WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. March 28, 2005: WPCNR has received another complaint about the White Plains Taxi situation, critiquing driver attitudes and policies. Here is that comment, filed today:
Dear Editor,
I would like to bring your attention once again to the poor taxi service available in White Plains. The local taxis will not take reservations for local rides, insisting that the customer call them 20 minutes in advance of their need for a taxi and hope that one will be available. Unlike other cities, one cannot hail a cab when one is needed in the moment. So we cannot plan ahead nor can we hope to spontaneously get a cab.
This is a huge waste of time when one needs to go from one place to another. Today my car was in use by someone else (we have a one car family) and I needed to travel to an appointment on Bloomingdale Road. The ride is very short. I could walk, but it was raining. In order to accomplish this trip, I was asked to wait in front of my building for 20 minutes, hoping for a called-for cab to take me on a 5 minute trip. And then, to get home, I would need to repeat this process.
I would like to either add a reservation requirement to the taxi customer bill of rights or permit cabs to be hailed within White Plains to make rides more available.
I agree with your other writers that the cabs are, without exception, rude. One can only assert the bill of rights by being very assertive, sometimes to the point of unpleasantness. I admit I have often done this, out of accumulated frustration about drivers picking their customers as though there were a velvet rope in front of their cab and refusing to give a private ride without an argument.
Thank you for your time and attention in reading this post.
Sincerely,
Diane
White Plains, NY
