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The Taxi News for Thursday May 17, 2012
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Cab driver injured after 2 men attack him, steal car
Deseret News - (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Published: Wednesday, May 16 2012 1:48 p.m. MDT
SALT LAKE CITY — Police are searching for two men who they believe assaulted a cab driver and stole the man's vehicle.
The cab driver picked up the two men near 200 North and 800 West around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Salt Lake police reported. The passengers asked to be driven to 1955 W. North Temple.
As they arrived at their destination, the cab driver was "struck in the back of the head with a blunt object," police said. The two men continued to hit the cab driver until he was able to get out and run away.
Police said the suspects then tried to run over the cab driver before driving south on Redwood Road. The cab was found Wednesday morning near 500 North and 800 West.
The cab driver suffered lacerations to his head and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. Don Barron, an owner of Yellow Cab Utah, said the driver was later released. As of Wednesday morning, he was at home resting. - more...
Metro Cab Drivers on High Alert
WDAF-TV Channel 4 - (Kansas City, Missouri)
Posted on: 10:32 pm, May 15, 2012, by Macradee Aegerter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s a dangerous job driving complete strangers all over the city in the back seat of your car. So how do you protect yourself? Kansas City cab drivers say their instincts are their best defense. But even that can’t always save their life.
For close to 50 years City Cab driver Howard Hunt has been carting people around Kansas City.
“You have to have a love for people,” said cab driver Howard Hunt.
He’s been doing it long enough to know when danger is lurking.
“Certain alarms go off when I think something is not quite right,” he said.
With city laws restricting cab drivers from carrying weapons, taxis have always been an easy target for criminals looking for fast cash.
“I think basically what we use to defend ourselves is communication,” he said.
It’s that communication that’s gotten Hunt out of a situation or two, including his ride with a knife-wielding woman he picked up from a mental institution in St. Joe. Hunt said that was a strange ride.
“I said ‘well why do you need the knife?’ and she said ‘because I’m going to cut somebody’s head off,’” he said. “I didn’t want to hear that because she’s sitting behind me you know.”
Hunt talked the woman into throwing the knife out the window, but there have also been situations he couldn’t escape. - more...
Taxi owner removed from Bloxom lawsuit
Shreveport Times - (Shreveport, Louisiana)
1:02 PM, May. 16, 2012 |
Written by
Vickie Welborn
The owner of a Bossier City taxi cab business is removed from personal liability in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of a Stonewall boy allegedly killed by one of the cab drivers, according to a court ruling released today.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling affirms a DeSoto District Court summary judgment dismissing Action Taxi owner David McFarlin from the lawsuit filed in May 2010 by Amy Bloxom Fletcher on behalf of her son, Justin M. Bloxom, 12, of Stonewall. Other defendants include the taxi cab corporation, city of Shreveport, Hallmark Insurance Company of Texas and Brian Douglas Horn.
Justin Bloxom’s body was found March 30, 2010 in wooded area off U.S. Highway 171 near Stonewall after he had been reported missing from a friend’s house. DeSoto Parish sheriff’s investigators say Horn, of Keachi, picked up Justin Bloxom in his Action Taxi cab after posing as a young female through text messages, then killed him. Horn is awaiting trial for capital murder.
McFarlin, president of Blue Phoenix Trading Co., the parent company of Action Taxi, hired Horn even though he knew from his driver’s license that he was a convicted sex offender. - more...
City shells out over cab search
New York Post - (New York City, New York)
By BRUCE GOLDING
Posted: 12:44 AM, May 16, 2012
The city has agreed to pay $10,000 each — plus a combined $37,500 in legal fees — to two men who claimed they were illegally searched in livery cars pulled over by cops.
Under the settlement with Terrence Battle, a radio-station manager, and lawyer Munir Pujara, the NYPD has also “instructed all officers about the lawful treatment of passengers,” according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which represented the men.
City lawyer Mark Zuckerman noted that the program “is entirely constitutional and was not challenged in this lawsuit.”
A hack at sex traffic
New York Post - (New York City, New York)
By JENNIFER FERMINO
Posted: 2:11 AM, May 16, 2012
It’s sex-ed — for your cabby.
Every hack in the city may soon have to take an unprecedented anti-sex-trafficking course to learn how to help hookers who hop in their cars — and the plan could cost the city a stunning $2.2 million.
The course — designed to help hacks ID prostitutes and tell them about available resources — would be mandatory for anyone applying for a TLC license, according to a bill expected to soon pass the City Council. Mayor Bloomberg said he would sign the bill, which requires the city to design and update the course regularly.
It’s unclear if the $2.2 million price would be footed by the cash-strapped city, or if the fleet owners would shoulder some costs.
But critics say it likely won’t stop sex trafficking.
“We can’t even get [cabbies] to follow the rules of the road,” fumed Queens Councilman Dan Halloran. “Now we’re using them as Big Brother to spy on fellow citizens?”
Last month, a father and son were charged with running a “brothel on wheels,” allegedly using six livery drivers to deliver hookers to johns — some of whom enjoyed sex acts for $200 to $500 in the back seat.
Taxi War Provides View Into Anaheim Business and Politics
The Voice of OC - (Santa Ana, California)
Posted: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 1:10 pm
ADAM ELMAHREK
While it certainly isn't New York City, the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim has historically been one of the best places in Orange County for a taxicab driver to make a buck. But that changed last year for many drivers when Disney implemented a “preferred provider” status that favored one cab company.
