Terrifying taxi ride this morning

[Zenana]

Just got a taxi from York train station to Kings Manor in Exhibition Square (or so I thought). I could easily have walked but was running late. The driver asked me if it was York St John and I said no, the University of York. I asked if he wanted the postcode he said no.

I realised he was going way out of the town centre and the meter said £8. I questioned this and he told me to shut up and "stop confusing me". Said I'd told him it was the university of York and when I started to try to explain talked and shouted over me and said I wouldn't listen.

He thankfully had pulled over at this point and I told him I'd get out and walk and pay him for this journey. "You robbing me. You robbing me. You robbing me" he just wouldn't stop. He called me a fucking bitch and drove away.

I didn't take his details or anything I was too shaken up. I'm amazed how upset it's made me.

I had a 45 minute walk to the meeting and I'm glad as it's allowed me to calm down a little but I'm so upset at this vile misogynist.

Interestingly enough I had a horrible taxi experience in Staffordshire area about 16 years or so ago, driver was on his phone. I am not the most assertive or brave of people especially around men but I told him to stop. He was not using hands free and the car was swerving. If we hadn't been on a country road we could have swerved into trafffic.

He will probably get his taxi license removed

Best not to assume it was the licensed guy driving; I can't speak for other areas, but round here they "hand the keys to a mate" all the time, and needless to say nothing's done about it

I'm truly sorry this happened to you OP, but I wouldn't get your hopes up that anything will come of a complaint

There used to be a box with a taxi office in it outside the station in the undercover bit where the taxi rank is. Not sure it’s still there but they might be helpful?

That's bad.

Our taxis carry a clearly visible laminated copy of the taxi licence with a pic of the licence holder on, so no danger of that happening here.

I was a bit concerned when I got into a taxi in the nearby city though, where there was nothing similar on display, and was proper pissed off when the driver drove me home by a route that was 2 miles longer. When challenged, he got arsey and claimed it was quicker, but it bloody well wasn't. He dawdled at 35-40 on a near empty stretch of NSL road for a few miles.

I was too anxious to challenge him though, and not at my best after being stuck in A&E for a few hours.

Jesus, scary.

Hope you're alright, OP. It's not a nice feeling.

I was waiting for a cab outside a nightclub I used to work at 4am (I was sober). A guy pulled up in an unmarked car claiming to be my cab driver. Got really aggressive with me when I said I wouldn't get in his car. I pretended to be on the phone to my boyfriend and he sped off really quickly screaming out the window at me.

2 mins later my actual cab arrived. I always get the shudders when I think of that night. Imagine I was drunk and wouldn't have realised what was happening. Scary!

Our taxis carry a clearly visible laminated copy of the taxi licence with a pic of the licence holder on, so no danger of that happening here

So do ours, LakieLady, but I'm not sure how much use a small, possibly unclear photo is - especially if it's nighttime and the passenger may have a fair idea of what could happen if they challenge the driver

I suppose someone could call the taxi office at the time - too late when they've driven off since they'll obviously deny swapping - but it's not something I'd personally risk if alone with them (and don't forget that if they were taking you home they'll know your address)

Seriously? You seem to be blaming the OP for the Drivers appalling behaviour?

This is dreadful. Did you by any chance remember anything about the vehicle? Colour, make, or any part of the registration number? Your local licensing authority will be able to work with any snippets of info to figure out who this driver was (assuming he's correctly licensed with local authority and not licensed with Wolverhampton as many, many taxis are - they offer licensing substantially cheaper there than any other local council in the country).

If not, try the station you picked up the taxi from and ask if they can review their CCTV to try and identify this moron.

In the future (and hoping this hasn't put you off taxi rides forever), I'd always recommend popping your phone out and taking a quick photo of the licensing plate on the back of vehicle. It's really useful if you ever leave anything behind in a cab, aside from being able to have the driver traced in the event of a problem. Any genuine driver worth his salt won't bat an eyelid at a passenger doing this. We encourage young lone females using our taxis to do exactly this.

As a naieve 20 year old I got a taxi from a Bristol hotel to a club alone and driver offered me money to perform a sex act on me. Was the time Warboys would have been operating. Think only thing that saved me was that hotel had called them for me.
Report absolutely.

