‘I’m going to teach you a lesson’: Vancouver man says cabbie trapped him in taxi

A Vancouver man said a recent taxi ride to downtown Vancouver left him trapped in a cab and calling 911.

Rob Anderson said he and a friend were taking a cab to Yaletown after attending a Halloween party in the 300-block of Main Street on Friday night. Along the way, they decided to stop at Fritz European Fry House on Davie Street.

Anderson said his friend went into the shop to pick up some French fries while he stayed in a Black Top and Checker Cabs taxi with the meter running. He said he offered to tip the cabbie extra for the inconvenience and even offered him some French fries.

That’s when the taxi driver, according to Anderson, became agitated.

“At that point, he got very upset. He didn’t want to leave the meter running. He wanted to be actively driving. He was upset that the fare was slowing down, I guess.”

“My friend got out, went across the street and I was still sitting in the cab. He said, ‘I’m going to teach you a lesson,’ and he locked the doors and he said, ‘I’m going to drive you back to where you came from.'”

With his friend still in the fry shop, Anderson said he was trapped in the cab and being driven in the wrong direction.

Anderson said he dialed 911 and “gave a running commentary of the streets that I was passing.”

Anderson said police eventually pulled the cab over near Robson and Hornby streets and took both men’s stories before sending them on their way.

Amrik Mahil of Black Top and Checker Cabs questions Anderson’s version of events, saying it “doesn’t really make sense.”

He said cabbies generally honour passenger requests to stop for “a reasonable amount of time.”

Mahil said the driver asked Anderson to get out of the cab.

“He refused to leave and refused to give money,” Mahil said, adding that both passengers were “drunk.”

Vancouver police said nothing criminal took place, just a disagreement that they had to defuse.

— With files from Geoff Hastings