Orlando Cabbies will not use SUNPASS or EPASS

[roadman65]

I was noticing that some of the Cab Drivers of Orlando will still pay the cash toll over getting  ET transponders to avoid bypassing the plazas on ORT high speed lanes.  Diamond Cab Company, ACE Metro Cab, Magic Transportation, and some others would rather stop and pay the toll then not pay with complete ease.

You would figure that the accounting department at these cab companies would love it and so the drivers themselves do not have to get receipts from the toll collector and get reimbursed later on when they have to drop their money at the garage.  However, many drivers come through my booth not even asking for receipts.  Yes they do not ask for proof to their supervisors that they paid the toll.  Apparently some drivers figured out a logical way to make stopping for a toll more convenient than using ORT without stopping.

They make the passenger pay the toll at the booth at the time!  Instead of adding the toll to the meter, they ask their pick up to reach into their own wallet and pay out and in the end only charge them for passage. This way the toll is already paid directly from the passenger, no toll charge is on the meter. No need to ask accounting to reimburse you money for the toll later, and everything is better than doing it the other way.

It makes too much sense the way they are doing it, its scary.

[realjd]

Passengers paying cash is typical for toll booths. I don't think I've ever seen a cabbie add it to the meter. The other benefit for the drivers is that there are lines usually to pay cash tolls, and the meter keeps running based on time when stopped.

[1995hoo]

In New York the cabbies are required to use E-ZPass and to pass on the toll at the E-ZPass rate to the customer. Works better that way all the way around, though I suppose a cabbie could probably claim the cash rate when the passenger is obviously from out of town. I suppose the lack of a receipt might be an issue for someone from out of town who wants to be reimbursed for expenses.

Prior to E-ZPass, the passenger had to provide the cash for the toll when approaching the toll plaza. I never had a problem getting a receipt in those days if I asked the cabbie to request one.

When you think about it, adding it to the meter isn't necessarily practical when you have multiple toll facilities in an area that charge different rates. Most meters I've encountered don't seem to have the programming to deal with that sort of thing. They'll have a single button for adding things like an airport surchage or luggage surcharge but not something designed to account for varied toll rates. (Admittedly I don't know much about taxi meters and these comments are based solely on observation.)

[mrsman]

One thing also to keep in mind with taxis is that you usually get charged a rate for driving and waiting.  I remember taking a cab from the 34th Street area of Midtown to Queens and I figured that the added time and distance to go to the Queensboro Bridge and then head back on local streets on the Queens side to get to the LIE - would be just as expensive as having the driver take the Midtown Tunnel and get directly on the LIE.

[roadman65]

The cab I got into charged me the toll at time of disembarking.  He added it to the meter as I watched him as we bypassed the Boggy Creek toll plaza on FL 417. 

When my parents used the cabs to Orlando Airport, they were charged the toll in one sum at the end with the fare.

Also, on another note, some cab companies are very poor at maintaining their vehicles as I have seen some drivers having to open their door to pay the tolls when doing so.  You figure that lack of action would not only be embarrassing to them as a professional cab company, but poor business practice in the service they provide.   How much does it cost a company that makes money to pay to have a broken window fixed?

[realjd]

That's one of the many reasons I avoid taxis nowdays. If I need a ride I usually take Uber.