4 ms·

The cabs I've used in the last few years have all had credit card swipers in the car. I figured this would be a universal feature of any moderately populated c

by AlexMax 12y ago

The cabs I've used in the last few years have all had credit card swipers in the car. I figured this would be a universal feature of any moderately populated cities' cab system in 2014.

GeorgeOrr 12y ago
The way Uber works is that they already have my credit card on file. I don't have to fumble with the card or my wallet either.
ska 12y ago
It seems to be fairly universal, but cabbies also drag their feet a lot on using them, in my experience. Whether this is because the remote units are fiddly and slow, or they just don't like having a paper trail on the tip & fare, I don't know.
jpb0104 12y ago
I've been in cabs where they give you a hard time about paying with credit cards, I'm assuming because of the fees or they'd rather deal with cash maybe under the table?
- deleted 12y ago
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minimaxir 12y ago
Some cabs "strongly encourage" the use of cash, since there are no fees paid to the credit card company. Using the 2013 NYC Taxi data that was posted earlier, the amount of people who pay with cash vs. amount of people who pay with credit card is about 50:50. Here's a quick spreadsheet of the distribution: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EaP9LJ7i1MPREuypejOrvICW1QfY_UHWJw9AB6xlg1s/edit?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EaP9LJ7i1MPREuypejOr...
monksy 12y ago
Not all cabs want to use it because 1. it's recorded and 2. "fees" that they don't want to pay. The strategy used in Chicago when a credit card machine isn't working is just to tell them you don't have cash and you're walking out if they won't accept a card ("for a 'broken machine'") Magically it starts working again. [The city of Chicago mandates that they must be able to accept credit cards]
clarkm 12y ago
Yet almost every time they discourage you from paying with a credit card. And even if they don't, there's a good chance they'll try to make you pay with Square or something (at least in SF).

by AlexMax 12y ago

The cabs I've used in the last few years have all had credit card swipers in the car. I figured this would be a universal feature of any moderately populated cities' cab system in 2014.

GeorgeOrr 12y ago

The way Uber works is that they already have my credit card on file. I don't have to fumble with the card or my wallet either.

ska 12y ago

It seems to be fairly universal, but cabbies also drag their feet a lot on using them, in my experience. Whether this is because the remote units are fiddly and slow, or they just don't like having a paper trail on the tip & fare, I don't know.

jpb0104 12y ago

I've been in cabs where they give you a hard time about paying with credit cards, I'm assuming because of the fees or they'd rather deal with cash maybe under the table?

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

minimaxir 12y ago

Some cabs "strongly encourage" the use of cash, since there are no fees paid to the credit card company. Using the 2013 NYC Taxi data that was posted earlier, the amount of people who pay with cash vs. amount of people who pay with credit card is about 50:50. Here's a quick spreadsheet of the distribution: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EaP9LJ7i1MPREuypejOrvICW1QfY_UHWJw9AB6xlg1s/edit?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EaP9LJ7i1MPREuypejOr...

monksy 12y ago

Not all cabs want to use it because 1. it's recorded and 2. "fees" that they don't want to pay. The strategy used in Chicago when a credit card machine isn't working is just to tell them you don't have cash and you're walking out if they won't accept a card ("for a 'broken machine'") Magically it starts working again. [The city of Chicago mandates that they must be able to accept credit cards]

clarkm 12y ago

Yet almost every time they discourage you from paying with a credit card. And even if they don't, there's a good chance they'll try to make you pay with Square or something (at least in SF).