Rejected fares third most common taxi complaint in Toronto
Turning down a fare, the practice that friends say left Muzik shooting victim Ariela Navarro-Fenoy in the line of fire, is the third most common complaint the city receives from passengers about taxi drivers, Torstar News Service has learned.
Of 5,888 public complaints between 2010 and June 2015, the top issues were poor driving and rudeness, but about 760 were about drivers cherry-picking rides, documents obtained by Torstar show.
The illegal practice perplexes bylaw and taxi officials alike, who are unable to explain why drivers turn down some rides over others.
Navarro-Fenoy’s friend Franca Abate said several cabbies idling along Dufferin St. refused to take them and a third friend on what would have been a short ride, leaving them stranded. According to Abate, they were told their fare to the Bathurst and Lake Shore area, about $8, was too low.
Moments later, 26-year-old Navarro-Fenoy was gunned down.
Nneka MacGregor, executive director of the local non-profit group Women at the Centre, said the fare claim is “disconcerting on so many levels.”
“Refusing to do your job and not realizing the far reaching consequence — a vulnerable young woman at night — that is what really is so appalling,” she said. “I’m really shaken because I have two daughters who go out and take taxis.
“How are my kids going to be safe when a taxi driver would rather sit and wait for another fare than take them home?”
There is no indication the drivers were aware of any danger at the time of the incident, which also resulted in the death of Duvel Hibbert, 23, inside the club, and left three others injured.
Sajid Mughal, president of the iTaxiworkers Association, said Navarro-Fenoy’s death “should not have happened.”
more ubertastic stuff here:
Rejected fares third most common taxi complaint in Toronto | Metro
Turning down a fare, the practice that friends say left Muzik shooting victim Ariela Navarro-Fenoy in the line of fire, is the third most common complaint the city receives from passengers about taxi drivers, Torstar News Service has learned.
Of 5,888 public complaints between 2010 and June 2015, the top issues were poor driving and rudeness, but about 760 were about drivers cherry-picking rides, documents obtained by Torstar show.
The illegal practice perplexes bylaw and taxi officials alike, who are unable to explain why drivers turn down some rides over others.
Navarro-Fenoy’s friend Franca Abate said several cabbies idling along Dufferin St. refused to take them and a third friend on what would have been a short ride, leaving them stranded. According to Abate, they were told their fare to the Bathurst and Lake Shore area, about $8, was too low.
Moments later, 26-year-old Navarro-Fenoy was gunned down.
Nneka MacGregor, executive director of the local non-profit group Women at the Centre, said the fare claim is “disconcerting on so many levels.”
“Refusing to do your job and not realizing the far reaching consequence — a vulnerable young woman at night — that is what really is so appalling,” she said. “I’m really shaken because I have two daughters who go out and take taxis.
“How are my kids going to be safe when a taxi driver would rather sit and wait for another fare than take them home?”
There is no indication the drivers were aware of any danger at the time of the incident, which also resulted in the death of Duvel Hibbert, 23, inside the club, and left three others injured.
Sajid Mughal, president of the iTaxiworkers Association, said Navarro-Fenoy’s death “should not have happened.”
more ubertastic stuff here:
Rejected fares third most common taxi complaint in Toronto | Metro