[nagdu] Blind people say cab drivers ignore them

Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
Mon Mar 22 16:50:53 UTC 2010


Jewel, 
I can't find your post where you mentioned health problems and getting a
guide dog. 
Your post about needing to walk "as little as possible" reminded me of
your earlier post. Basically, know that you will have "bad days" as you
put it after you get your dog. You will need to decide how often these
days happen, what they mean and if you still think a dog is right for
you. It may be, it may not be. If you go througha program, you will want
to bevery honest so that if you do get a dog, you get one that is right
for you. You don't want a dog that needs to walk five miles a day if
you're in bed for two weeks out of the month and can't walk much during
the last two weeks. 
So, be honest, think about why you want/need a dog and go from there.
Know though that your bad days won't just go away and that having a dog
may add another layer of stress you don't necessarily want. The dog
after all won't take care of itself when you're not up to it. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jewel S.
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 3:56 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind people say cab drivers ignore them

I have a quick solution to the reserved seating problem. Do what I do.
The bus drivers in Raleigh are not allowed to start up again until
everyone is behind the yellow line, and if there is a chance of injury
to a person who is still standing, they are not allwed to start up
until that person is sitting. I am well-known to the bus drivers for
several buses that I take regularly, and they know that if they start
moving with me standing, I will fall over due to poor balance
(unrelated to my blindness). When I step onto the bus, I ask whether
the empty seat is on the left or right. This makes it clear that I
plan to use my right to sit in the disabled reserved seating. This is
for multiple reasons, including communication with the driver to make
sure I know where we are and the driver knows wher I am getting off
and also because of my physical difficulties, it's better for me to
walk only as much as I have to. Anyway, if there are no available
seating up front, I will stand there and state "I need to sit up front
so I can communicate with the driver. Someone will have to move." and
then I will stand there until someone moves or the driver tells
someone to move. The only exception was when there was a person in a
wheelchair on one side, and two other disabled people on the other
side. First come, first served, so I sat a little further back and
then walked up to the driver to discuss my stop during a stop. Every
other time, I have been assured a seat in the reserved seating, my
right and need.

As for taxis, now...Raleigh is a bit different from other places as
far as Paratransit. We have two parts to the system, Tier 1 and Tier
2. Tier 2 is your basic service: you call in your trip, and you get
picked up within a 15-minute range. The difference is, though, that
the pick-ups are done by local taxi companies. This is good and bad.
The good thing is that you get personal service for the price of a van
ride ($2 per one-way trip). The bad thing is that the drivers are not
government employees, and so some of them are really sucky. I have
been transferred to a new company twice, after the first two companies
got three strikes. The first company's first strike was when the
owner/driver repeatedly demanded that I give her my white cane because
"someone's cane tore up my roof." I assured her that I always fold my
cane in half before entering a cab, but she continued to demand, and
finally stopped because I actually did a tug-of-war with her. No one
takes my cane from me by force or duress! I always wondered what would
happen if I had a straight cane that couldn't be folded or had a guide
dog. She seemed like the type who would deny access to a guide dog
team. Her second strike was when her van's main back seat's seat belt
broke, and remained broken for three months. This was bad enough, but
she also triple-booked, which they aren't supposed to do in Raleigh,
being not a van service. She had a van-full of people, and the only
seat available for me was...that seat with the broken seatbelt. She
told me that I would have to sit there with no seatbelt or she
couldn't take me, and no, no other cab was available, she said.
Because I had an appointment in 15 minutes, I got in, but I promptly
reported her for it. Her third strike was when I gave her Tier 1
tickets because she didn't have the paperwork for the Tier 2 trip,
then when the paperwork came in, I gave her the Tier 2 ticket, but she
didn't have the tickets to give back, and she has not returned them to
this day, $8.50 worth! She also has a $15 stylus that dropped out of
my backpack and she said she would return, but never did. She hangs up
on me when I call, and refuses to mail the stuff back to me. It makes
me very angry.

The second company was also double and triple-booking, repeatedly
being half an hour to an hour late, and twice refused the ride
altogether because it was after "their time," which they say they
don't drive after 7pm, but I have the right to schedule trips anytime
between 6am and 11pm, 1am in some areas of the city. The trips I had
scheduled were at 8 or 9pm, not that late.

So, as you can see, having local taxis for paratransit can be a
problem, but it's also a benefit if yo have a good company with plenty
of drivers. My new company seems good, is used by other blind people I
know, and has 7 drivers, so it seems good to me.

