Driving a wheelchair-friendly cab once paid a living wage, but no more - Pamplin Media Group
Jeanette loves her job as a Radio Cab taxi driver, but shes going broke doing it. She drives a 2004 Dodge Sprinter fitted with a special lift to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs. At least it was until this spring, when Portland opened its heavily regulated taxi market to hundreds of new competitors, mostly amateurs turning private cars into do-it-yourself taxis hailed by smartphone. I had to borrow money today for fuel, Jeanette says, picking up a reporter and photographer seeking a glimpse of the life of a wheelchair-accessible-taxi driver. Shortly after noon, she gets her first call, a woman who just bought groceries at the Walmart on Southeast 82nd Avenue. I know their number by heart, says Brandy Mason, after Jeanette helps load several grocery bags into her spacious van. Mason says she uses only Radio Cab after a bad experience with another company. I called one and the lady was really rude and snappy to me, she says. Jeanette, who is part driver, part social worker, gets lots of calls on the first and 15th of each month when peoples checks come in and they can afford to buy food. Portland has long required taxi companies to equip 10 percent to 20 percent of their fleets with wheelchair lifts, which cost an average of about $50,000. But Jeanette has to take the calls that come in, whether from wheelchair users or not, to... Source: www.pamplinmedia.com
