A Riotous New Year!

Barely 2014 and all hell is breaking out!  Time to pull the bed covers over the head and hide out until sanity returns, whenever that may be. 

My MDT/Computer in my taxi refuses to function on the busiest night of the year, making me a "bingo" cab for the evening festivities.  While some drivers prefer not using the "bell," I know it cost me over $100.00, not to mention a lot of deserving account customers were left sitting for no good reason whatsoever.  Blame the regular YC 730 drivers for not taking care of business and passing the problem on to me.  Thanks very much a__holes!

Uber is back in the news and its all bad.  Uber charged a Seattle customer $173.00 for a nine mile ride just after midnight New Year's Eve.  Same fare in my taxi is $30.00 more or less.  Far worse is the fatality accident caused by an Uber driver in San Francisco a few hours before midnight, December 31st, a six-year child dying on the way to the hospital.  Incredible insult to more than injury was Uber's instantaneous distancing from all responsibility.  Is anyone paying attention?!  Maybe Seattle's City Council President should turn her attention to "scrubbing the ride-shares!"

Picking up after the Sodo rave, passengers began reporting to me of price gouging by both taxi and for-hire drivers.  My meter to the Loyal Inn was $9.00.  What did the driver charge getting them to the stadiums?  $25.00.  One group of young ladies said drivers would stop for them and demand $40-50.00 just to let them inside.  All these guys must be imitating Uber.  What fun this is turning out to be!

Feeling half sick and with a screwed MDT I turn left onto Queen Anne Avenue North off of Roy when some fool starts screaming at me that I had run the light etc.  I didn't know what he was talking about and being in such a wonderful mood responded that he was "mentally ill!"  Of course he calls Yellow and complains, my friends in the Supt's office offering me a friendly warming which proceeds to repeat itself at least 15 times due to the malfunctioning computer.  Ain't taxi grand!

Thank god I missed the madness when some idiot attempted to burn down "Neighbors," the Gay dance club on Capital Hill.  Nearby, drunken revelers threw rocks and bottles at the police.  And further north on "the hill" a speeding car on Lakeview overturned, killing two people. 

Was all of this necessary?  Happy New Year!  And run and hide!