TaxiI don’t normally rant about things among my friends and so far have never rant about anything on my blog but today I’ve decided to rant.

I currently live up near Chatsworth in the Los Angeles area. A few weeks ago, I needed to get over to West Hollywood for the 2009 Game Show Awards. Since it was a new month (June), I needed to get a new monthly bus pass. My usually spot I normally get a pass is at the Orange Line stations. From that station, I was to take the bus to get to West Hollywood. The problem was getting to the Orange Line station (didn’t have a bus pass to get there). I was also running out of time and couldn’t do the one hour walk to the station. I had to get a taxi.

So I call in to Yellow Cab and tell them I need a taxi. I give them my address and they have a hard time finding it. Apparently they couldn’t understand my street name. Once everything was figured out, they told me someone will be there in 5 minutes. I go out to the street waiting for them after 5 minutes. After waiting for 10 more minutes, I see a taxi come down the street. I’m thinking “it’s about time” in my head. Suddenly, he turns into the wrong parking lot. My street number was 8800, he had pulled into 8801. After the taxi sits there for about 30 seconds, I get a call from Yellow Cab telling me that the cab is waiting and they’re about to leave. Before I can tell them the problem, they hang up. I went running after the taxi as he began pulling out and was able to get his attention.

I enter the taxi and tell him that I need to the De Soto Orange Line station. He has no idea what I’m talking about. He can even barely speak English. I even tell him the nearest cross streets to the station and he has no clue what I”m talking about. In finally find myself manually pointing to the direction of the station.

Along the way, as directing the taxi driver to my destination, I find out that I can’t use my credit card because I didn’t tell the operator when I called in. Yes, that was my fault, I should have said something. I don’t have enough cash on me so I let him know that there’s a gas station at the cross streets and I’ll run in and get the cash. As we continue our way, he asks me where I’m going. I tell him that I’m going to the Orange Line Station and before I can finish my sentence he interrupts me rudely saying thats where he’s going (like he got tired of me telling him a few minutes earlier).

After his interruption, I continue my sentence by saying that from the Orange Line Station, I’m going to take the bus to West Hollywood. After telling him that he tries up-selling me by asking (rudely I may add) me why no take the taxi all the way to West Hollywood. By now I’m tired of all this crap I’ve gone through. I straight up told him this:

“Because last I check, a trip from here to West Hollywood by taxi is about $60. I need to go to the Orange Line so I can get a monthly bus pass for $62. Now unless you can give me a monthly taxi pass for less than $62, you’re bringing me the Orange Line.”

By now, we finally reach the cross streets and he parks by the gas station. The fare is $11. I running in and break my $50 I had on me (don’t ask why I had $50, I don’t know). I ask the cashier if I could get one $20, one $10, and four $5s. He does so with no problem and wishes me a good day. I go out to the taxi and gave him $15. As I stand there waiting for my change ($4), he just kind of sits there and then looks at me. He asks “Do you want your change back?“… I know I could have said yes and just paid my fare but I really didn’t want to deal with him anymore. I said “Sure whatever” and just walked away.

Not a very good first impression for the LA Yellow Cab Company.