Rideshare companies like uberX and Lyft are breaking up the cab monopoly in Seattle and competition is fierce.
Cabbies have said the tech-forward companies, which have gained in popularity because of their service and phone-friendly, credit card-friendly apps, are unfair competition that isn't subject to the same high standards as taxis.
But a KIRO 7 investigation discovered hundreds of complaints from people who say Seattle taxi drivers aren't meeting the basic service standards required by the city.
Diane Rutledge, who lives on Bainbridge Island, said she saw the problems first-hand when she tried to get a ride from the Amtrak Station in downtown Seattle to the Colman ferry dock last August.
"He pulled over and said, 'This is it. This is as far as I'm going,'" Rutledge said.
Rutledge said she was dumped on Alaskan Way.
The ferry terminal is a quick half-mile cab ride from the Amtrak Station, but a necessary one for Rutledge, who has arthritis.
"He said, 'Why didn't you just walk? It's only three or four blocks.' I said, 'Well, I have a bad leg, a bad hip,'" she said.
Rutledge said he threw her suitcase on the ground and drove off. She was forced to walk the rest of the way to the dock and missed her ferry.
"Really painful," she said. "I was just in shock."
KIRO 7 found out hundreds of other passengers have felt the same.
Last year, the city received 466 taxi complaints.
In a database KIRO 7 requested from the city, nine of those cases were classified as unfounded, but in many cases, the city did not record a resolution at all.
In fact, while the city runs the taxi complaint hotline, it is not in charge of investigating the complaints.
Denise Movius, deputy director of Seattle's Regulatory Services and Operations, said the city leaves that up to taxi dispatch companies.
According to Tommy Key, the general manager for Yellow Cab's dispatch, Puget Sound Dispatch, his company works with a committee of other cabbies to decide discipline.
"We don't get into dictating to them what the punishment is," Movius said.
"Why not?" KIRO 7 asked.
"Because we don't dictate that to any other business that we license," she said. Movius said the city will only get involved in special circumstances, like if a driver poses an imminent risk to public safety.
KIRO 7 went through hundreds of hard-copy complaints and found passengers describing drivers speeding, running red lights, and refusing short trips.
One driver with Yellow Cab, who Key said was known as a problem driver, was suspended at least three times in 2013 for refusals.
"They are to take the trip regardless of the length of it," Movius said.
KIRO 7 put taxis to the test.
A handful of times, drivers happily took the short fares. But when KIRO 7 asked a taxi driver with Orange Cab for a ride from the Colman ferry dock to Safeco Field, he made it clear he was unhappy.
The driver asked where we were going, and when KIRO 7 told him, he said it was "too close," and "two blocks" away, even though the ride is 0.8 mile.
He got into his car and closed the door.
KIRO 7 stood there waiting and the driver got back out. We asked him yet again if we would give us a ride and he motioned to the car, got back in, and closed his door again.
He gave KIRO 7 a ride, saying, "Damn," when we said we had a credit card, not cash.
KIRO 7 went back to the ferry dock to ask about his behavior.
"I asked to go to Safeco Field, [and] you told me it was two blocks away and you got into your car," KIRO 7 said. "You left me standing at the bumper, sir." "I drove you!" he said.
"After giving me a rude reception," KIRO 7 said.
"Leave me alone," he said.
KIRO 7 called Orange Cab several times. They refused to answer our questions.
But cabbie Tadesse Balcha told KIRO 7 that while he has seen drivers refuse short trips, he believes most drivers are like him: respectful, safe, and trying to make a living.
"Elderlies, young people, drunk people," Balcha said. "No matter what, the city give me license to serve... I have to do it. Otherwise, if I can't, I have to return the license to the city."
As for Rutledge, her driver was suspended one day, one of his three suspensions last year. The city of Seattle said he is still an active taxi driver.
She worries about the same kind of experience every time she takes a cab.
Yellow Cab's dispatch company, Puget Sound Dispatch, said it's developing an app that would allow customers to review drivers on the spot. It's also working on a customer care class that drivers would be required to take, at their own cost.
While the city of Seattle does have three inspectors each day testing taxi service, Movius said it is not enough, and cabbies often recognize the inspectors.
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