Can I have a white taxi driver please?

[Greater-London]

A cab company in Rochdale in the North West of England has had a number of customers requesting "local" white drivers. This is thought to be in response to a series of incidents in 2012 where groups of men of Pakistani origin groomed teenage girls on nights out in the town center; some of whom worked for a cab company now belonging to "Cab 2000" who are receiving the requests for white drivers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29727117

The question I pose to you NSG is this... Should customers be allowed to request drivers by ethnicity? Should the cab company face charges for fulfilling the requests for "white drivers"? are there are any instances where you should be able to request a service based on someones race? could I ask to see a white doctor for instance?

I for one think is absolutely appalling and you shouldn't request drivers by the colour of their skin or cultural heritage. Although if the Cab company decides to fulfill the wishes of people who do then that's their decision and as far as I'm aware no law has been broken.

[The State of Deseret]

Let the person request. Let the Company respond.

If the Company says yay then good on you. If they say Nay no harm done.

[Ashmoria]

yikes.

I sure can understand the feelings of the people making the request. I would seem to be a PR problem that the cab companies need to address with demonstrably true assurances that they do not (and did not, if true) employ any of those criminal drivers.

otherwise it is inappropriate to request drivers except by name.

[Frazers]

Yes to taxi services being allowed to accept such requests so long as drivers aren't put at a disadvantage. Yes to patients being allowed to select certain ethnicities when in a vulnerable position in hospitals. Its not the time or place to be dictating the terms to them on such an easily corrected issue.

[Fanosolia]

Personally shouldn't matter, even if it did it's not like you guarantee it. It's the stupidest minor thing to ask, they have bigger problems to worry about than if a customer has their preferred driver.

[Serrian]

Feel free to jump into a cab with a white driver if you want to, but if I owned a cab company I sure as hell wouldn't dispatch another cab just because someone's a goddamn xenophobe.

I suppose it's fine as long as they don't beg for a new cab dispatch if there are only non-white drivers around, but if it persists, then a bunch of non-white cab drivers will start losing income, and then we're gonna have to enter another one of those godawful affirmative action debates again.

[Ifreann]

Should customers be allowed to request drivers by ethnicity?

Sure, but they should all be told "No, you fucking racist". Or maybe something more polite.

Should the cab company face charges for fulfilling the requests for "white drivers"?

No, but if their non-white employees are inclined to sue then that should be possible.

are there are any instances where you should be able to request a service based on someones race?

I'm gonna go with no.

could I ask to see a white doctor for instance?

Nah.

[Xianlong]

It's a delicate issue, but tarring every southeast Asian (they were Pakistanis, weren't they?) with a rapist/groomer/pedophile brush is just bloody stupid.

[Luciland (Ancient)]

As a Satanist Theocracy we believe that only Satan can judge what race drives the taxis. C'mon don't be racist.

[Republic of Coldwater]

If customers want a white driver, then they shouldn't be stopped by the government. However, a company should have a right to refuse to give the customers a white driver, as its their company, not the government's company.

[Ifreann]

As a Satanist Theocracy we believe that only Satan can judge what race drives the taxis. C'mon don't be racist.

We don't pretend that we run real countries in this part of the forum.

[Ifreann]

If customers want a white driver, then they shouldn't be stopped by the government. However, a company should have a right to refuse to give the customers a white driver, as its their company, not the government's company.

No, it's just the government's laws that the company operates under.

[Benuty]

As a Satanist Theocracy we believe that only Satan can judge what race drives the taxis. C'mon don't be racist.

NSG is OOC.

[Benuty]

As a Satanist Theocracy we believe that only Satan can judge what race drives the taxis. C'mon don't be racist.

We don't pretend that we run real countries in this part of the forum.

Then why all the masturbation in General then?

Surely people would know not to do it.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Honestly... this sounds terrible. Not to mention racially charged. :/

[Benuty]

Honestly... this sounds terrible. Not to mention racially charged. :/

You should see Paris then .

[Enfaru]

yikes.

I sure can understand the feelings of the people making the request. I would seem to be a PR problem that the cab companies need to address with demonstrably true assurances that they do not (and did not, if true) employ any of those criminal drivers.

otherwise it is inappropriate to request drivers except by name.

Actually, they employed two of them.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Honestly... this sounds terrible. Not to mention racially charged. :/

You should see Paris then .

I have.

Aren't the great majority of cab drivers in England Middle Eastern or Indian?

[Chestaan]

I know that many people might request a male/female doctor and that is allowed usually, but asking for a white taxi driver seems racist.

[Frazers]

I know that many people might request a male/female doctor and that is allowed usually, but asking for a white taxi driver seems racist.

Why the distinguishing between decisions on race vs decisions on gender?

[Ashmoria]

yikes.

I sure can understand the feelings of the people making the request. I would seem to be a PR problem that the cab companies need to address with demonstrably true assurances that they do not (and did not, if true) employ any of those criminal drivers.

otherwise it is inappropriate to request drivers except by name.

Actually, they employed two of them.

then I can see why people are making the request. the company needs to address this PR problem. .... assuming that the company had no knowledge of what these 2 men were doing, of course.

im not saying its RIGHT but that it is understandable why people who need a taxi don't want to end up with a criminal driver. ...and silly to think that white drivers are never criminals.

[Brazilian People]

Sorry, but I think companies shouldn't accept such behaviour. If it can be done on one side, why can't it be done on the other? What if a driver just want to accept clients of a certain ethnicity? It's a door to hell.

[Svatantra Mulukama]

It's racist, bigoted, and downright stupid for anyone to ask for a driver of a certain race, but it's ultimately the decision of the company. I just worry that it could significantly harm minority cab drivers.

[Chestaan]

I know that many people might request a male/female doctor and that is allowed usually, but asking for a white taxi driver seems racist.

Why the distinguishing between decisions on race vs decisions on gender?

It's mostly to do with the fact that usually people ask for a certain gender doctor because they believe that they will understand their problem more. i.e there is a reasonable reason to ask. Asking for a white taxi driver, or indeed, asking for a male/female taxi driver isn't reasonable. Whether or not it should be legal or not is another matter.

[Ifreann]

It's racist, bigoted, and downright stupid for anyone to ask for a driver of a certain race, but it's ultimately the decision of the company. I just worry that it could significantly harm minority cab drivers.

Which is why it shouldn't be the decision of the company.