'I'm the 'all-sevens guy''
In 1987, it was a lot harder to get a cab in New Haven.
That summer, only 14 taxis served the state’s second-largest city. Crime was high and New Haven, once a bustling industrial center, was economically in shambles. Even so, Bill Scalzi, then a manager at Yellow Cab in Hartford, saw an opportunity. The son and grandson of taxi owners and a former driver himself, he saw a ready market.
He founded Metro Taxi on Sept. 1 of that year. Now, 267 cabs are licensed to operate in the Elm City, and more than half of them — 142 — belong to his company, the largest in the state. He...
I'm amazed this article doesn't mention Scalzi's aggressive efforts to keep other cab companies from opening by restricting the quantities of medallions to maintain his virtual monopoly. He was quoted in the mid-90s as saying something to the effect of "if there were a demand for more cabs, don't you think I'd put more on the streets," in response to proposals to issue more medallions to competing cab companies.
I don't think I ever spent less than 20 minutes on the phone waiting for these chumps to pick up. Worst taxi service ever.
Why would you write an entire article on Metro Taxi without mentioning the long wait times, the rude operators, and the general student discontent with service?
I have to agree with #4--I missed a flight to Europe last year because of this company. I called them a day in advance to schedule the pick-up, then an hour before, THEN, 30 min before I wanted to be picked up. Only when I called frantically 30 min after I was supposed to be on my way did they inform me that they still had 2 people ahead of me. I have no idea if the cab showed up, but if it did, it was over an hour late.
these responses are hilarious. I've never had an issue with them. But their drivers are pretty unhappy dudes. They should pay them on commission.
Strange, I've never had a problem with them, besides the occasional fifteen-minute wait at Tweed.
A really nice article. Though, not sure if this Scalzi seems kind of sleazy, or not. Thoughts?