New York taxi drivers have resigned themselves to a fate with credit cards, according to a New York Times investigation. Cabbies struck twice this year to protest regulations forcing them to accept credit of all stripes. To see if cabbies are following the new rules, the Times asked five reporters to hop in twenty cabs each with one question: “I’ve only got a credit card, is that O.K.?”
Here is what happened over 92 rides:
- 47—slightly over half—accepted credit cards.
- 35 cabs—nearly 40%—did not have credit card readers
- 9 drivers refused to accept credit cards at all.
- 1 driver accepted the credit card, and then tried to levy his own $0.35 transaction fee.
The nine drivers who refused offered a litany of poor excuses, including:
- “There is a minimum cab fare for credit card use.” (There isn’t, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission.)
- There is a 35-cent transaction fee for credit cards.” (Not so.)
- “It’s too short a ride.” (No such thing.)
- “It better be a good credit card.” (Passengers can always pay with cash if the card is declined.)
- The device doesn’t have to be activated until the new year. (If it is installed, passengers can use it.)
If a cabbie gives you a hard time, you are in good company—Matthew Daus, New York’s Taxi Commissioner, has been twice refused. Most drivers will cave if you write down their badge number and threaten to call 311. It may take effort, but paying with a credit card is still easier than catching a late-night lift to Brooklyn.
Hey, Taxi! Do You Take Credit Cards? [NYT]
(Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
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When I was in Europe in 2000, they took credit cards– what gives?
@trollkiller:
I’m thinking the convo would go more like:
Cabbie: Ok here we are, that’ll be $37.50
Me: Right, well here’s my credit card…
Cabbie: I don’t take those.
Me: Well, we’re in NYC, and you’re supposed to, you’ve got the slider right here, and the Visa logo on the window…
Cabbie: Well, I don’t take credit cards, cash only. The machine is broken.
Me: Ok, we’ve got 2 choices here because I don’t have cash. I can call 311, then 911, and let the police handle this, or if your card reader is truly broken, you can use the manual slider that you’re required to keep to make an imprint of my card and let me be on my way.
Cabbie: I dont’ have one of those things, and my card reader is broken, I can only take cash.
Me: Ok, have it your way.
-get on the phone to the police, shortly thereafter the officer shows up-
Officer: The cab driver says you refused to pay him.
Me: I offered a credit card, he says his card reader is busted.
Cabbie: No he didn’t.
Officer: Really? Why would someone try to stiff a cabbie, then call the cops and wait inside the cab for them to show up? Either take this guy’s credit card or let him be on his way.
Cabbie: If I let him go I won’t get paid for the fare!
Officer: Sorry about your luck.
@y2julio: Just because you’ve said it multiple times doesn’t make it true. It was not part of any agreement. It was an independent decision by the Taxi and Limo Commission. And it was opposed not only by the drivers but by some of the owners as well.
And it is not about taxes. It is about the fact that all credit card transactions require a minimum 5% surcharge that comes out of the cabbies take. The CC companies negotiated with the city to charge a much higher per use charge to the cabbies than they charge in normal circumstances, and it is split between the city and the card company. This includes, for example, the tolls paid off of the credit card. (So the cabbie is essentially paying part of your toll for you now if you use a credit card.)
And given that most folks tip cabbies poorly, 5% eats into half or even all of what their tip would have been.
It’s a raw deal, and I won’t support it and still only paying cash for my taxi rides.
Part of being a good consumer is recognizing when the other side is getting screwed too.
I used a credit card for the first time this weekend in a cab and the driver yelled profanities as I was leaving the cab.
This is the wrong way for them to vent their frustration. Now I am more inclined to use credit cards, and I definitely will take their badge number and call 311 the next time a driver gives me any type of hostile attitude for using a credit card, which I am well within my rights to use.
@JustAGuy2: I think that a cabbie “slow-rolling” to increase the fare is pretty much a myth — since there’s a flat fee plus the meter ticking for distance, short trips proportionally make cabbies a lot more money than long ones. A cabbie would much rather get you out of the taxi and a new customer in rather than drive around the block a few times to bump your bill. IMHO, anyway.
