Bay Cab

It was challenging communicating with the driver. The driver drove dangerously slow on the freeway at times. The tide of history will continue to flow towards information-​rich markets.

If you don’t want a direct route to your distanation, these are your guys.
They’ll throw in a meandering tour of the city and you get to pay for it. Awesome.

I am only giving a star because i have to. The cab driver refused to take a credit card for my fare claiming it was broken (when i saw him turn it off). I chose another cab who happily took my card and rewarded him for doin the right thing. Yellow Cab was who i chose.

ok, it actually makes me feel a lot better to see all these other negative posts, because i thought i had an absolutely absurd experience, but now i see it’s pretty common for this company! my driver yelled at me that i wasnt tipping him enough, even when the tip was 30%. It made me SO angry that he kept yelling at me, when I was trying to be nice. Absolutely terrible service, but at least he didn’t do any sort of card fraud– the charge ran through as the amount we agreed to.

I recently hailed a Bay Cab for a short jaunt in San Francisco. The driver, accidentally entered the wrong amount when charging my credit card. She caught the mistake right away, gave me her personal cell phone number and contact information for the management. Bay Cab reversed the charges instantly. I was so grateful to have such swift customer services, and to see such integrity!

Bay Cab is the pits! Driver refused to go the route I asked, taking us way out of the way which increased the fare. Driver got on the phone and seemed fairly distracted. In response I chose to not leave a tip. In response to the very small tip the driver threw the change at me (nickels) and actually hit my leg.
Call 311 if you have an issue like other people have said here. It doesn’t take long to get through and they will file a report.

Most uncomfortable cab ride ever! I’m only giving a star because I have to.
I caught a cab on Tuesday night in the downtown area. Cab driver pulled up and asks me where I was going. I gave him my address when I was getting in, and then he said, «You have an amazing body.» The rest of the cab ride, he was very inappropriate and disgusting. When he finally dropped me off @ my destination, he asked for a tip, and became irate that I didn’t want to give him one.
Driver’s number is 51 856.

UPDATE: I protested the charge, and asked Visa to only pay for the amount on the meter. I asked them to get back both the extra $ 3 (when the guy insisted that $ 57 was $ 60) and the $ 3.50 overcharge. They said they’d probably only be able to get back the $ 3.50, since I did sign for the $ 60 in the cab.
They also told me that once they contact a vendor they have to give the vendor time to respond to the request, dispute it, and so on. They said that it can sometimes take 30 – 45 days.
Anyway, a few days later I got a notification from Visa saying that Bay Cab had immediately agreed to refund everything but the $ 57 for the meter.
So while it was nice to get such a quick result, the fact that they put up no fight and instantly agreed to refund the protested amount, even though they could have tried to fight for only a partial refund, gives me the impression that overcharging is a common practice and that if anyone notices it and protests the charge they try to acquiesce as quickly as possible to stay under the radar.
UPDATE 2: I got in a cab after dinner only to realize once I got in that it was a Bay Cab (after my prior experience I swore I’d never ride with them again). I paid in cash to avoid any more credit card scams, but for the whole ride the driver ranted aggressively to me about African, Chinese and American politics.
It was a super-​unpleasant ride.
Seriously, avoid this company at all costs.
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Awful cab experience.
Cab driver was very angry and loud. Coming home from the airport, we got stuck in traffic due to a terrible accident on the 101 (3 of 4 lanes closed, fire trucks, flipped car, etc) and he was basically berating me like it was my fault.
When we finally got to my house the meter said $ 57.40. The driver said it was $ 60. I said «the meter says $ 57» and he kept going on about the SFO fee … even though if you’ve ever ridden in a cab from the airport you know that’s automatically added to the meter at the front of the ride.
Anyway, it had been a long trip and I just wanted to get home, so I gave him my card and got out of the cab. They use an iPhone app for billing and I entered my email address for the receipt, but the receipt never came. The next day, I checked my credit card website and found that he added an additional $ 3.50 to the already-​inflated $ 60.
So I’m going to dispute the charge out of principle, and will never use this horrible company again.

