Puke and pay: new taxi rules aimed at vomiting passengers

The Taxi Advisory Committee in Calgaryis looking at a proposal to charge riders who throw up in cabs.

Calgary's taxi industry wants to crack down on sick passengers who force cabs out of service after vomiting in them. The proposal is modelled after similar ones in Ottawa, St. Louis and Chicago, and drivers say enough is enough.

"The unfortunate thing is that when that happens, that taxi must come out of service," said Marc Halat with the City of Calgary. "We're talking about a bio-hazard here, you don't want to go into that taxi."

The proposed change to the taxi bylaw would help drivers recover lost income caused by having to be pulled out of service from the passengers who get sick.

However, taxi drivers say the proposal doesn't go far enough.

"When someone pukes in your cab, your cab is out of service so you lose more than $100," said Mohamed Benini, a taxi driver.

The proposal is expected to go to City Hall for consideration in the New Year.

In the meantime, taxi drivers say passengers who feel sick should tell their drivers so that they can pull over.