Category: the Rant Board
Ok, being a visually impaired individual, often times if a family member, or good friend is unavailable/unwilling to take us places, we as independent people are left to either walk, if the distance is not to great, take a buss, or a taxi. I would like to know if anyone has ever felt that they have been taken advantage of by these people who are there to provide a service.
For the ladies, have you ever had a driver get fresh with you in anyway shape or form? As in, try to cop a feel, get in a grab of this, that or the other? How did you handle it, in regards to making sure you were never saddled with such a driver again?
My two cents
YBF
Oh yes, I've felt taken advantage of by those types of people. One cab driver in Illinois did try to come on to me, and I figured out his cab number, even though he would not give it to me, and told the company I absolutely refused to ride with this guy again. Another time here in Colorado, a cab took me way out of my way, and I knew what the fare should be, so knew he'd tried to rip me off when he gave me the supposed price. I told him I was only paying him what I knew the proper fare was. I did so, and got out of the cab, and he proceeded to follow me, and wrap his arms tightly around my neck from behind. What would have happened from there I don't even want to think about, but thankfully we were in a populated area of downtown Denver, and two cops showed up and stopped him. One helped me into the train station where I was going, the other dealt with this guy. That meant an extremely angry phone call to the company on my part.
Did the company compinsate you in any way? What a fucken dirt bag. excuse the language.
Oh my Alicia, that is horrid. I can't imagine what might have happened if it hadn't been such a populated area. I suppose that is one benefit of living in an apartment complex. There are always people about. If he had been dropping you off at say, your own house, well .. things could have taken a turn for the worse. I'm glad that it didn't though, and I hope he had his taxi permit revoked.
I haven't been taken advantage of in that way but I've heard stories of folks who have. But a story that stands out in my mind happened to a friend of mine and one of her former friends. These two girls had taken a bus and of course told the driver where they needed to get off. Well the driver was something of a jerk to begin with and, like a lot of drivers I've met, didn't call out the stops the way they're supposed to at least in Portland, Oregon. At least the major stops as well as the specifically requested ones, are supposed to be announced. Well the driver stopped at what he told them was their stop, but it turned out to be across town from where they'd requested. Since they didn't have another bus for at least half an hour, and since this was back during a time when not everybody had cell phones on them, they had to walk I forget how many blocks in Portland's all too frequent pouring rain to get to where they had to go. Of course that meant an extremely angry phone call to the bus company on their part. Well about a month later Amanda, my friend's friend, was waiting for a bus when another bus came by and it was the same driver. We already knew this guy was a jerk but he demonstrated it even more by stopping long enough to throw open his door and yell at Amanda in front of his passengers, something to the effect that thanks to her this was his last day.
Wow! I never have been taken advantiage of at all, but that is probably due to being male, and not at all intimadated by cabbies driving me to far. You drive me to far you waste you gas buddy. Smile. If this goes on lots with females it's a shame. Sad indeed. If it was the drivers last day good he deserved that, and that cabbie instead of just getting his permit revolked should have gotten some jail time, or ass kicking. Sorry. Shame.
I've never had that problem personally. I've had people try to take advantage of my blindness, but none of them were cab drivers or bus drivers. I've gotten people trying to take my wallet and things like that, but that is par for the course in downtown tampa.
As for when I took a cab, what I do is I call them to find out what the fares are, then I do a street search to find out exactly how far it is to that place. Do the math, and you know exactly how much money your going to give the cab driver, before they even show up.
As for buses, I find reminding them at least three times does the trick. When they get to a stop, ask them if thats your stop. I was always taught to sit in the front of the bus and make sure the driver knows your there and paying atention. It makes it harder for them to take advantage of you.
The sitting in the front of the bus is pretty much a given. As a matter of fact I think by law they're required to give those seats up to elderly or disabled (although I dislike using that particular term), individuals. Most of the time in Portland I had pretty good drivers with only the occasional jerk. Some O&M instructors train you differently, but the guy I worked with for more than ten years told me to ask at fairly regular intervals if we were getting close to my stop, particularly with drivers who didn't anounce them. While most were pretty understanding I actually had one who got pretty snippy. Then when I called and complained he tried to save face by taking credit for the fact that some friends of mine whom I'd known in High School happened to be riding the same bus and came and sat next to me because we were friends.
