If you're the first one in the cab, you have the right to say that no one else be allowed in. Just let the driver know this, and don't be meek about it. I used to get annoyed about this too, but these days I generally don't care if someone else is in there too, as long as the driver doesn't wait more than 30 seconds to find that 2nd fare.

Another trick, which isn't really allowed, is to walk to the last cab in line instead of the first one. If you tell the driver you want to leave NOW (again, don't be meek!) He'll usually take you instead of having to wait to get to the front of the line where he might be able to get 2 fares. Just don't try to do this when one of the taxi inspector guys is watching the line.

This whole sharing of cabs thing really needs to be enforced. The last time I took a cab from JSQ I was sitting in the back waiting for the driver to leave. Next thing I know there is a drag queen sitting next to me. The drive gets in and off we go. I'm going to the Heights. We head north up JFK but take a left to get on 1&9. Now I'm pissed. "Where are we going?" The driver say's he's going to drop the other person off first.

Well he dropped the SheMale hooker off at the Starlight Motel on 1&9.

I couldn't believe it.

My rule of thumb when it comes to cab sharing. I don't pay what the meter says. I give him what I would generally pay without sharing. And second, DO NOT TIP!

Seems to be charging 2 full fares is the norm. Also makes it clear why you need to share a cab!

Glad they are finally enforcing this. I lived there for a year and it was always frustrating riding with a stranger after a long day. Eventually, if I wasn't the first stop I would get out anyways and split the fare with whoever was in the cab with me. Kind of defeats the door to door purpose of a cab, but it was faster than walking and my ride was half price.

I moved to the Journal Square area a few months ago and don't understand the cab situation at all. I'm a 15 minute walk from JSQ, but have only taken a cab when I've really needed to. The first time I tried to get in a cab, the driver and another driver got in an argument, so I just walked off. The other several times, I've had to share and have gotten charged full fare. That can't be legal.

I've only taken a cab once from JSQ and I thought it was strange that I had to share with someone.

Also, the first go who got dropped off was charged the full fare on the meter, then, when I got dropped off I had to pay the full fair as well. The cab driver did not stop the meter after the first drop so essentially he got paid double for the ride. Totally shady and probably illegal.

Quote:
This will greatly limit the topics one may easily discuss with a taxi driver.

rider: "can you take me to Bayonne?"
driver: "cab"
rider: "so how about them Mets huh?"
driver: "cab"
rider: "ya think it's gonna rain?"
driver: "cab"
rider: "you don't speak much english do you?"
driver: "cab"
rider: "Oh! I get it, you can only say cab"
driver: "cab"
rider: "hmmm, hey see that truck over there? you know what they call the part where the driver sits?"
driver: "cab"
rider: "I just moved here from California, used to belong to the California Architects Board"
driver: "CAB"
rider: "did you know that the FAA was once called Civil Aeronautics Board?"
driver: "CAB"
rider: "I had a great steak tonight, it was Certified Angus Beef"
driver: "CAB"
rider: "hey, you like jazz? who was that old time guy who sang Minnie The Moocher?"
driver: "Cab"
rider: "so I'm having a problem with my computer.What do they call those compressed installation files?"
driver: ".CAB"
rider: "OK, here's my house, you can stop the car"
driver: "cab"
rider: "here, keep the change"
driver: "cab"

CITY RAISES 'HAIL'
Stricter cab rules in motion

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The director of Jersey City's Taxi and Limousine division wants the City Council to amend its taxi code to prevent cabbies - principally at the Journal Square taxi stand - from loading their vehicles with more than one passenger and leaving their vehicles to go inside the PATH Transportation Center to solicit passengers.

The City Council is scheduled to vote to adopt the changes at its meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. at School 7, 222 Laidlaw Ave.

At yesterday's council caucus, Taxi and Limousine Division Director Paul Barna said some cab drivers at the Journal Square taxi stand consistently violate the city's taxi codes.

"They load their cabs with riders, they ask customers where they are going before they enter their vehicles and actually look for customers inside the PATH Transportation Center," Barna said.

The amendment would only allow drivers to say "cab" to prospective customers and they would have to remain in their cabs, Barna said.

"We have all kinds of problems at Journal Square with some of the drivers." Barna said, "including some not turning their meters on."

Councilmen William Gaughan and Mike Sottolano complained that seniors are often not made aware of a discount they are entitled to when taking a cab.

"Maybe we should put a sign in the cab or on the window," Gaughan said. "We do require that," Barna responded, "but the drivers just peel the signs off.