Man says Winnipeg taxi driver asked for pre-payment mid-ride, left him on street
Pre-payment of fare can be arranged, city says, but cab drivers can't stop and ask for it suddenly
Robert Paul, a Cree man from The Pas, Man., says a Unicity Taxi cab driver stopped driving and insisted he pre-pay his fare, and then left him stranded.
Paul, who works as a mental health support worker, was in Winnipeg on Oct. 22 and needed a cab to get to where he was staying that night. He said he hailed a Unicity Taxi cab to drive him to the St. Norbert neighbourhood.
But just minutes into the ride, Paul says the driver pulled over and demanded payment before he would go any further.
Paul says he's wondering what would've happened if the incident happened to someone more vulnerable than him.
"It's frustrating cause, it's like bad enough— we've heard stories about our Indigenous women and things like that. Like, I couldn't imagine how how scary that would be for a certain individual," said Paul.
In a video he recorded on his cell phone, Paul could be heard trying to tell the driver he will pay when the ride is complete.
WATCH | Taxi driver and Robert Paul's conversation inside the cab:
But Paul says the driver kept insisting he pay or get out of the car. In the short exchange Paul recorded, he can be heard asking the driver why he needed to pay for a ride that wasn't complete. The driver asked Paul how he could trust that he would pay when they reached Paul's destination.
In the video, Paul tried to show him cash to prove he'd be able to pay, but the driver still demanded payment mid-ride.
Pre-payment OK, but not mid-ride: city
While negotiating pre-payment before taking a fare is allowed, the City of Winnipeg Vehicle for Hire Office says drivers have no right to stop in the middle of a ride and ask for payment.
The cab ride for Paul ended about 10 km from his destination. He got out of the cab, which drove away, leaving him on St. Mary's Road.
He says after being left stranded, he walked over to a nearby 7-Eleven and paid a stranger for a ride.
Thankfully, he says, he made it to the place he was staying safely.
Paul says he'll file an official complaint about the incident with Unicity Taxi, and hopes it won't happen to anyone else. He says the driver and the company should be held accountable.
Unicity Taxi did not respond to CBC's request for comment.