Of course I haven't taken a city bus in quite a long time since where I live now there aren't any. The up side, althoug sometimes it is very inconvenient, is that in a small town like Twin Falls the price for a cab is the same no matter where you want to go. It's eight dollars one way, although if you get the special punch card to which disabled and senior citizens are entitled, you only have to pay half that. Of course it's not a good thing to use if you're going someplace every day since they're only good for forty trips a month. And unless it's a medical emergency, life or death, I absolutely refuse to pay eight dollars just for one way.
Yeah, we have drivers who don't call out the bus stops here in Denver, either. It's a shame a city of this size doesn't have automated stop announcements yet, when smaller cities like Lincoln Nebraska do. What's wrong with this picture? I've never been dropped at the wrong stop since I've lived out here, but I know plenty of friends who have.
Continuing the thread of drivers, bus or otherwise, it is really difficult, when the driver is calling out the stops, but the system over which he is announcing these stops is so crackly, and his accent is super thick. Thank goodness I was seated next to a woman that was able to act as translator, judging by the automated map that flashed everytime he came to a stop but still. Some of the drivers could stand to take a course in enunciating things.
My two cents.
YBF
Alicia, that sounds terrible, glad it was in an area with people around.
I have also been taken advantage of a cab driver wo charged me full fair when her machine to process cards was not working, and she did not have a manual machine to process it. I paid at first as I was told I could get the money back from our state transport department, but then wrote a letter to complain when I realised this was incorrect, and I was given my half. I'll never be so naive again.
I agree maere. I found that this is especially prevalent on the washington D.c. subway system. You would think that, because at the point they anounced the information, you were going through a tunnel, that the speakers would be of higher quality. However, when I rode them, they might as well have anounced the stops in japanese for all that I understood. thankfully, i was always travelling with sighted people, and they were somehow able to translate, probably by some sign or something. Whatever the manner, they did it, and I was greatful for it.
I've been told to sit in front as well. I really haven't had a bad bus driver yet. I've asked if I am close to my stop when I think we're getting close but am not sure of it, and usually once I get to know how long the trip is going to be, I'm usually about 5 minutes away from my stop when I ask them.
I don't know whatever happened to the driver, whether he got reprimanded, fired, or what. All I know is, that's the only time I've ever had that extreme of an experience, and I hope it stays that way.
On the light rail system up here, they have an automated voice, that is loud enough to be heard over the hum-drum of the train and the people that may be on it. The voice is clear, and announces the train you are on, the stop, the next stop, and so on. I know many of you city folk may already know about this, but I was absolutely enchanted by the system. It made my first solo train trip a great success.
Has anyone been in a cab that was equipped with one of those talking GPS systems? I remember being in one once, and the guy, took an hour to get to my house, where usually it took 20 minutes. I don't know if he had the GPS system because he was prone to getting lost, or because the company equipped all it's cars with those.
Funny. I just had a cab with one of those not too long ago. As for the trains with automatic announcements, Portland, Oregon has one of those systems, or at least they did when I was living up there. It was called the Max. THen in Salem, Oregon they had buses that automatically announced the route and its ultimate destination and then each stop as they approached it. It would also announce the transit center as you arrived.
Yes, Portland still has one of those. I traveled on it for a brief period when I was in training with my second Guide Dog.
I still remember the little announcements. "The doors are closing!"
The doors are closing? Oh dear, that reminds me of a car we once owned, that talked. It was say things like, Please fasten your seat belts, or "a Door
is Ajar"
And of course my brother would chime in with no it's a door. But . ahem, not to get off topic, I've learned that making friends if at all possible with
your driver is very helpful. If they have a card, ask for it, and make a habit of requesting them when you need a ride.
My two cents.
YBF
That's easier said than done I've noticed, unless of course you're taking the same transit system every single day from the exact same stops. Sometimes I had drivers more than once but it was very rare, especially in a huge city like Portland, Oregon. As for the talking car, I've actually ridden in one. It also said don't forget your keys.
Denver has a light rail system like that, with a clear voice that announces the stops. Unfortunately, it's not entirely automated. The driver has to push a button to play the prerecorded announcements, so if they forget to, that can be difficult. I'm familiar enough with the system that I generally know which stop I'm at, even if the announcement doesn't play, but nine times out of ten it does.
