How to stay a) cheap, b) plentiful, c) quick (-ish).
One of NYC's "secrets:: cabs are often cheaper than buses or subway, especially for 2 or more folk, over shortish distances.
What I don't like. The cabs are mostly scruffy and dirty. The drivers are on their mobiles all the time. And - outside Manhattan - they have only ever had a vague sense of direction.
Still, in NYC they are not just for a) the affluent (like London, with its eye-watering prices) or b) the few (like Paris, where they are often as scarce as hen's teeth).
Basic Courtesy
When I visit NYC, I would like to view taxi drivers as informal ambassadors of the city and would love to see them be more welcoming and more willing to engage in conversation, make recommendations or answer questions. I don't need hand-holding or expect welcome baskets, but I am put off by their tendency to literally not speak at all. Most are just plain rude and it reflects poorly upon the city.
1. How to drive
2. How to get to the airport
3. How to not be a w*nker
Surely it is the easiest city in the western world to be a taxi driver? First street, second street, third street. I mean, how hard can it be to work that out?
Very hard. I've been and caught taxis, most ogf them haven't a clue where they are going. Most disconcerting was one who drove while holding a huge crucifix. He needed it, so did we and anyone else in his way.
Give the Peace Sign
I had just bought a digital camera and was using it for the first time on the way to Kennedy Airport. I asked the cabbie to give the peace sign. I was on my way to move to the UK after attending MacWorld in July, 1001.
How to simply talk to their passengers like they’re human beings who’re probably decent, nice enough people. And vice versa – each driver also has their own life, and isn’t just a McBot taking you around.
The best New York cabbie I ever had was an elderly Indian immigrant on a longish journey, who upon noting immediately from my accent that I was Irish, immediately launched into a lengthy – but extraordinarily accurate – analysis of Ireland’s economic crash, the reasons behind it, why the Irish government should have seen the Celtic Tiger would spectacularly crash, the ECB’s likely reaction and probability of not doing any QE until years later, how Greece would eventually revolt – all stuff that he was perfectly correct about, which he simply attributed to an interest in foreign media and newspapers, but never the introverted American press.
Sometimes, the best person to ask about a country, or the city you’re in, is the immigrant taxi driver, who may have a keener eye and interest in how things really work there than the locals, who take it all for granted…
Tell you where the nearest MTA bus stop is?