NYC Taxi Driver Demands iPod as Payment


Here’s a crazy story… NYC has installed credit card payment video screen machines in the back seats of most taxicabs. They play annoying advertisements and accept credit cards as payment for your ride. Fantastic! Except when the credit card part doesn’t work. And you don’t have any cash on you. In theory, the driver should be able to take a credit card imprint and charge you that way. In reality, as one 20 year old woman recently found out, something totally different might happen.

A driver drove a woman to the airport. When her credit card was not accepted, she called the credit card company who confirmed that it was an equipment malfunction or signal issue with the taxi. The cabbie then summoned the Port Authority police who then threatened to “book” her unless she gave the driver something. That something turned out to be a $140 iPod in exchange for a $50 cab ride. The woman’s father contacted the Taxi Commission who has deemed it to be an issue between the driver and the woman and out of their jurisdiction. Next step for the woman; small claims court. The lesson: always carry cash!