No One Involved With The Seattle And King County Taxicab Industry Should Vote Bruce Harrell For Mayor & Fired NYC Cabbies To Receive $140 Million Dollar Settlement (And Why That Isn't Enough)

 If Venus Velazquez hadn't gotten Drunk, Harrell would never have been elected Mayor

It's not that I hate Bruce Harrell, dislike is a better description, along with Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Sally Clark. Jean Godden, Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen, and Kshama Sawant.  What do they all have in common?  They were all Seattle City Council members in 2014 who voted to eliminate the TNC cap of 250 cars per company (Uber & Lyft,) thus opening the floodgates that inundated Seattle's taxi industry.  Mike O'Brien was the only sitting member to oppose the motion.  In common parlance, we were "sold down the river," Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council caring little if we all drowned.  Please also remember that Uber and Lyft were allowed to operate illegally between 2012-2014 without penalty. 

As I wrote recently, I still see the grinning Harrell in my mind's eye, casting yet another damning vote, plunging a figurative knife into our cabbie hearts.  There we all were, sitting in the city council chambers bleeding to death, and no one, not anyone at all offered to bind our wounds--- no bandages, no medical attention---just a boot in the rear to the nearest cemetery.  

That's why, guys and gals, you should never consider for a moment voting for that "fill-in-the-blank" Harrell, Mister Insipid himself.  Yes, we were betrayed by Mayor Ed Murray and Sawant but they are long gone.  Harrell is the only one left, along with Burgess who remains deputy mayor, so by kicking Harrell down the road, you also rid Seattle of his complicit sidekick.  Revenge may be sour, but there are few options left given the late hour. 

What is not funny is that back in 2008, when running for the first time, his opponent for the city council seat, Venus Velazquez, was routing him in the polls.  He was not going to win until, mere weeks before the election, dumbbell Venus was arrested for being drunk behind the wheel, tipsy coming back from a campaign event.  Thus, due to her poor judgement and too much booze, Harrell trounced the once strongly favored Venus, voters finding him the more moral candidate.  

The irony here is that after Venus requested a jury trail, she was  subsequently found not guilty but of course at that point it was long after the election was decided and over. So we can thank Venus for giving Seattle Mister Harrell, and now in November, we can thank Katie Wilson, who is leading in the polls by 51 percent, for giving Bruce an early mayoral retirement.  

I then urge everyone to please participate in the upcoming election and give Harrell an electoral middle finger.  Seattle's taxicab industry is greatly diminished and he helped make it that way.  Remember that, dear lady readers, when your male TNC driver does something shocking.  You can thank Harrell and his 2014 Seattle City Council Members for the driver's behavior.  Yes, thank you both Sallys, Bruce, Jean etc. 

How do you like these for potential campaign slogans:

"We don't need him! We don't want him! Send Harrell out the door and on his way! Hip Hip Hurray! 

or

"Open that door, giving Harrell a swift kick, not wanting his kind 'round no more!" 

or

"Harrell, it is time you leave, and I guarantee we Seattle voters will not grieve!" 

or

"Vote Harrell out, the dirty lout!" 

or

"Don't pout, yank Harrell out by his sniveling snout!"

Elections can be entertaining, serious monkey business masquerading as Pluralist Democracy.  Humor is always helpful but poor governance is not a laughing matter. 

And PS to all this: In the August 25th Seattle Times online edition, there was a headline article about drug contamination at the Civic Hotel, a facility rented under the auspices of both the City of Seattle and King County to be used as a homeless shelter. The City and County are now being sued by the hotel owner for leaving rooms contaminated by dangerous drug residues left by illegal drug use.  

Now predictably, the City and County are pointing fingers at each other, claiming someone else is responsible. I bring this up to illustrate why no one should vote to reelect Harrell. His governance is purely theoretical, evoking fantasy then claiming it to be real, a trait some might say he shares with Donald Trump.  

But in this case, the evidence is undeniable, rooms were used inappropriately, and now the City of Seattle says it is not responsible. Wait, I know who is at fault!  It was either God or his/her evil Universal partner, Satan who should be sued.  Aren't they the ones responsible for all human behavior?   Open the high gates of Heaven and let Justice reign!  Mighty Jehovah! You be the Eternal Judge! 

