Photo by PoPville flickr user Clif Burns
“Dear PoPville,
I was on a very delayed flight into DCA on Sunday evening (Monday morning). By the time everyone on the plane had retrieved luggage, it was around 2:15 am and everyone on the plane needed a cab. When my turn came, I offered to share with the woman behind me as I was going to Columbia Heights and she was going to Shaw, so it wasn’t terribly out of the way to drop her off first. The total on the meter at that point was $17 and I was going to make some change for her, because the ride from Shaw to Columbia Heights is shorter but at that point the driver said we both had to pay $20, because “that’s how it’s done” from DCA. Is this correct? I would have had to pay $20 had I been on my own because that’s generally the cost to Columbia Heights from DCA, but it seems like if I had been with a friend then it would have been two separate metered fares rather than both of us handing over $20 off-meter. Does anyone know the protocol in this situation? I just would like to know my passenger rights.
*Meant to add there was a cab shortage and the cab guys at DCA were asking people to share.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe Flood
“Dear PoPville,
I wanted to share my experience with reporting harassment to the DC Taxi Commission. I’m hoping it’ll encourage more people to report poor behavior to the commission, rather than write it off as commonplace, as I almost did.
A couple weeks ago, late on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, I caught a taxi home. Once we were parked in front of my house, the driver propositioned me and there was some inappropriate, unwanted sexual contact. I escaped the situation unharmed.
At first, I wasn’t going to report it because this sort of incident seems fairly common, plus I didn’t think the commission would do anything. But some friends encouraged me to file a complaint, so I did. Read More
“Dear PoPville,
This morning my girlfriend was driving to work and a cab (Cab #J722) stopped short in front of her to drop his passengers off. I think it was a ABC cab but it could have been Luxury also, I noticed they both use the same red with grey siding coloration. [Ed. Note: Red and Grey is a city wide designation for all companies.] His brake lights were out and she almost rear ended him. When she pulled around him she very calmly and politely informed him that his break lights were out he responded very aggressively with “leave me the f*ck alone you stupid bitch.” The driver was an older overweight african american man with gray hair. She was left very upset and shaken from the experience. Like I said I am not sure about the company but I am sure about the cab #. When I called the companies to file a complaint, neither were interested in hearing anything I had to say so I thought my best course of action was turning to the PoPville community to at the very least inform them about this cab driver and to be weary of him. Hopefully the company takes note of the post and if they don’t reprimand the driver, at the very least they could make him fix his brake lights.”
Ed. Note: You can also file a complaint with the DC Taxi Commission.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Gerda De Corte
“Dear PoPville,
On Saturday night my daughter was over at my home in Petworth, and at 10pm she decided to go back to her place near Foggy Bottom. We tried to get at Uber but there was surge pricing and long wait because of the rain. Instead, I drove her to the Fort Totten metro station because there is always a line of cabs there. I asked the first driver in line to take her to Foggy Bottom and he refused because he said it was too far and he would never get a fare back. Then I went to the next driver, who refused, and so on for five more cabs. Two other guys were also turned down by the same drivers because of their destination.
I ended up driving her to Union Station where she caught a cab. But I was really angry. Is that legal to turn down a trip within the city?”
“Dear PoPville,
I took a cab home tonight from downtown DC to Cleveland Park after working late. The ride was fairly uneventful, although I thought the driver was somewhat unskilled in terms of changing lanes. He also seemed to be unable to press the gas pedal evenly, and the car basically lurched all the way home. I noticed the credit card machine had a large sticker on the bottom that said “DON’T PLAY WITH SCREEN”, but I thought nothing of it.
When we got to my building, I asked to pay with a credit card. He gave me the usual “but don’t you have cash?” line, and I truthfully said no, I didn’t. Besides, I was going to pay with my work credit card since I was working so late, and processing the expense report is much easier with a card (that also means I typically give a large tip, so I hardly think it’s unfair). Because I’m so used to paying for cabs by card, I hit the “credit card” button on the touch screen as soon as I see it. The screen then gives me an error, and the cabbie immediately says I’ve broken the machine by merely touching it. Read More
Ed. Note: It has been noted that SoberRide doesn’t work for everyone. But they give a lot of rides so clearly it works for some.
From an email:
“This Friday, October 31st, the nonprofit group, Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS), will launch RightRides DC, an innovative new program to provide free and safe rides home to women and LGBTQ-identifying individuals late at night.
RightRides DC — which comes following reports of sexual assault accusations against Uber and the DC Taxicab Commission (DCTC) — seeks to help close what experts call the “safety gap.” The program’s need is evident in recent, national studies showing that street harassment and public sexual harassment and assault disproportionately affect and limit the mobility of women and LGBT people. The program is made possible by a sponsorship from Zipcar.”
@JasonCollinsDC tweets us:
“It’s Tuesday, so that means it’s time for #DCCabs to not pick patrons up and honk horns.”
Over/under on how many more weeks they’ll keep it up?
@JasonCollinsDC tweets us:
“Pennsylvania Ave. around 13 and 14th. Honking horns and all. It’s happened weekly for the last 3 weeks. they’re limiting them to one lane now.”
From MPD:
“Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a suspect in connection with a First Degree Sexual Abuse that occurred between the 600 and 700 blocks of Kennedy Street, Northwest.
On Sunday October 12, 2014, between 2:30 am and 3:00 am, an adult female was a passenger in a taxi cab when she was sexually assaulted by the operator of the taxi cab.
The suspect is described as a black male approximately 6’2″ to 6’4″ with an American accent. The suspect was last seen between the 600 and 700 blocks of Kennedy Street, Northwest operating a red four door DC cab with a grey stripe.
Anyone with information regarding this case should call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, information may be submitted to the TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.”
