Stupid Taxi Companies
Just a short rant for now while I am in Orlando, Florida.
Last Friday evening I wrote that we were heading for Disneyworld. Actually we were waiting for a limo to pick us up. There are 6 of us and 12 pieces of luggage so a simple taxi wouldn't do. The limo guy called to tell us he was stuck in New York City and wouldn't be able to pick us up in time, so we called a local cab company to drive us from Bayonne, New Jersey to Newark Airport.
The company didn't have any vans available - no big deal, we'd have to go in two cars. One of the fastest ways to Newark Airport requires going on the New Jersey Turnpike and so I was shocked to see our driver getting into the cash lane instead of the EZPASS lane. The driver said his boss didn't want his drivers getting EZPASS. It took us an additional ten minutes to go through the toll than it should have taken.
I asked the driver if he was ever late bringing someone to the airport. He answered in the affirmative - I wasn't surprised to hear that. What did surprise me was that a taxi company that undoubtedly does a decent business driving passengers to and from the three major airports in the New York Metro area doesn't have EZPASS in every one of its cabs. I mean how stupid can a businessman be?
Here's the deal. It's a flat charge of about $30.00 from Bayonne to Newark Airport. The driver gets $30 bucks whether it takes 15 minutes or 25 minutes to get there. That means the driver and his boss make less money every day, because, obviously, each cab is forced by the owner's stupidity to make fewer trips every day.
God forbid some poor unsuspecting shlub ever hires his cab for a trip to New York via the Holland Tunnel - see photo above! I know of people who have waited more than 45 minutes longer to go through the cash lanes.
I just don't get how some people stay in business when they are such idiots. For example, I certainly will not use this company again. If the owner of this company is such an imbecile in regard to EZPASS, what else is he short-changing in his operation, maintenance on his vehicles, air in his tires?
Truth be told, it's not just cab owners, as I wrote in Things that tick me off, unless one intends on murder, anyone who does not have an EZPASS (and drives through a toll plaza more than once a month) is a moron.
By the way, we made it to the airport in time, and we would have been on time even if it took an hour instead of 15 minutes to get to the airport because I always assume I am dealing with idiots and so I even made allowance for the limo getting stuck in New York and for a cab to break down on the way to the airport. This means that I am usually hours early for a plane trip, but since I can always keep myself busy with a laptop it's better to have time to spare than to miss a plane.
Talk with you tomorrow.
