Southie Taxi Cab Boston 617-269-4444 Massachusetts,ma,mass,south boston,boston

An Open letter to Mr. John Faro of the Massport Ground transportation unit G.T.U./GTU regarding his management of the agency.

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:55:22 +0000

Mr. Faro,

First I must congratulate your agency. This is the first weekend in about a month where you did not let (at least) one of the fast lane/Ez pass money machines go down and stay down all weekend. Although I would like to think this is due to some miraculous management on your part I am sure it is more then likely just due to this weekend not being particularly busy.

Moving on to the little thing that drove me ape this weekend. This Monday morning at approximately 2:30 am I stopped by “the pool” on the way home and found the entrance had been blocked by orange cones. I called the booth to be informed by the female attendant in residence that the “there was no point in pulling in right now as the next flight was not until 3:40 am.” I then went to Day sq and had some lunch and came back to the pool at 3:07 and pulled ticket number 81358. I had approximately 15 cabs in front of me and even if the load on the 3:40 flight was light I was sure I would get out with a customer.

At 03:18 am. the (now male Slavic accent ) booth attendant announced on the public address system that the 03:40am flight had just been cancelled.

What!? Cancelled!? Just now!!? Where does this flight come from that we were just finding out now at 03:17am that its expected arrival at 03:40 had been cancelled? Was this the daily nonstop from Lynn or Weymouth?

I’ll remember to keep this ticket here with me on my desk as a daily reminder to avoid the Logan airport taxi pool at all costs.

Sincerely yours,

Michael J. Carter
617-934-5651

PS
Since it is an obvious case of negligence on the part of GTU staff that I was allowed to buy a ticket without being warned first that the flight had been cancelled may I please have a short job?

I.T.O.A. Independent Taxi Operators association of South Boston Massachusetts 02127 is usuing an inferior taxi cab dispatch system.

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:22:16 +0000

Maybe it’s not “just the white guys”/Stupid has no color.

Per order of the Boston Police hackney carriage unit the I.T.O.A. taxi company at 223 Albany st. has begun using a G.P.S. based electronic dispatch system. The system runs Mobile knowledge software on the already installed CMT credit card machines that were placed in the cars by an earlier hackney mandate that all Boston taxis be equipped to take credit cards.

The decision to begin using this system last week by I.T.O.A. management has caused ,to say the least, several pounds of frustration for the I.T.O.A. drivers and more importantly ME as I now drive an I.T.O.A. taxi thanks to the best father in law any guy could ever ask for. Some of you may remember earlier columns I wrote where I detailed my frustrations with what I felt was an inadequate Verifone dispatch system. I would now like to apologize to Verifone management. Compared to the system now being used by I.T.O.A. the Verifone dispatch system is far superior and if the I.T.O.A. system is the standard then Verifone is a miraculous 10 year leap into the future.

Here are the problems with the CMT/MK system I.T.O.A.is using as I see them.

1) If its GPS based then someone should see if the computer has been drinking electronic beer. It tries to send me from Perkins Sq. to 9 west Broadway(you could be on the Broadway bridge and 9 west will be a nogo). D st. in Southie to E. Newton st in the South end ,L and Broadway to Harbor point in Dorchester and last night it tried to send me from I-495 South in Chelmsford to Somerville. If Laura who called for the cab in Somervile is reading this now you know why you did not get your cab.

2) I checked with one of the technology companies responsible for this system and they would not go as far as saying that the I.T.O.A. were morons who were improperly using the system but they did say that “to their knowledge the system is not usually used in conjunction with voice dispatch” The I.T.O.A for some reason chose to activate 10 cabs at a time instead of waiting until all their cabs were equipped and then turning the system on. Moreover they have around 50 cabs in the association who still have Verifone machines and will not be allowed to stay in the I.T.O.A. until they get CMT machines. You hear things on the radio all the time like “526 is top at D st. 526 get…never mind the computer gave it out”

3) There seems to have been no provision made for a nogo. If the computer gives you a job and you sit out in front of the address the required 10 minutes and no one comes out you don’t get the next job like Linda,Ellen and Jack would give you. I think your just screwed and that’s it.

4) You have no idea where the job it is offering you is located until you accept it. As I said it likes to pinball you all around the city so at this point I have decided not to accept any jobs from it until it is,if it can be,fixed.

5) The computer,much like my wonderful wife Jessica, does not accept no for an answer. last night when it offered me the Somerville job when I was in Chelmsford I had told it no 3 times and then finally said yes because I wanted to see where the hell it was trying to send me when I was driving south on 495 in CHELMSFORD!

