# How many US cities are big enough to have taxi cabs always in use, waved down **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2005, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905 "2005-11-20T09:08:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905/21 "2005-11-21T00:40:01Z")
> [@Billdo](#): > > New York City taxi drivers do have to take a test, though it is significantly less complex or difficult than the London “knowledge.” On the other hand, the New York street grid is a lot less complex than London’s road network. > > [Here](http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/industry/sample_exam.shtml) is a sample NYC taxi exam from the Taxi & Limosuine Commission. New Orleans requires drivers to go through classes and pass a test if they want to apply for an Airport Permit. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905/22 "2005-11-21T02:26:00Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > Okay, so my title sucks :p, but you know what I mean- New York city, DC- big cities w/ taxi cabs driving around the streets and people waving them down and hopping in and going from one place to another. How many US cities have that? Philadelphia is ok in Center City, San Francisco wasn’t a problem. There are always plenty of cabs around in DC. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905/23 "2005-11-21T02:33:22Z")
In San Francisco there are cabs where you’d expect them to be- near hotels, downtown, drinking spots. But few live in the city and expect to use cabs exclusively. There are too many areas where you wouldn’t be able to find one. I think cost is also a factor. In NYC, cabs were generally cheap enough that with a small group it’d cost less than taking the subway. In other cities they tend to be a lot more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![constantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@constantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constantine)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905/24 "2005-11-21T02:49:10Z")
Regarding Cities where you commonly hail a cab, in my experience these are 1. New York, 2. Chicago, 3. DC 4. Las Vegas, 5. New Orleans This is just from my own experience. I haven’t spent much time in Philadelphia or Baltimore I would put Boston and San Francisco in the “sometimes” category. Sure, there are cabs lined up outside hotels, and outside a club at closing time, but I lived in Boston for a year, and I’ve been to San Francisco a lot (and lived there for a summer once) and I recall only a handful of times that I took a cab in either city. Compare that, to say, New York or Chicago, where I wind up taking a cab several times every time I go there. Regarding a test for knowledge, as other posters have noted, in both NY and Chicago I would say there is a WIDE variance in terms of knowledge of the city. Some drivers are experts. Others are barely competent. For whatever reason that has NOT been my experience in Vegas. Those drivers tend to be far more knowledgeable. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905/25 "2005-11-21T04:39:17Z")
In Cincinnati, at least the last time I was living up that way, it was illegal for taxis to cruise for pickups. They had to be at specific cab stands outside hotels or by museums or theaters. The law was passed because specific roaming taxis were offering prositutes in the back of the cab. They were being used at driving brothels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-cities-are-big-enough-to-have-taxi-cabs-always-in-use-waved-down/331905.md?page=1)