One of the competing companies has reacted with outrage, anger and a lawsuit over what it says should be considered unfair business practices in the transporting of people near and around the “happiest place on Earth.”
The preferred provider arrangement between Disney and A Greater Yellow Cab of Orange County is an illegal monopoly that hurts the public because it will ultimately reduce the quality of service, argues the lawsuit filed by A Taxi Cab, one of the city's two other taxi companies.
“I think it's wrong, the whole thing,” said Maryann Cazzell, A Taxi Cab's attorney in the lawsuit, which was first filed in 2010 and is now in the discovery phase.
Meanwhile, Disney and two resort-area hotels that are also named in the suit argue that their arrangement does not constitute a monopoly and that the rights were awarded through fair competition. They say Greater Yellow Cab, which was recently ranked the highest quality taxicab provider by a city committee, has showed itself to be the superior taxi provider.
The alleged monopoly is also an example of what some City Hall observers see as a city controlled by a small, well-connected group of insiders. The group has wielded considerable influence over prominent city issues like the recent granting of a controversial $158-million hotel subsidy.
“There is a running joke in Anaheim that 100 people run the whole town,” said one City Hall watcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity. - more...
Wichita tightens regulations for taxis
The Witchita Eagle - (Witchita, Kansas)
By Bill Wilson
The Wichita Eagle
Published Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at 4:07 p.m.
The Wichita City Council tightened its grip on the city’s taxi operations Tuesday, approving its first set of code revisions for the industry since 1984.
The changes establish a new regulatory structure, putting the city in a licensing, enforcement and liaison role, according to a report to the council by Brandon McGuire, a public management intern in the city manager’s office.
The new code’s goal is customer service, including faster and more reliable response times. Drivers will go through customer service classes through the city’s convention and tourism bureau, Go Wichita. The code also establishes twice-yearly cab inspections and raises fees by two or three times for licensing and inspections.
In March, Mayor Carl Brewer blasted the local cab industry, saying he’s tired of customer complaints about driver behavior and customer service as “people who should be Wichita ambassadors.” Complaints range from dirty, improperly clothed and rude drivers to smoke-filled cabs, driver no-shows and late arrivals.
The city processes three taxicab company licenses a year, along with 85 cab vehicle permits and 167 new and renewal driver applications.
Grab an Uber
The Boston Globe - (Boston, Massachusetts)
Posted by Rachel Kossman May 16, 2012 07:56 PM
Instead of employing Uber-specific drivers, the company contracts out to drivers in the city who are reliable and who have been referred to the company. They keep strong relationships with those drivers, who then "sign on" to the system at certain hours to become available for pick up.
Ubers do run at a slightly higher price point than cabs -- according to Nick, the standard rate is between 1.4 and 1.6 times what a cab would cost. That cost, however, includes your tips, and drivers are told specifically to refuse cash tips, as their tip is included in your fare.
To me, what's so appealing about Uber is the no hassle. You don't need to fight with the cabbie about your payment, he wont yell at you for using your card, and he won't smell, or blast terrible music. Stereotypes, yes, but have you ever been in a cab without one of those issues?
I also love the Uber app in on my iPhone: you literally zoom in in a google map to set your exact pick up location so you don't even need to input an address if you don't have it. The map shows clip art-like images of black cars and where in the city they're located, giving you an accurate time estimate of how long the next driver will take to reach you. Often, it's no more than 5 or 10 minutes away. - more...
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Manchester taxi drivers in bus lane protest
BBC News - (United Kingdom)
Private hire taxi drivers who claim it is unfair that they are not allowed to use bus lanes in Manchester are holding a go-slow protest through the city.
The drivers say they are discriminated against as they are not allowed to stop in the lanes to pick up or drop off, while Hackney carriage drivers are.
Up to 1,000 taxis plan to drive from the Etihad Stadium to Manchester Town Hall at 11:00 BST.
Manchester City Council said changing the rules would affect bus services.
It said the bus lanes were created to speed up journey times and reduce congestion, and opening them to private hire vehicles would encourage more motorists to use the lanes. - more...
Taxi drivers deny green lights on roof signs are racist
The Irish Times - (Dublin, Ireland)
ALISON HEALY
TAXI DRIVERS have rejected claims that green lights fitted to roof signs are racist, and said such lights were used throughout Europe.
One group representing taxi drivers, Tiománaí Taxi na hÉireann, said it was seeking an immediate meeting with Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar on the issue, and said its members wanted an apology from him for suggesting that they were racist.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland yesterday, Mr Varadkar said he had only heard about the practice in recent days.
“The green light does not form part of the official sign so it’s not permitted, and the green lights do have to be removed. I have seen stickers on taxis informing people that the taxi is Irish, so presumably they’re trying to inform people that the driver is Irish.”
Asked if that was acceptable, he said “not in my view, and this is a personal view, but I think it’s inherently racist and I think it’s inherently xenophobic”.
Alan Brennan of Tiománaí Taxi na hÉireann said his members were upset at Mr Varadkar’s comments and rejected any suggestion that they were xenophobic. - more...
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Updated may 17 @ 19:32 GMT
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