago
haha, I should've done that "Fuck you then, send me a bill" and throw my business card on the seat

jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago

> I will NEVER ride in another taxi or take any action to help taxi drivers. They had their chance and they blew it. Do as you like but keep in mind there are some decent taxi companies. Up here there's a driver owned co-op cab that is reliable and reasonable. No nice app but if you schedule a trip to the airport they show up on time.

mardifoufs 5y ago

Yep the card trick seem to be universal. It happened to me so often here in Montréal that at the end I would just say "I only have 20$ cash does that get me there? Otherwise I have my credit card" so that if they were to have a "broken" machine they'd know how much I would be able to pay in cash from the get go. Sometimes the machine magically worked when the meter got way beyond whatever I had in cash. I get the hustle of not paying taxes or credit card fees but damn if it didn't make for a weird and pushy experience