Legal matters of conducting Taxi Business in General

Should Taxi Drivers and Taxi Companies Be Allowed to Sue Seattle City or City Council?

By AB

As an average person who hails the odd taxi now and then in Seattle, you may not be aware of the trouble that has been brewing over recent months (if not, years). It seems the difference between taxicab firms and for-hire drivers in Seattle is not only confusing to many customers, especially those who are not from Seattle but you could be spending more money than you should. This is where the argument lies with taxicabs (or so it would seem).
There are certain rules and regulations that both for hire drivers and taxi drivers must follow but, the biggest complaint is that for-hire drivers are flaunting these rules. As with everything, there are two sides to every story so, let’s start by outlining some of the rules that need to be adhered to and how these are being flaunted.

Taxicab Drivers
· Taxicab drivers have meters which mean they charge a specific amount per mile for the journey you take with them.
· People who drive these cabs must have a background check done to ensure they’re legally allowed to drive and are safe to do so.
· Every driver must hold a license to drive a cab.
· If you need to flag a taxi, it should only stop if the driver is licensed by Seattle City Council to do so.
· Taxicab companies must have a uniformed color scheme for all vehicles.

For-Hire Drivers
· Of course, a license is required.
· For-hire drivers are not metered and can, therefore, charge pretty much what they like.
· Background checks are not always done on for-hire drivers.
· It’s against the rules for a taxi service like this to accept custom when been flagged down in the street.
· For-hire drivers are not allowed to use the words “taxi” or “cab” anywhere on their vehicles.
· The same applies to color schemes; these shouldn’t really mirror the scheme a legal taxi company has.

The Debate
The main problem for drivers who are licensed to drive taxicabs or work for a legal taxi company is the way in which for-hire drivers are conducting their daily business. The biggest issue is the price. Some for-hire drivers are charging prices that cannot be competed with, add to this the fact they flaunt the rules by routinely picking up customers that flag them in the street and you soon start to

Florida taxi drivers / writers wanted

Picture by wikimedia.org

Taxi driver stories wanted, - if you a cab driver or person who takes cabs often, write about it from your own experience.
Make $15 per story, each story must be 250 - 450 words long of ORIGINAL content,- have fun, tell the world what had happened in your taxicab or while you were in it as a passenger, get your text published on internet and make money while doing this.


>>> Go to Taxi Stories
We also need taxi drivers / article writers on daily life of cab driver, cab drivers opinions, places worth visiting in Florida, issues concerning taxi drivers in Florida, tips to other cab drivers on how to improve their lifestyles or how to reduce overhead cost of taxi driving business, etc
We are interested about anything related to taxi driving in Florida, either in Saint Pete, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville or Miami, just to name few major places.

Articles must be + 400 words long, it will be published with its own link, you will be credited with its creation and you will get paid between $15-25, depending on quality of writing and relevance of content.


We reserve the right to refuse to publish certain articles with inappropriate content and without pay.

Daily temptations of Saint Pete cab driver

By
Driver #888

It happened yesterday at Tampa Airport
Here I am, dropping off passenger at Southwest departure terminal, I am counting money and exchange last few words with my fare and out of nowhere comes to passenger side window this elderly guy dressed up like gangster from 1970 and with heavy Spanish accent asks "how much to Sarasota?"
I yelled back "about $140" and kept dealing with my passenger.
After I unloaded luggage of my fare and exchanged few polite thankyous, nicemeetingyous, have safe trip words I got that Spanish guy in to my face again asking "you said, to Sarasota $400?, how about $350?"
Obviously, when I yelled to him $140 he misunderstood that for $400..
My mind started to race,- here is the guy willing to pay more then double on the trip from Tampa Airport to Sarasota... it's almost like lottery jackpot for a cab driver, I was about to grab the guy with his carryon (that's all he had) and put him in my cab, but as all Saint Pete taxi drivers know, picking up anybody at Tampa airport is highly illegal without proper licence and only 3 companies are allowed to do that, and those are Yellow Cab of Tampa, United of Tampa and Super Shuttle + number of unmarked Limo operators with proper stickers,- Penalties for breaking this law, are heavy fines, impounded cab and possible imprisonment for 12-24 hours.
So here I am tempted to take this guy to Sarasota for $350 and at same time thinking, may be its some kind of sting operation by Tampa PD or Tampa Airport Authority to bust dishonest, out of town Taxi drivers who are dropping off at TIA and picking up flags.
I looked around and I saw that Tampa Airport Authority cop across the street, about 30 yards away looking in my direction and then I made my mind and said to my "elderly Spanish gangster from 1970's", I am sorry Sir, I am a cab from Saint Pete and I am not allowed to pickup at Tampa Airport and I would suggest you should go downstairs to arrivals level where all the local cabs are parked, btw. trip to Sarasota shouldn't cost you more than $150.
Then I got in my cab still excited by whole situation and drove up to that cop across the street whose presence prevented me from making some serious money that day and asked him .