I know at least one of the major cab companies here in Denver has equipped all their cabs with GPS units. Thank God. Now no driver has any excuse for getting lost and overcharging. I'm thinking the other company might follow suit pretty soon, as customers like that the other cabs have the GPS units. I also know that all of Denver's paratransit buses are in the process of being equipped with GPS units, too, to prevent drivers from getting lost and wasting time, thereby making clients late.
And, I've never even heard of a talking car like the ones you guys are describing. Weird.
Like I said I know of at least one cab here in Twin Falls where the driver had a talking GPS. I happened to catch a ride home in that cab with a blind friend, although I use Friend in the loosest possible sense since she really isn't anymore. This girl couldn't understand why I wasn't remotely curious to try to drive the car with the GPS enabled and see how far I'd get.
i actually haven't had any problems on busses here, the drivers seem to all know me and remember to tell me when it's my stop. cabs, i've had really nice and really dickish ones. like cody said i call ahead to find out how much i'm looking at to get somewhere cuz some drivers have tried to rip me off. thenthere was one driver who asked if i had a boyfriend and all this trash. ug. the craziest thing happened the other day though when i didn't feel like taking a bus. i had this cab driver who dropped me off and offered to pick me up. and told me i didn't have to pay to be picked up. i told him i'd pay and he wouldn't let me. he gave me his card and his personal number including his house and told me to call him whenever. so i haden't needed a cab in awhile cuz i had my friends, and i really needed to get some groceries so i called him up and again he said he'd do it for free and even waited for me. i basically got there and back for free. then he wanted to take me out for lunch but i'm like ok this is a bit weird, but he didn't even try to change my mind lol. he tells me about his life everytime he picks me up and asks me about school and stuff. I don't understand why he was so nice. and he's never tried to do anything to me or say anything weird and i asked him about why he was driving me around for free and he's like everyone needs a gardian angel i thaught that was really sweet. so thursday i baked cookies and gave him some when he picked me up to go to my doctor's appointment. lol
Yeah, both here in Denver, and in Omaha, where I lived for awhile, drivers were allowed to give out their own personal business cards, and accept, "personals," as they're called. I made friends with one of the drivers in Omaha, and have made another cab driver friend out here in Denver. Neither ever tried anything on me, we just became good friends. They'd do some free runs for me, but they couldn't do too many without getting in trouble with the company.
Oh wow Brian that is just amusing. Was she offering to sit in the passengers seat if you were to try out her little experiment?
Oh wow Janelle, it's funny how much I can relate to you. The super nice cabbiess and everything. Yes, I've had a couple ask to see me outside of the cab, but of course I'm shy of guys anyhow, and sorry, a cab guy? No thanks.
Hmm, I've never prepared treats for any of my drivers, I don't know what signal that might send, and I'm not eager to experiment.
Alicia, that's always nice, when you can build a familiar relationship with your driver, he gets to know your schedules and what not, and if in the process you end up forming a relationship, that's all the better. Janelle's cabby was right, every once in a while, it's nice to have a guardian angel.
My two cents
YBF
Vancouver's commuter rail SKYTRAIN System has voice annoucements... they've had this for the 24 years that SkyTrain has been in existence... the announcement tells what train is arriving (because there are 3 routes, two of which share part of the same track) and as the train approaches, it announces the station that it's approaching.
Some of the newer busses have the announcement feature AND can "kneel" to the curb (ie eliminate the need to step up onto the bus)... when you get on the bus, there is an announcement as to the bus number and (I think) the destination point... it also announces the next stop in plenty of time for you be able to pull the cord to request the stop.
This feature is very handy for one and all, especially when one is on the bus in an unfamilliar part of town.
Hmm, in the spirit of alternative means of transportation, how reliable is paratransit? I've heard mixed reviews. Sometimes they are on time, sometimes no matter how early you schedule the pick up they are super late, and sometimes rides are canceled.
I know for the paratransit system up here, drivers aren't allowed to come to the door (an odd rule) but how else are you supposed to know they are here? Can you request that the driver call you, so that you aren't waiting outside for an unspecified amount of time? Or is that just something we have to put up with for the sake of being able to get somewhere for three bucks?
My two cents.
