Man I hate to bash anyone but I’ve got to warn you all against Yellow Cab in the immediate D.C., Maryland, Virginal (i.e. Beltway) area. Historically I’ve traveled a lot for business and pleasure. I’ve racked up a considerable number of miles, hotel i, etc… and I’ve had my share of cab & car rides. And despite the reputation of cab drivers in popular media for “taking you for a ride” I’ve never really had the experience of getting taken for “a ride” until this week. Unfortunately I’ve taken several cab rides in the last few days which lead me to this very unfortunate post. (Disclaimer: Most cab drivers are independent contractors and my recent experience, could statistically represent an anomalous series of events).
Of the cab rides I’ve taken with Yellow Cab in the D.C. area, I’ve been taken out of my way, or had a cabbie “negotiate” the rate and not start the meter 3 out of 4 times. That’s right, 75% of my cab rides have involved “unethical” behavior and all of them were Yellow Cab drivers. I gave one of them extra slack because I know Beltway traffic can be brutal and I was riding during rush hour but the rest were well outside of normal driving hours and really had no excuse.
So how did I know I was getting taken for a ride? First, this should serve as a warning to all cab drivers tempted to take patrons for a ride; we have smart phones with GPS & Google Maps. I simply turned on Google Maps and watched our course. I added the traffic layer in 2 instances but on all occasions tracked our precise course. In each instance, it wasn’t simply a matter of an off road here or there, but rather it was secondary and sometimes tertiary side roads that did nothing but add distance.
I really hate to be negative on anyone but I have to seriously recommend against Yellow Cab in the DC area until they address this problem with their drivers, independent or not.. If you have to take Yellow Cab and have a smart phone, turn on Google Maps, and watch your course, there’s a good chance you might be going for more of a ride than you expect.
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