When $140 Million Dollars is a Drop in the Taxi Bucket

This is the second time I have written about this upcoming settlement that is inching closer to a final summation.  For those who don't know or remember the details, this sordid saga encompasses a period in New York City taxi history from 2003-2020 where any kind of arrest, even for jaywalking, resulted in a NYC cabbie losing their taxi for-hire license, their ability to drive a cab.  

For anyone interested in reading a recent newspaper article about all this, I recommend the New York Times online edition August 13, 2025, and the article reported by Taylor Robinson, "Cabbies Who Lost Licenses After Arrests Near $140 Million Settlement." On that same day, Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals made final preparations to make the long awaited awards to the maligned cabbies and their lawyers.

The much shortened version of this travesty of justice concerns the thousands of NYC cabbies permanently suspended by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission between the years 2003-2020.  The vast majority of the accused cabbies were given no ability to contest their suspension or explain the circumstances behind their arrest.  It is estimated that 90% of those arrested had their charges either dismissed or downgraded.  One egregious example was a driver arrested in 2017 after a minor fender-bender accident at New York's LaGuardia airport.  Minus a hearing, his taxi license was immediately suspended.  And it begs the question, why would anyone, cabbie or otherwise, he arrested for a commonplace accident?  Last month I reported on the spate of contrived fraudulent accidents committed by a cartel of bad actors in NYC. Was this accident in 2017 one of them? 

It was sometime in 2020 that the Commission updated its policy years after the 2006 class action suit questioning their actions. The new policy states that the Commission must consider whether a driver is "a direct and substantial threat to public health and safety."  

That this case took nearly 20 years to reach conclusion says everything about how much the Commission cares about New York City's taxicab drivers.  Remember, these are the same folks who encouraged medallions to be worth over one million dollars, something that bankrupted many naive cabbies, leading some to kill themselves. Where was the apology for that incredible disservice to the NYC taxicab community? 

Immorality is nothing new in the Big Apple. Donald Trump and the now mayor, Eric Adams certainly symbolize that.  Money talks and in this case it walks all over past and current NYC cabbies.  The expected payout is about $30,000 per eligible driver.  How does that compensate for losing twenty years of income?  Clearly it doesn't, not even close.  Given the City's track record, don't be surprised to hear if yet another Commission attack upon the cabbies isn't in the works, angry because they had their hands slapped.  When you don't care, you simply don't, pretense, saying you are sorry when you are not isn't even something condoned by the Pope, sincerity in the confessional considered both divine and holy. 

And She had the Cab Wait

All veteran cabbies know that passengers are capable of anything and everything, and about five years ago,  Aimee Betro, from the dairy state of Wisconsin, while involved with a British romantic partner, decided to try once again to murder her lover's enemy, something having to do with a failed business deal.  Three night previously, when a jammed pistol prevented her from succeeding, she arrived back once again to the scene of the crime in a Black Cab, telling the cabbie to wait nearby while shooting up her intended victim's house, three shots ringing out. 

Thankfully, all that this madness achieved were arrests, with Amiee Betro on the lam for four years until recently found hiding out in Armenia.  On August 21st, she was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for her failed assassination attempts.  There is no word whether she tipped her cabbie.  If she stiffed the driver, add another year, with hard labor. 

The lesson for all cabbies is, always get a cash deposit when the passenger leaves your cab, and if you hear gunfire, you might decide that something is terribly wrong.  Yes, a possible logical conclusion.  A cab makes a great getaway car.  And don't we all know how to drive fast?   Zoom! Zoom! down the getaway highway.  "Drive faster, cabbie, I left a boiling kettle on my stovetop!" 

Gordon Bowker Once Drove a Cab

I know nothing concerning the details but in a Seattle Times obituary, it was mentioned that Bowker, the co-founder of both Starbucks Coffee and Red Hook Beer, once drove a cab in Seattle.  For those of us who know, we know that we can be a talented crew.  Screw all the bad press!  We cabbies, the unsung transportation heroes driving beneath the toplight radar! should shout to the sky "Go to hell! and we know why!"

