Australian Cab Fare Prepayment Debate

I'm constantly on the Internet, looking at information related to the cab industry. A few weeks ago, I found this debate about the prepayment of fares. I'm not even sure you'll find it interesting. Maybe I'm just getting lazy. Well, give it a go anyway. You might find the information useful.
I forget the website from which I got this 'debate.' I doesn't really matter, because I changed all the names. "Tom" is the alias of the person running the site, with the responses being from "Tom's" readers; mine is the last.

[Post Update: After re-reading this post (on November 21, 2007), I realized that I should have indicated that ALL of the names, save for mine, were aliases. Sorry for any confusion. Also, in his comment, Lucky 327 reminded me where I found the original post. It's at Bytes From the Backseat. Sometimes, this blog is a lot like Russian history: it's subject to revision!]

"Prepayment for Taxis" by Tom:
I had an interesting if rather annoying conversation with a customer last week. Interesting because of his point of view. Annoying, because, like a reasonable percentage of my customers he was drunk.

Basically, he was saying that in his opinion all taxi fares should be prepaid at the commencement of the journey. When I pointed out that drivers had the right to ask for the fare in advance already he told me I was missing the point.

The point, according to him is it creates a problem between the passenger and driver if the driver asks for the money in advance. All that could be avoided if DPI (Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Taxi Unit) and all the other relevant body’s implemented blanket prepayment of all taxi fares. Further, in addition to that, he suggests an ad campaign utilizing TV, radio and print media to ensure everyone knows about it, thereby eliminating any trouble in the cab and also eliminating the problem of non-payers or runners.

Honestly the idea is solid, I mean, even carrying drunks would be less stressful if you knew the money side of things was already taken care of. Taxis are the only form of transport around that offers pay at destination. Sure, there are some issues with credit/debit cards, etc. and how to ‘pre pay’ a fare, then "final charge" the correct amount once at the destination, but I’m sure these issues could be sorted out.

I think it’s time we moved out of the dark ages and made the change.

This entry was posted on September 29, 2007 at 4:37 and is filed under fares, info, opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Prepayment for Taxis”

Red Foreman Says: October 24, 2007 at 5:27
I’ve read this blog for a time, on and off. Nice color scheme, and very informative. And yes, if there was someway to make everyone pre-pay, wouldn’t things be so much easier? I’m gonna add you as a link.

JackTheRipper Says: October 27, 2007 at 10:26
I have argued for this for years and run into all sorts of inexplicable opposition. The owner of the largest company in my city stated at a public meeting that there were a lot of unscrupulous drivers?! Apparently, he was oblivious to how that statement reflected badly on him. It was actually after being ripped off every week for 9 weeks that I finally quit driving, after 20-plus years, fed up. I’m happy to say I’ve finally found a job doing something I love, with people I respect, but I haven’t forgotten the need to protect drivers. The city I live in is pathetically conservative, and it is next to impossible to mobilize drivers to act in their own interest; I wish you luck. Let us know how it goes.

The Cab Guy Says: October 29, 2007 at 2:14
I drive for a large taxi company in the Phoenix, Arizona (USA) metro area. You know, I agree with you on this issue. But, I have the feeling that your customer meant “pre-payment of a flat rate fee”, rather than a “deposit against the ultimate fare” given his resistance to your explanation.

Here in Arizona, cab drivers have the right to ask for a deposit in advance of the fare. As a matter of fact, several police departments in the area recommend doing this.

I have a written list of conditions or circumstances under which I might ask for a deposit, which I will show to a potential customer if I am accused of prejudice or racism, or he doesn’t understand why it is appropriate to ask for a deposit. Most people comply immediately, because they’ve been asked before, or they see the logic. Most of the rest complies after I explain the situation.

A few rare individuals exclaim their indignation, saying that I should be ashamed of myself, and that I should just trust them. These people are then refused service. Generally they demand that I call them another cab. I always refuse to do this, and tell them why.

“Look, sir, I am allowed, by state law to require a deposit, for any reason, or no reason at all. Your refusal to comply leads me to believe you won’t pay me at all. There’s no way I’m going to put another driver through that. As a matter of fact, I’m going to notify my dispatcher that you won’t give me a deposit. He’ll make certain that any further calls from you will be cancelled.”

The way I look at it, if someone is offended by this practice, then they really don’t have any empathy for other people. Therefore, why should I trust them?

As to enacting something like a “prepay” system, I really don’t think there would be that many problems. Just estimate the trip mileage, calculate the fare from this estimate, add ten for fifteen percent for “wiggle room” (traffic delay, unexpected stops, etc.), give this total estimate to the customer, and clearly state that they will receive any change, if due, or owe a balance if the estimate proves insufficient.

I’ve used this procedure for years, and have never been accused of ripping someone off. I also do not worry about how the practice might affect my tip income, the way some cab drivers do. The way I look at it, I rather have 100% percent of what’s on the meter and no tip because of a deposit, rather than 0% of the meter plus tip because I failed to get a deposit. A a matter of fact, my actual tip income from these situations is fairly much on par with no-deposit situations.

In the old days, people could be trusted to pay someone what they owed, and that is why it was customary to collect the fare at the end of the trip. This custom has long since out-lived its useful life. It is an archaic practice that should have been eliminated a long time ago.

As a final note: this is what I say to people who refuse to give me a deposit because “the last guy didn’t ask for one”: “Well, if you’re so offended, then give him a call!”

Sincerely

The Cab Guy