Posted on 04/27/2006 6:55:59 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
A growing problem at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport is making it difficult for some air passengers to catch cabs.
Some cab drivers are refusing to take passengers because they are carrying alcohol, such as bottles of wine or cases of beer, which conflicts with their religious beliefs.
"He loaded our luggage into the trunk, he saw our box carrying duty free liquor from Jamaica and told us he would have to take another cab, says passenger Greg Kline.
Kline did not easily find another cab.
"We approached the next cab in line, he just closed the cab and took off without a passenger, as did the one next to him, he says.
Airport staff say Muslim drivers have refused to take passengers with alcohol 922 times in the past year.
Airport policy does allow drivers to refuse a fare, only if they return to the beginning of the cab line, which can mean a wait of 3 to 4 hours until their next fare.
Airport officials have been meeting with the Cab Driver Advisory Board to resolve the issue. They say they have investigated policies at other airports, but concluded that the problem is unique to MSP.
I expressed my opinion of how things should be. The state should not tell Wal-Mart, or any other business, what it must sell. That should be entirely up to the retailer.
BS. Guy pulls up with his cab and has to wait 3 to 4 hrs for a fare. I don't buy that.
Check out when he created his account, I feel a ZOT! coming on.
Oakland's (CA) "Your Black Muslim Bakery" branching out? Do the hack(ers) wear black suits, with hats & bowties?
"Hmmmm, I wonder how many of these cabbies are illegals?"
Why would you wonder about that??
"Well some cabbies refuse passengers carrying alcohol for religious reasons, while some pharmacists refuse filling prescriptions for contraceptives for religious reasons. Same shit, different religion."
Well said.
I do use car service more than yellow cabs. Mostly I use the subway.
Note: car services have gone down hill over the last ten years. The days of the good dispatcher are far in the past.
At some times of the day in the Washington DC neighborhood, where I lived until recently, it was a buyer's market with plenty of cabs plying the street. When fully-bearded, pill-box-hat-and-pajama-wearing cabbies would pull up, I'd just just give 'em a "no" and get the next one.
Didn't particularly feel like giving my money to Hamas, Hezbollah, or to whomever else these folks tithe.
Ever driven a cab? I have; and it's entirely possible.
One way to make good money is airport fares, as they are usually long rides with big tips. The problem with them is that at most major airports, the wait in line, which is a highly regulated affair, is quite long.
Other options (hotels, bars, grocery stores) involve less waiting but are shorter rides with smaller tips.
One way to make good money is airport fares, as they are usually long rides with big tips. The problem with them is that at most major airports, the wait in line, which is a highly regulated affair, is quite long.
Other options (hotels, bars, grocery stores) involve less waiting but are shorter rides with smaller tips.
Ah, the eternal cabbie question: airport or city? I vote for the city...quantity not quality.
They should have their certificates/medallions yanked immediately. They are common carriers, and a condition of their certificate is to provide nondiscriminatory service to all comers.
I hope some raghead does this to me. I used to practice before our PUC, and I'd LOVE to pursue this kind of case.
Of course the PC libtard bureaucrats would probably try to stifle me, but Congressman Weldon and a few conservative media outlets would make good use of the resulting kerfuffle.
"It's their prerogative. The cab drivers take a loss too. as long as they aren't leaving people somewhere dangerous in the middle of nowhere."
Sorry, it's not. They operate cabs pursuant to certificates or licenses that impose "common carrier" obligations on them, one of which is to serve all customers without discrimination.
Maybe they will be the next immigrant raid??? LOL!
"Comment 15 was removed (for profanity, I guess), but the poster made this point: the actions of the cabbies in this story are similar to those of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control pills on religious grouds. IMHO, an independent cabbie can decline whatever fare he chooses, as an independent pharmacist can refuse to sell whatever drugs he chooses. If either is working for someone else, he needs to follow his employer's policy or risk being canned."
Sorry, in every state I know providing cab service is a privilege, not a right, and can only be done legally pursuant to a certificate of public convenience or similar license, a condition of which is that the cabbie must operate as a common carrier (like the phone company or an airline) and carry all passengers without unreasonable discrimination.
Don't put up with this crap. If some muslim does this to you, report his ass to the relevant authority--either the state PUC or the municipal taxi or livery commission.
I'm with you. Waiting for hours at an airport, and even then possibly getting burned, didn't work for me.
As far as making money goes though, "runaway" hooker/junkie fares from bars/clubs at times left me just as broke.
"A privately owned taxi business should be able to carry whoever they want to just like the Boy Scouts can say who can belong to their club. However, if the discriminating taxi company is blocking traffic or causing a safety hazard at the airport when they refuse passengers, the airport should have the right to correct this situation any way they can."
Sorry, they're more like the phone company or a railroad. Think Verizon has a right to pick and choose its local customers? Or AMTRAK? Think again.
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