Taxi drivers appreciate attention paid to our industry. Unfortunately, too often, it only occurs when circumstances NEGATIVELY impact the rider. Taxi drivers can be robbed, shot, fare evaded, brutalized, vandalized, stabbed and or verbally abused and find the public reaction is frequently silence or condonement at the time of such adverse events. I have been the target of unjust adversity… to see onlookers cheer the abuser, only because I was the CABDRIVER. Tagging the contingent approval of a meter rate increase to better taxi driver service is a displaced tactic. The rate increase is not desired as a reward for improvement of ‘service provided’. It is asked for – in order to compenstate for decreases in take-home pay – due to fuel cost increases. Is this esteemed publication insinuating that all drivers, good or bad, should continue to suffer cuts in ‘take home pay’- until the condescending, elitist, superficial ridership is satisfied that there are no drivers who lack the intuition to know, in advance of asking, what the ‘passenger preferred route’ might be. IE: fast vs. cheap. Questions about the ‘route’ preference is usually a ‘trade-off’ – that… regarding the passengers’ priorities, we are, generally, aiming to satisfy. What yardstick or litmus test would be appropriate to measure ‘driver competance’, in order to end cab driver ‘gas pump penalties’?