I found out that running a taxi isn’t as easy as it looks.  Apparently, there is corruption amongst the cab drivers and dispatch.  I was talking with a driver who didn’t seem to work for the company that I called but was more of a contracted driver… he managed to get to where I was waiting within 10 minutes… and that was from across town, or so he said.  He was saying that dispatch gives out the high profile fares ($80 or more) to their own company’s cars.  Meanwhile, he gets shit fares for less than $20, usually…

Apparently cab drivers need to pay “rent” to the company.  The company owns a license allowing the drivers to operate.  In order to legally operate, cab drivers either need to have their own license or be affiliated with a company that owns a license.  I was told that a license typically costs around $100k, so the typical cab driver can’t just go solo and purchase one.  In fact, the guy that I talked to had a partner so that their car is driven 24 hours… He said that rent is costing his car around $600 a month right now, but he thinks that the owner of the cab company is attempting a cab company monopoly… so he figures that once the guy gets that, rent will be $1000 or more…

Now, this is where the interesting part comes in… I didn’t tell the company where I was going, so after about $10 accumulated, the driver made it look as though he dropped me off, via the computer.  He had a modification done to his car that disconnects the central computer from the fare meter, at the flip of a switch.  So, he flicked the switch (allowing the meter to continue to run) while dispatch thought that he dropped me off… At this point, negotiations started and the “flat-rate” could be worked out.  Since I was paying in cash, everything worked out and I’m sure he pocketed the majority of the fare. 

So, back to how the owner of the cab company (American cabs, I think) is attempting a cab company monopoly in Milwaukee.  The guy started a company called Yellow Cab of Milwaukee.  This competes directly with Yellow Cab (a different company based in Milwaukee).  The ad is on the same page as the original Yellow Cab ad, but it is above it and twice as big.  Basically, he’s hoping that people looking for Yellow Cab will pick his (out of confusion) over the other one.  I did…  Now the cabbie that I rode with figures that eventually the owner of the cab company will be able to just buy out Yellow Cab… At that point, the competition in the city is pretty much gone…

Interestingly enough… because of this, I will hopefully never see the driver again.  I will continue to support Yellow Cab instead of this new conglomerate wanna be.