I'll Take Care of You

I forgot to write down the date of this one. It happened the week beginning Monday, 28 November, 2005. This gentleman got in my cab at the corner of Chapple and Barton and instructed me to drive to the Centre Mall.

On the way he asked me to shut off the meter saying he would, "take care of me." Yes, I was sure he would. Perhaps he knows of the section in the by-law regulating the taxi business in Hamilton that says the ride is free if the driver does not have the meter in a recording position. (Why would they put that in the by-law since taxi rides in Hamilton are free anyway?)

I chose to leave the meter running. When we got to the mall he directed me to the TD bank. Oh, no. When you get someone going to a bank there is a good chance they actually have no money on them. Often, the question of whether or not they will actually obtain the cash required is a gamble. This is, of course, the best kind of gambling when the only one who loses is the cab driver.

I sat outside the bank watching clients come and go. After a while I started to notice a lot of people leaving who had arrived after my passenger. I decided to go into the bank and check. The guy was still in there having a discussion with a teller (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

I sat back back in the cab and kept a close eye on the guy. After about five more minutes - the meter was up to $12 by now - I saw him quickly exit the bank through the side door. I ran into the mall as he was wandering toward the interior and snapped two pictures. He tried to give me some cock and bull story about how he was just going to get the money somewhere else.

Twelve dollars remain unpaid.

• Fare Theft in Hamilton where cab rides are free!
• More on fare theft.
• December 6, 2005. $5.90

last modified:Wednesday,March 19, 2008 at 04:40