In New Orleans, I’ve noticed the drivers either know the town, or only know how to get to the airport (usually they’re parked in front of hotels). Before I get in, I’ll ask if they know the street and area of town, if not…NEXT!
My wife left our hotel on Canal and asked to go like 4 blocks to Bourbon and Conti…I had to give the driver directions on her cellphone. When he finally pulled up, I said “Enjoy your stay in town.”
I take cabs infrequently, but I recall Chicago cabbies having some sort of “streetfinder” guides that helped them find addresses.
Am I showing my age here?
Hey, I just grabbed the two nearest states I could think of. I suppose I could have said, “Indiana or Southern Illinois,” but it just didn’t seem to have the same ring. Plus, I did witness a recently-moved-to-Chicago Iowan gawk up at the buildings from a cab and exclaim (granted, drunkenly), “I am SO lost!” The rest of us quickly assured the driver we knew exactly where we were.
I still see these from time to time, but it seems to be mostly older cabbies who use them. I’m probably not giving them enough benefit of the doubt, but I don’t think a streetfinder would help this newer crowd; not only don’t they know where major streets are, they don’t seem to know how to navigate the city in general.
Abso-bloody-lutely!
I am wondering how much of a scam is going on here. Asking if you know the way is asking if you will notice if they drive an indirect route to your destination, meter ticking merrily as you go. I’m sure it isn’t always the case, but DC cabbies and their fight to prevent meters in cabs has somewhat jaded me.
When we take cabs home sometimes in Cambridge, I don’t mind giving them directions, because we live on a little one-way street in an obscure residential area. (Although I’ve found myself giving directions to a surprisingly large number of cabbies who have GPS systems but don’t use them.)
My boyfriend and I went to Providence one weekend to attend an event there, and we booked a room in the Hilton hotel. We took the train from Boston to Providence and grabbed a cab at the cab stand outside the train station. One would assume that the cabbies at the train station are used to carrying tourists who don’t know Providence and are going to a hotel. One would be mistaken. The cabbie didn’t know where the goddamn Hilton Hotel was! He was on his phone trying to get directions from another cabbie and driving us around in circles for 10 minutes before we demanded that he pull over and let us out so we could find someone who knew what they were doing. We declined to pay him for his lack of services. The Hilton, it turned out, was less than a mile from the train station.
Hell, we stopped in our rental car once to ask a cop in Boston how to get to the Hilton, I think. You could see the damned thing from where we were, but we couldn’t for love nor money figure out how to get there. The cop started to tell us one way, stopped, started to tell us another way, scratched his head, and said “Hell if I know!” He had us make a turn and go on for a bit and look for another cop. (That cop knew.)
Well, I suppose I’ll forgive you… this time. 
Goodness knows my boyfriend seems to think there’s something inherently funny about being from Wisconsin. (“You corn-fed -” “Hey! Corn is tasty!”)
I don’t take taxis too often, but if i’m visiting a city and know that i’m going to need to get a cab from an airport or a train station, i usually look up my destination on Google maps before i leave home, so that i have some idea of how to get where i’m going, and so that i will be able to tell if the cab driver is trying to take me the long way around.
I do like this idea, though:
If everyone asked the driver, before getting in, whether they knew how to get to the destination, and refused to ride with drivers who don’t know their way around, that would certainly encourage a better knowledge among cab drivers, i think.
I sometimes experience the opposite problem. When I take cabs, I usually know exactly where I’m going and how to get there. I’ve had a number of cabbies argue with me, insist on their own route, and get us stuck in horrible traffic. I usually don’t put up with that, but sometimes by the time I realize what’s going on, it’s too late.
There was one time when I was a little unsure of the route, but I know where I wanted to be. After driving around for nearly an hour (more than doubling the fare), he said “Here you are.”
“No, this isn’t the place.”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure it is.”
“No, I’m very certain it isn’t.”
“Yes, I know it is.”
That went on for a good long time. The guy actually thought he could fool me.
