What Happened to Immoral Mexicans?

Allow me to tell you a story about a city named stupid El Paso, Texas.  Okay, I added the stupid part of its name.  However, you will see why I have such a low opinion of this city.

The major and city representatives think it is okay to set the fares taxi driver can charge.  The taxi industry is private industry and all taxi drivers are self-employed.  In addition, no other industry has their business so over regulated as the taxi industry in stupid El Paso, Texas.

More germane to my point are the people who were hired to enforce all the municipal codes that regulate the taxi industry.  The stupid city of El Paso, through the police department, hires what they call taxi inspectors. This department consists of 4 inspectors. 

One is the supervisor who stays in office to avoid trouble. One for some reason takes delight in giving citations to taxi drivers.  The problem with him is he tries to use coercion and intimidation to get the taxi driver to admit he or she did something wrong.  The last time he cited yours truly he actually told me to tell him the truth or he would suspend me. 

According to municipal code a taxi driver has to commit certain acts before he or she can be suspended.  In addition, a taxi driver has to be found guilty in a court of law before he or she is suspended.  Yet, the citation was sufficient for this taxi inspector to accuse me of lying and to threaten me with suspension when I hadn’t even had my day in court.  In case you are wondering in the ten years I have been a taxi driver I have received four citations and lost only one in court.

The other two taxi inspectors I call the twins.  They drive around in the same car.  Where there is one you will find the other.  However, the bigger problem is they fuel animosity among taxi drivers by laughing and ridiculing drivers while in conversations with other taxi drivers.  Their job is code enforcement, not to be entertaining them selves by seeing how much trouble they can cause among the drivers.

I have had to write city government and the police chief.  Now, after they had their chains yanked they have copped an attitude.  There are no real inspectors doing their jobs.  Now all that works in the Taxi Detail department in the stupid city of El Paso are people who cash their paychecks but are no where to be seen.