Taken for a Ride: One Man's Opinion

Monday, January 08, 2007 03:45 AM

When you live in the big city you can expect that if you take a cab on occasion you will find yourself, “taken for a ride”. You really would not expect to have that experience in PG where there are a limited number of streets and highways.

Well trust me it can happen in PG.

I had to head out of town recently, so rather than leave my rig at the airport I called a cab to take me to YXS.

When the cab driver headed off to the airport from the Hart along Foothills and then around the Multi Plex (CN Center ) then down 18th to get to Central, you become a little suspicious.

I raised the matter of the traveling time when we got to Foothills and North Nechako Road. I said, “take North Nechako to Central and you’ll save yourself a bit of time ", he ignored the advice and continued down Foothills. It wasn’t until we were heading around CN Center that my wife and I raised the matter of distance. "Why wouldn’t you take North Nechako to Central?" I asked, he replied the distance is just an "optical illusion" and continued on with the drive.

Well for the driver who accuses people of possessing an optical illusion, I have now gone back and taken the mileage.

For your information, and for that matter anyone else, that little junket around the CN Center adds 1.1 Kilometers to the trip.

Now for a cab driver, who drives for a living, he or she should know better, unless of course you are the driver of a cab who is taking someone “for a ride".

The money involved was not significant and it would be wrong to suggest that all cab drivers would do the same. One driver however feels that a trip that adds 1.1 kilometer to the meter is just an "optical illusion".

I’m Meisner and that is one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: metalman on January 8 2007 8:48 AM

So how much competition is there in P.G. for cab companies? (not enough)
How about flat fees from the bowl area to the airport, like they have with that shuttle van.
They could factor in an assumed length of time lost to red lights and slow traffic. Overall, the cabbie would come out even I bet.
metalman.

Posted by: fedup on January 8 2007 9:22 AM

Some times you save time by missing the lights at fifth and central.

Posted by: Harbinger on January 8 2007 11:45 AM

Maybe Ben should drive a cab part time fer six months and get back to us about his problem. I will wait.

Posted by: Harbinger on January 8 2007 11:47 AM

Too many cabs, nobody makes much money. Too few cabs, everyone waits. Like everything else in this life, it is a science. Got that?

Posted by: Marty on January 8 2007 1:15 PM

I had a cabbie stop at the 7-11 on Queensway for cigarettes once while taking a cab home.
I have not taken a cab in PG since.
I assume he was shocked to return from the store to see me standing outside his cab on my cell phone calling the "Other" cab company for a ride the rest of the way home.
He wanted his fair from the Ramada to the 7-11, I told him where he could stick his fair.
When I told my new cabbie the story he laughed.
Hint....the first cab company had a small white car with some green markings on it.
The second company ( that did not stop to shop) was a yellow car.

Posted by: trusted on January 8 2007 1:32 PM

Hey-a lot of these drivers must have come from Europe. Let me tell you, if you want to get taken-and not only for a ride-hit some of those foreign countries. I once took a cab-3 miles, and discovered my destination was 3 blocks.
That driver took me sight seeing!!
Better to try and get someone English speaking at the hotel you happen to be at and they will tell you how far that cab had to go. Other than that-it is all guesswork!

Posted by: owl on January 8 2007 2:44 PM

Can we keep tabs on who is ripping us off in this community?

Seems the list that immediately comes to mind includes:

- teachers
- cabbies
- councillors
- federal MPs
- government employees
- vandals
- thieves
- banks
- CN

Others can keep adding till we have a relatively complete list. :-)

Posted by: owl on January 8 2007 2:51 PM

Speaking of such matters. Did anyone read Christy Clark's column in the province on Sunday? To quote:

"B.C. got no new representation in the cabinet after Stephen Harper shuffled it this week.

Jay Hill, from Prince George-Peace River, got promoted to a secretary of state, but it doesn�t put him in cabinet.

Hill didn�t even get any new duties with the promotion. Just a new title, a bigger paycheque and a chauffeur.

That news got me thinking about two things.

First, a secretary of state gig sounds pretty sweet. An extra $53,000 a year with no new responsibilities is nice work, if you can get it."

Is this an exaggeration or is she telling it like it is?

Posted by: diplomat on January 8 2007 4:23 PM

>"When you live in the big city you can expect that if you take a cab on occasion you will find yourself, �taken for a ride�."<

People from Terrace, Kitimat, Burns Lake, etc. think of Prince George as the big city that it is.

It has all the trappings of a big city, like a University, skid row, traffic jams and heavy air pollution and so forth. People from out of town get lost driving in it!

If it looks like a city, smells like city, sounds like a city - I think it's a city.

Posted by: Chadermando on January 8 2007 9:09 PM

Is Quesnel a city then Diplomat? They also look like a city. I bet with surrounding area they are near half the size of PG in population.

Posted by: trusted on January 8 2007 9:31 PM

Prostitutes, crack houses, escort service, pan handlers, soup kitchens, lots of pawn shops, filth, garbage, needle exchange, druggies, grow ops, and, oh heck, what do you call those places that hand out hampers with 5 day old bread and sprouting potatoes and dented cans etc, so the poor have something to cook, and flop houses, and homeless,and pride parades,and hold ups,and murders, and drunks fighting on the streets, and????
Throw in Diplomat's posting-and yessir-we have a city!

Posted by: diplomat on January 9 2007 7:50 AM

No, Quesnel is not half the size of Prince George in population, no matter how vast the area you include.

Still, even in Quesnel, a really determined taxi driver could probably rip you off for a buck by taking the long way around to the magnificent Quesnel Airport.

Where there is a will, there is a way!

Trusted, the Mayor (who thinks everything is just ticky-booo) needs to be informed about the list you have compiled - please include pitted and pot-holed roads and a lack of sidewalks and properly built sidewalks when you do let him know!