Yellow-Cab
Have you ever had trouble catching a cab in NYC at night? Has a cab driver ever refused to take you to a certain neighborhood? A few Saturdays ago, I experienced my very own taxicab confession.
I had gone into the city that evening to attend a get-together at a friend’s place. I decided not to drive that night because I wanted to have a few drinks and enjoy myself. When it was time for me to leave, I asked a friend to come outside with me, so I could catch a cab. I had heard about the racial profiling issue with some cabs and I didn’t want to risk missing my train because of someone’s ignorance. My friend hailed the cab for me and as soon as I shut the door, the cab driver asked me why I had her flag the cab down instead of doing it myself. I told him my reason for doing so, and that’s when the confession began.
The driver told me that though he picks up all passengers, he was warned not to pick up black people. He was first told this by a police officer after an incident with a passenger. The cab driver had called the cops on a man who hopped out of his cab without paying. He said when the cops arrived, one cop told him this will happen every time he picks up a ‘N- word’ (that is the term the cop used).
Other cab drivers had also warned him not to pick up black people. I asked the driver if most of his bad experiences had been with black passengers, and I was happy to hear him say no. He said he has had equally bad experiences with all races and genders. In addition to discriminating against passengers, I had also heard that Manhattan cab drivers won’t take people to Brooklyn. I decided to ask the driver about this, since he was being forthright with everything else.
He said that he takes passengers to Brooklyn because he lives in Brooklyn, but most Manhattan cab drivers will not take passengers any further than Downtown Brooklyn. He went on to say that cab drivers will also refuse service to certain parts of Harlem and the Bronx.
I didn’t get to chance to ask him any more questions because I had arrived at my destination. I thanked him for being honest and giving me insight. I feel that all people have the right to cab service, regardless of their race or destination. What’s your opinion?
Like you mention, cab drivers often try to refuse taking passengers to other boroughs outside of Manhattan after hours. In addition to a possible racial motive, there is a business motive. Drivers know that after a certain time of night, if they take someone all the way out to Queens, Bronx, or Brooklyn, the chances of finding someone wanting to go back into the city are slim to none. To them, this is a “wasted” trip because they lose out on any potential return fare. In their minds, they can make much more money staying within Manhattan.
On one occasion, a couple of friends and I were trying to catch a cab back to Flushing after a late show in the city. We got into the cab and told the driver where we needed to go. Once he heard that Queens was our destination, he started “turning” his key in the ignition (never enough to start the engine) and told us that his cab was not starting. We knew this was complete BS, and told him to try turning the key all the way. Once he knew we were on to him, he started the car and remarked: “Oh, there it goes.”
Interestingly, my wife and I experienced cultural(racial isn’t the right word here) discrimination by cab drivers in S. Korea. Even though we are both ethnically Korean, the drivers could tell we were from America and kept refusing to take us where we wanted to go. When we told them our destination, they would just say they didn’t know where it was and drive off. This happened twice before we just got in a cab first, then told the driver where we needed to go after he started driving.
I never thought of the business motive for cabs not driving to other boroughs, but it makes a lot of sense. I can’t believe the driver tried to act like his car wouldn’t start for you and your friends. In regards to your cab driver experience in Korea, do the drivers not like tourists?