Cabbie Punches Woman in Face for Choosing Plastic

Photo by kerfuffle & zeitgeist.

An East Village woman says she was punched in the face by an unhinged cabbie when she insisted on using the taxi’s credit card machine to pay her fare. Tamara Perez had arrived outside her apartment when she realized she was out of cash, so she told the driver she’d be paying with plastic using the self-automated card reader installed in the back.

Apparently, the hack couldn’t hack it, telling her, “I don’t know how to use.” Perez responded by saying, “This is your responsibility to know how to use this machine. This is your cab. If you don't know how to use it, then I'm not paying you.” According to the Daily News,

That's when things got physical. She got out of the car and the driver, whose identity was not known, stepped in front of Perez and pushed her back into the cab. "I give you a punch in the face!" he told her, Perez said. "And he punched me in the face. I ran to the back of the cab, and wrote down the plate number."

Perez then called her husband on her cell phone, but the cab was long gone by that point. The NYPD is investigating, and TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus says that "if proven true ... the TLC will take the necessary steps to revoke [the driver's] license."

We’ve heard reports elsewhere about cab drivers refusing to accept credit cards because they lose up to 5% of their fare on processing and other fees. Last week the TLC announced a sting operation called Operation Secret Rider, intended to crack down on cabbies who violate the “Passenger's Bill of Rights” or, in some cases, violate their passengers. Have you had any hassles with the driver when opting for the card machine?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on February 1, 2008 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

dangerc

I work 14-18 hour days, deal with shitty people, make meager, meager funds all in the hopes of getting to that next level of payment in my field. life sucks. do your job. shut the fuck up.

ugh

Get a receipt and file a complaint

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/file_complaint.shtml

They do follow up although you have to attend a hearing.

I took a cab from JFK and asked the driver before I got in if he took credit cards. He said yes, but when we got to my apt, he had problems getting it to work, then asked if I was using a business credit card because he gets charged a fee. I pretended not to hear him and he asked again. He finally got it to work, and I told him it was NOT a business card. I guess he wanted me to pony up a few more bucks.

agree with purplerodriguez above RE:taxes!

purplerodriguez

Cabbies want cash in order to evade taxes!

Mr Mel

Taxi Medallions, the right to operate a NYC cab, cost hundreds of thousands of $, they are obviously financed by banks and brokers. It is a good business start for newer NYers, mostly recent immigrants that have friends or relatives driving cabs here. They struggle to pay off the loans working 12 and 18 hour shifts. I believe the recent fare increases were to accommodate the fees. The reason for their flack about the cards is that they can shield a good part of the cash from the government and not have to pay the taxes on that part of their income. The countries that they emigrated from probably didn't bother with trying to collect taxes from them anyway (no income to speak of and not much of a life anyway). I'm not making excuses for them but they mainly come a different culture. We probably wont have these problems with their kids.

javelinace

I always pay cash, but have heard several cabbies rant about the credit card and GPS systems. They don't like the fee being deducted from them... but I think the real reason they don't like it is because of tax reasons compared to cash/tips.

The normal rant usually involves the cabbie saying something about how the CC machine doesn't work most of the time because it is in a dead zone and claiming that they can't drive over 30 mph because of the GPS.. which I highly doubt.. just another way to get that extra 2.50 on the fare IMO.

But this isn't really much different then the old.. "my meter is broken line", is it?

javelinace

I always pay cash, but have heard several cabbies rant about the credit card and GPS systems. They don't like the fee being deducted from them... but I think the real reason they don't like it is because of tax reasons compared to cash/tips.

The normal rant usually involves the cabbie saying something about how the CC machine doesn't work most of the time because it is in a dead zone and claiming that they can't drive over 30 mph because of the GPS.. which I highly doubt.. just another way to get that extra 2.50 on the fare IMO.

But this isn't really much different then the old.. "my meter is broken line", is it?

newyawk

had a similar experience, minus the punch, riding a cab home from the airport. the fare was just over $40, and after paying with a credit card that was clearly "accepted" on the screen, the cabbie argued for 20 minutes that the fare had not been paid because the machine was broken.

at 2am, after a long day of travel, the argument and his false evidence wore us down, and we finally broke down and paid him the cash.

only to check with the bank once inside to see that the card had been charged and had gone through. the cabbie, who was rude and belligerent, made off with a $60 tip. (on the card, plus the double-paid cash)

nyc is the only major metropolitan city in the us that does not ubiquitously have an accepted method of credit card payment. yet we make the most use out of public transport. no sense.

newsyspice

Jesus. Just pay them cash.

