Un-Fare: Taxi Drivers Scammed Riders Out Of Millions!

Photograph by heath brandon on Flickr

The Taxi and Limousine Commission says that about 36,000 cab drivers gouged passengers on their trips, resulting in millions of excessive fares. The NY Times reports, "The drivers’ scheme, the commission said, involved 1.8 million rides and cost passengers an average of $4 to $5 extra per trip. The drivers, officials said, flipped switches on their meters that kicked in the higher rates, costing New York City riders a total of $8.3 million."

The fare within NYC is 40 cents per every one-fifth of a mile, while the fare in Nassau and Westchester Countries is 80 cents per one fifth of a mile. Earlier this month, the TLC revealed that one cabbie used the higher rate for passengers in NYC, scamming 574 riders out of nearly $40,000. The TLC launched a further investigation with GPS data from cabs: The Daily News reports it "found that 35, 558 drivers - 75% of the city's 47,000 licensed medallion cabbies - clipped at least one passenger. But 3,000 hacks were repeat offenders, blamed for switching their meters to a higher out-of-city rate on local trips more than 100 times each."

Outgoing TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus said, "We have not seen anything quite this pervasive. It’s very disturbing." But New York Taxi Workers Alliance's Bhairavi Desai told the Times, "This is clearly a systematic failure on the part of the meters and the technology... For this to be so widespread — nearly every single driver — makes no sense." And she said to the News, "This is a workforce that's known for returning diamonds and tens of thousands of dollars passengers leave behind. To be told the same workforce is ripping off passengers for four dollars and change each ride just doesn't match."

Some drivers said the buttons for the NYC rate (Code 1) and the Nassau/Westchester rate (Code 4) were very close together, but one was worried, "We are ashamed. People will look at us as a thief." The TLC is looking at ways to prevent further fraud—one interim solution may be meters "equipped with a highly visible alert when Rate Code 4 is activated"—and is considering whether passengers can be refunded. While some cabbies may be fined or lose licenses, a source told the News, "We can't fire 36,000 cabbies."

Here is the TLC's explanation of taxi cab rates, as well as the Passenger Bill of Rights.

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

By Jen Chung in News on March 13, 2010 11:40 AM

Comments [rss]

ashlyjane

I think it is too early to accuse all drivers of fraud scaming. I think TLC has to do a litle work and sort data. it seems like there are drivers who scam passengers and there are drivers who fall by meter technology failure. To better understand the problem, it is better to know how this is happening, You can find details here of reproducing the problem:

reproduciting the meter problem

Ashly,

radomako

they should be fired. that's a breach of trust. if they really want to get technological to avoid these things then their gps should automatically make the switch for when they are out of range outside of the city.

NannyState

"$8.3 million" is less than $1 per NY'er. I lose that much money between the seats.

Guest

as a chronic argumentator of cab rides, i feel a tiny bit vindicated.

grandzu

one interim solution may be meters "equipped with a highly visible alert when Rate Code 4 is activated"

You mean besides the already highly visible alert of the code number being illuminated?

jaycjay

It's there, but the fact is that people aren't going to constantly watch it. From the news stories, it appears that often what's been done is that the rate was changed for only part of a trip. So a passenger might confirm that Rate 1 is on the meter at the start, but would have to continually watch the meter to make sure it never changes.

So some more visual notification when the rate changes could be helpful. Maybe just a notice on the information screen.

editedby

Sounds like 3K do it all the time, and the others do it only when they pick up outside hotels.

Never grab a cab outside a hotel, unless you enjoy quarreling over the fare.

nicemarmot

I caught a cabbie doing this a few months back. It didn't annoy me nearly as much as the guys who pick you up in the cab line at the airport and never turn their meters on. They have been a freaking epidemic lately. Every goddamn time I take a cab from the airport, I run into these assholes. I've actually started saying "Oh, the meter being off means the ride is free, right?" One time the cabbie argued with me and I threatened to call his employer, at which point he dumped me in the middle of Queens.

Yeah...cabbies are assholes. It's a shitty job, but is it really so much to ask that cabbies not try to scam their customers OR their employers?

sam

Except, of course, whent they pick you up at JFK they're not supposed to turn the meter on, because it's a legally mandated flat fare from JFK to anywhere in Manhattan. Now, LGA on the other hand, is metered, so feel free to yell at them there.

nicemarmot

Sorry, I may have left this not quite clear: there is a meter setting from JFK. I wouldn't care about them not using that setting, except then they try to charge me a random amount determined by them rather than $45 + tolls + tip. They leave the meter off entirely as though the cab is empty. If I wanted to deal with random fares determined by the driver, I'd take a gypsy cab and not wait in the line.

jaycjay

"there is a meter setting from JFK."

Right. The meter should be set on Rate 2 if you're going in either direction between Manhattan and JFK. That is, the number at the far left on the front of the meter should be "2" and the "Hired" light should be illuminated.

Otherwise, in the city, that number should be "1". If it's not, you're being ripped off.

jaycjay

Actually, I was just reminded by following the MTA link above, there's another exception to Rate 1, which is on a trip to the Newark airport. That's Rate 3, which includes a $15 surcharge. So you could legitimately see 1, 2, or 3 in the city... but not 4 or 5. Rate 4 is the doubled fare in Westchester and Nassau, and 5 is the flat rate used going anywhere else.

nicemarmot

Thanks, I'm glad to hear my suspicion was correct.

grandeur

lets just not tip anymore. how bout that!

grandeur

sometimes my cab drivers from JFK and LGA don't turn there meters on AT ALL anyway. through the whole trip. They charge a flat 50. its obviously pocketed.

pd2009

Oops! Wrong button, sorry, no tip, for a year...then we'll see how quick they fix the little button problem.

Alex

I'd scam people too if they didn't let me talk on my damn hands free.

justthinkin

Does anyone know what the in-town boundries actually are? Why not just flat-rate the out of town fares and eliminate the meter option all together?

Torgo

Can't the meters be rigged with GPS so that the out of town rate is disabled until the cab is physically out of town? Leaving it up to the driver to flip the switch is just asking for abuse. What's the point of a metered system when there's essentially a "charge more" button available to press?