Now I could go on listing the problems this system has presented but as it was recently pointed out to me I don’t run the I.T.O.A. and am “just a driver” so I won’t offer any more instructions on what needs to be fixed to make this system adequate. Besides they could just ask any driver. This past week I was at the I.T.O.A. to use the bathroom and as I was about to leave I saw another driver following I.T.O.A. treasurer “Lee” being followed into the downstairs by another driver angrily listing the faults of the system and heard “Lee” respond that there was nothing wrong with the system. “Only the white guys were having a problem if the systems gives a Haitian driver a job he doesn’t complain he just goes and gets it”.

At this I honestly lost my kool and went back into the building to tell him he was a moron and that his stupidity was going to make John Ford owner of the Top Cab association a rich rich man. He responded by telling me “GOOD GO BACK TO JOHN FORD” and storming back upstairs. I can only imagine what would happen if a white man in power said something like “only the Haitians are having a problem”

The funny thing is that this defensiveness that there was no problems with the system and that everything was fine did not stop at Lee. Friday night I texted Vice President Joe Litvack “it just sent me from Perkins to 9 west Broadway why would I chase that?” He wrote back “Y NOT” to which I responded angrily “Cause Joe Litvack aint buying the FUCKING GAS THATS WHY”

Saturday night I heard half of a conversation where Larry Meister former I.T.O.A. vice president must have been complaining to Linda that the system had tried to send him someplace far away as he drove his 1156 cab and Linda responded by saying the now familiar “ill take you off of it with a laugh”. At this point in the weekend I was to say the least ANGRY and I remembered a time about 1.5 years ago when Mr. Meister sat me down in his office and told me in a gloating manner that he felt my then boss John Ford had made a mistake in choosing Verfone and that he had made the final decision in picking CMT because of their past experience with dispatching. At this I became furious and when I had occasion to pull next to Mr. Meister at Perkins Sq. as I scoured Southie for street work I let him know that it was my sincerest belief that he was “a fucking nitwit and he should buy nitwittaxi.com” I let him know also that he was number 1 and was glad his customer did not see or hear any of this as they were still in the ATM at the time.

Some of you may have noticed that I did not have a column last month and wondered why. IT is because whenever I criticize some “men” they don’t have the nerve to call me up and confront me directly. They instead go to my wife and cry “why does Michael pick on us!!” Sometimes they threaten to fire her.. I don’t know how other marriages work but I assure my readers my wife and I have a strict policy to never ever discuss business at home but unfortunately these “men” threatening her job made her cry and I promised I would not write about them any longer.

So my first apology is to my wife Jessica. I am sorry honey I tried to keep the promise but I just can’t sit back and watch these “men” destroy our business and keep my mouth shut. Next I owe every voice dispatcher I ever criticized an apology. Bobby ,Heidi,Tommy,John”F.A.” , Linda, Martha,Chis,Ellen,Jack,John even that evil creep Ricky Picardi I am sorry! On your worst days your better then the computer!

Lastly I guess I should apologize to every “man” who ever complained or threatened my wife`s job. Gentleman I am sorry I offended your delicate sensibilities. I assure you my opinion on how you are ruining the Taxi Cab business here in Boston is not at all personal and if at any time any of you wishes to pull up your G string panties and call me up I’ll gladly buy you a coffee and we can sit down and discuss how things can be done better.

Sincerest thanks,

Michael Carter
617-934-5651

Mr. James J. “Whitey” Bulger will you please turn youself in to me? Mr. James J. “Whitey” Bulger please turn youself in?

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:54:49 +0000

Mr. Bulger,

As I am sure you have been informed by now you are wanted by federal authorities to stand trial for among other crimes 19 alleged murders. While I can not and do not condone any crime(s) you may have committed that is not why I write to you here today. Judgment can only be passed upon you by first a jury of your peers and ultimately God.

I am writing to you to boldly ask you to turn yourself into me for selfish reasons. As I am sure you can guess making it as a young man on the streets of South Boston (Southie) has gotten no easier and the reward for your apprehension is listed at $2,000,000. This would certainly be enough for me to purchase the used car lot/auto repair on West Broadway and transform it into a taxi cab dispatch center and put all the other taxi cab dispatch companies out of business or have them pay a monthly tribute to me instead.

In closing Mr. Bulger I hope this letter finds you well and able to travel back home to Boston and meet me so we can journey together to the Joe Moakley court house on Northern ave in Southie and arrange to have press meet us there for the event. I am willing to accommodate any of your wishes to the best of my ability and am only asking that I may receive credit for the capture. Further I am willing to make arrangements to allow other of your choosing to benefit from the reward.

My sincerest thanks for reading this message.

Michael J. Carter
mike@southiecab.com
978-648-0751 my direct cell number.

boston Police Sergeant Detective Courtney C. Matthews of the Anti Corruption Division

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:18:58 +0000

Around 1130pm one night last weekend Im driving my cab up East Broadway in Southie when I get a call from my wife. In a whispered tone she asks

“Do you have any relatives named Kevin?” Confused I answer no.
Then she asks “do you know anyone named Joe Panno?” Again shaking my head no.. why?