And tip well.

It's the blue-collar background in me, I guess.

I you don't treat a cabbie like a dog, he'll give you great service.

I love talking to Cabbies. It's like a trip around the world in fifteen minutes.

Steven

I was in a cab last week and when I went to pay with my Credit Card the cab driver said the machine was having problems processing today.

I ended up paying him cash without any tip at all.

Steven

I was in a cab last week and when I went to pay with my Credit Card the cab driver said the machine was having problems processing today.

I ended up paying him cash without any tip at all.

matty

I ask if he'll take it before I get in. Then there's no problem.

Muscley Armed Paper Boy

Oh Jesus, now the few Gothamist hippies are against using credit cards? Well, I think anyone who uses cash is yuppie scum, too: I pay for everything in gold dubloons. Argghh!

jukeboxgraduate

As soon as you get in the cab and he starts driving, say, "I have no cash, I am going to pay with a credit card." make sure he acknowledges it. Make sure he nods, waves, something.

when you get close to your destination, say it again: "i'm going to pay with a credit card, i have no cash to pay you if you don't run it through the machine."

that solves the problem. only once did a driver pull the "oops, sorry, already ran it as cash" thing on us. and the only time I've had to pay with a credit card, before I get the communist lecture, is in terrible weather or with an injured friend, where the ride wasn't planned.

but then again, i am not so smart as to let the government hold my money interest free. so what do i know.

coolmidwestguy

Just in case someone tries to stiff you out of your fare, its best for cabbies to carry a thermos bottle full of urine.

Myf

cabbie's bad, but he needs to feed his family. woman's bad for not paying cabbie, but maybe she had a stressful day. cabbie companie's bad, for not paying the extra credit card money. credit card company's bad, for charging cabbie extra money. new york city's bad, there's no decent public transportation. privatism's bad, the origin of all these scenes. if you want to live in new york, get a bike.

west side Michael

Has anyone noticed that Cabdrivers know how to

scratch the plexiglass so that you cant read their name on the license? cool trick.I loathe cabs

but with a sick mate they are a cheap ambulance

service to hospital appts. So we must use em.

I have found some drivers say the credit card machine is broken and may be it was,who can argue

with a Parkinson's patient next to me?

west side Michael

Has anyone noticed that Cabdrivers know how to

scratch the plexiglass so that you cant read their name on the license? cool trick.I loathe cabs

but with a sick mate they are a cheap ambulance

service to hospital appts. So we must use em.

I have found some drivers say the credit card machine is broken and may be it was,who can argue

with a Parkinson's patient next to me?

SapphireSwell

I'm agreeing completely with Papercutninja. I ride cabs as a convenience late nights, to places far from subway stops, etc. And now that it's required by law to have cabs accept credit cards, I am thrilled not to have to carry wads of cash around or pay outrageous ATM fees ($3 at BoA?!)

Honestly, I don't care if they have to pay up to a 5% fee. If this is an issue for the cabby, perhaps it's time to negotiate or strike. It is out of my hands to lobby for their “pay cuts” or what not. If this results in fare hikes, so be it. My cab rides are rare, and I believe in public transport.

Anyhow, the first time I tried to pay with a credit card was a few days after they installed the machines. I got into a cab that had the machine, and it was lit up/working properly. As I swiped my card and asked for a receipt, the cabbie handed me the printed receipt but said I had not paid. I told him I had seen the screen with the “processing transaction” and then “accepted” notification. He then proceeded to tell me how the machine wasn’t actually transmitting the credit card payments, yada, yada, bs.

I asked him why he was driving around in the cab if it was not functioning properly. If the fare counter wasn’t working properly, or if the doors didn’t close he wouldn’t be on the street. We got into a heated argument about me “ripping him off” all the while two couples tried to get a ride in the cab, but he waved them off. Needless to say, I didn’t go to the random ATM machine to get cash for him. He tried to have me hand over ID, but I obviously didn’t. I did however get his cab license number and promptly report him.

PS. I did see that the $9.00 charge went through on my card. I just wish I didn’t tip the asshole the $2 bucks.

dgnnnt

Okay everybody I'm a cabbie. The job is fun and the money isn't bad.I never mind when a passenger chooses the credit card option, it's really beyond my control. The passenger bill of rights are real and need to be respected. The cabbie who punched out that women will not be working any longer that's for sure. What doesn't get any press is the number of times that we actually get stiffed on fares. Just yesterday I took two Latinas to the south Bronx and was not paid. The industry needs to change the drivers need to act like professionals. And driver's safety needs to be addressed.