<p>Did you all see this in the current campus police report? Have you used cabs in Austin before? Can a woman safely take a cab alone?</p>
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[quote] 200 West 24th Street
Robbery: A UT student took a cab from her residence to the campus. Once on campus, the student paid the cab fare with her credit card and wrote No tip in the tip line of the credit card slip. The cab driver refused to accept the credit card slip as it was signed and requested the credit card be run again. The student refused to run the credit card again and walked away. The cab driver exited the cab, approached the student, grabbed her about her arm and told her to come back to his cab. When the student tried to pull away, the cab driver pulled her jacket off and told her she would need to go to the cab office to get her jacket back. The student fled the area and called the police. The cab driver was located nearby. Occurred on 09/02/08 at 4:19 p.m.
<p>I saw that in the report too, Midwest Mom. (I'm starting to be sorry that I signed up for those e-mails.) I haven't taken a cab in Austin since I was a student there more than 20 years ago, but my daughter will probably be taking one Sunday back to the campus from the airport. I am hoping that was just an isolated incident. In any case, I'll be sure she has cash so that there's nothing to haggle over.</p>
<p>I almost wish I wasn't reading those police daily email updates, too.</p>
<p>It is almost something else, the stolen bike reports. Blue bike stolen Monday, red bike stolen Tuesday, etc. At least one bike stolen somewhere on campus every single day...</p>
<p>1 bike a day is probably an understatement. Bike theft capital of the US. If you get a good lock, most thieves won't bother, but if you have one of those elementary school chains, your bike will probably get stolen eventually.</p>
<p>Ok, so I am a middle aged man, but I was in AUstin, in the spring (S is a freshman now) and I think cabs are generally safe.</p>
<p>I may have the wrong picture here, but this sounds like a 'contract dispute' .. I would recommend you tell you children to tip ....</p>
<p>WITH THAT ALL SAID AND I DONT WANT TO LEAVE THE WRONG IMPRESSION, I UNDERSTAND THE FEARS OF PARENTS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN STUDENTS.</p>
<p>I would suspect in EVERY situation it woudl be good to be with someone, you trust, but I know this is not always possible .... As most cab drivers are independent, one option is to get the number of a trustable cabbie. I got one back in APril and he seemed good.....</p>
<p>My son takes cabs all the time. I prefer him taking a cab and not his car when he goes downtown. He hasn't had any problems. I'm not sure if he tips, but probably. He also always pays with cash.</p>
<p>How do you sign up for the daily police reports? I haven't heard of that.</p>