She then proceeds to tell me that 2 Boston Police detectives showed up at her work and began to question her about me. She said although they were polite they refused to tell her exactly what the investigation concerned and when she at one point began to state she did not want to answer the questions told her should would have to answer them at their office at a later date if she did not answer them then and there.

I was honestly incredulous at these events for many reasons which I detailed in full to the Boston police commissioner when I filed my complaint. After filing the complaint I heard back from the man’s supervisor who invited me down to their office to sit down and discuss the complaint with him and detective Sergeant Detective Courtney C. Matthews I initially agreed to this but after looking up their office location on Google maps and finding it was not in a police station of any sort and really not even an office building as far as I could tell and to be bluntly honest is in a neighbourhood 3/4 of the way to the corner of west hell and south shit. I called back and informed the LT. I would not be attending the meeting but I stood by my complaint firmly. The upside to the entire incident ,if there could be any, is that my wife now has a better understanding of her rights under the law and especially the spousal privilege section of the U.S. constitution. Although she and I consider ourselves Law abiding U.S. citizens that take great pains to ensure we are upstanding members of the community I think we are going to begin carrying around Miranda response cards… here is a handy one from a Beverly hills California law firm:

My lawyer has instructed me not to discuss my case with anyone, beyond simple identification, if requested by law enforcement. My lawyer has instructed me not to answer questions or reply to accusations.

On advice of counsel and pursuant to my Constitutional rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, I shall talk to no one unless and until my counsel is present with me. I shall not give any consent nor make any waiver of my legal or Constitutional rights. Any requests for information or for consent to conduct searches or seizures or investigations affecting my person, papers, property, or effects should be addressed to my lawyer:

Sara Caplan Defense
P.O. BOX 3335
Beverly Hills, CA 9021
E-mail: sara@saracaplandefense.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +1-310-550-5877
Fax: +1-310-550-5878

I want all communications with law enforcement authorities henceforth to be made only through my lawyer. I request that my lawyer be notified immediately and allowed to be present if any identification, test, examination, or investigation, of any sort, is conducted in my case. I do not consent to participating in any such identification, test, examination, or investigation unless and until my counsel is present with me.

If I could add anything to this.. don’t ever go anywhere with a police officer unless you are under arrest. A good indication you are under arrest is you are in handcuffs. Another good way to find out if you are under arrest? Ask if you can leave.. “Officer I no longer wish to be detained may I depart now?” In closing the only thing you really legal have to provide to the police is your identification.

Chief Davis,

Please consider this a formal complaint of misconduct that I wished to make you aware of. I have also filed this complaint on line with the Internal affairs division.

Apparently Detective Sergeant Courtney C Matthews needed to speak with me this past Friday night having had a plethora of questions for me. Being a Boston Police Detective Sergeant Matthews should have known he had several options available to him to ask me his questions in person. He could have.

1) Come to my home address that I as a matter of law must keep updated with the Boston police department to maintain my Boston Taxi Cab license. If he had done so I would have invited Sergeant Matthews inside my home and cheerfully answered any questions he may have had for me.

2) He could have contacted me via phone on the phone number that also as a matter of law I MUST keep updated with the Boston Police hackney carriage unit and I would have promptly met Sergeant Detective Matthews at the location of his choosing and cheerfully answered any and all questions he may have had for me.

3) Since as a matter of law all licensed hackney carriages in the city of Boston must be equipped with a GPS tracking device Sergeant Matthews had it within his ability to immediately activate the tracking device on my cab which as a matter of law is on file with the Boston Police hackney carriage unit and at his earliest convenience stopped me and asked me whatever questions he wished and I would have answered those questions cheerfully.

Having these and other options at their disposal Sergeant Mathews instead chose to journey to the workplace of my wife at I.T.O.A. taxi at 223 Albany st at 1130 p.m. Friday night and first ask to speak to my Wife`s supervisor and then summon my wife out into the hallway and begin questioning her about me.

It was relayed to me by my wife that he first asked her to verify her identity then asked her if she was in fact my wife at which point she became very scared for my well being knowing full well that I have the statistically most dangerous job in the country. Sergeant Matthews then reassured her as far as he knew I was fine and continued to question her about persons I may or may not know and phone services I may or may not have. I am willing to answer in writing any questions he or other members of the Boston Police department may have for me at this point but moving on with my complaint here, at some point my wife became agitated and demanded to know what the questions were about and either Sergeant Matthews or his partner refused to answer and then told her she could answer their questions there and now or come down to headquarters Monday and answer their questions in detail. Feeling intimidated my wife went on to answer his questions to the best of her ability until he and his partner began to depart. She then more or less had to demand a business card from the Sergeant and called and conveyed these events to me.

