The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-04

people Of New York to learn
that under certain conditions i'll
il possible 10 ride to their hearts,
lcontent in taxicab without having I'd
Ipay one cent for the privilege" res
marked a man familiar with the situa!
ltion. "Of course "A certain amount Of I
Inconvenience will be experienced in obs
tanning the free rides. and probably'
some trouble and unpleasantness will be
encountered. particularly from bellicose
Ichauffeurs. but nevertheless 1t is pos
sibe to ride free.
"a section of the new public hack
Ordinance now in use, which gives the
Iproper city authorities control of all
lpublic hacks in operation ON the streetst
lsays: This ordinance shall not apply
to or govern any vehicle hired or obs
tanned from a livery stable or garage
land which does not solicit patronage
upon the streets In other words. the
lefty does not have authority or SUPER
vision over taxicabs that are operated
from a garage.
These taXcabs and their chauffeurs
are licensed by the State and not the
city, and their owners are privileged tol
charge any amount they please for taxi
ing patrons certain distance They are
privileged to charge 80 cents a mile or
81 a mile provided the patron is willing
to pay the rate demanded Not being
licensed by the city the owners are not
compelled to place meters on the cabs
and there is no uniform rate of fare. n
The method of operating taXicabs
from garages and thus escaping the
necessity of complying with the pros
visions of the taSicab ordinance Is carr
ried out like this: \ man emerging
from a restaurant say, and desiring I'd
hire a taXicab and not seeing one on
the spot informs the starter that q
taNicab is needed. The starter phones
to- the garage of the firm he represents
and a taNCab Is Immediately sent over
70 the restaurant. The customer strikes
a dea. with the chauffeur and is driven
away. In this case there Is II" violation
of the taXicab ordinance, for the taXicat
Was not seeking patronage upon the
public streets but was ordered from the
garage. Under these conditions there Is
absolutely no chance to ride free and
the customer must pay the fare agreed
upon.
"But here is where the opportunity
Is presented 10 ride free in this style of
taXicab. Some owners Of taXicabs ops
Grating from garages, figuring that they
will not Ice discovered by inspectors
from the taXicah bureau, stand their
vehicles in front of restaurants and
theatres. competing with hackmen prop
erly licensed whose vehicles conform
with all sections of the ordinance.
Persons coming out of these places,
who wish TO ride 10 their destination in
a taNicab are usually apt to select the
most convenient vehicle. The taNicabs
| operated from garages are similar IN
shape and appearance to the properly
licensed taXlcahs and it is therefore o
simple matter for uniformed persons
to make a mistake. However there is
no similarity IN the rates and the users
discover his fact when the time comes
to settle the bill.
How can the users Of these taXicabs
ride any distance and then refuse to pay
for the privilege? What authority per-
nit them to do such "A thing? The ans
swer Is. the courts. The courts have
ruled that in the case of "A business
that should he licensed and Is not
licensed the owners cannot collect for
services performed.
"How does this ruling apply to taxi
cabs operated from "A garage? In his
way. As soon as TIA" owner Of shrh
taNicabs places his vehicles in front of
a public place. unless the vehicles are
| summoned from the garage On the de-
mand of customers, they compete with
the properly licensed public hacks and
| thereby violate the section Of the public
hack ordinance which states that pubs
lie hack is vehicle plying for hire and
). which solicits public patronage upon
Is the streets.
? Under the court ruling such vehicle
Is not properly licensed and the owner
cannot collect for tho services per-
- formed so II can he readily understood
that II IA patron of one of these taNicabs
m refuses to pay the fare demanded he
cannot he forced to pay. On the other
" hand, by giving the cas-" publicity the
ut owner Is extremely liable To get himself
re in trouble. and he may be prosecuted by
W the taAicab authorities for operating
at public hack without a license.
10 However. it Is well for a person who
III undertakes to ride free In this style OF
~ taNlcab to have "A companion who Will
u act as witness. The reason Is that the
owner may contend in court that his
e. vehicle was standing before the public
IN place in expectation OF filling call that
Cd had been sent to the garage. The chauf'
'l- feur will maintain that he was moi
Mt familiar with the person desiring the
III vehicle and consequently he was de-
10 ceivcd in picking up the first party that
OF sought his vehicle
IN Through this technically the ownel
IN may he able to collect for the service
ly unless the user can prove with the aic
y OF his witness that the vehicle wal
Is standing in front OF the public place fol
] a longer time than was required for th'
he run from the garage. demand may
ly then be made upon the owner for ma
time sheets. showing when the vehicle
ID left the garage, and il the sheets have
n. been properly kept they viii prove th'
es users contention"