Refuse Diamond Cab!

Could not see any meter in either of their cabs we used. Never sure what true rate should be. Paid $5 more for 2 going to airport than other cab company charged for 3 coming in from airport. Believe we were badly overcharged on trip to restaurant. Will refuse Diamond Cab in future.

Refuse Diamond Cab!

Thanks for the heads up.

Locals what do you think? What cab company(s) do you recommend?

Refuse Diamond Cab!

Anyone familiar with how cab companies are structured--not only in Baltimore, but most other large cities--will realize that the drivers are pretty much independent contractors. A week from now, the Diamond driver in question can ';change his colors'; to those of another company.

Condemning (or for that matter praising) a cab *company* based on one experience doesn%26#39;t mean a heckuvalot when you realize this.

While you should of course follow up with the cab company in question with your complaint, your primary beef if there%26#39;s an issue should always be with the driver (note his hack license #) and handled through the taxicab commission.

Tubman,

I am not familiar with cabs in every city. In New York, the yellow cabs (which are yellow) are legit and they have accountability.

However, there are independent cabs in New York that are notorious for ripping people off. Especially at airports, where unsuspecting visitors can be charged a lot of extra money for a trip into the city.

If you go t the Trip Advisor New York board, you can get a lot of advisor about what companies are legit and what aren%26#39;t. (One clever company convinced a couple that his red-colored cab was actually a yellow cab, just a different division of yellow cab. Of course it wasn%26#39;t. Only yellow cabs are yellow cabs.)

So my question is are there particular cab companies that are reliable and others that are reportedly unscrupulous, or in Baltimore is it a crapshoot?

There may be one or two true cab companies with employee drivers in Baltimore as there are in NYC like you mention, but Diamond isn%26#39;t one of them. Just a network of independent drivers using their dispatch service.

That is unfortunate to hear. I was recently in Baltimore for 4 days. I needed cab service for the majority of my trip. Diamond cab was the star service for me. Yellow cab kept me waiting for 2hours. My cousin called them before she knew about my experience and the driver that showed up smelled of Marijuana and became very aggressive when my cousin refused service. fyi, cab service is regulated by the city of Baltimore. if you feel you were treated poorly you can report it. just contact the transit department for the number.

I live in the city and take cabs on a regular basis. If you take yellow cabs, you won%26#39;t have any problems (410-685-1212). I avoid the purple (ravens) cabs - they seem to have fast meters.

shannonziggy,

What happened when you reported the ';fast meters'; to the Public Service Commission?

i didn%26#39;t take the time to report it, just noticed that a trip across town is a lot more expensive in a purple than a yellow.

This doesn%26#39;t mean that the company has jimmied the meters that are regulated by the PSC or is otherwise running up the fare--whether you realize it or not, that%26#39;s what you%26#39;re implying and it%26#39;s a fairly serious accusation. Don%26#39;t forget there%26#39;s a charge when the taxi is stopped or moving slowly (20￠ per 30 seconds). So encountering just a few more red lights or slower traffic on Trip B than you encountered on Trip A means that Trip B could be a few dollars more than Trip A.

Like snowflakes, no two taxi rides are exactly alike. My gut tells me that a few trips you took in the purple cab just happened to take longer and therefore cost more, and this has forever branded purple cabs as more expensive in your mind. And the company suffers, branded publicly as criminals in this forum for having the misfortune to hit a few more red lights than the competitor while you were a passenger.

If you seriously believe a meter has been tampered with or you%26#39;re otherwise being overcharged, your grievance really should be aired with the PSC instead of or in addition to a public forum. Have some evidence to support what you consider to be an overcharge, i.e. exact start/stop time of the trip, route taken, cab #, hack license #, etc.

Just my $0.02.

Tubman, i have lived in baltimore city for 5 years and I have taken more than a ';few cab rides';. Obviously not accusing any organization of breaking the law, just stating a fact that a typical cab ride from canton to federal hill is about twice as much in a purple cab. As a regular poster, hoping that we can bring this forum to a close and that future visitors to our city will not have the problems as our friend from Iowa.

Thanks!

channel