B’WAY? NO WAY IN HAIL!
Snubs into M’hattan
It used to be tough to find a cab willing to take you from Manhattan to the outer boroughs — but now hacks are reluctant to make the reverse trip, stats and rider complaints show.
Green cabbies catering to passengers outside Manhattan say it’s just not worth their time and money because of street congestion — and because they’re prohibited by rule from picking up street hails in much of the busiest borough.
“I make a lot more money if I stay in The Bronx, Queens or Brooklyn,” said a driver who recently refused to go to lower Manhattan after being hailed in Fordham Heights in The Bronx.
“Once I’m [downtown], I’m stuck. I can’t pick up street hails, so I have to waste gas to get back uptown or go to Brooklyn.
“And if it’s rush hour and I’m sitting in traffic, I’m wasting even more gas and not making money because I’m not working.”
Complaints made to the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission about green cabs refusing fares have jumped dramatically, from 34 in September 2014 to 78 for the same time period this year.
A recent Post survey of green cabbies in Coney Island in Brooklyn, Forest Hills in Queens and across The Bronx backed up the badnews figures.
A third of drivers refused to make the trip into Manhattan.
Their excuses included, “I have an appointment,” “I have to pick someone up at JFK in an hour,” and, “My shift is up in 20 minutes.”
Other cabbies were more honest, saying they weren’t willing to battle the dense traffic of Manhattan, where they’d surely lose money.
But riders aren’t buying their sob stories.
“The bottom line is they’re breaking the law by denying me service,” griped Steve Jackson, 48, who says he often can’t catch a ride in from Coney Island.
Under TLC rules, hacks who refuse to take riders where they want to go face stiff fines — $500 for a first offense and $750 and a 30day suspension for a second offense within 24 months.