Light-Rail Accident at the 9800 Hundred Block of Martin Luther  King Jr Way on August 29th, 2025

I mention this as yet another bad example of bad governance and planning by the City of Seattle and King County.  During the initial planning stages for the much needed regional transit system, though very aware of the danger  of vehicles colliding with street-level train cars, they decided against elevating the tracks through Rainier Valley.  Multiple accidents since illustrate how dumb that decision was.  But when it comes to the legacy of governmental decision making in Seattle and King County, it displays how important it is that voters choose the correct candidate.  Unfortunately, the history is dismal. 

Sometimes a real capable person like the late Seattle mayor, Charles Royer comes on the scene but usually instead we have sorry examples like former Seattle mayors Norm Rice, Paul Schell, Greg Nickels, Paul Schell, Ed Murray, Bruce Harrell and King County Executives like Ron Sims and Dow Constantine, a true 'Rogue's Gallery" of hubristic incompetence.  

I can't tell you how many times when in my cab I had to quickly avoid an oncoming light-rail train on MLK.  And  my prediction is that it is going to take many more collisions until finally, new funding is located and the tracks are elevated above the roadway.  How many more injuries and deaths will have to occur before this happens?  In the hundreds, if not in the thousands.  As I keep saying, welcome to Seattle, the City of Somnambulism.  How do you like that for a catchy city motto? 

The San Francisco, California Taxi Industry is in Real Trouble due to High Medallion Costs

More than 300 SF taxi medallion owners have defaulted on their loans for medallions sold to them by the City of San Francisco for $250,000.  Drivers are currently asking for relief, requesting that the cost be lowered, complaining that their business model has been battered by the City's decision to allow Uber, Lyft and Waymo driverless cars into their market. The SF Taxi Workers Alliance is urging the the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco Federal Credit Union (SFFCU) to either provide relief or buy back the medallions. 

There are currently over 800 Wayno driverless taxis in San Francisco, and as I have reported in the past, nearly 45,000 Uber and Lyft operators.  How can the cabbies compete with those kinds of numbers?  The quick answer is that it is probably impossible.  To drive Uber and Lyft, all you need to do is buy a used car costing about $20,000 and you are on the road.  To own a cab in SF you have to make monthly payments on a $250,000 loan along with yearly insurance costs between $5000-7000.00 dollars.  Then of course add in the costs of maintenance and fuel.  Bloody insane is what this all is.  

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A real incident on the first day I met Hajji (Given name was Donald).  Pronounced "ha-gee."  And in the poem, if I can call this silly piece that, Hajj should be Hajji.   Since I copied and pasted it in, my computer won't allow me to alter the text. Over the years I continued to see him around, especially in north Seattle though no taxi, instead driving limousines.  I saw him last in 2024, months before I left Seattle. No talk of swinging axes but Hajji remained the consistent Hajji, the years not changing him a bit. We always have a friendly chat.  Hajji later once owned/shared a cab with another American Islam convert, Don W. later known as Zaid, a former NBA and Seattle Supersonic player whom I first met on the Madison Hotel cabstand. Characters both but Zaid the more serious of the two and perhaps more of a tragic figure than Hajji. Zaid wrote a pretty good autobiography, noting he once scored 21 points against Wilt the Stilt. As I keep repeating, taxi in America is our version of the French Foreign Legion.  No camels, only taxicabs. 

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The kid was white, of course not understanding how his hijinks could have resulted in an unwanted haircut. 

Uber and Lyft Drivers in CA Win Path to Unionization

Assembly Bill 1340, sponsored by SEIU (Service Employees International Union) California, and Senate Bill 371, sponsored by Uber and Lyft, clears the way for TNC drivers to organize for increased pay, job protections and other benefits.  In exchange,  Uber and Lyft will be getting reduced insurance coverage mandates.  Uber and Lyft, in a rare move, actually helped form the legislation with Governor Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, all Democrats.  This all comes after the dumbbell voters in California voted to Pass Prop 200, something backed by $200 million in advertising spending, to kill TNC driver's rights.  The ruling government in Sacramento never liked that outcome, resulting in this recent agreement.  Now if only cabbies were to receive equal treatment but don't hold your breath waiting for that because you will only faint dead away.

