Taxi drivers in the Capital Region, faced with the growing problem of ride-and-dash passengers, are seeking the right to ask for an up-front deposit payment before the trip begins.
A few months ago, Yellow Cab taxi driver Kuldeep Singh sat behind the wheel of his cab waiting for his passenger to return with the $30 fee for the trip.
B次元官网网址淪he said, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檒l come back.B次元官网网址� So you wait for 15 to 20 minutes. She never comes,B次元官网网址� the cabbie said. B次元官网网址淪he left a piece of I.D. (as collateral for payment) and the I.D. is still at the office.B次元官网网址�
Singh says his experience is commonplace among drivers.
Blue Bird taxi driver Rakesh Kohli will never forget the time two young women got a free ride out of him.
B次元官网网址淭hey asked me to go on Gorge Road and by the time I got to the Bay and Blanshard traffic light they just opened up the door and ran away,B次元官网网址� Kohli said.
B次元官网网址淲hat can I do?B次元官网网址�
The situation has prompted the Greater Victoria Taxi Association, which represents upwards of 270 drivers, to head to the Mainland tomorrow (April 5) to request that the Passenger Transportation Board expand the Taxi Bill of Rights to the Capital Region.
In 2007, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure began developing the bill for Metro Vancouver, where more than 50 per cent of taxis in the province operate.
The statement of principles outlines expectations between passengers and drivers, including the right of drivers to refuse to transport a passenger if a deposit isnB次元官网网址檛 provided when requested.
Until the bill applies to the Capital Region, there is little drivers can do to recoup their financial losses, Singh said.
Drivers can file a police report, but some are loathe to spend upwards of an hour doing that, meaning that many cases go unreported, he said.
B次元官网网址淟ots of drivers, for $10 or $15, they donB次元官网网址檛 bother.B次元官网网址�
If police are called and there is proof, the passenger can be charged under the Criminal Code with the summary offence of fraud in relation to fares.
Drivers can ask to hold a customerB次元官网网址檚 I.D. while they go get cash. But only about 20 per cent have reclaimed this collateral at Yellow Cab, said Sandi Poulin, human resource and marketing manager for Yellow Cab of Victoria.
And in certain locations such as Sooke, where mobile debit machines donB次元官网网址檛 work, often drivers are left with an unpaid tab if a passenger doesnB次元官网网址檛 have cash.
B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 get on a (public transit) bus and say IB次元官网网址檒l pay you next week or tomorrow,B次元官网网址� Poulin said.
B次元官网网址淣o business would do that, yet it happens every day with all the (taxi companies), not just Yellow Cab.B次元官网网址�
emccracken@vicnews.com
