Take on the Newark Airport Taxi

There are really not many things more frustrating than landing in an airport and dealing with the cab driver to get him to drive you to the hell which are the suburbs.  I've had a hundred arguments over the fare from JFK to the Jersey burbs which isn't established and has to be negotiated between the driver and passenger.  I guess I could have not have been blamed to think that flying into Newark might have been a bit easier. 

They do have a posted flat rate schedule,which is helpful, although my town's rate was $16 more expensive than the neighbor town which is about a mile closer and also $8 more expensive than the other neighboring town which is actually one mile farther.  Even that disparity wasn't the bane of my existence (or at least the bane of my cab ride) what was, was the credit card system. First you get into the can and they tell you that you need a credit card voucher. Of course the kiosk at the can stand is broken so the cab drives you to some other spot where you have to swipe your card into that kiosk to give you the right to pay with credit card when they inexplicably put a $150 hold on your card for a ride which they have already told you is $75.   Then when you get back into the cab the guy reminds you that in addition to the ass-raping you are going to get on the flat fare, they will tacking on an additional $5.50 for a credit card convenience fee.  I get charging the 2% that VISA may charge you but a flat $5.50 to use the form of currency that everybody in the world uses???   I had a $100 cab ride after you count tolls and tips, so this few represented 5.5%...for what?   If I had had the misfortune of having to go to Irvington or something which is about 10 miles out of the airport, my flat fee probably would have been $35-$40 but they still would have banged me for the $5.50 which in that case would have represented more than 10% of the total bill after tip.  Although to be fair the 10% is the least of your worries if you were going to Irvington.   

The point is that this credit card system in a complete racket and an utter time waster, too.    They could easily install machines in each cab like they do everywhere else in the world and be done with it but then the merchant service people wouldn't get their extra 3%

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