PS:  I just read some of the details concerning California's agreement with Uber and Lyft and it seems that not only will it reduce costs but due to lower coverage, it could shift liability to both drivers and passengers in case of a very serious accident.  Always remember that Uber in particular is not your friend. In my October post, I will provide more detail.  I also read something yesterday about the startling number of reported sexual assaults committed by Uber drivers.  Something like 400,000.  Is that possible?  But then, as the next section shows, crazy behavior isn't isolated to Uber.  In Mexico, you have to watch out for those hungry cabbies!

Bad! Cabbies in Cancun and Tulum, Mexico

From all reports, taxicab drivers in these tourist hotspots on the Atlantic coast of Mexico are ripping off tourists at every opportunity.  I just watched a video and clearly part of the issue are inexperienced travelers not understanding that they must adjust being in a poverty stricken country, and that cabbies and everyone else view them as their personal ATMs.  

In all my travels across the globe, I have only been over charged twice in essentially 40 years. Once in Romania 2011 and once in southern Spain 1991.  The guy in Bucharest took a roundabout route to go a few blocks, which was obvious.  And in Spain, the driver took me past the first bus stop, stopping a mile or so at the next.  Not a lot of money was involved and of course, no tip for them.  In Tallin, Estonia in 2015, I found that cabs were able to set their own rates, making the fares highly variable, some cheap, others not.  Due to that, I simply walked to where ever I needed to go. 

My overall advice when traveling to Mexico is to avoid the most popular resorts. And do dress normally, not like you are on a beach in Miami. Maybe I should start teaching classes on how to be a sane and happy American traveler.  My first suggestion is to look up the definition of the word foolish and try to understand how that might apply to yourself when visiting a foreign land.  

When I am traveling, I can immediately spot an American tourist from hundreds of feet away.  The way they walk, the way they dress and the tone of their facial features. Always a dead giveaway.  And you can be sure that the savvy cabbies in Tulum and Cancun know this too.  They are waiting to pick your pocket. Beware! 

 

Early July Nationwide German Taxi Driver Protests Against Uber And Bolt & Local Casinos Close & NYC Taxi Watercolor

Hurrah for Germany's Cabbies: July 2nd Protests 

I suggest you go online to watch two video news reports concerning the taxicab protest that occurred in a number of German cities, including Cologne (Koln) and Berlin.  Watch 500 Cologne cabs protest Uber and Bolt rates that are undercutting taxicabs.  As one Union leader stated, all they want is an equal footing with the app-based ride-share companies.  Cologne's magnificent cathedral holds a special place in my memory, and in the longer video, you cannot escape seeing its wonderful Gothic (begun in 1248) splendor towering in the distance behind the parked taxicabs. 

It was early April 1982, during my very first trip to Europe on my honeymoon, and on our way to Brussels from Dusseldorf, that our train passed through Cologne, providing us a quick glance of the cathedral, a "mind photograph" forever imprinted on my brain. I had never seen anything like it before.  It was and is so incredibly beautiful.  Since then I have visited many of the world's great cathedrals. Chartres, outside of Paris, might be my favorite. I've been there four times. 

Though I was in Germany in October 2023, Cologne was not on my agenda, concentrating instead on Berlin.  Next time I am in Germany I will make a point to visit Cologne and yes, take a cab to that special church.  It was in Dusseldorf that I rode in my first European cab.  It was a Mercedes. 

We Always Hate to See Our "Bread & Butter" Casinos Close

Three local casinos are no more.  The Dragon Tiger in Montlake Terrace, the Silver Dollar in Renton, and the Roman Casino in Skyway have all been shuttered by their parent company due to bankruptcy.  Any Seattle cabbie knows that gamblers love to gamble, and over the years I have had countless runs to casinos over the greater Puget Sound area, an one-hundred dollar fare not unusual.  The three mentioned as closures were always minor not major destinations for the addicted gambler, so maybe business to casinos will remain about the same but as many of these fares came out late, it was always wonderful to get a fat-ass fare at 2 in the morning.  Something to stay awake for. 

