CAB DRIVERS TELL PASSENGERS TO TAKE A HIKE

CAB DRIVERS TELL PASSENGERS TO TAKE A HIKE We all know that I do not take public transportation-- except for that one exciting time when a group of friends escorted me on a CTA bus down Michigan Avenue for my adventure in being a “regular” person. I used to take, on average, four cab rides a day, but with my new healthy life-style, I walk more and have cut that in half. With a hefty gratuity, my typical daily cab expenditure is about $15. Taxi drivers are asking for a 22% rate hike and the implementation of various fees; $1.50 to use a credit card, $1.00 for a phone dispatch, $1.00 for McCormick Place trips and a $50 vomit clean- up fee. The only one I agree with is the vomit clean-up fee. Let’s first discuss the 22% rate hike. Drivers can generate their own revenue increase by being smart. I have always been astounded at the stupidity of cab drivers who wait around at hotels hoping to get an airport trip from a departing guest. This is brainless for two reasons. The first is that a driver is generating zero income waiting on line; if he were driving around he would have a better chance of catching an immediate fare. The second is purely economic. An airport ride is not the best revenue generating exercise for drivers. If a driver makes one 25 mile trip to the airport his income is $47.25 before tip; if a driver makes five 5 mile trips his revenue is $56.25 before the tip. The difference in the profit of the two 25 mile scenarios is because of the flag drop the driver receives on each individual ride. The more flag drops, the greater the revenue. Five trips produce a 16% income than a single trip. So any driver can immediately raise his income by doing more single rides. My arguments against the fees are quite simple. Most people will tip more if they use a credit card because it is not cash out of their pocket. So a driver should be happy when a passenger wants to pay with a credit card because it is to the driver's advantage. In Manhattan, cabs have built in credit card machines that a passenger just swipes and signs. They are very easy to use. The use of a credit card also protects the driver against having to carry cash. When a cab driver receives a dispatch call it means he is guaranteed a fare. The driver should be thrilled to know he has a customer for certain. The driver should pay for the privilege of a surefire fare, not charge for it. I do not understand the request for a $1.00 surcharge for a McCormick Place trip. Why pick McCormick Place? I called the Department of Business Licensing and Consumer Affairs to find out why that location of all locations, but the Public Information officer was not in. Because I have never vomited in a cab, or even thought about vomiting in a cab, I never considered that a clean-up fee would be necessary. I guess it makes sense for a cab driver to ask to be compensated for the labor to clean the taxi and for the economic opportunity lost from the downtime. But why only ask for a vomit fee? What is someone bleeds while in a cab or delivers a baby? The wording in the ordinance on this new surcharge would have to be very carefully written. A nickname for a cab driver is a hack. This is derived from the term hackney coach which is a carriage for hire. The verb hack is defined as”to chop or cut crudely, roughly, or irregularly, as with a hatchet.” The drivers are asking for a rate increase at a time of economic downturn; are they cutting off their noses to spite their face?