NO DISRESPECT
WITH his tag line: “Come out a mi car,” Naggo Head, St Catherine, taxi driver Patrick King demands honesty and respect from his passengers.
Being a taxi driver guarantees that he will often butt heads with passengers, however, when he comes face to face with what he describes as disrespectful people, King holds no punches and immediately demands that they leave his car.
“Mi rather stop and let dem off before mi go any further because at the end of the day, mi probably carry dem a dem destination and dem nuh want pay. So, before mi go nuh further wid dem, dem out,” King told the Jamaica Observer.
According to King, he often finds himself having disputes pertaining taxi fares when passengers try to “short change” him.
King, who has been a taxi driver for 13 years, said he recently had to tell a woman to leave his vehicle before they arrived at her destination because she was arguing about the recent increase in taxi fares, which he says is out of his control.
“The other day mi pick up a lady and she a argue ’bout di fare, and a nuh mi raise it. Mi a nuh a Transport Authority; I didn’t [increase] the fare. Mi get a list to work wid and a it mi a work wid.
“She a go complain and complain, but all she have to tell mi seh is dat her fare short enuh, and wi can reach a little understanding. But she a seh a $100 she have and a dat she a pay. Mi seh, ‘Come out a mi car right yah so. Mi nah guh nuh further wid yuh,’ ” said King.
He said the woman was clearly not expecting him to react that way, but she quickly exited the vehicle.
Encountering these types of people is a regular occurrence when operating a taxi, King told the Observer, as he added that this makes the inherently challenging job even more difficult.
“A long time mi a deal wid dem something here. From you a give mi problem you affi come out; you can’t stay in a mi car.”
According to King, he finds that male passengers tend to dodge paying the correct fare more than female passengers.
“Them come and just ‘shub’ (push) anything in your hand and seh ‘Driver, a dis mi have,’ and me a seh ‘Yu mad?’ But a mostly men do these things, di woman dem nah do dem thing deh. Woman rather tell you seh dem short a fare rather [than] them just come and siddung and nuh tell you nothing,” declared King .
Name: Patrick King Age: 50 years old Length of career: More than 13 years Route: Spanish Town to Naggo Head