Taxi

A taxicab driver was robbed in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday on Eloise Lane in Edgewood. The driver told police he was called to pick up a fare in the 1800 block of Eloise Lane shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday and when he arrived was approached by a man wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt with a white dragon print on the back and black jeans, according to Harford County Sheriff's Office incident report. The man told the victim he was the one who called for the cab, then demanded all the driver's money, which the driver handed over, according to the report.

The National Labor Relations Board has sided with about 350 taxi drivers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, ruling that they should be classified as employees, not independent contractors, by the company that holds the state contract to operate cabs at the airport. The drivers, who work for BWI Taxi Management Inc., have said for years that they should be treated as employees and given access to benefits such as unemployment and workers' compensation insurance.

Samuel Renard Queen, of the 3500 block of Elmley Ave. in Baltimore, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for rape, kidnapping and related offenses this week for assaulting a woman at knifepoint in his unlicensed taxicab, the Baltimore state's attorney's office announced. The victim hailed the “hack” taxi after work on Dec. 6, 2010, prosecutors said. Queen picked her up on Belair Road and agreed to take her downtown, but instead took her to Clifton Park, where he forced her to engage in sexual acts and raped her. A jury convicted Queen in the attack on April 12, and he was sentenced Wednesday.

The Maryland Public Service Commission turned down a request Wednesday that would have allowed taxi companies to put security cameras instead of bullet-resistant shields in Baltimore cabs as a form of protection. Baltimore Taxi Affiliation Services, which has 100 taxis under the Arrow Cab and Baltimore City Taxi names, asked the PSC in December to change a state regulation that requires protective guards in city cabs. Shields became mandatory in Baltimore in 1995. During an administrative meeting Wednesday, Norma Reyes, a senior executive vice president with Baltimore Taxi, said the shields make the smaller, more fuel-efficient cars now being leased to drivers cramped and uncomfortable, especially during 12-hour shifts.

Step into a cab in many major cities, including Baltimore, and you'll wind up sitting behind a clear, bullet-resistant shield that separates you from the driver. But one taxicab company operating in Baltimore wants to replace the state-mandated protective guard with security cameras. Baltimore Taxi Affiliation Services, which operates 100 cabs under the Arrow Cab and Baltimore City Taxi brands, recently asked the Maryland Public Service Commission to consider amending state regulations to allow for either a shield or a camera in Baltimore cabs.

A taxi driver was stabbed by a fare early Saturday in Bel Air, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office, sending the driver to the hospital. Police said Robert E. Donley, 53, or Aberdeen, had picked up and driven a man to the intersection of Crescent Knoll Drive and North Fountain Green Road. when the unidentified man demanded money, assaulted Donley and fled. Police were on the scene around 1:35 a.m. Donley, who drives for ABC Company, is in serious condition at the Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, police said.

A 56-year-old man, who police say offered a taxi ride to a teenage boy and then sexually assaulted him, was arrested and charged with the crime Tuesday. The boy was standing at a bus stop near Patapsco Avenue and 9th Street in Brooklyn on the evening of Aug. 21, 2011 when Ted Bryant stopped his taxi cab and offered him a ride home, according to a statement Wednesday from police. Before being dropped off in the 2400 block of Baker Street in West Baltimore, police said, the boy was sexually assault by Bryant.

A Baltimore jury convicted a 27-year-old man of first degree rape for using a rouse to lure a woman into his car and then raping her at knifepoint. Michael D. Glenn was found guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon and other sexual offenses in the May 8, 2011 incident, the Baltimore City State's Attorney's office said Friday. Prosecutors say Glenn posed as a hack taxi driver and picked up a woman, offering to transport her to her destination in exchange for a fee. But he drove her to Leakin Park instead, and put a box cutter to her neck, repeatedly threatened to kill her and raped her. Glenn will be sentenced on April 4. He faces a maximum of two life terms plus 38 years in prison.

The Tipsy? Taxi! service from Yellow Cab, which offers free cab rides on several holidays throughout the year, is returning to Baltimore on New Year's Eve. It'll be the fourth year in a row the service, which has been criticized for being sluggish and dropping calls, will be offered in the city. On the 31st,  the Charm City Circulator with also have extended hours. Tipsy? Taxi!, sponsored by Yellow Cab, AAA Mid-Atlantic, and this year, the Motor Vehicle Administration, aims to keep drunk drivers off the road on drinking holidays.