This is good to know, but not very surprising. NY Taxis are known to refuse rides to outer boroughs. A decade ago, one had to jump into the cab, tell him that the destination is some fancy neighborhood, and then once he flags the meter you tell him the real destination (Queens - gasp; Bronx - sheer cursing). And often when the driver threatens to drop you off midway, you call the authorities while in the cab.
For readers who think this is traumatic, it was, especially in winter nights and your destination is not served by Subway.
In fact, some friends of mine that are Black had to dress extra nicely for an otherwise casual dinner on Friday nights, just so that the cabbies would think (wrongly) that the fare would be for some nice neighborhood. And one had to make sure, he stands on avenues that are not pointing towards Harlem. It was a done thing for a white buddy to hail the cab, and the black friend gets in (There is a certain choreography that goes into this - the black person had to stand close but not-too-close and in a location where he can apparate after the cab has come to a halt but not in a way that gives him a chance to rev up and scoot).
Here is a recent article from Huffpo and Washpo that talks about this in detail:
I think you've really hit on one of the reasons that cab driver protests fall on deaf ears: nobody likes cabbies.
In my experience, Uber's cars are cleaner, I have a lot less trouble paying (had a card declined once, but I was informed after my ride - no awkward interaction with the driver) and - let's be real - most modern cab drivers use the same GPS the Uber guys do.
On the other hand, anybody I know who's taken cabs regularly has had issues with them. I've had drivers try to rip me off in Greece, America, Poland and Austria. Not turn on meters, switch meters to a higher rate, cranked up meters. I've had cabs that stank so bad we had to drive with the windows open in the winter. Cabs that put out black smoke behind me. Cabs that canceled 2 minutes before they were supposed to show, leaving me in a panic. A few years ago here in Poland, if a driver made up to some amount, he had a simplified (easier to cheat) tax code. So lots of drivers stopped driving in late November... which meant getting a cab around Christmas was almost impossible. Who the hell would want to catch a cab around Christmas/NYE anyway, right? /s
With Uber I take my ride, get out, get an email with the route and price I paid. I can dispute the route (never had to), I have some sort of evidence, even if me and the driver get in an argument. Thing is, I've never had that issue with them. Ever.
This is such a good point. Uber has normalized the taxi experience. Hailing cabs in different cities across the world can be stressful. I remember the streets in Abu Dhabi being huge and getting a taxi was pretty competitive at certain times of the day and hoping that one would even come by. I love that I don't have to deal with dispatchers and how wildly inaccurate they were (almost always on the late side).
In fact if a city had Uber service I would be potentially more likely to visit knowing that getting around would be that easy and not creepy like you mentioned.
A decade ago? Hell, that still happens with frequency. I don't know how many times since I moved out to Brooklyn that I've pulled the "hop in back and misdirect" strategy. I'll sit in a cab and call 311 and put the phone on speaker, that usually gets them moving.
And the black person thing? I've _definitely_ flagged down cabs and then stepped back so that a black guy who was getting ignored could get a ride. It's infuriating.
So why do we hear stories like the parent comment of people being refused a fare, or have to go through this elaborate theatre of getting the begrudging cab driver to take them to their desired destination
Unless the authorities don't give that much of a crap when people report it? Seems like a failure of the law enforcement tbh. Although granted, being refused a cab fare is hardly top priority in the grand scheme of things
Because not everyone follows the law. And not everyone reports it when it happens. If you're trying to get home and the first cabbie says no - and you don't insist - you'll probably forget about it once you get in another cab taking you home.
Reporting, getting into an argument with someone who has your safety in their hands, getting authorities to confirm… That takes a lot of time when you are late for diner.
And after that, you forgot the cab plate number, or even the driver's face.
Behavioral details like that matter a lot for web or mobile-based services.
There are car services that are generally reliable. The problem is, this is on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. I know who to call to get me to the airport from my apartment, but if I'm in an unfamiliar part of town and I don't know someone who lives there, all bets are off.
Car services in NYC are either pretty shady or expensive.
Going to have to disagree with that. Almost all car services I've used in the city have been fine, and much cheaper for things like airport travel than a yellow cab.
Yes, a shady car service that in many cases does not have a price before hand, that does not take credit cards, that always tells you it will be there in 5 minutes (even if you'll be waiting 30+ minutes).
Never had a problem with our car service in Manhattan Beach. You get a price from the dispatcher right away and usually their cars are on time. If they're busy the dispatcher will tell you right away. And price wise they're much cheaper (50%) than Uber. Also I like the new lexuses that the car service uses.
Their location is few blocks away from us, so you need to do research to make sure that the car service is around you.
For readers who think this is traumatic, it was, especially in winter nights and your destination is not served by Subway.
In fact, some friends of mine that are Black had to dress extra nicely for an otherwise casual dinner on Friday nights, just so that the cabbies would think (wrongly) that the fare would be for some nice neighborhood. And one had to make sure, he stands on avenues that are not pointing towards Harlem. It was a done thing for a white buddy to hail the cab, and the black friend gets in (There is a certain choreography that goes into this - the black person had to stand close but not-too-close and in a location where he can apparate after the cab has come to a halt but not in a way that gives him a chance to rev up and scoot).
Here is a recent article from Huffpo and Washpo that talks about this in detail:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/23/...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-larosa/nyc-cab-drivers-bl...