Seems to be the bottom of the barrel among SF cab companies.
As a regular (2−5x/week) cab user here since the early 2000’s, the only two truly dangerous cab experiences I’ve had have been via drivers with Bay Cab. I avoid unless I’m desperate, and lately when arriving at SFO I’ll politely decline a Bay Cab when the taxi line manager points me to one.
To those Unilocalers posting the cab # and driver ID from your bad experience (Adelie and others), you might make a difference by calling 311 with that info. –It seems pretty certain that it’s pointless to post it here (ie: Bay Cab management probably doesn’t know what Unilocal is, and are unlikely to be interested regardless: otherwise they’d be employing better drivers).

cab# 458, driver ID 65 418.
I’d give him 0 stars if i could. he drove so badly that i wanted to throw up in the back seat. pre-​honked at everyone in his way. at the end of a $ 50 ride from SFO, he extorted a tip saying that he has to cover his costs. he specifically asked for a $ 5 tip that i did not want to give, and argued with me over it. he then drove off with all my luggage in his trunk, and had to be bodily stopped by stepping in front of the car, and yelling. i wish there was better recourse against this company than just posting bad reviews on Unilocal

RATING = 0 stars!!! Unfortunately Unilocal requires you to at least rate one star!
DO NOT USE THIS CAB COMPANY!!!
This is the rudest cab dispatcher that I have ever encountered in my life. They should fire him because I will never do business w/​this cab company again. Totally ruined my day.
I called up to inquire how long for a cab. The rude JERK asked for the address and passenger’s last name. I told him there were multiple passengers and he yelled asking for a name and then hung up.
When I called back to find out whether he sent a cab and how long it would be (plus I wanted to order a 2^nd cab) the guy proceeded to yell at me that the cab was there and not to ever call them up again and ask how long it will be. I told him he was rude and he said that he was going to cancel the cab. I told him be my guest!
I come from NY and even in the sea of cab companies I have dealt w/​there, I have never come across such a jerk!!!

YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK! Three of your cabs waiting at 480 Sutter would not give me a ride home cause they were wanting to take passengers to the airport! Thank god, luxor cab company came to the rescue!

I caught a Bay Cab taxi tonight, around 9pm March 29^th and I was late. The driver was super friendly and got me to where I needed to be just in time. We chatted a bit about his car. I didn’t have any cash for a tip for a great ride and he wouldn’t let me take down his info or anything to give him anything extra later in any way, and I didn’t have time to argue.
So I google around and it seems shady, the consensus being they don’t want to be found or contacted. But if the driver that has the number 817 on the right outer side of his vehicle sees this and wants a tip, send me a message with the origin and destination for the trip and how I can send the $$.

I call Bay Cab and the dispatcher and he says a cab will be at my building in 15 – 20 minutes and promptly hangs up. A while later the cab hasn’t shown, so my friend calls back and asks where it is.
The dispatcher is pissed «Are you the girls at _​_​_​_​Street? You just called 21 minutes and 32 seconds ago. He’ll be there in 5 minutes he’s down the street.» click.
I look at my phone log– it’s been over half an hour since we called. What a jerk! We ended up driving to the club because THE CAB NEVER SHOWED.
Let’s recap:
1. Rude
2. (bad) Liar
3. MIA cab
Bay Cab could basically just be a really mean guy fielding calls, without any taxis to disbatch for all I know.

Just got a Bay Cab from the main Kaiser on Geary — the first indication this was not to be a good ride was when I told him where I was going (Castro and Mkt, then west on Mkt), he didn’t understand, so I just told him to go around the block and head down Divis until we hit Market St. He didn’t seem to know where Divis was (honest — and he had just dropped someone off in front of Kaiser!) so I explained to just take 3 right turns and go straight. He managed that but then tried to take a left right away on Geary. I said no, go all the way to Market — but he stayed in the left lane most of the way down Divis like he was looking for the Market St. sign. Uh-​oh.
At this point I looked for his medallion — it was very conspicuously not displayed. And he was both talking on his cell and either texting or looking down at his phone the entire ride. He didn’t even know Market St from 17^th St when we hit that intersection. Um, it’s not like I expected him to know some obscure streets — if he doesn’t know Divis and Market, he’s not a real cab driver.
Which is what I suspected. I’ve run across this before where the medallion was either not there or the face on it was covered, so you know someone’s just trying to make some $ on the side. I don’t much care if they get me from point A to point B directly and safely. Heck, I probably would’ve tipped him extra. But I thought this who situation was bad enough to let Bay Cab know.
Well, the phone # above goes to some other company whose name I couldn’t quite understand when the phone was answered. But the guy said Bay Cab was under their company, so I told him what happened. His response? «Everybody’s got to start somewhere.» I told him I was sympathetic to that (hey, I’m a bleeding heart SFer after all) but this was both a safety hazard *and* a black mark on our city for any tourist who jumps in and gets taken for a ride. Again, the dispatcher said he didn’t care. I told him I’d take it to the Taxi Commission, and he said you do whatever you want.
So – whoever runs Bay Cab now obviously knows and condones the illegal use of medallions by unlicensed hacks. Take a Bay Cab at your own risk — I never will again. And yeah, I did file that complaint with the Taxi Commission.