Then there is Tier 1, a special transportation priveledge that they
are not required to provide, but is really nice. Basically, you can
pick any taxi company, any driver, and pay with Tier 1 tickets, give
your ID number, and go wherever you want within city limits. The
tickets cost $15 for $25 worth (they used to cost $10 for $25, but
that was changed because it was either up the amount or cut the
program altogether, and that would be a disaster or people who don't
get Tier 2 access, but have no transportation on Sunday, holidays, and
in emeergencies). So basically, we get a 33% discount. It's great for
a ride home from the grocery store that you don't know h ow long
you'll shop at, or a quick ride over to the hospital in case of
emergency (like when a friend stepped on my armchair and the fan hit
him in the side of the head at full speed).

I have had some difficulties with rude drivers, drivers who talk on
the phone nonstop as they drive, or drivers who just don't understand
English, but I have had good experiences, too, with drivers who go out
of their way to make sure I know where to go, help me load shopping
bags into the back, and even unload the bags to my apartment. I have
also had no problem transporting my cat via taxi when she needs to be
brought to the vet or to stay at a friend's because of pest spraying.
I guess I've been lucky in that respect. Of course, a little 9 pound
cat who stays in her shoulder bag carrier is far different from a big
lab who is not in a carrier, and taxis are not good at distinguishing
between pets and service animals, it seems.

Ok, I'll stop rambling. Just thought to include my thoughts on taxi
service. The number one problem I've seen is drivers who talk on the
phone the entire time and ignore the passenger altogether except to
get the address and ask for fare.

