ANALISIS DE SENSIBILIDAD EVALUACION PRIVADA

From the customer perspective, customers may request a taxi in Boston in the following manners:

 Hailing – generally not restricted; one can hail a cab from anywhere.

 Taxi Stands – customers can go to one of numerous established taxi stands located throughout the City; customers have also been known to go to a hotel pick-up area, as many hotels have taxi queues.

 Telephone – There are seven licensed radio associations which customers may call 24/7 to request an immediate or advance taxi trip. Some associations (and TNCs) allow for customers to text message to confirm or track drivers.

 Computer – Customers may also request a trip via the web; two of the seven radio associations have a website from which customers can request a trip; another two radio associations have their own smart phone apps.

 Smartphone App – Customers may download to their smart phones applications (apps) which allow them to request a taxi trip directly from the radio association or directly from a driver who has partnered with a Transportation Network Company (TNC) such as Hailo, Taxi Magic, iTaxi, or Uber, noting that Uber also can be used to access livery vehicles.

The fare meter, regulated by the City of Boston Hackney Carriage Unit, is set as follows:

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3. BOSTON TAXI INDUSTRY & TNC

 Mileage fare = $.40 for each additional 1/7 mile ($5.00 per mile)

 Additional fees and tolls that are added to a customer’s fare:

− $2.25 airport fee for each trip that emanates from the airport, although we cannot find this in Rule 403.1

− Highway/tunnel tolls (e.g., the taxi toll for both tunnels is $5.25)

− $2.75 toll for all trips from Boston proper to Logan Airport and North Shore Communities; no tolls are added to the fare for trips from Boston proper to

other destinations in East Boston, noting there is some confusion about what

constitutes a trip to the airport vs. a trip to East Boston.

− $6.00 charge per trip for requesting a large taxicab, although we were unable to locate this in Rule 403.

− Idling/waiting time is charged at a rate of $28.00 per hour.

 If the destination of the trip is located more than 20 miles from City Hall, the driver may charge a flat rate; flat rates are published in the Flat Rate Handbook and are based

on a rate of a per mile rate of $3.20

The fare amount plus any extras including a customer-specified tip appears on the Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) located in the passenger compartment. The customer can pay for the taxi trip in the following ways:

 Cash

 Credit or debit card – All Boston taxis are equipped with credit card readers and

payment screens in the passenger compartment of the taxi; with this equipment, customers can pay for taxis note: credit card companies charge a processing fee of between 5% and 6% of the fare amount to the drivers; this amount is automatically deducted from payments to the driver (for credit card trips).

 City of Boston taxi

coupons – Taxi coupons (in

$1 per coupon

denominations) are sold at 50 cents per coupon – or half price -- to Boston residents who are disabled and/or elderly (65 years and over) and to cancer patients. An example of one of these

coupons is shown in Figure 3-1. Coupons are used to pay for fares, and used by some to pay for tips (some coupon users pay for tips in cash). Drivers turn in the coupon to their radio association (or medallion owner) and are paid at face value. The radio association

1 _{In an interview with Hackney Unit staff, the charging of this fee to customers is beyond Hackney’s control.}

Figure 3-1 Boston Taxi Industry Elderly Program Coupon

BOSTON TAXI CONSUL TAN T

3. BOSTON TAXI INDUSTRY & TNC

then turns the coupon into the Hackney Carriage Unit. The radio association receives a check equaling the amount of the coupon turned in months later.2

 Company vouchers – Some radio associations supply private companies with (blank)

vouchers (as an alternative to third party billing). The companies then provide these vouchers to their employees who need to make a taxi trip. Often the details of the trip, less the fare and tip, are completed by the company’s administrative staff prior to their issuance to the employee. At the completion of the trip, the voucher is completed with fare, tip, and employee signature. Similar to the above, these completed vouchers are turned into the dispatch association. Drivers are paid for these vouchers less an 8% administrative fee (as allowed by the taxi code), and the radio associations submit the completed vouchers to the companies for payment. From interviews, several radio associations have indicated that the incidence of voucher use is declining, being replaced by credit card use.

Customers are able to register complaints through the Hackney Unit by phone or on the web. Hackney accepts complaint phone calls Monday - Friday between 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. On the web, complaints are filed using an online form. Although the Hackney website states that an

investigator will contact the individual with the complaint within 10 business days, anecdotal evidence suggests that a follow up can take about a month.