Sketchbook of NYC Scenes by Christoph Neimann---New Yorker 07/07-14/25  Edition  Page 59

What you will see by opening that particular issue is an aerial view of two NYC Yellow Cabs.  Also other NYC watercolors.  

What the New York Post Didn't Say

The New York Post Murdoch newspaper, always looking for sensationalist headlines, screamed that a black NYC Yellow Cab driver verbally blew up at a passenger, spouting an anti-semitic "you f _ _king Jew!"  The newspaper quotes the passenger as saying "you know you will be losing your license."  What the article doesn't say is what the passenger did or say to cause the driver's outburst.  

But from my long experience, this is typical, placing the entire blame upon the cabbie, someone of course unworthy of commonplace deference.  Of course it has to be all his fault.  What other explanation could there be?  While not shouting any slurs, I know this kind of episode, with the passenger saying "he/she was going to get me." 

Does anyone think that the driver might have been insulted in some way?  Or that having driven 12 hours straight in heavy Manhattan traffic, he was exhausted, sleep-deprived and in general, was mildly out-of-his-mind?  And when a difficult situation arises, he goes "off-his-head."  Welcome to real taxi as I know it.  No excuses. Merely reality as it is for the everyday cabbie battling the streets. 

The Death of Bartell Drugstores

It is in sorrow to tell everyone that all those wonderful Seattle homegrown Bartell Drugstores are now history.  I knew the end was near when the 24-hour Bartells in lower Queen Anne was shuttered.  It was one of the few pharmacies in the entire Puget Sound area where you could get a prescription filled at four in the morning.  Driving cab late, I often dropped by that Bartells to get a "candy fix" to keep me going. They had a big selection, including lots of organic chocolate.  But alas, no more, Bartells disappearing into the mist of time. 

All Cabbies, Beware of Young (or Old) "Love-lys" Inviting You Inside

On a British Empire Victorian day in 1864, London Cab (horse-drawn) driver James Rintoul was invited upstairs for a sip of gin by Elizabeth Bagwell (posing as Elizabeth Manning).  After saluting the fair damsel, and downing the gin, Mr. Rintoul fell unconscious, only awakening later to find himself alone in a darkened room minus his gold watch and chain, ring and 25 shillings. What happened to him was then commonplace, accepting a spiked beverage from a woman with evil intent.  You might be happy to know that the bad Ms. Bagwell, on 01/02/1865, was sentenced to seven years of penal servitude. 

Especially in my younger taxi years, invitations to "come inside" were commonplace. I remember one early morning in particular, when they were now officially "off-duty," two young, very attractive hookers wanted to know if I would join them in their residence, no charge of course.  I declined their kind offer, along with others like it.  Men too also made similar suggestions.  As Mr. Rintoul found out, mixing business with questionable pleasure can be a very poor idea.  So beware of the beguiling smile and forked tongue.  If you must go upstairs, supply your own booze. And don't forget a condom.  A STD is the wrong kind of tip. 

This story was taken from the June 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, from an article written by Rosalind Crone, "Spiked Drinks, Counterfeit Coins and The Lodgers From Hell," You'll find it on page 41. BBC History Magazine is my favorite magazine, filled with the greatest stories.  I depend on it to expand my forever shrinking brain. 

Operation Bright Eyes: New York City Cabbies taking on Scam Accidents

The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers have announced an initiative to install dash-cam cameras in the over 10,000 cabs plying New York City streets, beginning with an initial 500 taxicabs.  The cameras, filming customers and the front and rear sides of the cab, are relatively cheap at $250.00 each per installation.  These first cabs are backed and sponsored by the dash-cam company, Displayride, American Transit Insurance, and the Queens (NYC) based NYAB Brokerage.

What this is all about is an effort to halt what is called an over 1 billion dollar business based on fraudulent accident claims.  One cabbie spokesman I listened to called it an organized cartel made up of lawyers, doctors, physical therapists and civilian drivers initiating the bogus accidents.  

