A Fare To Remember_ Just Whistle_Driven - Vicki Lewis Thompson [109]
Fares to and from the airports in New York have fixed rates. You can check the airport Web site to find out the going rate.
“Gypsy cabs” are illegal in New York, but they are still everywhere. If it’s not yellow, it’s not an official, regulated cab. It’s best to avoid these cabs if you can as they are often not the safest way to travel since they are not marked nor are they regulated.
Consider not only regular rush-hour traffic when planning travel through the city, but also location. If you’re in the Theater District, pay attention to showtimes. Getting a cab at four o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon can be tough because of the Broadway matinees!
Passenger rights are usually posted in the back of a cab, but even if they are not, don’t be afraid to insist that the driver turn the radio down or off, turn the heater or air conditioner on or off, close the windows, stop talking on their cell phone, etc. If they don’t comply, report them, but most will do as you ask.
My personal taxi reviews by city:
New York
New York City cabs are pretty much everything you expect. The drivers are often foreign-speaking, but I have to say that only last trip there, I rode in at least ten taxis and while all my drivers had accents, all but one conversed easily in English and most had been in our country for a very long time. One reminded me a lot of Mario, as a matter of fact, and he told me stories on our short trip that were fascinating. I was careful not to distract him with chatter, though. I did want to arrive alive and New York traffic can be frightening!
Interesting New York Taxi Facts:
The first female taxi driver in New York got behind the wheel in 1925.
The last Checker cab in New York City was retired July 26, 1999.
In 2003, 238 million people rode in New York taxicabs.
Chicago
This is my favorite city to ride in a cab. I don’t know what it is about Chicago, but all the cabdrivers I’ve ridden with (and I go to Chicago about once a year—twice, if I can) have been super friendly, helpful and hardworking. I’ve never once been waved off by a Chicago cabdriver and on my last trip, my cabdriver asked if he could pick up an extra fare on the way to my destination and he’d give me a discount if I agreed. He had two fares, two travelers got a ride and I got a break on the fare and everyone was happy. Chicago cabs are not exclusively yellow as they are in New York, but I only ride in the ones with clear markings.
Fun Chicago Taxi Facts:
Yellow Cab of Chicago was founded in 1915 by John Hertz, the same man who later started Hertz Rent-A-Car. He was the first taxi company owner to pick yellow as the taxi color of choice and his idea clearly spread to other cities, including New York, like wildfire!
Chicago has a famous singing cabdriver named Ray St. Ray who croons love ballads and pop songs with his own social commentary to his fares.
Las Vegas
Like all of Las Vegas, the cabdrivers here are efficient and friendly. Las Vegas is not a big place, so getting from point A to point B is more a matter of traffic than it is distance. The driveways into the resort hotels are sometimes longer and more congested than the main thoroughfares. The taxi drivers here do know what’s going on where. They were always helpful if I had any questions. I’ve never tried to catch a cab in Las Vegas during the daytime in July, but I guess it wouldn’t be an easy task unless you’re at the entrance to one of the hotels. I can’t imagine catching one in the street would be easy, so keep that in mind when you go out for a walk.
Clark County taxicabs are fitted with surveillance cameras that have helped them catch people who have committed crimes in cabs, including stealing the cab from the driver.
Cabs in Nevada base their fares on both time and distance—if the cab is moving at less than eight-to-twelve miles per hour, it calculates by time—over that speed, and it calculates by distance.
Reno
I have to mention the little town of Reno because on my most recent trip, I noticed that Reno had the most colorful