If you go to a major airport, you may see some signage warning you about solicited rides. I remember when I lived in the NYC area, there were signs and announcements at my then-hometime airport, Newark Int’l (It wasn’t even Newark-Liberty yet), to only accept rides from yellow taxis (this was YEARS before Uber, Lyft, etc.), essentially so you could be sure the ride was legitimate. Here’s a similar sign from BWI:
Those who accept solicited rides are at the mercy of their driver. They’re essentially hostages in that vehicle unless they pay whatever they’re told to pay. And unfortunately, that could sometimes be significantly more than what they were originally told when they were offered the ride.
Soliciting rides is illegal in several states, especially around airports. But that doesn’t stop people from trying to give people rides, for a fare, at airports, train stations, cruise ports, etc., across the country.
Soliciting rides in the state of Florida is frowned upon as well. But that apparently didn’t stop at least one guy at the Port of Miami.
Someone we know, Bambi D., came across him not long ago, after she had disembarked from a Virgin Voyages cruise. Here’s what she said happened:
“We walked out of the terminal, perfectly prepared to order an Uber to the airport. We were approached by a gentleman offering a bus ride to the airport for $10/per person. Sounded fine to us. He CONVINCED us that the “van” was “right over here.” He was soliciting additional people all the while.
“We arrived at a van down the way that had a trailer hooked up to it. He tossed our luggage into the trailer as soon as we walked up. I was a little put off by his disregard for our belongings but I thought perhaps he was in a hurry to get moving. He got us into the van and it was already half full of other people.
“You could FEEL the tension in the van as the guy closed the van door and went BACK to the terminal to solicit more people. He brought them back to the van just like he did with us, one party at a time. There was NO air conditioning on in the van and it was all I could do not to get up and get OUT of the van. BUT, our luggage was locked in the trailer anyway and the guy was lost in the crowd.
“The last person he brought to the van for the last seat was a very large gentleman. He expected this poor fellow to crawl through all the people to middle seat in the last row of the van. When the passenger stated his concern about fitting he just kept saying, ‘Issa OK! Issa OK!’
“A very nice lady from back there started yelling at the van driver to show some compassion and she volunteered to move her seat but only if it meant the driver would get in the van and at least turn on the air conditioning for us.
“Once everyone was in – the driver got in the driver seat…completely ignored all of the people complaining about the stifling heat and made his way towards the airport. He proceeded to work TWO cell phones – talking to one person, relaying information to another the entire way. It was quite scary but we made it safely to the terminal.
“Once at the terminal, he started to empty out the luggage from the trailer but some people needed a different terminal and he tried to give us all the wrong luggage. When I pointed to MY suitcase still in the trailer, he motioned to me that I could got get it myself. I climbed INTO that thing and got my suitcase.
“After such an adventure – we paid him his $20.00 (we were a party of two)
“He said, ‘No tip?’
“I said ‘no,’ and walked into the air-conditioned Miami International Airport.
Lesson learned… you get what you pay for. Never. Again.”
This was a perfect example of why “cheapest” certainly is not the “best.”
And this, travel friends, is another reason why you should never accept a solicited ride from anyone. Stick to ride shares (make sure they say YOUR name first, so you know they’re legit), taxis, approved shuttles and pre-arranged car service.
*** Many thanks to Bambi D. for sharing her story with us!
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