~Jewel

On 3/19/10, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
> I was more blissful when I was ignorant of how big a problem others'
> ignorance can be! /grin/
>
> Out here, in Bend and Portland both, it's customary to call for a cab
on the
> phone; the cab companies don't really have free-range drivers except
for at
> the train station and airport and the like.  So when I moved out here,
I
> picked a cab company and stuck with them and made sure I had friendly
> relations.  When I got the dog, I debated whether to mention her on
the
> phone or not and decided, in the interests of the business
relationship, to
> go ahead and do that.  Part of the reason I decided to do that and why
it
> has worked so well has to do with local culture.  Also, there are
plenty of
> cabs, so giving Driver A the option of not wanting to pick up the dog
just
> means I will get a ride with Driver B who wants the fare.  So they
know me
> at the dispatch office, and they know about Mitzi, and it's all good.
I've
> only ever had to wait a time or two when I called too late during a
really
> busy period.
>
> It's tougher getting cabs out here, and there have been times I've
missed
> appointments because of the delay even though I call super early.
Usually
> when I call dispatch to see where my cab is, it turns out dispatch
just now
> told them about it and they're heading my way from Portland.  Sigh.
There
> aren't as many cabbies out here, because there aren't as many fares,
and
> some of them don't know the routes to get back to town when they do
come out
> because they're never been before.  They make valiant efforts, though,
and
> turn off the meter instead of charging me for their getting us lost,
so it's
> not all bad...  But I'm one of those people who generally needs to
call a
> cab because I'm running late for the bus and don't want to miss my
> appointment.  /grin/  That worked much better for me when I wasn't out
in
> the sticks.
>
> When I do face discrimination over something or other, it is super
> frustrating that I can't even give the authorities helpful information
-- to
> them -- because they want visual identification.  License plate number
of
> the car that nearly ran you down in the cross walk, color and make of
the
> vehicle, etc., etc.  Were there any witnesses?
>
> All I know is that it was a car and it entered my personal space and
would
> have mowed me down if my dog hadn't done a hard block to keep us from
> walking in front of it.  I feel miffed and want somebody to chase them
down
> and give them a good talking to!  Only there's know way to know who
they
> are, so I just have to live with my snit, don't I?  /grin/
>
> People who try to deny my access rights -- and I am fortunate that
they are
> few and far between -- can simply be walked around or over if they're
not
> willing to intelligently discuss the issues and ramifications.
/smile/  I
> haven't had to scream cusswords over that yet, but I have it on my
list as a
> viable option.  /evil grin/
>
> People on the bus and train have given me problems by blocking my
access to
> the "Honored Citizen" seating areas because they don't want to move
their
> dishonored butts to the empty seats where they wouldn't need to worry
about
> being infringed on by my cane or dog in the first place...  Still
haven't
> come up with a good solution to that one!
>
> Oh, well!  As for the non-stopping cabbies, I know a lot of people are
> addressing the issue incident by incident.  And none of us should have
to!
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf
> Of Albert J Rizzi
> Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 7:07 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind people say cab drivers ignore them
>
> I think your position on the cultural thing is more accurate. I have
had
> drivers speed away even after having a sighted person hail the cab,
door
> open and all. I have had to reach into a car while someone else opened
the
> door or stood in front of the cab while I got in. I have had this
problem
> with Muslims, Asians and just some down right annoying white men. It
is then
> and only then that my frustrations with my blindness and my rights
being
> violated that I become this uncontrollable  monster using every four
letter
> word in the book I can muster. yet not one of the drivers ever call
the
> police as I ask them to do. 20/20 or some other like news program had
done a
> study on white males and black males in everyday society to underscore
the
> ever present discriminatory practices still present in our nation. The
> drivers would pick up the white guy and more often then not speed past
the
> black guy. I for one feel this is the very same yet very different. we
are
> being discriminated against and we have little or no recourse when we
cannot
> properly file a complaint on a yellow blur speeding away. ignorance
can be
> bliss, but boy oh boy is it a pain in the arse when you are trying to
make
> an appointment or train or plane in a timely manner. But I have also
had
> wonderful and uplifting moments in Manhattan where the drivers were so
kind
> and so genuine  some even refused to take money for the ride, but they
did
> get a nice tip. It seems to be the luck of the draw, but luck should
have
> nothing at all to do with public travel. Peace.
>
> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
> CEO/Founder
> My Blind Spot, Inc.
> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
> New York, New York  10004
> www.myblindspot.org
> PH: 917-553-0347
> Fax: 212-858-5759
> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one
who is
> doing it."
>
>
> Visit us on Facebook LinkedIn
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf
> Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 9:04 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind people say cab drivers ignore them
>
> This happens in New York City, too.  If I have to get a taxi on the
street
> in the city, I try to get someone else to hail it for me while I stand
> back like I'm not interested.  Then when they stop I jump in.  I
usually
> don't try to get a taxi, because it can be such a hassle.
> However, last year when I was visiting the hospital a lot, the taxi
> drivers that wait out front for possible fares would call out to me
and my
> husband, asking if we wanted a taxi, which we often did.  It was a
> refreshing change from the usual. So maybe the NYC taxi drivers are
> getting the idea.  Or maybe it's a culture thing--the drivers around
the
> hospital are mostly Dominicans, who don't seem to have a cultural bias
> against dogs.
> Tracy
>
>> Blind People Say Cab Drivers Ignore Them
>> Cab Company Says It's Not Illegal Not To Stop
>>
>> POSTED: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
>> UPDATED: 7:37 am EDT March 17,2010
>> Source: http://www.justnews.com/news/22856062/detail.html
>>
>>
>> MIAMI -- Getting around South Florida is nearly impossible for
>> blind members of our community. Some people say that instead of
>> stopping, cab drivers knowingly pass blind people by.
>>
>> Video
>> Miami Beach resident David New told Local 10 that, nine out of 10
>> times, when he is hailing a cab, the driver refuses to stop.
>>
>> New said that cab drivers who did stop often told him, "'No dogs
>> in my cab.'"
>>
>> State and federal laws say that service animals must be permitted
>> to accompany any individual with a disability wherever the
>> general public is allowed to go. It is against the Americans with
>> Disabilities Act for a taxicab driver to refuse to pick someone
>> up because of a service animal.
>>
>> Local 10 cameras accompanied New to Collins Avenue and 13th
>> Street in Miami. Several empty cabs slowed down and then the
>> drivers looked and took off.
>>
>> The general manager of Super Yellow Cab said drivers are not
>> required to stop.
>>
>> "There is nothing illegal about not stopping," he said. "By law,
>> it's not mandatory for them to stop at any passenger on the
>> street, especially if they feel it could be a dangerous job."
>>
>> Miami-Dade Consumer Affairs licenses cab drivers in the county. A
>> spokesperson said a driver who fails to pick up person because of
>> a guide dog could be fined or suspended.
>>
>> "This is part of their training. It's ingrained in them during
>> their training. The issue is thoroughly covered. They can't claim
>> ignorance," said Consumer Affairs spokeswoman Sonya Perez.
>>
>> "Hopefully people will start to understand this is really
>> discrimination," New said.
>>
>> The CEO of the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind recently had an
>> incident at Miami International Airport. Virginia Jacko said a
>> cab driver refused to take her and her guide dog to Coconut
>> Grove.
>>
>> "The county employee who was helping me tried to tell him he had
>> to take me. They got into a shouting match and were screaming at
>> each other," Jacko said.
>>
>> To file a complaint with Miami-Dade Consumer Services, visit the
>> Miami-Dade County Web site.
>>
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