I immediately called Sergeant Matthews via the Cell phone number listed on his business card and offered to answer any questions he may have had for me. I also began to list the questions he had asked my wife and attempted to answer them utterly confused as to how the questions he had asked of her related in the slightest to me. Sergeant Matthews conveyed to me that he had all the answers which he needed and was to be honest flip with me. I shudder to think what punishment I would face by the Boston police hackney carriage unit had I spoken to one of my customers in the same demeanour in which Sergeant Matthews spoke to me this past Friday evening. I concluded the call by informing Sergeant Matthews that I would in fact be filing this complaint to which he responded chuckling “Go ahead”.

If I have not made it abundantly clear I feel that the misconduct in Sergeant Matthews behaviour lies in the simple fact that having a plethora of simple means to contact me directly Sergeant Matthews instead chose to go to my wife’s work and first scare and then intimidate her into answering questions which frankly not knowing the substance of Sergeant Matthews investigation make absolutely no sense at all to me.

In conclusion I again offer my willingness to answer any and all questions Sergeant Mathews may have for me if he is willing to submit them in writing after first providing me with the substance or target of his investigation. I however must make it clean to you Chief Davis that at this point I would like to answer whatever questions the Boston police department may have for me from another officer since it is evident that Sergeant Matthews either.

A) Enjoys embarrassing scaring and then intimidating women

B) Is completely ignorant to a major update in the laws of the city of Boston which Chief Davis himself signed in on 8/29/08 and is therfor woefully inadequate to question me or any other member of the public until such time as he educates himself as to the laws of the city of Boston.

In closing Chief Davis I must ask you sir if a member of the “anti corruption division” is so rude to a member of the general public (and his spouse) and so completely and totally ignorant to the various means of contact he had to reach out to said member of the public how could you possibly trust this person to investigate another man or woman under your command?

I implore you to make it clear to Detective Sergeant Matthews that if he wishes to speak to me or my wife again he inform us in writing of any questions he may have via a superior officer.

Respectfully,

Michael J. Carter

617-934-5651

Conversation between John Moore a Harvard architect and a Boston Taxi Cab driver part 2.

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:31:18 +0000

in case you missed part 1 there is the link.

My comments are in BOLD

Michael,

I do not agree that I made a “gross error in judgment.” Of course, I knew owners did not pay for gas! The idea was for the owners to charge a lease rate that effectively “shared” the gas savings. That is why I proposed the lease rates I quoted to you, not the $18 (plus other charges) which eventually got passed.

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree here I would say that the gross error in judgement was in not being experienced enough in the industry ignoring the valuable input of others who offered you that experience. What you accomplished is tantamount to me undertaking an effort that mandated no architect in the Commonwealth have plans for a home or office building approved that was not powered by Nuclear,or wind energy and pulling it off.
You get that you cost us millions with this great idea right?

I would like to work with you to reduce the lease rate. However, I need you to do a couple of things:

1) Reduce your rhetoric and attacking sarcastic tone. I won’t communicate with you if you continue to use foul language and attack everyone involved. Nothing can be achieved with this strategy.
I am sincerely sorry for offending your delicate sensibilities. If you found my language vulgar I again ask you to take into consideration the severae economic hardships you caused me personally and my fellow drivers. Do you understand that the way the law stands now a Cab owner can place a 2010 Crown Victoria into service and get the $18 extra a shift for it for it until 2014? This actually is happening on a daily basis.

2) Revise your numbers to reflect the meter increase enjoyed by drivers. As you know the meter increase was approved in conjunction with the hybrid lease rate increase. It was a package deal- you cannot look at one without the other.

Why can we not look at one without the other. When my fellow drivers and I begged and pleaded with the city bowl in hand for a raise we had no idea the raise would be granted and then taken away by a requirement to buy some other guy a new car. If every set of plans you sold required you to buy new drafting tables for everyone studying at Gund Hall… try to find a way relate to this please!

3) Acknowledge the benefits of hybrids. My data is real world from Boston, New York, and San Francisco, where hybrids have been in use as cabs for years. The bottom line is this: Camry Hybrid average 32 MPG, Old Crown Vics average 10 MPG when used as cabs. Tire inflation means nothing as the Crown Vics are not inflated either! Hybrid cabs achieve the following:

I will cave in and admit to the few advantages hybrids offer when you admit they provide hugely insurmountable obstacles to the daily Boston Cab driver. Also please understand that the geography of Manhattan as well as traffic patters volume of customers meter rates etc etc are completely different here compared to New York. You are comparing Oranges and tangerines. While both citrus fruits similar in texture and color they are not in fact the same are they ? I would further venture an uneducated guess that although building and fire safety codes in the 2 cities are probably similar they are not exactly the same are they? When these facts and figures you keep shaking in my face were offered to city officials who also have never driven a taxi how many actual Boston Taxi hybrids were they based on? 5 10? Was the huge lease rate factored in ? Was how a hybrid runs after 3 years of non stop service factored in? No right? Did a guy who was going to try to make another million off of them help come up with the rates?