Why this is so serious is directly connected to cabbie insurance rates, high to begin with, even with a clean 5-year MVR.  Have an accident or moving violation and boom! your insurance rates explode upward.  At one point, due to Seattle Yellow Cab's (BYG) leniency, keeping on drivers after at-fault accidents, they were paying $11,000 annually per cab.  Those kinds of costs are simply unsustainable. 

A few years ago, I wrote in these pages how a woman driving down the wrong side of the street struck my cab while stopped at a red light.  Unbelievably, the Progressive Insurance agent took the side of the other driver, even though she had yelled at me, "I hope you are T-boned and die! die!"  I took the time to make it clear that it wasn't possible that the accident could be my fault.  My car was legally at a standstill, waiting for the signal to change.  That is why having cameras in your cab is so important.  As I have written before, I have been accused of every possible crime beneath the toplight sun.  Having a camera ends that kind of nonsense.  As I jokingly say, the only reason I wasn't accused of murder was the messy necessity of producing a corpse.  

It is great that the New York cabbies are getting themselves organized and protected. No one else is going to do it for you, unless, like in this case, it was taking money out of insurance companies' pockets.  

Troublesome Bike Lanes in Toronto, Ontario Canada

I decided to mention this problem plaguing Toronto streets because the NY Times article quotes a veteran cabbie.  The article, reported by Vjosa Isai, July 26th, 2025, is entitled "Drivers vs Cyclists: Battle for the Streets in Canada's Largest City."

The reason I find the situation in Toronto so personally interesting is due to watching Seattle's efforts over the past five years to accommodate bicyclists in downtown Seattle, taking out lanes and parking to create bike lanes that are only very infrequency used.  

For those unfamiliar, Seattle might be, or is, the hilliest city in the country, making it very difficult to get from point A to B on a bike.  I find what Seattle has done to be nonsensical.  Here is the quote.  I hope the powers in Toronto listen to this cabbie, heeding his words. He knows all about it.  Given his comments on the long winters, this past Feb the temperatures dropped down to minus 22 degrees F.  Who wants to ride a bike in that kind of weather?  And Toronto averages 42 inches of snow during the winter.  You don't need a bike, you require a snowplow!  But I have a suggestion.  During the winter months, convert the bike lanes to dog sled lanes.  Having driven dog teams up in far northern Alberta in 1964-66, I know it is a good way to get around. Woof! Woof!

"There so much traffic because of bike lanes," said Nasser Moradman, who has driven a taxi in Toronto for 30 years.  The lanes aren't even used much during the long winter, he complained, adding "It's miserable. It's very tough to drive in the city."

His comments says it all.  I support bike riding but commonsense should be applied, something often lacking in Seattle.  Seattle's bike lanes have destroyed south-bound 2nd Avenue and north-bound 4th Avenue.  Seattle loves theory over practice.  And you can quote me.

"Manifest" Destiny at Seattle Yellow Cab?

Manifest Destiny of course was a US Government policy in the early 19th C (think President James Monroe) concerning westward expansion across North America.  It reflected a kind of cultural superiority superseding everything, including Indian tribes or anyone or anything else blocking its moral imperative.  But what is occurring at Yellow Cab Monday-Friday is far different, as each weekday approximately 15 selected Yellow cabbies are provided a manifest list of account fares to service throughout the day.  

Why is this happening? Is it a kind of company "feeding" to favored drivers?  No, the situation is more basic.  Given that the majority of drivers do not want to deal with account fares, Yellow Cab has decided to preassign drivers to make sure the bells are covered.  It isn't unlike the days when school runs were preassigned.  It seems to be worthwhile as the drivers are making $200. plus each day.  It also relieves the stress of having to search out fares.  

Toward the end of my days at Yellow, I stopped serving most accounts, especially Hopelink and MV because they were too much trouble to deal with, along with declining rates.  Before that, I was eager to work the accounts, my biggest fares ever being Hopelink-based, usually taking me across the Cascade Mountains to Eastern Washington.  I loved those $500.00 plus runs. 

