It's like a scene out of the YouTube sensation Unforgivable skit: I want a taxicab ride, FO’ FREE. In a heroic effort to actually do something, the Student Council added an impressive addition to their already extensive résumé of late night opportunities to get students safely to their residences: Free Ride. They’re already getting us home safe, now for free? The deal was inked back in the fall semester and sounded like a knock out of the park, but part of the deal struck out: the drivers. Quickly students found that the men and women driving the yellow cabs were turning a different shade of color: angry red. Council needs to ensure all parties involved in the deal are on board and no one is left behind in the dust, especially those who are driving.
Implemented in mid-November of last semester, this program was designed to “help students take ownership of their safety and avoid putting themselves at risk,” commented the current Council President Matt Schrimper, who played a major role in bringing it together. The program operates between 12:00-4:00 am every night and students simply have to show their ID card and scribble down some basic information on a 4 by 8” pad and off they go; an invoice is then sent down to Council in a reduced fare to be swallowed into their operating budget. So with a few signatures, the cabs were sent out on a mission to save our late night, outgoing students from the dangers we often face.
So what is there to complain about, what could possibly be the problem with Council helping us home and giving our weary feet a rest? The underlying principle and good intentions are to be applauded many times over (it is encouraging to see Council working so extensively for our behalf); unfortunately the optimistic hopes about the program do not match some of the experiences.
After one late night I was all ready to turn it in and head back to dorms. Unfortunately, I was a mile or two away with an injured foot and walking was not very appealing. As I stood on the sidewalk waiting for Safe Ride to stop ignoring my calls, a Yellow Cab neared and the brilliant idea to flag one down without any money popped into my head. Jubilant of our new policy I hopped in and as a preemptive measure politely asked if they took student charge. I was met with a string of explicit remarks and told not-so-politely to remove myself from the cab. Shocked and confused, I was intent on finding out if this was a singular event or a usual occurrence.
To my dismay, I found that the latter was holding true. Several students I spoke with after sharing my experiences with them said that, although their drivers were not as hostile or unpleasant, Free Rides were not very pleasant. Some claimed that the drivers attempted to deny that the program even existed. Some complained that the drivers had no clue what they were talking about and became quickly frustrated.
“There are no more tips.” This remains as the single-most used complaint driven into us by the drivers. They are relentless. Students are now forced to spend the entirety of their cab ride listening to the numerous plights and hardships that each driver has gone through, being construed as some dire attempt to convince us to join up and fight with them against what Council has done for us. Schrimper acknowledged that the drivers expressed their concern with not being tipped so Council adjusted the program so a 15 percent increase was included to account for the tip around a month ago. The problem persists. We no longer have a choice to tip; the bombardment for one at the very end of our “Free” Ride is so intense, “Tip Ride” has emerged.
It may seem ungrateful and haughty that I am writing an entire column about having to tip a cab driver; this is not the case. When we have to endure verbal abuse and entertain requests for money after we have signed the Free Ride, the problem pulls up. The deal signed off by Council was a valiant one and has been warmly received by most students. However, the pessimism of the drivers is a clear sign the only people on board at Yellow Cab were the management. I strongly advocate caution to student organizations before making deals which involve people other than those making the deal (the drivers). It has become quite evident that those providing the service to the students (not the management) were not represented in the deal and feel slighted to say the least. If Yellow Cab is leaving them behind, let us pick them up and bring them into the playing field. The 15 percent tip rate should be sufficient but Council needs to follow up with those drivers to ensure that all is bright and sunny over at Yellow Cab.
Bobby Laverty is a Viewpoint Writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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