March 2008
From the Editor’s Desk
Behind the Numbers
Complaints against cabdrivers are up, but does this mean drivers are getting worse?
By: Jonathan Bullington
Chicago's mainstream media has done it again. This time, its omnipresent lens has focused more heat on cabdrivers - specifically, passenger complaints against them. If destroying the image of taxi drivers in the court of public opinion were a sport, Chicago's media would be the all-star team.
On any team, there is a “go-to player,” your Michael Jordan, if you will. In the case of our media, that honor would fall upon ABC 7 Chicago, which scored big with its February 12th report titled “License to Gripe.”
Reporter Ben Bradley is on top of his game with this one. Read this opening line: “Potholes aren't the only thing rattling riders these days. If you feel you've recently been taken for a not-so-pleasant ride, you're not alone. Complaints against Chicago cabbies have hit a record high. Riders complain they are too fast, too rude and too reckless.”
Slam dunk!
The story continues - more than 10,000 complaints against drivers in the past year; 42-percent increase over last year's complaints, filed by “queasy riders;” reckless driving, rude drivers, too much talking on cell phones, refusing to take credit cards, blah, blah, blah.
Of course, there is the obligatory attempt at “fair” journalism. The cabdriver side of the story is presented in its familiar position - small spaces at the end of the story. Bradley weakly implies that all drivers might not be bad when he says, “Fair or not, right or wrong, complaints about bad service are ticking up faster than a meter during rush hour.” Of course, he offers no support for why some of these complaints are not fair or right, only that there's a chance they could be.
Well, there's a real problem with Mr. Bradley's story. See, there is no doubt that there are bad cabdrivers - it can't be denied. These bad cabbies do deserve one of those 10,000-plus complaints. But let's look past the numbers instead of spouting them out like rainwater from a gutter.
“License to Gripe” reports more than 10,000 complaints against cabbies (11,227 according to a March 2nd Sun-Times article) and nearly 11,000 licensed drivers - basically, one complaint per driver. In a year's time, figure how many people come in contact with your average cabdriver, and you should start to see that maybe this isn't the epidemic the media portrays.
In that same March 2nd Sun-Times article (one of the few fair stories about cabbies from that paper), it states the city has issued 4,100 citations in all. So only 37 percent of passenger complaints against cabdrivers result in a citation - again, not quite the epidemic. Some more numbers for you: roughly .16 percent of drivers have had their licenses revoked; roughly 1.4 percent have had their licenses suspended.
Here's the problem with “License to Gripe” and stories like it: they become self-fulfilling prophecies. Now, this may be only a theory, but I think there's some truth to it. The more people hear or read stories in the news about bad cabdrivers, the more likely they are to believe cabdrivers are bad. The more they hear or read about complaints against drivers, the more likely they are to make their own complaints.
This inundation is dangerous for drivers. For starters, it encourages complaints. A small misunderstanding suddenly becomes a trip to 400 W. Superior and a $75 fine plus court cost. A driver who used to be considered a professional for acquiring the proper route to a destination is now accused of trying to take the long way. Failing to smile becomes discourteousness. Drivers end up in a pressure cooker, giving rides to people who are looking for something, anything, about which to complain. It's been said, if you look for a problem long enough, you're bound to find one. With so much negative attention on cabbies, is anyone really surprised complaints are up?
If anyone needs evidence of this, I cite the story of George Ijewere in this issue. George received a violation notice based on a complaint made by the Great Complainer (CD, September 2007), a man who has filed 1,000 or so complaints against cabbies since first learning about the complaint system in early 2007. Is this not a prime example of a man searching for problems with cabdrivers? In George’s case, there wasn’t even a problem to be found. As George proved at 400 W. Superior, the Great Complainer filed a complaint against George without actually seeing George commit a violation.
Instead, the Great Complainer saw George’s cab pulled over in a no-parking zone and assumed he was breaking the law, so he wrote down George’s number and filed a complaint. Of course, in the complaint he says he approached George, informed him he was parked illegally and told him he’d file a complaint if George didn’t move, to which George supposedly replied, “Go ahead.”
Fortunately, George was able to successfully prove his case at hearing, but how many drivers would take that chance? Don’t forget, George could have taken the city’s plea deal. He could have quickly plead guilty, received a verbal warning, paid court costs and been on his way. Not that anyone could blame them, but I’m sure plenty of drivers would have taken that deal. But not George Ijewere, he stood up for his rights and fought back against a system that, too often, assumes guilt before innocence.
Now there’s one more scenario I'd like to illustrate regarding this issue. This may seem a bit paranoid to some, but in my opinion, it might not be so far-reaching. Stay with me here: the media reports that complaints against cabdrivers have increased dramatically while simultaneously reporting that fines against cabdrivers triple; a passenger reads this and thinks, “Complaints against drivers are rampant and extremely costly for drivers.” This passenger then starts to think that drivers would certainly want to do whatever they can to avoid having a complaint filed against them. Doesn't it sound like this could create a situation where a passenger believes he or she can use the complaint system as a bargaining chip against drivers? Not that it has, but couldn't drivers become victims of extortion with this complaint system? I’ve already heard one driver relay to me the following comment from a passenger: “Be nice to me or I’ll file a complaint.”
