'It is Getting to be Like the Bad Old Days When Taxis Wouldn't go to Brooklyn'...
“Can’t find a cab to take you to Brooklyn? Join the club. The city is seeing a big rise in complaints about scofflaw cabdrivers who refuse rides based on the passenger’s requested destination, officials said on Thursday. The Taxi and Limousine Commission said it received 2,341 reports of refusals in the last half of 2010,…
Ha, I tried to take a cab to Jamaica Center once from Park Place, Manhattan once. The cabbie and I spent roughly 10 to 15 minutes trying to figure out the route on his GPS. I gave up and took the subway. Suffice to say, I got to my intended destination.
I hate cabs, I generally don’t like people who use them all that often (I’ll never forgive my friends who took a costly gypsy cab to Billyburg when the L was just as fine) and find them a detrimental part of the city in terms of pollution, noise, and generally just bad driving.
Though I see enough of them nowadays here in Clinton Hill bouncing back and forth. They are a good indicator of gentrification.
“yeah – that’s what they say the reason is – which is total bullshit.”
No, it’s true, you could literally see it, traffic was a mess on both the Manhattan bound lanes on both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges while it was happening. Driving all the way up to Williamsburg I doubt was even worth the trip.
I had this problem (also during the snow days of January) when a cab basically refused to take me from the Village to Brooklyn (and I also live in Clinton Hill, so very close to the bridge). He made up every excuse in the book (“i have to go to the bathroom,” “i’m hungry,” “I really don’t want to go.”) I told him he HAS to go, it’s his job, but he kept with the rant. Arguing gets you nowhere, only a miserable ride so I took his # down to report him. (But I love the idea of getting in and giving a Manhattan address first!). I also ditto Jaguar; the majority of cabs (even the complainers) will take me, and I tip very generously, as I too know they can lose $ on the ride back.
Nobody told those assholes to be cab drivers. They chose to drive a cab, so they need to follow the rules. They will go wherever the fuck I want to go, whenvever the fuck I wan to go there. That being said, I respect them when they take me to Brooklyn and tip accordingly, because I do know the economics of the situation (set fares, high gas prices, high lease fees) is not favorable. My biggest gripe is that most of these guys have no idea how to get around. Why are they allowed to drive without first passing a test of basic NYC geography?
By NYGuy7 on February 25, 2011 11:40 AM
And how do you make them drive the Taxi if they refuse to take you?
I’ve never had that happen. If it did I think I’d do major damage to the car.
When i lived on East 54th, they’d bitch and moan when I told them to take Hoyt to crescent and the 59th Street Bridge. All kinds of excuses. “if you don’t shut up and drive you won’t get a tip.”
“if they do the whole roll down the window and ask, always say Union Square, then get in a tell them where you are really going.”
Brilliant!
“he explained to me in this weather, many drivers did not want brooklyn fares because it’d be hard to get one coming back in this weather.”
TOUGH SHIT.
Sometimes I don’t want to go to work when it’s raining.
“I know it was happening a couple of months back and that was cited as the reason why they were refusing to go out to Brooklyn because it took so long to get back into Manhattan.”
yeah – that’s what they say the reason is – which is total bullshit.
they can swing up kent, pick up some tourist from infront of peter luger and go over the WBurg bridge and be right in the LES and pick up a drunk fratboy to take to the UES.
I haven’t taken a yellow cab in a while so I haven’t had this problem but I think there has been an actual increase in cabs refusing trips to Brooklyn. Isn’t there construction going on at night on the Brooklyn Bridge that’s closing lanes of traffic off? I know it was happening a couple of months back and that was cited as the reason why they were refusing to go out to Brooklyn because it took so long to get back into Manhattan.