A) 60% less gas=60%less money going to the Middle East=60% less greenhouse gas emissions (did you know 19 lbs. of CO2 is put in the atmosphere with every gallon of gas burned?)

Its really not 60% less gas. The only thing I can think of that is presenting the dratic difference in your figures vs. mine is age and upkeep of the cars or were perhaps your tests only conducted while transporting 1 person at a time in a hybrid with me transporting 3-5 people in a Crown Vic on a Saturday night downtown?

B) 60-80% less air pollution=better air for driver, customer, and public at large (the reason the Boston Public Health commission was involved in the hybrid effort-did you know Boston has among the highest asthma rates in America?)
I agree to the environmental benefit and if it makes you feel better as someone who spent many of his toddler years in an O2 tent at Mass general
suffering from what was later diagnosed as environmental Asthma I appreciate all efforts like this. Again you miss my point sir why did this have to come at the expense of the poorest people in the industry as it did? My anger with you is that you can not see that the environmental impact is completely and totally dismissed by the economic effects on poor people. Do you understand that there are other factors we consider when choosing a car also? Like is it safe? Meaning will I and my customers walk away from a crash laughing? Will it hold the required number of people comfortably? Etc. When you put the Crown Victoria police interceptor against a Toyota Camry hybrid the Camry hybrid loses in every category except fuel efficiency and pollution. I am welcome inside every radio room in Suffolk county and am inside them frequently when there is no supervisor around ask the radio room people about the hybrids. All kidding aside they will laugh and tell you that people are calling up for cabs and saying “please dont send the little car I want the old one”

C) Even at today’s gas prices, there is plenty of savings in order for both owners and drivers to benefit-and once gas prices rise again, the drivers will be fighting for the hybrids as they did when gas prices were pushing $4 per gallon a couple of years ago.

I dont know how to make you understand this but we are not saving enough gas to off set paying the extra $18.00 plus plus plus plus that the owners are asking for the figures you are quoting to me are not real world..

When we were fighting at $4.00 we still did not think we were going to pay for them 4 times over. Why was it not stipulated that once the cars were paid for the extra lease rate was done? Why was “doing something goog” allowed to make millions more for rich people? Also why was it allowed to be corrupted into a nightmare were drivers are now paying extra for NO GAS SAVINGS on brand new Crown Victorias? Were is the outrage for this rule change that was delivered.. the week before Christmas?

Look Michael, I do not want to fight with you, but your precious used Crown Vic is a public health hazard and needs to be retired for good. I want to help find a proper balance and a proper lease rate. I would like to meet with you if you think you can be open to the points I make above. If not, there is no point in meeting. However, I am going to meet with my contacts at City Hall about this issue in any case. I will keep you informed.

I will admit the crown Victoria police package was never designed with fuel efficiency in mind. I will even say that The Toyota Camry hybrid is far more fuel efficient then the Ford CVPI one problem the Camry Hybrid really makes a shitty Cab. It cant hold enough fat American People it feels like its going to fall apart when your driving fast on the highway. Conerns about its safety have risen several times now that present too much of an argument to be detailed here. The trunk space sucks for use as a cab. It doesn’t have comparable speed off the line when trying to pick someone up before the other guy does on Boylston st. In every way shape and form except for pollution and gas mileage the used Crown Victoria is a better choice for use as a taxi in Boston. Especially economically for drivers as shift rental prices along with gas prices make them cheaper for the actual taxi drivers to operate.

I can even give you a specific example where Ford Redesigned the car to make it a bit cheaper and less fuel efficient. In 1997 the proliferation of DVDs and CDs caused a spike in Aluminium prices. Until this point the Hoods and Trunks lids of Crown Vics were made out of Aluminium to save like $8.00 a unit Ford started making them out of steel instead and then every year sold 200,000 plus units and we dragged around steel for no reason. Compared to say.. the ships that sit in Boston Harbor for a week idling their engines or the Coal fired power plant in Salem I’ll never say it presents much of a health risk. Do you know there are only about 4,000 taxis and 9000 livery cars in the whole state? I would venture a solid guess there are more pounds of pollution coming out of the crappy old pick up trucks that get used to plow the driveways of the idle rich tub-o-lards that live in Shrewsburry.

I’ll make a deal with you.. from here on out ill consider you the single best architect in the world. You make IM PEI look like he played with freakin Lincoln logs. I’ll even concede that when compared with you Ralph Nader looks like a Corvair driving polluter who dumps motor oil down sewer drains in his spare time.

