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Old 03-29-2013, 09:13 PM
 
2,269 posts, read 3,568,536 times
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Many people in the city use Jitneys. Jitneys are unlicensed taxis. While they are technically illegal, they are basically tolerated as long as they stick to providing the service that cabs usually won't provide. There are 3 basic types of jitneys. Supermarket jitneys will generally be around any market that has a substantial black clientele. At some places, the supermarket actually knows who the drivers are, and will only allow certain guys on the premises. These drivers will take you, and your bags home for a prearranged fee. The second type of jitney operates out of a station. This is usually a storefront, but sometimes it can be a house, or a large garage. There is a phone number that is usually well known in the particular area where the station is located. People will call for a car. If there are any drivers available, one will answer the phone, find out where you are going, and how many people, and will give you a price for the trip. A car will usually arrive in 5 or 10 minutes. This is the safest type of jitney, as the drivers are all hired by the owner, and the cops would have no problem finding a driver who committed any type of crime. This is the type of jitney August Wilson wrote about in his play, "Jitney". The third type of jitney will hang around bus stations, or busy corners. I don't recommend using this type, as anyone could pretend to offer you a ride, and then victimize you in some way. Jitneys are tolerated basically because they provide the service that most cabs won't, going into high crime areas, and hauling groceries, and laundry on short trips. It can be dangerous, but because most of the drivers live in the areas they serve, most bad guys don't give them problems, as they frequently use the service themselves. If you continue to have problems, and you have some black friends or acquaintances who live near you, ask them if they know a reliable jitney number. There are stations in Homewood, and East Liberty that should come to your area. If you find a driver that you like, he'll usually give you his cell phone number, and you can use him as a "personal".
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Old 03-30-2013, 04:25 PM
 
1,947 posts, read 2,128,911 times
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We had a similar experience trying to get from Lawrenceville to Squirrel Hill at 11pm on a Thursday night. Called Yellow Taxis from a bar, and after 4 repeat calls asking where the cab was, we jumped a bus into downtown at 12.15-ish, hoping to find a cab at a hotel. Ironically, as we stepped off the bus a yellow cab drove by and stopped when we hailed it. We never heard from the dispatcher.

I guess now we know not to rely on taxis outside of downtown. It is a pretty pathetic service. Good job buses are decent.
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Old 03-31-2013, 05:41 PM
 
11 posts, read 21,569 times
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Well, yes, LIRefugee, I usually leave my incendiary devices behind. Though one cab ride from Brillobox to home, that driver was so whack I really wanted to feel armed...still, I tipped him well, though he should've driven himself to W.Psych, I do believe...

This will never be a classy and visitor-friendly town until we have adequate taxi service.
There will be babies born all over the place...
And if you see me, maybe outside of a club in the east end, late one night, looking innocent and desperate same time...and I beg of you for a ride home, glad to pay, please do not walk away from me like I have a dreaded disease. You can at least converse with me...how we help to build a community and a likable city...
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Old 03-31-2013, 05:43 PM
 
11 posts, read 21,569 times
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For many years I drove, and I drove others home always. Even strangers...thinking one day I may not have a car...but carma does not always work...
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Old 03-31-2013, 05:53 PM
 
Location: Umbrosa Regio
1,334 posts, read 1,720,861 times
Reputation: 969
I was amused last year by one of those statues at the Gateway Center that depicted a man trying to hail a cab from Liberty Ave. Good thing he was a statue as the wait to be picked up is quite a long one.

Wasn't it announced last year that there was to be an experiment to let taxis be hailed downtown and a few other places?
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Old 03-31-2013, 07:57 PM
 
Location: The canyon (with my pistols and knife)
13,932 posts, read 21,306,070 times
Reputation: 16649
Quote:
Originally Posted by sparly View Post
This will never be a classy and visitor-friendly town until we have adequate taxi service.
Well ****, if it's about being "classy," why not just have limousine service for everybody?


Quote:
Originally Posted by sparly View Post
There will be babies born all over the place...



Quote:
Originally Posted by sparly View Post
And if you see me, maybe outside of a club in the east end, late one night, looking innocent and desperate same time...and I beg of you for a ride home, glad to pay, please do not walk away from me like I have a dreaded disease. You can at least converse with me...how we help to build a community and a likable city...
How 'bout you not look desperate first? Those are the people who get taken advantage of, and it's not just a Pittsburgh phenomenon either.
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Old 03-31-2013, 08:05 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
6,637 posts, read 8,872,410 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sparly View Post
For many years I drove, and I drove others home always. Even strangers...thinking one day I may not have a car...but carma does not always work...
Maybe karma did work and a serial killer decided to leave you there instead of giving you a "ride."
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Old 03-31-2013, 08:07 PM
 
Location: 15206
1,860 posts, read 2,440,203 times
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Yellow cab has a monopoly. They also own People's cab and Veteran's cab. The owner is friends with Classy Cab, which doesn't even have many cars.

It is BS and is "regulated" by the PUC, but they basically make it impossible for anybody else to get into the game.

Get regular driver's cell number. That can work.

Brooklyn has lots of car services, but it is also an area where people with a decent salary don't drive. In Pittsburgh, most people rely on a taxi to get to the airport, to get to and from a bar, or to come home from a hospital.

The bar trips are all within the same 5 hours 2 or 3 nights per week, so there can only be so many taxis. They just shouldn't all be owned by a mediocre company.
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Old 03-31-2013, 09:54 PM
 
781 posts, read 1,554,451 times
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How do people find out about the Jitney service? 4 years ago we made reservations downtown for my birthday, we wanted to have some wine and cocktails at dinner so we thought a cab would be the best option. It did not work out, it took 2 hours to get a cab and we had to cancel our reservation. We called the cab company a few hours earlier to ask what time we should call etc.. I lived in Squirrel Hill and was going to a nice restaurant downtown, location was not the issue for us.
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Old 03-31-2013, 09:55 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,918 posts, read 23,565,948 times
Reputation: 5149
Quote:
Originally Posted by selltheburgh View Post
Yellow cab has a monopoly. They also own People's cab and Veteran's cab. The owner is friends with Classy Cab, which doesn't even have many cars.
Yellow (Pittsburgh Transportation Group) does NOT own Veteran's Taxi or Classy Cab which both have common ownership with Star Limo. The guy who owns and runs Star Transportation Group is generally at odds with the guy who runs PTG. I've never seen them described as friends; that seems highly doubtful given that PTG is always trying to block whatever new service Star is trying to start, and to a certain degree vice-versa.
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