YBF
No YBF, Marie actually wanted to sit in the driver's seat and try driving the car using the talking GPS. And she couldn't understand why I wasn't even remotely curious to try it. As for paratransit, Twin Falls, Idaho has a very limited system called the Trans IV, but A. there are only three or so buses which also double as school buses, and B. they only run until about 4:30 on weekdays and not at all on weekends. While I've never had one make me late for anything I have had one leave without me on the way home from college. Prt of it was of course the fault of the class and the teacher. It was a debate class and of course those rarely end at the scheduled time, but the driver also didn't wait for the five or ten minutes they're supposed to. And that happened on what felt like the coldest day of the year last year. It also costs seventy bucks a month if you want to use it every day and have a ride both to and from, and granted that might not be bad if you had an actual income (as far as I'm concerned SSI doesn't count since it's not earned), but when that's all you're getting it can make it difficult to eat. And if the not waiting for the client for the requisite ten minutes becomes a pattern it can be problematic.
I have very mixed reviews of our paratransit system here in Denver. It's good points are that they will either come to the door, call you when they arrive, or both. That way I'm not sitting or standing outside waiting on them. And that's a damn good thing, too, cuz often times they're late. It's a toss-up. I've heard of paratransit agencies that make you schedule days in advance, and when they're full, they will tell a person so, and basically say, too bad. That kind of sucks, as you often can't plan your trips that far in advance. However, paratransit like this is usually on time.
On the other hand, our system here has a 0 refusal policy, meaning that someone could call in the day before they need the ride, and RTD can't tell them no. The con of that is, the system gets overbooked, and often that makes drivers late. Iv'e learned to tell them I need to be somewhere earlier than I actually do, in order to make sure I get there on time.
The other good thing is that because the paratransit and the regular buses are run by the same company, the paratransit has to keep the same hours the buses do. As long as buses are running, which they are pretty much 22 out of 24 hours, then paratransit has to run, too.
Denver also has the access cab as well that can be used if you need to travel at night. I'm not a male pig, but if you are female this is the way to go if you just decide you want to go some place say in an hour. Sometimes they don't come in the 15 minutes to an hour lay time, but for the most part it works decently. Bus is simple best. You got the schedule, the bus will almost 99% of the time be there. Smile.
Yeah, I've used Access-A-Cab when I've needed to as well.
one time I had a cab driver give me a 1 instead of a 10. i was not happy and called the company. they sent someone out with the correct money and a not of appology.
My BF lives in Jacksonville where I have spent the last two weeks, and I'm just starting to figure out what a horrible piece of crap the so-called transit system is. Paratransit is either on time and gets lost, or late showing up. Either way, the answer is late. The cab system is even worse. On Thursday, we went to pick up groceries. We called a cab almost as soon as my BF got home from work. We waited outside for twenty minutes, and still no cab, so we called back, and they said the driver couldn't find where we were so they were sending someone else. Well, fifteen minutes later, the cab driver showed up, and absolutely would not let us get into the cab independently without holding his hand. When we got to the grocery store, he said he would come pick us up when we were done, and gave us his number. When we called, we got the voicemail. We tried three times, and finally gave up and called for another cab. Well, the guy was twenty minutes late, and we were holding four or five particularly heavy bags of groceries, and we were tired and ready to eat dinner. When the cab finally showed up, the guy treated us like we were some two blind freaks who had so rudely interrupted his coffee break, and he sounded either tired or stoned. Anyway, he got lost trying to find the apartment, and charged us seven dollars for all the driving around he did. When we got to the street, he told us we were there. He let us out, snapped at me for asking him if the bill I was holding was a five when it was actually a ten, and quite literally dumped our groceries on the street and drove off without telling us where we were. Luckily, we found what we thought were all the groceries, and then we figured out that the guy had dropped us off a few apartments away, and since these ones are separate from each other, they weren't all in the same building. When we finally found the apartment and went inside, one of our grocery bags were missing. We searched the area where we had found the others, and couldn't find it. Unfortunately, that bag had most of our frozen and refrigerated goods in it. My BF found them the next day by chance on the way to work. Luckily we only had to throw out a bag of chicken breasts, but it still isn't fair. The guy absolutely refused to give us his name. Now I see why. I feel bad about troubling the really good cab drivers all the time, because it's not their fault, but they seem to understand.