Cabbies Show Their Feelings On Passengers

Yes, here’s one that would be impossible to make up: Metro reports today the new president of the new taxi workers’ union is Ron Blount, who faces simple assault and false imprisonment charges next month.

As anyone who has ridden a cab in the last year or so has already guessed, Blount is alleged to have struck a rider after she wanted to pay with a credit card.

Blount says he’s innocent of the assault charges. One driver told Metro the following: “We fully believe he’s innocent and will beat the charges.” Pun intended, I assume.

United cabbies have elected driver accused of assault [Metro]
Photo by kiteflier, Creative Commons license

PATCO Begins Using Futuristic Moon Cards

This morning, PATCO began using new “smart cards” on its Philly-N.J. route, replacing the old magnetic-strip plastic the system has been using for years.

No! This simply cannot be done. After all, that’s what SEPTA has been telling us since cards became the payment option of choice for most subway riders around the country. (This was sometime in 1955 or so.) PATCO’s new system was delayed nearly a year due to software glitches, but now it offers a MetroCard-style pass that will apparently work through your purse or pocket, too.

Of course, it was expensive? Or something? And although SEPTA wants to have a new fare system in place within three or four years, they’d rather just do this: “[A]gencies may find it much cheaper to let the credit-card industry develop a smart credit card that pays for passage on their buses and trains…. One challenge is that many SEPTA riders don’t have credit cards, so any system would need to accept cash, too.”

Mark my words: When tokens are eliminated on SEPTA, humans will have had colonies on Mars for at least 30 years.

PATCO issues ’smart cards’ [Inquirer]

While You Were Reading This, Somebody Purchased A New HDTV (And A Warranty!) With Your Credit Card

Hey, are you a Commerce Bank customer? Well, whoops, an employee issued personal information to an outside party. The company says a small amount of its 3 million customers were affected.

Of course, even if you avoid that, you might not be able to avoid a credit card skimmer, which was recently installed on a Wawa ATM in Delaware. A skimmer was attached to the ATM’s card reader; it transmitted information to outside parties who then clone the bank cards and withdraw money.

If someone steals your information and all your monty money, though, you can just go and steal somebody else’s. Like a pyramid scheme!

Commerce Bank Warning Customers Of Info. Theft [CBS 3]
Theft devices found on ATMs in Bear Wawa [News-Journal]

What If They Held A Taxi Strike And Nobody Noticed?

Apparently, the two-day taxi stike ended in one-day, a stunning efficiency you normally don’t get out of your strikers. Usually two-day strikes last two days, at least. But by proving they can accomplish a two-day strike in just one day, the taxi drivers in Philadelphia have certainly proven the can be more efficient than anyone else.

Of course, the strike may have been cut short because nobody really noticed the cabs were striking. Cabs picked people up in Center City, limos covered the rest and nobody anywhere else takes cabs since they have a car or live along the EL or something. Erhm, I guess. Anyway, no more taxi strike!

According to every taxi driver in the city, the credit card machine is currently down.

Anyone listening? [Metro]

Taxi Drivers Hoping For 0% Approval Rating

By now, you’ve probably ridden in a Philadelphia cab and attempted to pay with a credit card. And, if you’ve done that, you’ve most certainly been told by the cab driver the credit card machine is broken, or you’ve been yelled at for not informing the driver you were intending to pay with a credit card, because, you know, that’s a rule of some sort.

Of course, the credit card machines aren’t broken 24/7, the drivers just don’t want to deal with ‘em. And so, to protest these evil credit card machines (and GPS systems), Philadelphia taxi drivers have begun a two-day strike.

The strike is a joint action in solidarity with cab drivers in New York City. Philadelphia cabs already have the GPS/credit card system installed, while New York cabs will be making the switch over soon. The GPS system does go out somewhat frequently, but the real reason for the strike is cab drivers don’t want to accept credit cards for some reason (they have to report tips accurately?) and they’re being forced to.

Anyway, it’s okay if cabs are on strike; now you can hail a limo!

Linda J. Miller, Parking Authority spokeswoman, said the executive order allowing the city’s 161 limousine companies to fill the vacuum left by striking taxi drivers was also used to cope with a one-day strike in May 2006 that left about 100 cabs operating.

Miller said that the limousines would respond to anyone hailing them on the street but that there would be no central dispatching as with taxis. Anyone calling for a ride would have to pick a limousine company from the phone book.

But here’s the question: Do limos have those credit card machines? Probably not.

2-day taxi strike has begun [Inquirer]