In defense of AAA

Several readers said we were too tough on AAA taxi. It provides an excellent service, they said, and owner Jiří Kvasnička has always reacted positively to any customer complaints. One reader suggested that Mayor Pavel Bém, disguised as a tourist, might have intentionally sought out a AAA driver for inspection, because Kvasnička has criticized city hall's lack of taxi regulation. The main argument in defense of the driver was that Bém tried to pay his Kč 134 (E4.40) fare in euros. Euros aren't legal tender in the CR, the readers said, so the driver can't be blamed for not returning the change from a E10 note. One cabbie put the matter into context for us. Drivers for the dispatching services are very careful, he said, because the penalties for cheating a customer can be severe. But if they think they can get away with it, they'll do what they have to do to get by. [Czech Republic ODS]