I was also told, and and have read about, that traffic in Seattle, due to I-5 construction, is horrible.  So for the interim, having guaranteed money and known routes can make the life of a cabbie easier.  But it does show that driving cab ultimately isn't fun.  If it wasn't for the money, why do it?

Chicago Tribune  07/28/ 2025 Editorial Concerning Bad Cabbies

It appears to be true that too many Chicago taxi drivers are charging customers "off the meter," asking far more than meter rates.  One thought is that they are doing this in response to high Uber and Lyft rates which could be true but there is no justification for stealing from your passengers.  In my 35 plus years I never once overcharged.  In my irritation I sometimes gave free rides, even to the point to tossing money out onto the street, refusing payment.  But asking for more than the metered fare, never. 

Something to Think About When Driving for Uber and Lyft: Could Uber be held liable for not warning Lyft?

There were two State of Missouri court cases involving drivers killed while operating under Uber and Lyft apps, Newman vs Uber and Ameer vs Lyft. It is about communication between the two companies, whether one platform should tell the other about passengers who have committed car hijacking and other forms of serious violence and criminal behavior.  If you not a lawyer, and I am not, the legal points might seem very esoteric and arcane, which is why I suggest, if interested in knowing more, to visit the Reason Website and read the opinion piece and column, The Volokh Conspiracy, dated July 15th, 2025, authored by Eugene Volokh.  There are probably other sources related to these court cases.  Search and ye shall find. 

No More Cheap Motels Left in Seattle?

KOMO News has reported that the Oaktree Motel on Aurora Avenue North has been issued a chronic nuisance order from the City of Seattle, citing over 43 SPD calls in 2025.  From dead bodies found in rooms to various assaults, the Oaktree appears to have become a kind of "house of horrors."  When I was driving, it was one of the few holdovers where someone could rent a room for under $75.00 per night in Seattle's north-end.  It was funky but safe.  Clearly that is no longer the case.  You can still find some cheaper motels on East Marginal Way South near the First South Bridge but after that you have to either go way down to near Sea-Tac or way up north past the Aurora Village into Edmonds.  

A standard taxi run was trying to find someone a cheap motel room late at night. Making it harder was someone with no credit card or ID.  The Jet Inn, located in Tukwila behind a 7-11 store, was one of the few.  If the passenger had cash, they were in.  The managers were always nice, easy to work with. Only issue with the Jet Inn is that they were too popular, often having no vacancies.  If they had no room, off we went even further south on Pacific Highway South, into Des Moines or even Fife or Milton.  Driving cabs, you become an explorer, discovering new worlds known only to a select few. 

Greek Thessaloniki Taxi Driver Gregorios Sachinidis and his mighty 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D

And I thought the Ford Crown Victoria was a high milage car!  In a conversation with an old taxi comrade yesterday, Micheal H., he told me about the greatest car ever used as a cab, and this car can now be found sitting in the Daimler-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.  The total miles (and remember, these are taxicab miles!) were 2,850,000 or metric, 4,586,630 kilometers.  That is of course truly amazing!  In 2004, Mercedes traded the driver, taking his loyal cab, and in return providing him a new C-Class Mercedes.  

There is also something very remarkable about this, and that's the miles the cabbie put on his body. In 28years, the cabbie averaged almost 102,000 miles a year.  I averaged in my cab around 60,000 miles per year.  Talk about a busy cabbie.  How did his body hold up to all those miles?  A mystery. 

Micheal also reminded about how his cab driving days ended, something I had forgotten.  He had a stroke in the cab while on 1-5.  Unreal.  He called 911 and was taken to the hospital.  He quit driving and now he and wife run a business in Tucson, Arizona.  He is completely healthy. 

Poem

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Yes, folks, this is a true story.  It was many years ago, somewhere in the greater Crown Hill neighborhood.  And yes, I was surprised not to be rewarded for my efforts, crawling through the window, then searching for her house keys.  A too often prevailing attitude was that the cabbie was their personal servant, deserving of very little. And in this described situation, that is exactly what I got.  Nothing.