Comment by ChrisMarshallNY
1 day ago
Heh. Just as another point. I mentioned the story to another friend, who used to be a cabbie, and he said "Oh, that was a gypsy cab robbery. Classic."
Apparently, the way that it works, is that the cab takes you to a bad neighborhood, then tells you to get out, unless you pay. If my friend had tried getting physical, he would have been staring into the muzzle of a .38, so the talk of physical threats was likely bullshit face-saving. He also said that the driver won't relent for less than $100, so it's likely my other friend was fleeced pretty bad.
The way it works, is that the "cabbie" looks for parties with women and/or children, because that means there's unlikely to be a problem. They look at hotels, because that means out-of-towners, and there’s a lot fewer cops around than airports (this chap was disturbingly familiar with the technique. Many of my friends are former Bad People).
With Uber, and the way that they track drivers, he suggested that the person who picked them up, was probably not the contracted driver, but was in cahoots with the driver. The call was canceled by the real driver as a "no-show," and the ride was never on the clock, or the driver drove empty.
People suck.
The original story was that your friend gave Uber the wrong address, and the Uber refused to take them onward after that, even for more money.
Now the story is that the Uber intentionally took them to the wrong address, and then offered to take them onward in an attempt to extort more money.
Those are completely different stories! Which is it?
Hey, listen, we operate on the information we're given at the time we're given it. They are completely different stories, because they reflect completely different sources of information.
It doesn't seem that matters to you, anyway. I'm not into fighting, so I guess our correspondence is at an end.
I'm not at all averse to admitting when I could be wrong. Not very "American" of me, I know. We're supposed to ride Wrong like a battle tank.
Considering how common the gypsy cab gamut is, I'm surprised no one here considered it. I guess I'm not the only one who is maybe not as worldly as I might think I am, eh?
it’s also just so premised on a ridiculous fantasy of how urban america functions
Interesting that you're repeating this all over. I guess there's a story, therein.
I can tell you that urban (and suburban) areas in the US can be quite ... interesting. Where I live (NY suburbs), it's not difficult to be in gang areas, about fifteen minutes in any direction. They usually keep their predations to themselves, though. The city neighborhoods that are run by the mob, on the other hand, are some of the safest in the nation (unless you're a crook). I have a friend that lives in Howard Beach, and he says that he sometimes forgets to lock his front door, and doesn't worry about it. Burglars end up in ICU, after "falling down the stairs."
Anyway, as I mentioned in another unread comment, the driver that picked them up, was probably not the driver associated with the account. Basic common sense. The person that explained it to me, mentioned the ways that the gypsy cab people have probably adapted to the new paradigm. Crooks are a lot smarter and more creative, than folks give them credit for.
The gun is unlikely to be used, unless the driver feels the need. They don't want trouble, they just want money, but even legit cabbies often go armed. They are ripe targets, and cab robbers are quite dangerous.
This is the second time your story is changing.
Yup.
New information, new story. If I'm wrong, I promptly admit it. I'm weird, that way, apparently. I guess what I'm supposed to do, is refuse to admit fault, to the end. Sorry to spoil the fun. I didn't know the rules.
Funny how none of the worldly cynics, here, figured that out (I didn't, and I thought I was worldly and cynical). When I mentioned it to my cabbie friend, he popped it out instantly. It's a well-known issue, around here. The local airports and train stations have posters about it. I admit that I've seen the posters, but they didn't register, when I first heard the story. It seems the same folks have figured out how to ply their trade with modern ride-hailing apps.
Have a great day!
there’s a certain genre of story that has the flavor of ‘urban crime apocrypha’, examples like ubiquitous roofie-ing and PCP laced marijuana.
others can judge the frequency of an Uber driver in the US robbing you at gunpoint (with an account tied to their SSN/DL) or whether that is common enough that you can assume a gun will be pulled without seeing it.