Luigi DiMeglio/ The Mirror
The Office of the Dean of Students, Fairfield Police and the Department of Public Safety have all received numerous complaints from students and campus neighbors about general misconduct regarding taxis.
According to John Ritchie, assistant director of public safety, “We have taxicab drivers who are not running the meter, which they are required to do. We have complaints about cab drivers making inappropriate comments to our students and we have complaints that cab drivers may take a long way back to campus or an indirect route, or they will not drop the students off on campus – they prefer to drop them off on the perimeter of campus so they can get back and pick up another fare.”
Ritchie said that it is inappropriate for students to enter campus through a closed gate. He also said that “a cab company can only charge you for the transport. It has nothing to do with the number of passengers.”
According to the standard cab fare rates from both Yellow Cab and Red Dot, a one way trip from the entrance of campus to the Seagrape Café, or vise versa, should cost no more than $15.
“We want students to enter campus through the main entrance and to get dropped off at their residence hall. We do not want the taxicab companies to drop students off on the perimeter of campus.” Getting dropped off on the perimeter of campus or closed gates is causing a distraction to the neighbors – it is a quality of life factor for our neighbors,” said Ritchie.
According to Ritchie, it is a lot safer for students to get dropped off right at their residence as opposed to off campus.
The Office of the Dean of Students, Department of Public Safety and Fairfield Police Department met last week “to work on a collaborative effort to try to reduce the number of cabs and students getting dropped off at closed gates and to encourage them to come in the main entrance,” said Ritchie.
Dean of Students Karen Donoghue emailed students on Thursday, Dec. 5, and stated, “Yellow Cab and Red Dot cab companies have been dropping students off in non-authorized locations on the perimeter of campus. This presents a risk to passengers and other vehicles on the road. It also creates a public disturbance.”
Senior Carolyn Kosewski said she doesn’t like how the drivers are required to drop off their patrons inside of campus because “as you drive around and in [to campus] it runs the meter up more … it’s not that I want to break the rules … it’s my campus – I think I should be able to walk on.”
Donoghue also stated that “the Fairfield Police Department will be enforcing violations related to cabs and students disturbing the neighborhoods around campus.”
Sophomore Humza Malik said, “I’ve gotten dropped off outside the townhouses … because it would take too long to go through campus,” and that the cabs he takes don’t usually run the meter. Malik explained the standard for the cabs he takes from campus to Fairfield beach usually charge $5 per person rather than their normal rate.
Kosewski said that “Red Dot drivers are more talkative and friendly,” as opposed to Yellow Cab. Kosewski also said she has never had a bad experience with Red Dot, and that they are on time more often than Yellow Cab. Kosewski said that with Yellow Cab, ‘I remember one guy was really rude to me. I knew he was taking a longer way.” She said that the cab driver lied when she confronted him about the route.
Both Yellow Cab Company and Red Dot Taxi were unable to be reached for comment.
“We lack authoritative control of the taxi cab companies – all we can do is take complaints and refer those complaints to the department of transportation in the state of Connecticut,” said Ritchie.
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