Hoboken Taxi Complaint Zone
3/12/2010 Update:
What started out as a “Reader Mail” about the validity of the Hoboken Taxi Dispatcher, then added another complaint about driver “Ride Stacking” – plus today’s update – gave me the idea to turn this post into the “Hoboken Taxi Complaint Zone.” You can find this category on the right under “Rants, Raves and more” to use it in the future. So what brought this out?
Do you find the new taxi stand layout terrible as well?
Since the Taxi stand moved, Hoboken411 has received SO MANY complaints about it – I cannot even begin to compile them all. Key words such as “horrible,” “messy,” and “dangerous” to “free for all,” “ill-planned” and “no thanks, I’ll walk.”
With that being said – other than the dispatcher, most complaints were directed at actual drivers and the arrangement of the new setup. As always, one of the most responsive departments of City Hall is indeed the Division of Taxi & Limo Licensing. Just give Annette Chaparro a call at 201-420-2368 or 201-216-1090 if you have a valid complaint. She’s super friendly and can usually answer most questions you may have.
SEE PREVIOUS UPDATES AFTER THE BREAK…
3/1/2010 Update:
More complaints of ride-stacking
Another Hoboken411 reader Adam finds that getting a cab late at night – with multiple passengers to the same address a problem as well. Seems that cabbies are begging for the “triple decker” ride each time…
“In bad weather or especially late at night 2:30-3:30am the line is terrible and if you and two friends wait 20min and finally get to the head of the line – when the cab driver asks you where you’re going you say “Three to 8th and Adams,” he will keep on going and leave you standing there. After one cab passes you buy the others won’t pick you up either.
I had to nearly stand in front of a cab and demand service. The cab drivers try to cherry pick multiple fares with a premium of 3 people to different stops where they collect more fares and more tips. I was wondering if anyone else had this issue and if you could start a discussion point.”
Taxi Line Dispatch Job: Why?
2/24/2010:
Hoboken411 reader Brian is a taxpayer in town – and thinks the whole concept of the Taxi Dispatcher down by the taxi stand (which will be moving back to where it originally was soon) – is a total waste of city resources.
“When commuting home last night it came to my attention that Hoboken now has a Taxi dispatcher for the cab line at the PATH station. I asked my taxi driver if it was a policeman, since he had a badge, but was told he is a city employee and has been around for about a month. His job, as witnessed last night, is to ask people in line where they are headed and then relay that information to the cab.
This is completely a waste of taxpayer’s money. This man’s job was successfully done by Hoboken residents and visitors waiting on line for taxis in the past. The bartering process and relaying of where you need to go to a cabbie does not warrant a broker or middleman. At $10 an hour for seven hours a day, five days a week he’d cost $16,800 a year. You can double that number if he receives benefits. I might be light on the per-hour wage, since someone was advertising $20 an hour for a census job outside ShopRite last week.
I pay $11,500 in taxes for a three bedroom condo in Hoboken. This means my taxes and half of my neighbor’s taxes pay this man’s salary, before other residents start paying for other city costs. You need another resident and a half to cover his benefits. This is a complete misuse of resources when you think that I have three children that probably won’t go to the public schools since they are weak; my car needs to dodge 13 potholes to get out of Hoboken; there’s dog waste on almost every city block and a ballooning homeless population on our streets. I’m not trying to get this guy fired. I’m sure he’s a nice gentleman that is kind to animals and helps the elderly, ect. It is just another ridiculous example of the city government that creates valueless jobs and then sticks the taxpayers with the cost. At a time when everyone is re-evaluating costs and how to save money, the city of Hoboken continues to fail at eliminating waste while failing to raise the quality of life in the city.”
Do you think Brian is right? Or are there enough Hoboken idiots to warrant such a position?
Hoboken NJ
51 Responses to ** Hoboken Taxi Complaint Zone **
March 1st, 2010 |
Let me rephrase what I said, my experiences with her were not solved and ignored. The number of complaints made yearly and results do not balance out. I am sure she is good to you and your issues not to mine nor people I know. I am speaking from self and associated experiences. Maybe the answer is more TLC people and less 19 yr olds to write parking tickets?
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March 1st, 2010 |
What are you talking about? There were railroad tracks on Sinatra up until just a few years ago.
