Advice on complaint about a cab?

Submitted by lilthrowawaylol t3_yqzaeb in CambridgeMA

I had an Amtrak to catch today, was gonna take the red line to South Station but got to Harvard Sq to see the red line was delayed/stopped with no estimated time. Decided to take a cab outside of the station instead - terrible decision.

Cambridge's "Hackney Rules" booklet states that "Drivers shall use the most direct available route on all trips". I-90 is the most direct way, and I also explicitly said I'd like the driver to take the pike. He did NOT do that, instead went onto Storrow which was backed up with traffic right after the DoubleTree. I have a screenshot of the pike showing no traffic at the time we were on the road, as well as photos of us sitting in traffic. (As a side note, the driver is also clearly eating out of Tupperware in the pics - doesn't seem like he wanted to drive).

I was quick enough to ask the driver to go to Back Bay instead otherwise I would've missed my train. Super annoyed the driver ignored me and I likely ended up paying more in fare because we sat stopped in traffic for probably 15 mins.

Anyone here have any experience in filing a complaint and getting a response? I have the phone number and online link to Cambridge.gov that we're in the taxi but wanted to see if anyone had first hand knowledge of what the best route to take is.

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Rox-onfire t1_ivrakb1 wrote

Is this really worth your effort ?

I'd get over it and Uber next time.

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lilthrowawaylol OP t1_ivrezxw wrote

Replying to Rox-onfire (#488,897)

It's worth my effort. Paying $20 more than what I should pay is a lot for someone in my situation. I also don't think it's right for drivers to take advantage of people but that's just the idealist in me.

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uber-shiLL t1_ivrq1xa wrote

What is your main objective in filing a complaint? Second objective?

In other words fill:

I’d be happy if ______.

I’d be satisfied if ______.

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kigaltan t1_ivt2k93 wrote

This is why taxis are losing to Uber and Lyft.

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andr_wr t1_ivwhsn0 wrote

Call the cab company first before filing the complaint. If the cab company will make amends satisfactorily - great. If not, then your complaint will have more weight since it's clear that they aren't doing right.

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Master_Dogs t1_ivyvd8e wrote

Filing a complaint against a Cambridge taxi with the CPD's Hackney division will get you a remarkably quick response from CPD. I reported a taxi driver for parking and then driving in a bike lane on Mass Ave last year. Within a few days I got a response back from a CPD Hackney division officer. They claimed to have spoken to the taxi driver who gave them a sob story about having a medical emergency (diabetic and needed a donut from dunks was their claim). The officer really didn't seem to give a shit but they did at least speak to the driver. And that driver now has a complaint on file if anything serious happens in the future.

So needless to say: report them if you want, but expect nothing to come out of it. Probably worth it just so that driver thinks twice about fucking around in the future. That's what I like to think my report did. But who knows. CPD really doesn't seem to like doing any real work.

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j_parkour t1_iwcgr6d wrote

Has taxi customer service gotten worse due to dropoff in business from Uber/Lyft competition?

I have noticed that most cab companies went out of business and almost all cars are owned individually, which means there's no way to call a cab. You can only find them at taxi stands in the squares, or maybe get lucky and hail one driving by on Mass Ave.

Are there any callable companies left?

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