New Surcharges for a Car Service or Ride Share

     Last night, Lewis attended a dinner with colleagues.  When it was over, he summoned a Lyft to take him home.  After an extra ten minutes of the car circling his location, Lewis called the driver--who hung up and cancelled the pick-up.  By then, his other coworkers had gotten their rides home.  Frustrated, Lewis used the app again to finally get a car.  Arriving home, he was frustrated more when he saw a new government-instituted "Car Congestion Surcharge" of $2.75 added to his ride!  10pm was certainly after "rush-hour", so what congestion was there to charge for?  NYC is the only place in America with such a surcharge.

     What do you expect from such a corrupt city?  Let me explain.  For decades, New Yorkers complained in vain about the inexcusable low level of service from taxis, "black cars", and limousines.  Drivers refused to take you, if your destination was inconvenient for them.  Drivers swindled passengers via extra-long detours to raise the metered fares. 

They deliberately chose traffic-jammed routes to increase their metered fares--making passengers late! 

     Cars were dirty and smelly (never cleaned), driver licenses were fraudulent, and drivers had terrible driving skills and bad attitudes.  For DECADES, millions of taxpayers living in the 5 boroughs had difficulty hailing a cab, so "green taxis" were finally issued to only service the boroughs.  They are just as filthy and poorly-driven.  Complaints to the corrupt Taxi Limousine Commission (TLC) and the corrupt City were ignored; nothing was ever done by any elected official.  In the 1990s, HBO actually made a series "Taxicab Confessions" about NYC's disgusting "cab culture".  

    Finally, in 2009, "Ride Shares" like Uber and Lyft were invented, initially relieving passenger's stress.  It was like a godsend!  The apps offered clean vehicles, the ability to choose the size needed, estimated time until pick-up, polite drivers (because they were everyday people like you and me), the ability to text/call the drivers, and an upfront cost for the ride.  A win!

     In a shitty city like NYC, it didn't last long.  The Taxi and Limousine Commission is like a group of mobsters, and they "pressured" those new services.  TLC didn't care if its drivers made money, but it wanted to keep making money.  So, all of a sudden, Ride Shares added "surge fees" during peak times, bad weather, high traffic, et cetera.  Some people perceived it as their greed, but I'll bet it was a forced pay-off to the TLC to continue operating in its territory.  (In NYC, everything has "territories": private garbage pick-up, drug dealers, and supermarkets).
     The next corruption occurred when the pathetic cab/limo drivers lost profits, as passengers still preferred Uber and Lyft.  So, instead of becoming more hospitable drivers--to attract passengers--those same inept drivers merely registered for both apps!  

     So, if you're in New York City and summon an Uber, there's a strong chance you'll STILL get a crappy taxi driver.  That loophole needs to be closed!  In addition, "bad drivers"--and ones who cancel your ride--should be banned by Uber and Lyft.  
     Now, for the finale of corruption.  Passengers had finally escaped the broken-down subway and bus systems--long neglected for 100 years and whose closures and delays increase, each year.

Read below to see that things are unchanged since last year:

     NYC's politicians--who are also like mobsters--started seeing less revenue.  Instead of making the MTA better, they kept syphoning its profits and merely enacted a new mandatory surcharge.  The "Congestion Surcharge" affects all rides in the main part of Manhattan... and conveniently equals a one-way metro ride!  So, its like you're STILL paying for the dilapidated subway that you tried to avoid--using the same pathetic taxi drivers you tried to avoid... and you're PAYING extra for it.  Such is NYC where the criminals are legal and law-abiders suffer penalties!