There are a lot of mean people in this world. We encounter them every minute of every day. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. I’m just so freakin’ pissed. Just this afternoon, I was doing my groceries. It was okay even if the cashier was a total newbie. She first told me that my card isn’t working. I told her I just used it moments ago. It turned out that she swiped it the wrong way. Gah! No, she’s not the mean one. I met him after I did my groceries. Maybe you’ve already guessed it, maybe not. It was the taxi driver.
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| Taxi (photo from google image) |
I had about 6-8 bags with me and together with the grocery crew we went to the taxi line. When it was my turn, the grocery crew carried 2 of the bags towards the back of the car while the driver asked me where I’m headed. I told him and he replied that his trunk won’t open. It was clearly an excuse because he didn’t give any indication about the ‘broken‘ trunk He mentioned it only AFTER he heard my destination. GXG-899. Be careful. Karma strikes ten-fold. When I rode the next taxi in line, he told me that the driver was being shrewd. I figured that out on my own after the heartbreaking rejection. Boohoo.
This refusal of a public utility vehicle happened to me a lot of times. I guess it happened to a lot of you too. What happened to the public part? With the way they are refusing passengers with either lame excuses or a straight no, it doesn’t follow the customer is always right motto. Commuters are customers right? We opt to pay ridiculously high fares for the fast service but tendency is that they will refuse us to suit their own interests. If our destination is too far, they refuse. If it is too near, they refuse. If there’s no assurance of passengers hiring after us, they refuse. They have a lot of demands considering they are PUVs.
I want to understand that they are choosing passengers because they want to get the highest profit with their limited time (especially for the rentals). I have to understand that they badly need the money to feed their families and one can acquire it by going beyond their quota or boundary (not sure ‘bout the term). Sigh. I am thinking if their desires to bring enough moolah outweigh their responsibility of being a public transport vehicle. If feeding their families justifies their refusal of commuters hailing a cab to get home late at night or when it’s raining cats and dogs. Or maybe one commuter had waited for hours (I’ve tried it) just to be refused flat out. What if the rejected commuter becomes a victim of a crime just because he/she was stuck there alone… at the side of the road…late at night? Hmm? Have you (taxi drivers) ever wondered about that?
We have already accepted the high fares (reluctantly), the kamikaze pilot-like driving, the sometimes incessant chatter, the AM drama, etc. Well, I have to admit that the fast driving really helps especially if I’m super late. I’m happy that some drivers really help you reach on time. I know that at times, some commuters are a bit rude. Some drivers tell me that commuters urge them to break traffic rules just so they can reach their appointments on time. If the poor driver ends up being caught, the driver suffers while the commuters walk away fine-free.
Back to the topic, how can we get back to the abusive taxi drivers? I’ve read online that we can do something about it. First, we need to acquire the following information:
- Plate number (I think this is the most important!)
- Taxi name or the operator
- Name of the driver (you can cite his features if ever his license isn’t shown in a conspicuous place)
- Description of the taxi (model, color, etc)
- Complaint
Report them to:
LTO-CEBU
Cebu City District Office
N. Bacalso Ave. Cebu City 6000
LTO Hotline: 2563766 or 2543122
Registration: 2563767
Cebu City Extension Office
MVIS Bldg., Wireless, Subangdaku Mandaue City 6014
(032) 422-6460
Mandaue City District Office
Antipolo St., Mandaue City 6014
(032) 4202991
Talisay City Extension Office
Multipurpose Bldg.Talisay City Hall, Talisay City
(0921) 5594957
Lapu-Lapu City Extension Office
Lapu-Lapu City Hall, Lapu-lapu City 6015
(0918) 716-3817
If you want to get even without going through the hassle of reporting (I still recommend reporting them though), you can try the following:
1. If they just stop, open their window, ask, and refuse, you can threaten that you’ll report them to the authorities. You can show them that you’re getting their plate numbers.
2. If you go inside, sit comfortably inside the taxi, the driver asks you and they refuse upon hearing where you’re going: you can get off the taxi but leave the door open. It’s his problem. (a friend of mine taught me this trick;p)
3. If they are really rude, tell the driver you’d sue or report them.
4. If they ask for an extra payment or say that they won’t use the meter, get off the taxi without closing the door. Haha! You’ll get total satisfaction unless another passenger will ride.
Let us all link arms to fight against this abuse by avoiding the biggest mistake of commuters---tolerating those abusive drivers. We must do our best to spread awareness to others. Oh, and I hope that the management of Gaisano Mactan will follow the steps of SM and Ayala in ensuring the convenience of their customers especially transportation issues. Sigh. I better stop writing and arrange those groceries. Sigh. Tough.