I’ve never complained about a cab company before (at least not in public). And I lived in Manhattan, so that says A LOT!
So tonight I’m on my way home from Safeway, ready to eat my cookies I’d been giving naughty looks to while the bag looked up from the cart.
This a$$ swerves & flips a U-​turn right in the middle of the street. That was when I almost hit him the FIRST time.
A cop was coming around the corner when he reached 5^th Street, so I couldnt believe it when he turned his signal on & gave the right of way to a pedestrian (imagine THAT!)
As I follow behind him, I watch as he swerves in & out of traffic, without even the slightest use of his turn signal.
At Bryant, he cut me off because he was in the I-​280 lane & needed to get in my lane. (That was time # 2)
After crossing Bryant, he got back into the RH lane, & I stayed in the left. As I approached the light, he cut me off again to get in the LH lane. (3^rd time’s a charm!)
No phone number on the yellow cab, just «Bay Cab». # 2922
But wait! There’s more!
When I got home, I decided I was going to call to complain. He was driving like a maniac & I had to get it off my chest.
I Google «Bay Cab» & get their phone number. An Indian guy answers the phone & when I tell him I need to make a complaint, there’s dead silence. I thought AT&T dropped my call (more bars — more places!)
«Hello?» I ask. «When you take this cab?» I explained I hadnt riden IN the cab, but just about got killed BY it.
He then goes on to say, «this isnt Bay Cab. You found this number on Google. We dont have cabs.»
Didnt he answer the phone «Bay Cab» & ask me «when you take this cab?»
So here I am, venting. Thank god for Unilocal.Because if it stops someone from getting into a Bay Cab (especially # 2922) then Ive done my job.

Hmm I had an interesting experience last night after leaving the Unilocal party. Let’s just say everyone got high off the ride…

Cab #789
Yuck. This cabbie reeked of cologne. After a long, long, long day of drinking, smelling this guys cheap scent was not how I wanted to end things. Def wanted to make me throw up in my mouth.
blah!
Oh yah and they don’t take credit cards… not even VISA!
Eff this shit.
Two stars cause we made it home safe… so it’s not all that bad. I guess I could be dead.

Late night trip home from SFO. Left bag in the backseat. It contained everything: phone, wallet, cash, PDA, credit cards, life. Bright and early the next morning tried calling the phone one more time. A friendly voice (the driver) picked up. «Is this your bag? Do you want me to bring it to you? I’ll be there in ten minutes.»
Faith in humanity restored when smiling driver appeared and gave back life. Favorite cab company ever.

On a quasi dismal Saturday morning, i was roused out of a delicious snooze and into a **hellacious hangover** to have to come down to the Hotel Kensington and do some puter shit. I jumped in the **shower** and sudsed up and ran the razor around the old scalp before jettisoning my lovely ass out the door to try and be there in like 5 mins.
I flagged down Jeeves on Church, and i got in. And remember the two parts i asterisked at the top.
I told the cabbie to get me to Kensington toute suite. (I may have actually said that, i was a little drunk still).
«Oh…» He says… i retort back with «What?»
“No, its nothing…(exhale deeply through a whistly nose)
Now, here’s the best part… not even 5 seconds later, hes out with this…
«Man…this fucking city… cut up weird you know? Streets. (whistly exhale) He drives WAAAY out of the way to finally hook around and get back on Market. Seriously, it was like NY to Boston via Panama Canal.
«Yeah…» Kinda that non committal Yeah, like, sure, cool… shut up.
«Everyone…they want opposite direction of where i drive. (whistle)»
«Sorry man…»
«No don’t be sorry… I’m in bad mood. Drive all night. I need shower. Shower. (whistle)
For a split second, I’m reminded of some of the things i used to hear from passive/​aggressive people i know («Oh, stop… girls LOVE fat guys for cuddling!») and i quickly wonder if he thinks i stink. Wait a minute…
«YEAH! I just took one.» There… no question now.
«Really…(whistle) These fucking streets.»
I don’t exactly REEK of amazing lime flavors, or fantabulous fruity goodness, but there is no way anyone could accuse me of stinking. I’m convinced he thinks i stink at this point. And i sniff myself. OOH. Deodorant! I put it on too! Gold star! I need to work that in…
«When i take trips to LA, i hate that i cant take a shower, so i bring along deodorant LIKE I HAVE ON NOW.» There… that will quell the stinkusations.
«What? Do i stink? You think i need deodorant in cab?» (whistle)
«NO…i was just saying…»
«Drive all night… stink. (whistle and chuckles)
«…i wasnt…»
«Here’s Kensington, my friend. Enjoy day. $ 12.00 my friend.»
I stared at his eyes through the rearview mirror… feeling bad that maybe i made him feel bad. I gave him $ 15, told him to keep it, and apologized indicating i was a little hungover.
«I know… what you need is shower. Shower fix hangover (whistle)» And tears off into Union Square.