‘Do not pick up’: Vancouver taxi drivers told to avoid intoxicated woman

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A Vancouver woman has been left disturbed and disappointed after seeing a message in a cab instructing taxi drivers to not pick up a drunk woman.

“I was angry. I was very upset,” Arden D’Hont tells NEWS 1130.

“I thought ‘Wow in this day and age you’d think people would be aware of how this jeopardizes a woman’s safety.’ Being intoxicated at a bar, you’re in a vulnerable state.”

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D’Hont says she saw the message displayed on her Yellow Cab driver’s screen while being given a ride Wednesday night and took a picture to share on Facebook.

“CODE 3 DRUNK CUSTOMER AT TAP AND BARREL 1 ATHLETES WAY. SHE CANNOT EVEN STAND. DO NOT PICK UP,” read the message.

“I was just shocked that they would blast that out to all cabs when she was obviously in need of a ride from the bar to a safe space,” says D’Hont. “So yeah, I was just shocked more than anything else, because if it would have been one of my friends. Even if I had kids, I would be worried and concerned about their safety.”

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Saying the point of cabs is to get people home safely when they can’t drive or get themselves home, D’Hont believes the incident highlights the need for ride-hailing or some other alternative for these situations.

“Cabs are wanting to keep a monopoly in the city yet they’re constantly denying rides, whether it’s ‘oh, you’re too intoxicted to get into the cab’ or ‘oh, you live outside of Metro Vancouver, oh you live to far away, no I’m not going to pick up this fare,'” adds D’Hont.

We’ve reached out to Yellow Cab and the Ministry of Transportation for comment.