Sunday, March 26, 2006

taxi cabiquette

so last night i called a cab. i wait. i'm on a busy street so there were actually quite a few others ones that past me, but i continue to patiently wait for the cab that i called (i don't want my friends' address or my cell phone number to be blacklisted). finally, a cab from the company i called pulled up. so i got in. then another cab from the same company called up. on the radio i can hear the other cab driver yelling at dispatch saying that "the thief just stole my fare". i can see the driver in the other cab giving my cabbie the evil eye. i felt so guilty. should i get out at this time and go to the proper cab?

it's a question that i often wonder about. there's all this cab etiquette. some are easy - you take the first cab in the queue outside the station/restaurant/club ... whatever the location. but then there are other times i'm left wondering.

for example, i hail a cab. one starts pulling over and another one cuts him off and pulls in front. so, there are then two cabs at the side of the road for me. which one do i choose? the crazy one that sped in front. or the more patient one? if i don't go with the crazy one will he do something crazy? but if i do go with the crazy aggressive one, will he do something crazy?

i really do wonder about the blind faith we put in cabbies sometimes. b/c really, you never know what you're going to get.

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