And the Hoboken Terminal light rail station would have been in the front of the terminal instead of in Jersey City.
In response to KenOn10 who said:
yeah, it’s too bad we preserved our public waterfront when it could easily have been converted to railroad tracks duplicating an existing bus service. the eastern light rail would have been hugely helpful to those millions of Sinatra Drive residents… and the couple of hundred parking spots lost are usually empty anyway.
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March 2nd, 2010 |
i have heard that ian sacs is now going to put the shuttle buses on the other side of the street across from the taxis facing the traffic light. can anyone verify this? i think these are the shuttle buses owned by the cops in town (russo amongst them) why do they get that spot where this is no room. do they pay the town anything like the taxi guys do? this sounds like another insiders job because i don’t remember reading anything about the shuttles. i guess i shouldn’t be surprised,.
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March 12th, 2010 |
The new taxi stand is a complete disaster (or a comedy club, depending on your attitude).
Just the other day I saw a pregnant lady manage her way through three lines of departing cabs: she was hesitant to walk in between the cars, the cab drivers were honking, the whole situation was both scary and ridiculous.
There is simply not enough space for all the cabs. And the pump station on Observer Hwy won’t be done soon, meaning the current setup is staying with us for a while. Not a good outlook for anyone.
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July 14th, 2010 |
The dispatcher is a waste of money and an embarrassment.
I wouldn’t have an issue if he enforced the laws and regulations – that would be completely worth it – but all he does is facilitate the same inappropriate way of doing business that the cabbies have always used.
Regulations:
1) max of 2 fares at the discretion of the 1st fare
2) illegal for a passenger to sit in the front seat
3) first come first served regardless of destination (incl. out of town)
There are others.
The fact is the dispatcher enforces none of these, he simply supports the way the cabbies have always done it. Ridiculous! We’re now paying a salary for the same poor and illegal service that we used to get for free!
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December 12th, 2010 |
Why are there never any taxis after 1am when you get out of the PATH? Does Hoboken not have enough taxis? That surely can’t be it, because other times of the day there’s 30 of them sitting around doing nothing.
The amount of time you’d spend standing on the long line at the taxi stand waiting for a taxi to come exceeds any walk within Hoboken.
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September 1st, 2011 |
I really don’t understand how we let the Taxi’s do what they do. There is NO oversight at all and they pretty much do what ever they want. They take who the want, where they want and seem to expect you to kiss their asses. Who ever is running this show should seriously be fired and the whole lot of drivers should be re hired. I would love to see a meter system in the cars. 5 Dollars to 2nd and grove is not the same distance as going to 14th and park (or where ever) yet it’s the same price. Great deal for anyone up town, but not for those citizens downtown. It’s a rip off for them and actually for the drivers as well who might see more of a tip. Any rules posted on this website, in the cabs themselves or anywhere else are NOT followed, and I ride these cabs a lot. It;s just a joke and I am sick of how we are treated by them….More people need to take a stand and maybe we will have a cab system that might work. PS speaking of Stand…the stand “system ” outside of the path is another planning joke. Who comes up with these ideas seriously? the lie should at least go the other way #1 and #2 people should just file into a cab. “Hey, let’s all wait in the pouring rain until the service we pay for decides how they want to serve us.” No more of this asking nonsense where again they get to decide who they want to take. it’s just ridiculous. That’s my rant.
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September 1st, 2011 |
I’m with you 100%. I’ve never gotten in a cab without getting attitude or asked to wait for them to get another fair. The other night a driver literally wanted me to wait for someone to get out of the bathroom at Rome pizza so he could get the fare to Rutherford. I finally got him to drive but I shouldn’t have to deal with these guys. It’s a horrible service, and Hoboken should be embarrassed at the way it is run. Jokes are always made at NYC taxi drivers’s expense but they are almost always professional, and take you where you as with little grief.
In response to airbmac who said:
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September 1st, 2011 |
I rarely take taxis but got in late from Lenny Kravitz was about 15 back in line when the taxi driver got out with a fare in the cab and yelled who lives downtown when I said me he said where then I got the ok I’ll take you. I was happy the others not so much….
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September 1st, 2011 |
It’s obvious the “one fare per ride” cannot sustain these cabbies.
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September 1st, 2011 |
I’m all for meters, even though I will probably wind up paying more, if they limit to 1 fare per taxi.
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