Drag queen ‘sad’ cabbie fired
Rookie driver’s refusal to pick up performer costs him his job
A rookie taxi driver who refused to pick up a drag queen last weekend has been fired.
Phil Strong, president of the Edmonton Taxi Group, said the company tracked down the driver Tuesday and interviewed him about the incident.
“Unfortunately, we had to let him go. He had only driven with us for a week,” said Strong. “We don’t tolerate that sort of behaviour.”
The drag queen, who goes by the stage name Binki, was trying to get home after a performance at Evolution Wonder-lounge on Sunday night.
He called a Yellow Cab. The driver stated the fare’s masculine name and asked if that was him. When Binki said yes, the driver refused to take him.
Frustrated, Binki shared his story Monday on Facebook. When the company heard about it, they got in touch.
“Wow, I honest to God wasn’t expecting that,” Binki said Tuesday evening when he heard the driver was fired. He asked not to be identified by his real name because many work associates don’t know he dresses in drag.
“I’m sad that this guy had to lose his job, but everybody deserves respect,” he said. He said he hopes it will be a teaching moment.
“Hopefully not just the other taxi companies will get the message, but everyone will get the message. Treat people with respect. It doesn’t matter what you look like.”
Since the incident, several friends have shared similar stories with him, he said. Drivers with other taxi companies have denigrated what the drag queens are doing, dropped them off in the middle of nowhere once they realized they were men, hit on them and one said he was attacked. “The one that was attacked was very embarrassed,” he said.
In some of those cases, the men complained to the companies, but their complaints went nowhere, he said.
Garry Dziwenka, the city’s chief livery officer, said drivers are allowed to refuse a ride if they fear for their safety or fear the passenger would cause harm to their vehicle. This is the first time he’s heard of a drag queen being refused.
“In most cases, the refusal is to go out of town,” he said.
Sometimes drivers refuse to go to Sherwood Park or St. Albert, but “absolutely, he has to go,” said Dziwenka. “Most drivers will go to Camrose and outside areas like that.”
Dziwenka said anyone with a complaint can file it at edmonton.ca/vehicleforhire: “We take all refusals seriously.”
At Yellow Cab, Strong said every driver gets three days of training, including about four hours of sensitivity training, before they get behind the wheel. The training material is reviewed and approved by the City of Edmonton.
Strong said he will be reviewing the material as well and possibly working with the Pride Centre to ensure all the material is appropriate.
He said cab drivers are only allowed to refuse to take a fare if they are bleeding, intoxicated or have no money. If someone feels a driver has discriminated against them, they should take down the unit number in the cab and call the company.
“Just call us and file a complaint,” Strong said. “This is just an unfortunate incident.” estolte@edmontonjournal.com twitter.com/estolte