NYE Taxi Scam
Before venturing out this past Monday night, my girlfriend and I discussed whether or not we should drive the 1.3 miles to the Brewery or if we should go the safe and responsible route and take a cab.
After a brief discussion, we decided on calling a cab.
You see, she doesn’t drink- but factoring in that New Years Eve is one of the several “amateur nights” of the year, we figured we’d be better off putting our lives in someone else’s hands- plus, she wasn’t sure if she was going to have a couple of drinks.
I, on the other hand, knew that there were several Makers Mark and Gingers in my future.
Polishing off my second pre-game drink of the night, I called Penn Central Taxi at around 9:30 and, after one ring, the dispatcher answered. Here’s a rough account of how the conversation went.
Dispatch: Taxi!
Me: Hey, is there a long wait for cabs tonight?
Dispatch: Not really…
Me: Cool, can I get a cab at [my address]
Dispatch: Sure, just so you know- the fare tonight is twenty bucks plus whatever the meter reads.
Me: Pardon me?
Dispatch: Yeah, it’s new years eve, man.
Me: You’re telling me that there’s an extra twenty dollar fee to take your stank-ass cab tonight?
Dispatch: Yessir.
Me: Go [expletive deleted] yourself.
And that was it. I hung up ENRAGED and INSULTED that this cab company- this same cab company which I called countless times before for inebriated rides home from the bar or for a quick trip to the train station would have the audacity to GOUGE it’s customers on a night of the year that’s notorious for drunk drivers and DUI crackdowns.
I don’t believe that arguing that there is a higher demand for taxi services on New Years Eve warrants a company to add a stiff premium for the cost of safety.
I do believe, however, that Penn Central Taxi pulled a major scam on New Years Eve and I’m also pretty sure that what they were doing cannot be legal by any stretch of the entrepreneurial imagination.
All of this is a pretty far cry from what American Taxi and Lower Paxton Township did for inebriated bar patrons-
Needless to say, we wound up driving to and from the bar on Monday.
Made it home safe and sound too- with an extra twenty bucks in my pocket.
Wow, that is pretty shitty. I wonder if they were the only ones raising rates on people that night or if the other cab companies were doing the same thing.
Either way, aren’t cab fares and rates regulated by some sort of government bureaucracy? I know in other cities they are. Sometimes they will even point out what average cab fare should be from certain parts of the city inside the cab.
Either way, Harrisburg should encourage it’s partygoers to leave their car overnight and take a cab.
1. It is illegal. Unless it’s a precontracted fare, they have to charge you what’s on the meter, for either the shortest route available or the one specifically requested by the customer. Tipping is entirely up to you.
2. I know for a fact that Capital City dispatchers were told specifically not to do that. If any of our guys overcharged, they were going renegade and I’d like to know. Most of our drivers that I talked to approached or broke $300 for the 10-12 hours they worked-without trying to gouge anybody.
As a dispatcher who worked all night new years eve at an area cab co. (not in Harrisburg) I can say that the extra charge is totally illegal unless it is part of their filed tariff and posted in the cabs.
As spurs1 pointed out, our dirvers made good money that night without having to rip anyone off.