Provided you take my word that I am one of very few people who is intimately familiar with all levels of the Metro Boston area Taxi cab business and you just take my word that the forced transitions to Hybrids 17 months in has been an absolutely fantastic hardship for the average cabbie in the city of Boston. We can say.. oh maybe gas will go up to $11.00 a gallon and it will be good again but.. it probably won’t happen so will you use the pulpit you created to help me get the costs associated with your wonderful idea back under control for the poor people who are paying for it?

If you really have the ear of people in city hall I can even give you a script of a compromise that would make everyone involved from Mayor Menino to me and you and every shift driver and everyone that has to breathe taxi exhaust happy.

I am fine with you emailing me occasionally, but if you do so everyday, I will not likely read them.

Thanks again for writing,

Sincerely yours,

John

PS I never got a clear answer to this question from anyone. Why us? Why Cabbies? Why not the cops/post men/some other state/local/federal employee? The largest buyers of fuel and cars in the entire world are the combined branches of the U.S. Government. Why not make them buy the hybrids first and then by the time I got one… or bought one for some other rich jerk.. it would have not been a hardship as it is now The v8 is good enough for the Governor and his men?

My back and forth ongoing argument with John Moore the man who brought the $25,000 taxi to Boston(part 1).

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:57:43 +0000

My back and forth ongoing argument with John Moore the man who brought the $25,000 taxi to Boston. My replies in Italics

Hello Mike,

Thank you for writing me. I am sorry to see you have published attacks without first speaking to me directly. After working on this issue on and off over the last 5 years, I have met many many drivers and I have much respect for them and for their dedicated work ethic. I do not in any way want them to suffer because of hybrid vehicle taxi policy. I did try to speak to you in person when we had the rate hearing with the city at Roxbury Community college. Do you know that this rate hearing was the first time any taxi driver had heard we were going to be forced to purcahse a hybrid taxi fleet for the city of Boston? I and several other drivers went up to you during one of the breaks and tried to warn you that this was going to backfire and you basically refused to listen. I am paraphrasing here but you said ” Why are you worried its the cab owners buying it not you” I was worried because this was soemthing you did not need a crystal ball to see. Cab owners make their money from guys like me. So why wouldnt they try to get more money from guys like me to “do the right thing?” Further there is an old saying “cabbies are scum bags and cab owners are really good at being scum bags” If you need proof of this just look to the example of the cab owners ongoing court case they as I said in my last blog post have managed to now make it so they can put a non hybrid vehicle on the road and get the extra $18.00 a shift for it for a total of four years. You met Eddie Tutunjian You think they wound up owning all those cabs a dispatch association real estate all over Massachusetts and an Argentinian Vineyard by being a swell guy that gave taxi drivers a square deal or do you think he got all that by finding every opportunity to squeeze poor people for another penny? I know your not an economics professor but think hard here.. Why do I blame you for this? Because sir as you say in the youtube video none of this would have started without you. IF you give the slightest fat shit about the economic damage your “caring” has caused then you need to start reaching out to allt hose people you reached out to in the beggining and ask them to make this right pronto!

It was never my intention to hurt drivers when I first proposed the idea of hybrid taxis to the “powers that be.” I knew through experimentation, that a hybrid saved gas when driven as a Boston cab. Lots of gas. Your 10 gallon vs. 6 gallon estimate is way off. The savings over a typical used Crown Victoria is 60-70% not the 40% you purport. I am happy to show you the data.

Again with the “data” does any of your data involve actually driving a taxi in Boston? No… Im guessing it doesn’t does it perhaps even involve going to the HESS gas station on route 1a in Revere just north of Logan airport at 3a.m. and aksing Crown Vic and Hybrid drivers what they spent on gas and then finding out if they are “city” drivers or “airport” drivers? The greatest benefits of the hybrid are for drivers like myself that just work neighborhoods and very seldom get on the highway. Would you at least agree to that? If I can get you to agree to that can I further get you to stipulate that not all Boston Taxi Cab drivers work the city regularly and that your “data” may be skewed to those that do and therfor might not be that accurate? If I can not get you to agree that your data means LESS then the actual real world experience then please at least meet me this far/ Further I am guessing your “data” compared a crown Victoria run by say Green cab in Somerville (its well known that Somerville cabs are by far the worst maintained cabs in metro area) to that of a brand new perfectly maintained hybrid correct? How well do you think these hybrid cars are running now that they have been on the road for 1+ years being beat on 24/7? Do you think the air presure in the tires has been checked even one time? Most taxi garages (including your pals on Kilmonark st. ) have a policy not to fix anything that is not broken. If a wheel falls off they put it back on. If a car needs to pass inspection and the check engine light needs to go out they make it go out. Do they maintain their cars to the point that they run like the day they rolled off the showroom like the cars your “data” is based on? No they dont! It would be financially and logistically impossible for them to do so. They control 400 cabs. Imagine trying to change the oil on 400 cars at exactly 3000 miles? Now try to imagine making sure all the tires have air pressure in them 400 cars times 4 tires.