Excuse me Sir, I have a question: There is that guy who wants to Sarasota, -am I allowed to pick him up and take him there?
Cops face looked puzzled, then after few seconds he replied :
".......to Sarasota?, only Super Shuttle is allowed to take passengers there"

Obviously, the cop was pretty much clueless about dynamics and laws at TPA, same like I was dumb for passing up on my opportunity to make money.

Are you talking to ME?!- What Taxi Drivers Don't Like about Passengers

Are you talking to ME ?!!!

10 Clients Taxi Drivers Hate 
By DA

Driving a taxi in Tampa Bay is different than in Manhattan or Chicago, where clients just flag a taxi down on the street. That gives drivers the chance to ignore people they can tell will be trouble.
Here in Tampa Bay, we mostly rely on dispatching systems to get us calls, either old fashioned radio dispatching or computer system based on GPS. Some companies are toying right now with taxi booking applications for smart phones which supposed to connect potential passenger to nearest cab. The point being, most taxi drivers in Tampa Bay don’t get to choose their customers, which allows Manhattan drivers to avoid some particularly high maintenance customers.
At some point between calling a cab and getting in, many people seem to lose common sense and generally forget how to act like a human being. While many clients are polite and tip, there are a few that we all hate picking up. Here are the top 10 clients taxi drivers hate.


The “Executive”
This person is convinced their time is more valuable than anyone else’s. I get a call and get to the address in five minutes and blow the horn. The “Executive” shows up at the door and says “Give me a sec! I’ll be right there!” After another 5 minutes, I blow the horn again. They stick their head out the door “Give me another minute!” A full 10 minutes later they finally get in the cab with an attitude like I ruined their freaking day. WTF?!

Mother Knows “Best”
I pull up in front of a house and a lady with a baby in her arms tries to get in the cab. I ask, politely, if she has a car seat. She replies “I don't use car sit for my baby and nobody in your company ever ask me to have a car seat!” I say “Ma’am, I cannot take you and your baby without a car seat”. I hear slur of insults followed by "What is your cab number and what is your name? I am going to report you to your company! I am never using your company again!!" She doesn't realize, or doesn't care, that not using a car seat is not just unsafe for a baby, but also illegal!

The “High Roller”
Sorry ass loser comes out of Derby Lane Poker Room and

Credit Card Surcharge on Taxi Fares in Florida

By BR

It became legal for cab drivers in Florida and other 40 States to charge customers up to %4 extra of the meter if they decide to pay with credit card.
Great news for cab drivers and not so good for riders, but then again, some passengers pretend that they don't know how to use credit card applications and conveniently skip tipping procedures without asking a cab driver how to do it.
Sure guys, Tipping is a city in China, your grandpa was Kunta and I owe you until I die, even though we look alike and your skin is whiter.
.....Just because I came off the boat 25 years ago and I have an accent??!!
WTF?
I tip anybody and everybody who provides me with any kind of services in this country.
If I can not afford to tip, I either don't use their services or at least try to behave like human being and be thankful for helping me.
Next time you get your drunk ass in the cab to take you home, be thankful too and tip the driver, even if you pay with credit card, or even more so........


ABC News

Taxi Drivers: Easy Targets

Taxi Drivers: Easy Targets
by Sasha Brown

Taxi cab driver Annuel Delicieux shot during robbery speaks to 10 News

For cab drivers, there is always this one unforgettable ride at least in a day’s work; but for Annuel Delicieux, it was the unforgettable ride of his lifetime. At around 3 am on Dec 18, 2012 in Tampa Florida, two assailants aimed a gun at a cab driver, took his money and shot him. The two shooters, although now sitting in jail have changed his life significantly because the father of three who was just trying to make a living, who fortunately survived the shooting, now has to undergo therapy and could not work for at least a year because of the incident.

According to other cab drivers, Tampa is considered a safe place for taxi drivers. In fact, the city’s crime rate has gone down 46% for the past 6 years. Nevertheless, it does not make it any safer for cabbies working late nights to the wee hours of the morning from robberies or senseless shootings. They may have safety procedures to follow in such circumstances but readings from articles show that most of the taxi related crimes are not solely based on the intent to rob. More than half of taxi driver killings are showing an act of senseless murders due to the assailant acting out for his/her self-esteem. In the case of Mr. Delicieux for example, he already gave the robbers the money they demanded but they still shot him brutally. For wanting to create chaos from the situation, the suspects in this case still killed him even when he followed orders quickly and without a fight.

These taxi drivers working round the clock face risk factors everyday such as being defenseless working alone, late at night with cash in public and high-risk areas.