Posted on 04/27/2006 6:55:59 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
I never worked as a hack, but talk to them whenever I ride...one of the developing trends here in NYC is the increase in runaways. The largest increase is among white urban professionals on friday and saturday nights.
No, but just by coincidence I was at MSP last week and there was no 3-4 hour cab line. There has to be well over a thousand cabs a day through there.
"Well some cabbies refuse passengers carrying alcohol for religious reasons, while some pharmacists refuse filling prescriptions for contraceptives for religious reasons. Same shit, different religion."
"Well said."
I respectfully but entirely disagree. The "contraceptives" you are referring to are abortifacients. And pharmacists are not "common carriers".
CALL THE ACLU!!!
We were taught in cabbie school that with a questionable fare you need to shift into reverse as soon as you stop; and be prepared to stomp on the gas in case of a runaway attempt (taking them out with the door as they exit). But most of them are just too darn fast!
Careful. Somebody might think you're serious about that...
That said, driving a cab is a tough job. I don't think most people appreciate just how tough it is...
So is dispensing pharmaceuticals.
Don't put up with this crap.
Don't get me wrong. I am none too sympathetic to the cabbies in this story. Nor am I very concerned with the dilemma of a pharmacist who doesn't want to sell birth control pills. I really don't give a damn what their religious views are. I think business owners should decide what products not to sell or what fares to decline, and that the free market--not the state--should determine whether those decisions are sound.
As long as a profession is licensed by a city, state or the Federal Gov't, then you have to play by their rules.
I am serious about it being taught; but, as you suspect, I didn't have the heart for such measures.
I've seen it done two or three times. It's a dangerous practice.
Many of the hacks today are unsuited for the job. You get these guys from rural countries, put them in Manhattan traffic and it really messes with their heads.
What if cabs were equipped with those annoying child safety locks in the back seat? Do you think that would help? Or might it backfire?
I'm living way out in the mountains, and am actually missing Manhattan traffic at times. Sounds odd, huh.
OMG the mugs are hysterical!!
It's been several years since I've driven a cab, but that does sound like it might help. "durasell" would probably have a more "up to date" opinion.
Nope.
Manhattan traffic, though most people don't realize it, has a unique pattern at different times of the day/night. There's something very zen-like about getting in that groove.
An over-engineered solution, plus you don't want a potential maniac locked in a steel box behind you -- regardless of whether there's a plexi guard or not.
Cabbies, like many professions in NYC and other big cities, have to rely on their street smarts. And that's something that doesn't come with an engineered solution.
And we are in agreement.
This is discrimination plain and simple. Time for a lawsuit against the cab companies and the illegal raghead cab drivers that they employ.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.