I am a reservation agent for taxi companies. We operate from the east coast to the west coast.
Few things are a bigger stab to my gut when talking to ppl that live in these areas, are the law-abiding, decent folks trying to snag a cab ride to work. Our drivers, of all races, creeds, genders, etc. do no want to pick up in these areas. Sometimes they call at midnight to reserve a ride at 4:00am to get to work on time, and I cannot guarantee a thing. I can beg, plead, and pester my dispatchers all I want, but they can’t produce a driver out of thin air. Taxi drivers are independent contractors.
The scoundrels that live in these communities, the malcontents, don’t seem to understand they they are the source of 99% of the problems.
It’s why Grandma cannot get a cab to East LA hospital, why your sister can’t get picked up from a Jack in the Box on Imperial, and it’s why your brother can’t get picked up for his good paying job at the pier in San Pedro. It’s also why a senior lady waiting at Piggy’s Restaurant in Compton, was crying on the phone with me waiting to be picked up after a birthday party for her granddaughter, so terrified to be alone out there. Breaking our company rules, I stayed on the phone with her until I knew her ride was there. I informed my supervisors and told them to write me up for a violation.
I hate these bastards who infect these communities with the heat of a thousand suns.