My intention has always been to figure out the savings and propose to split it between driver and owner. That way, both driver and owner would benefit. At the time of my original proposal, gas prices were over $3 per gallon and my data showed average savings of $25 per shift.
You were aware that the owners do not actually pay for the gas right? Why would they care how much we spend on gas? I hate to keep beating this into you but it really seems like your having trouble grasping it still. Do you think the cab owners those “swell guys” like E. Tutunjian went out and got hybrids because it was the right thing to do or because they saw it as an opportunity to further get in our pockets? Here is a fun fact for you. Do you know if you want to rent one of his cabs on top of the $95.00 a shift and the $3.00 insurance and the sales tax etc. he charges drivers a $200.00 deposit that he keeps for the entire time the driver works there and DOES NOT pay them any interest on their money? Think of it 400 cabs 3 drivers per cab times 200.00 Im guessing if you bring that chunk of Cash to fidelity you get a decent interest rate. I again wish you to know that I understand you had the best intentions on saving taxi drivers $ and helping the enviroment I am just trying to get you to understand that your plan completely backfired because you totally lacked any experience in the industry and when given the opportunity refused to listen to the people who did. You have not saved us a penny but instead cost us millions.

Mike, you should know I proposed a lease rate hike much smaller than the $18 eventually adopted by the City. I proposed a hike which adjusted as the vehicle aged ($15 for the first year, $12 for the second, and $10 thereafter.) Much less than the rates eventually adopted.

I was surprised by the aggressive rate hikes that were eventually passed, but I of course had no control or influence over this process. The rates were arrived at through analysis prepared for the City by others. The complications of the meter increase, owner’s insurance costs, and other factors were frankly beyond my expertise.

I am glad you finally admit that a large chunk of this was completely beyond your experience. There is a political process that you witnessed a bit of at that summer meeting at Roxcom. We ask for a meter rate increase. The owners say they want one too. We get the city to grant us a hearing. They hire a consultant who doesn’t know a fucking thing about the cab business (but is politically connected) to do an economic impact study of the rate increase. Some fat asshole city councilor stands up and says “what about the poor and elderly in my district how will they afford cabs” The herald and globe run articles complaining that Boston Taxi rates are the highest in the country and completely ignore the fact that we are the cheapest in Eastern Massachusetts (the towns with cheaper published rates I.E. Milton are actually higher because they tack on fees when the cabs leave the city or charge flat rates when they go to the airport making them more expensive overall). The owners put in overblow estimates for what their insurance will cost to buy full coverage on the hybrids even though none of them actually bought it and Mr. Tutunjians entire fleet is self insured. Did you know that ? Imagine having so much money its a better business decision for you to not buy insurance because you can cover any eventuality out of pocket?

I have to agree with you that the lease rate increase seems too high. I think it should be lower and adjusted with gas prices through a simple formula. I have been out of touch with this issue for a couple of years, but I am happy to make my opinion known to those I have met at City Hall or through other means you may suggest.

Really? Oh thank you sir.. since you can single handily claim the credit for allowing the biggest ass raping of Boston Taxi cab drivers to get off the ground even though you were specifically warned it would happen it means ever so much to me that your willing to help correct it. You need to immediately start making phone calls to reporters politicians all those people you convinced that this was a great idea and tell them how shocked you are that your fabulous idea has been allowed to be perverted by filthy rich millionaires in order to fleece the working poor out of their hard earned money I dont even mind if you leave out the part where a bunch of cabbies tried to warn you this would happen and you chose to ignore us.

I am also happy to meet with you sometime to discuss all of this. Maybe we could be joined by Andrew Hebert- someone I have found to be experienced and objective on this matter.

I would love to meet you and ill give you that Andy Herbert is experienced. Objective? I will copy him on this if you like but to the best of my knowledge he is as objective to this as any man making money of the hybrid boondogle can be. Andy owns/manages cabs so his income is directly tied to what a cab owner can make off of a driver to rent him a cab. Also if I remember to correctly he donated money to this ongoing lawsuit and encouraged others to donate to it. I still dont understand why the owners are fighting ahead. They get to charge $18.00 extra per shift for a car that doesnt save $18.00 worth of gas and they get to charge the money for 3 years past the date that the car is paid for. IT has been a huge win for the Daddy Warbucks crowd. Also to the best of my knowledge Andy has sold out his newspaper and taken a step back from trying to effect policy due to an illness but if you like I will copy this to him and see if he is willing to be involved.

I really believe that through hybrid technology (and proper policy-making) drivers, owners, and the public at large can ALL benefit. I want to thank you for spending so much time on this issue. Your work is important to achieve a proper balance.

