TAXI . . . TAXI! . . . TAXI!!

For years, three cab companies served Dallas. But several months ago a group of area residents proposed to the Dallas City Council that a fourth company, Taxi Dallas, be allowed to operate in the city. The council chambers became an arena for wild debates between owners and drivers of existing cab companies, the group proposing the new company and the council. During the debates, a number of issues regarding the city’s existing taxi service came up. One major complaint was that cabs flock to D/FW airport and ignore customers in residential areas. But representatives from the existing companies claimed that the city was being adequately served. During the final meeting of the former council, however, Taxi Dallas was approved.

Before the new cabs hit the streets, we decided to test the alleged deficiencies of the three existing companies (Yellow Cab of Dallas Inc., Terminal Cab Co. and State Cab Co.) by taking -or trying to take -a number of taxi rides throughout Dallas.

We started at D/FW airport where we had plenty of choice among taxis. We chose a Yellow cab. We had to repeat our destination to the driver several times because a television set on the floor of the front seat seemed to be distracting him. He wasn’t familiar with our destination (a popular restaurant on McKinney Avenue), but chose an airport exit anyway before calling ahead for the location of the restaurant. The cabby drove between 65 and 75 miles per hour on the highway.

The rest of our testing was more difficult because we found it almost impossible to persuade cab dispatchers to send taxis to residential locations for pickups. One morning at about 7 o’clock we called Terminal Cab Co. and asked for a cab to be sent to a Lake Highlands address. The dispatcher announced the address over the radio, received no response, told us that no cabs were available and hung up. Then we called State Cab with the same request. Again, no cabs were available. When we said we could wait for an available cab, the dispatcher said it was impossible and hung up. We were never able to get a cab that morning.

Early one afternoon, we called Terminal Cab from our office on North Central Expressway. When we gave the address, the dispatcher repeated only the first two numbers of the four-digit address. Thinking that she didn’t have the full address (actually, that’s the way taxi companies dispatch addresses), we repeated it. The dispatcher said, “If you were a banker, I wouldn’t tell you how to run a bank.” She said that there were no cabs and hung up. We finally found a State cab available. The driver was neatly dressed in a sport coat and was prompt and polite. Unfortunately, he had no idea where Medical City Dallas was located.

During the course of our survey, we also tried to arrange for taxi pickup the night before we needed the service, but none of the companies would oblige unless we were going to D/FW airport.