Okay, so tonight I get stopped by a city cop. For what, you may ask? Picking up a fare. That's all I did. Apparently, the police do not want us stopping in the street to pick up fares, even though there are often no spaces available to pull over.
I asked the officer why they were "cracking down on cab drivers" as he put it. Apparently, a cab was rearended by a DUI driver just last night, while stopped to pick up a fare.
Okay, so let me get this straight. Who was really breaking the law here, the cab, or the DUI driver? Would they rather the DUI driver have run over someone crossing the street a block or two later?
The cab driver that was rearended in all likelihood probably saved someone's life, and now we are being harrassed by cops that have nothing better to do.
I might add that even though the ordinance for vehicles for hire states that meters are required, there are rickshaws (bicycles converted to chariots, essentially) charging up to $10.00 a mile flat rate, depending on what the person operating the rickshaw comes up with. My taxi meter charges $3.90 per mile, metered.
These rickshaws are too wide for the bicycle lane, and too slow for normal traffic. They have a tendency to swing U-turns into oncoming traffic. They have no signalling devices whatsoever, and I would really like to know how you insure a bicycle to operate for-hire.
If you live in the Charlottesville area, I implore you to call the Chief of Police and ask him if his officers have anything better to do than hassle the working man for making a living.
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