My goal is to get you to

1) Admit you fucked up here.. or call it what you like I’m sure the “others perverted my wonderful idea” train of thought works better for your ego.
2) Now that you have realised you fucked up (again I am just as happy with you blaming it on other people even though we warned you they would do this). I want to see you make twice as many phone calls talk to twice as many reporters make twice as many speeches and all around try twice as hard to undue the economic damage your wonderful idea caused to the working poor of Boston. IF you are not willing to put in the time I of course understand. Why would you? All you did was set all this into motion right? Why should you feel responsible? ITs really only due to your tireless efforts that poor immigrant taxi drivers are taking home less money then ever before.

Sincerely yours,

John Moore

Back atacha with the warm regards,

Michael J. Carter
One of the little guys you fucked over
(even though you didnt know what you were doing thats what you did)

Search continues for a Missing Lawrence man last seen at the Long Wharf Marriott hotel in Boston.

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:46:42 +0000

Family and friends of Lawrence Massachusetts man 25 year old Eugene Losik gathered together Monday at a Vigil to draw attention to his disappearance.

Losik had been at the Long Wharf Marriot hotel after a night out drinking in Faneuil Hall at Sissy K`s bar. The group returned to the hotel at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.

A friend of Losik Rick Keilty said he last saw losik after the two returned from a “walk” . Hotel surveillance cameras last show Losik exiting the hotel into Christopher Columbus park at about 230 am on Sunday morning.

Published reports did not provide any reason why Losik and Keilty would be out walking at 230 am or where exactly they went on their walk. The reports do state that Boston police detectives were checking GPS data from Taxi cabs. Mr. Keilty did state that he travelled by taxi to Brighton alone at the time Losik was last seen on camera.

Divers have also checked the water around the hotel and have yet to discover any bodies. His family and friends remain convinced he is still out there somewhere and anyone with information should contact Boston police at 617-343-4911.

Friends and family hold out hope Mr. Losik is returned home safely.

New Hampshire rejects law to protect unborn stemming from case involving Taxi Cab driver

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:23:13 +0000

This week the New Hampshire house rejected a bill that would have allowed prosecutors to charge people who kill a fetus with murder,manslaughter or negligent homicide.

The Law stems form a 2006 incident when a speeding motorist slammed his car into a cab killed a passenger and caused the driver to give birth to a still born fetus which was kept alive temporarily with life support.

The New Hampshire state supreme court tossed the conviction of the speeding motorist in the case of the baby because New Hampshire law requires that a fetus show signs of independent life before it can be classified as a person.

At press time it was unknown whether or not the speeding motorist was convicted of anything in the death of the taxi cab passenger.

Central Falls Rhode Island to fire all 74 High school teachers!

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:32:17 +0000

Welcome to Central Falls Rhode Island High school. It is one of the worst in Rhode Island. Statistically fewer then half of the 800 member student body will graduate within four years.

96% of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch and the high school breaks down racially 65% Hispanic 14 % black and 13 % white.
25% of the students receive English as a second language services.

Faced with a concerned community demanding action State Education Commissioner Deborah Gist gave local Central Falls High School Superintendent Frances Gallo a mandate to clean up her school.

Gallo chose a federally guided model called a “transformation plan” to turn her school around that would require the teachers to undergo such horrible requirements like:
1) Lengthening the school day by 25 minutes.
2) Summertime training courses.
3) Eating lunch with the students once a week.
4) Submit to more rigorous evaluations of their work.
5) Provide tutoring before and after the school day to students in need.

What more of an evaluation of these “educators” would be needed other the the cold fact that half of their student body does not graduate?

Faced with these new unbearable hardships what did the teachers union do? They rejected the plan in total because it did not come with any extra pay. Apparently these “educators” who makes up to $78,000 a year were more concerned with their bottom line then their students.
This gave Gallo no choice but to switch to the tougher “turnaround” plan which under federal guidelines would require her to fire all 74 teachers and not hire back more then 50% of them.

We here at Southiecab.com would like to thank Gallo for her efforts to turn around her school and put the needs of her students above the needs of her local teachers union. Is it not high time that our “educators” faced consequences for poor performance?

Chuminski to do 30 years for South Boston (02127) Arson murder

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:51:36 +0000

Nicole Chuminksi who was convicted on Tuesday of two counts of second degree murder Will serve 2 consecutive life sentences for murdering 14 year old Acia and her 3 year old sister.

Fire fighters found the 2 girls locked in a death embrace insider a third floor closet in their west sixth street apartment in South Boston.

This means if Chuminski serves 15 years and then gets paroled from her first life sentence she must still serve another 15 years before being release.

Chuminski attorney William White said his client was disappointed with the sentence as well as the overall outcome of the trial. He made a point to mention prosecutors had never said exactly what type of fuel was used or exactly how the fire was started.

Story compiled by Southiecab.com staff from wire reports includingt he Boston Herald report by Laura Crimaldi