@92BuickLeSabre: Do you have factual support for your discussion about the higher charges negotiated between the CC companies and the city? I’d be very interested in checking that out. I would guess that it has to do with the higher cost of wireless transmission of the payment data, but I’m curious — hadn’t heard about that at all.
This is important to know. Under MasterCard/Visa rules A merchant cannot refuse your credit card for reasons of a minimum fee they also cannot charge a transaction fee. Once they aggree to accept credit cards they have to accept all under all financial circumstances, otherwise they can be charged $5K per instance.
Someone needs to tell the cabbies that its the cost of doing buisness.
@Beerad: Not surprisingly the issue got very little publicity – a lot less sexy than talking about “tracking devices” – but for every cabbie I spoke to, this was the real concern.
The Taxi Worker’s Alliance hasn’t updated their webpage since October (a sign of why they didn’t succeeded in getting the word out perhaps?)
But here is an editorial from the NY Daily News in October:
[www.nydailynews.com]
And from the TWA in the NY Daily News:
[www.nydailynews.com]
@92BuickLeSabre: That is interesting, although it seems on the surface that the increased fee is to cover the costs of the GPS tracking and the wireless payment ability.
The whole issue is fairly complicated, and I’m not entirely sure where I stand on it overall. 5% is a pretty hefty hit, although I have to think it affects an overall very small percentage of actual transactions (meaning overwhelmingly people still pay cash). I think the GPS maps are nice, especially since so many people (and drivers) don’t necessarily have the best grasp of locations/directions (although it’s asinine that the drivers don’t get GPS navigation as part of the program).
@Beerad: There are at least three real problems with the GPS (in NYC) that I’ve experienced.
First, as you say, the driver doesn’t actually have access to it – which strikes me as ludicrous.
Second, the meter, the GPS, and the little TV (which appears to be updated once every 2-3 days and only shows about a 10 minute loop) are linked together. So when one goes down, they all go down. I’ve had one taxi have to shut down completely and go back to the garage and another who lost about 3/4 of a mile before he could get it fixed.
Third, a huge % of fares are Manhattan to Manhattan – where GPS is essentially useless (Do you need GPS to get from 1st Ave and 3rd Street to 5th Ave and 83rd Street?) The rest of the fares are primarily Manhattan to Airport and back. Travel within the other boroughs (where GPS might actually be useful given size and lack of a grid) is almost entirely dependent on “call Service”/Gypsy Cabs and not Yellow Cabs.
Finally, while the 5% may be to pay for these services, the cut is coming from the driver. Which means that while the city and CC company decided to do this, the city is earning ad revenue, the CC company is earning new revenues, and the medallion owners are increasing their take, but the driver is the one actually paying the bill (and remember that the 5% includes non-cash tips and the toll charges.)
By the way, I’m not a taxi driver or in any way affiliated with the TWA. I’m a standard subway-rider in NYC who takes cabs on weekends, late at night, and when I’m late for work.
OT sorta but has anyone else seen the credit card readers on soda and snack machines? I was at the hospital about a week ago and noticed all the snack machines had them. Just too wierd for me. I wouldn’t trust the reader to not store the info nor would I trust the operator.
But I have used my CC here in L.A. a couple of times when I couldn’t get a ride from the flyover to my house. No issues with the drivers except I was double charged twice once..
@xtc46:
random immigrant isnt racist…its something but immigrant doesnt imply race.
The reason they hate credit cards is because Visa/MC/etc take a $0.30 transaction fee for every swipe.
I have a friend who owns a gas station and he pays CC companies +$3,000 a month because of these little fees. A cabbie working 7 days a week picking up 40 people a day would lose $360 a month to credit card transaction fees.
@Nemesis_Enforcer: Yeah, some vending machines at my college recently got “upgraded” to include CC readers.
On a side note, the cost at all vending machines went up $0.25 . I’m sure the two events are *totally* unrelated. =/