Does one have to pay for a taxi driver's return trip toll?

Question

My wife and I recently took a metered cab from SFO to Alameda. There is no toll from San Francisco to the East Bay, but there is a toll going from the East Bay to San Francisco. At the end of our trip, the driver told us that there will be an extra $6 charge ($4 for the bridge toll and $2 for getting out of the airport). Should we have paid for his return toll, however, if we're not the ones returning?

Answer 1

I wouldn't have paid him. If he needed that toll, you should have been informed before you left your destination. Since he didn't tell you, than tell him to "stuff it," and just get out of the cab and walk away.

Answer 2

If there is no alternate route back, then I think it would be fair for you to pay.   Remember that the toll is for the round trip, but they only charge it in one direction for convenience so people don't have to stop and pay twice.  If there were an alternate route available then they would charge both directions.

Answer 3

Sounds like nonsense to me.  He can take another route back if he does not want to pay a toll it is a business expense that he should have to pay for not the person who already paid to get where they were going.  He needs to pick up a fair on the way back and charge them.  Or he should have told you up front that the toll would be part of the fair not once you get there!

Answer 4

I drove a cab years ago, and that was normal procedure. Whenever we paid a toll, the customer was responsible for paying our way back.

Additional details: Yes, the driver was wrong for not informing them up front. We always did. The tolls we dealt with were a bridge and tunnel leading into Canada, so there were no alternate return routes. Plus there are strict regulations as to where drivers can pick up fares and where they cannot. We were not allowed to pick anyone up in Canada.