Cabbies: What $6 fare?

The city's new $6 downtown cab ride program is underway, and there's even a website up and running with all the details. There's just one little problem:

Someone forgot to tell the cabbies:

City officials rolled out a program Wednesday that they said is "effective immediately" that institutes a flat $6 taxi fare for all points downtown. The fare, being promoted as Six in the City, is aimed at increasing cab use and applies for all trips in the freeway loop formed by U.S. 59, Interstate 45 and Interstate 10.

The word, however, has not filtered down to where it's most needed: Houston cabbies.

At one of downtown's busiest cab stands on Capitol at Milam in front of the Chase Bank Tower, some drivers awaiting passengers had heard about the pending change and some hadn't. All of them still were charging passengers according to the meter.

"I have no idea about the program. I've heard some of the drivers talking about a change coming, but nobody's told us anything yet," said Baraki Mohamed, who has driven a taxi here for nearly two years.

Ha ha ha! That's classic!

As for the confusion?

"We just got started this week," said Ted Bowen, public relations and marketing manager for the city Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

"It'll take awhile for everything to be in place."

Folks who hail a cab downtown expecting to pay $6 and are charged more should contact Mr. Bowen for a refund.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/17/06 06:10 AM | Houston Transit | Print | Comments (10)

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