My cabdriver forced me to pump gas bec. he didn't take cards

In the middle of my cabride, my cabdriver mentioned he didn't take credit cards. Since I didn't have an ATM, the question became how to pay for my ride.

His answer, 'fill up his tank.'

Not only was I forced to pay for my driver's gas (as that was the only way he took credit cards)...he even made me pump!

Always have cash to pay for a cab

My biggest nightmare was when I was delayed at LaGuardia and arrived at O'Hare around 1AM on a Thursday (so Friday at 1AM) and had a conference call at 8AM. After getting back to Lakeview around 1:30AM, the cabbie said his credit card machine broke and offered to drive me to an ATM. I lived literally next to a Jewel, so I went there, and took out the money (with the ATM fee).

My cab ride was 41 dollars, and he received 43. I said "if you would have let me pay by credit card, I would have gave you a nice 20% tip, but because you wanted cash, and made me walk to an ATM at 2AM, I deducted my ATM fee and some extra". Boy, was I pissed...if I wasn't so exhausted, I would have called 311 on him...I know he could have called it in. It was 2AM, I had been in a suit since 7AM the day before, and I couldn't wait to get home!

My advice? Always bring extra cash for cabs...it makes it a lot easier all the way around.

Current process for Charging a Credit Card

First, let’s review the current process for those of us who try to pay for a ride around the city with plastic. After the jump, of course. You won’t regret it.

• 1. Try and determine if the cab has a VISA sticker on the outside.
• 2. Get in the cab and tell the driver first that you have to use a card and risk being told that they don’t accept cards. OR wait until payment time comes and risk being told that “it don’t work” and is magically broken today.
• 3. Threaten to simply not pay for the ride or to report them to the taxi cab authority (which I doubt would accomplish much).
• 4. After they begrudgingly agree to take your card, they take no less than 4-5 minutes to find a pen and start to fill out the little form. This often requires you to tell them how much you want to tip before they have even run your card.
• 5. NOW the fun begins. They then pull out the 1980’s style, absolutely archaic slider machine that creates a carbon copy of your card info by manually moving a heavy piece of metal and plastic over the top of it several times (and they usually do is lots of times just for effect).
• 6. Next is time for them to hand you the form and your card…and for them to drop the pen. Once they’ve found the pen again, you can sign the form. Sometimes, if you are lucky, they even ask for your phone number so they can call you if “they have any problems”.

Hazards Of Paying A Taxi With A Credit Card

EVANSVILLE - NEWS 25 learns your private information may be getting broadcast across the Tri-State.

When you pay with plastic, cab drivers need to make sure that card works. They call in the numbers over the radio and anyone who has a scanner can listen in. That's your information in the hands of a stranger.

Bill Bayne has been driving Evansville taxis for 14 years.

Three months ago he started his own company: Cardinal Cabs. The reason Bayne branched out? Safety. He says when passengers pay with credit cards in other cabs, the taxi driver calls in the card number to make sure the card's good.

"Anybody and everybody who listens to a police scanner get to listen to your credit card transaction," Bayne says. He says a few of his customers were ripped off when their card numbers were copied. "The scammers don't care-they're geeks and freaks who are trying to get your money any way they can."

When paying for a taxi ride using a credit card at the Cardinal Cab Company, you swipe your card through this machine. No numbers read over the radio. Bayne says it's the best way to keep your personal information safe.

"Maybe two percent of our business is credit cards-it's not a very large part of the business at all," says Heather Williams, Vice President of River City Cab.

It's the biggest cab company in Evansville and it doesn't have credit machines in the cabs. Drivers write the card number on charge slips; they can also call in the number.

"It's a private radio frequency," Williams says.

NEWS 25 asks: can't people listen in on that radio?

"It's not legal to do so if I understand correctly with that. I was just dealing with that because we had somebody listening in-doing some things illegally with that," Williams says.

"It really doesn't hit home to you on how it's happening until some Joe says look...I've seen this happen, I prefer you not to do it this way," Bayne says.

River City Cabs is trying to get money to install a GPS, credit card system inside its cabs. The vice president says it should happen later this year. She says she hasn't heard any customers complain about fraud.