I'd always recommend popping your phone out and taking a quick photo of the licensing plate on the back of vehicle. It's really useful if you ever leave anything behind in a cab, aside from being able to have the driver traced in the event of a problem. Any genuine driver worth his salt won't bat an eyelid at a passenger doing this. We encourage young lone females using our taxis to do exactly this.

This is such a good idea, thank you for posting it.

There will be CCTV at the taxi rank at the station. It might be worth reporting it to the local police or council, as they should be able to identify off that. However you would want to do that ASAP because it's common for CCTV to be overwritten after a few days and no longer stored.

I remember when I was about 18, drunk and alone in a taxi, the driver drove me to a wooded area and stopped the car. I was terrified and kicked off big time and he started the car and took me to where I wanted to go. I never reported him I was so shaken I was just so glad to be back in one piece. I hate getting taxis and avoid if I can.

I got in the taxi at the train station.

Cannot believe those on here blaming the OP. Yes there was some confusion, but no, that does not justify a foul-mouthed tirade including calling her a bitch. And given he declined the post-code, the confusion was ultimately his fault. OP I hope you have success with reporting this.

God that sounds awful OP. No, there is no excuse for that behaviour.
He might have felt the journey was too short to make it worth his while and was planning on a long detour and charge £££ hoping you weren't familiar with the area.
He might have been angry that you pointed out he made a mistake and was determined not to back down. (Most likely. )
More nefarious reason (shudder).
Absolutely none of those is OK. Hope the police track him down and have a stern word at the very least.

Sorry to hear this OP. Police and also City of York council taxi licensing would be a good bet I think.

It depends on whether you got into a Hackney carriage or Private Hire vehicle. Hackney carriages can be hailed from anywhere within their area, whereas private hire are (or rather, should be), pre-bookable only.

The easiest way to tell is to look at signage on the car. If it has a roof sign with 'taxi' on it then it should be a Hackney carriage. If there isn't a roof sign/light or if there is and it says Private Hire or any signage on the vehicle says Private Hire, the driver isn't legally permitted to pick you up from a random location.

Again, the licensing plate on the back of the vehicle will also state which type of license the vehicle has to carry passengers.

I’m sorry this happened to you. Being in an enclosed space with that anger is very scary.

Those saying they only get Uber. The worst experience I had in a taxi was an Uber driver. My cousin booked it for me. Whilst in the taxi, the driver told me I was lucky she had and could track the car because otherwise he would drive me somewhere no one would ever find me. I made him stop the cab, but he wouldn’t unlock the doors until I told him if I had a boyfriend etc. It was only because I made such a racket that people started staring that he let me out. Yes reported etc. No nothing was done.

It sounds to me like the driver was taking O P on a long route deliberately to up his meter.

I get that everyone has to earn a living but the entitlement attitude displayed by some of them is horrendous.

I had a woman taxi driver complain because the job I had given her was too short. To her credit she didn't play games with the meter but when I told her I was disabled with ME/CFS and could not walk any distance (no buses going there) she rolled her eyes at me and said "Jesus." I should have offered to pay over the odds but I was un used to taxis back then ( teenager still). Now I do offer to pay extra if they complain about a short job.

And the police did nothing ? Sadly that shouldn't surprise me these days but it makes my blood boil. They're a disgrace. I'm so sorry you endured that, and hope you have managed to heal.

I see no mocking of his way of speaking. No racism.

You must be reading a different thread.

This makes me so cross! Yes, we all love a good, long-distance job and our drivers fight over them sometimes. BUT, our 'bread and butter' work is the (often very short) weekly shopping, health centre, dentist etc trips, particularly for our elderly and less-abled community in surrounding villages with little or no practical bus service. We know we are considered a lifeline for a lot of these people, and many of them have built up fantastic relationships with our drivers over the years. Are they profitable? Not really. Are they important to us? Yes, absolutely.

And they are all known to us by the street or road they live on, so Mrs Brown is Mrs Mulberry, Mr Smith is Mr Riverside etc. etc. The truly lovely thing is many of them now announce themselves by that name when calling to book. I still chuckle when 'Mr Cocking Court' phones to book!

Sounds like victim blaming to me

As OP didn't mention the man's race, I think you're the racist one for assuming he's of non-white British heritage because of how he spoke.