My boyfriend and I ran into this problem while on vacation. After much puzzlement and checking of google maps after the fact, we decided that this was their way of finding out if we were locals. Once it was clear that we were not, we were taking the long way without knowing it until much later.
I’ve been in a cab twice. One going from the airport in portland and once going back to that airport. So I got in a cab and told him to take me to a restaurant. He asks me what restaurant and I tell him any restaurant in town will due. He asks me again and I give him the same answer but add I’m not from around here. He then calls his boss and asks him for a restaurant. So they drop me off at a restaurant that’s not even opened yet.
Then later on, I call the company and tell them to send a cab over to take me to the airport. They ask me where I am. I tell them I’m on the corner of so and so. I guess I wasn’t specific enough. They wanted an actual address. Sigh… So I walk around till I find a building with an address, call them back, give them the address, then sit on the street and wait for them to send a guy.
Taxis.
Suck.
I’m only playing Devil’s advocate here, because I’ve dealt with truly horrible taxi drivers, but:
In some cases, like the one described by tr0psn4j, cab companies won’t dispatch. My parents have a cab company, and only pick up from the airport (where they’re based,) or they will pull “specials” - i.e. return clients. It’s often very unsafe to dispatch to “unknown person on random street corner,” even in our small city.
Also, regarding the “ask client which route they might prefer”: Because it’s more “picturesque,” the city cab commission here asks cab drivers to use a route from the airport into town that is usually a bit faster, but about 3/4 mile longer than the most direct route. As a local, I always say “Take me from Point A to Point B via Highway C.” I know that my directions trump the stupid taxicab commission and its Chamber of Commerce preference for the route that avoids the industrial stretch between A and B. If I’m not local, Google is actually going to agree with the Chamber of Commerce All-Interstate version of the route to downtown. If I am local, and not aware of what the stupid taxicab commission says is ideal, I’m gonna be cheesed if you take the long way.
Any way you look at it, though, that doesn’t excuse drivers from knowing the major streets and intersections in their towns. That’s a basic job requirement. However, GPS isn’t really a great solution in many cities, especially historic cities, because many systems don’t account for one-way streets and traffic circles and such.
I’ve had problems with Chicago cabbies, too. I don’t live in the city and I rely on cabs to get me around when I’m there. I know enough that I can tell of they’re on the wrong track, but I can’t imagine what a visitor would have to go through. They really suck.
I take taxis all the time, usually relatively short distances, grocery store to home, etc., and my biggest taxi pet peeve is that lately every single goddamned one of them is all “You’re not gonna give me a $20, are you?” Um, yeah I am, assuming you want me to pay you. The ATM spits out $20s, dude, and taxis are one of the very few things I use cash for. It’s not my job to have change, it’s yours.
Huh, what? I have a 4 year old GPS that was on the low end of things when I bought it, and it handles one-way streets and all that, just fine. It even knows where and when I can’t turn left in the myriad of places in town where the alignment of streets suggest I should be able to turn left, but a big sign that says ‘no left turns between 4 and 7pm’ says I can’t.
Now, GPS is kind of a pain in the ass in places with lots of tall buildings, or, as in the case of Boston, buried roads, because it tends to cut out, but the lots of tall buildings parts of town are the ones I’d really, really, really expect cab drivers to know well.
I once had trouble getting cabbies to take a credit card. Finally, they started posting signs in the cab stating that they HAD to take it if you wanted to pay by card. That always got the stink eye.
Wouldn’t a decent GPS in the cab solve most of these unknown address issues.
I wouldn’t even try giving them a card around here, and I’m okay with that. I even try to pay in small bills if I can, because I know it does make their lives easier. But I don’t want to hear any pissing and moaning if I only have a $20. Having change is part of their job. I wouldn’t go to my job unprepared, and they shouldn’t either.
I agree…cash is best. I had car trouble and didn’t have enough cash on me. I had to go to the grocery store on the way home to cash a check for him…meter running the whole time.:mad:
You’d think so. I’d think so. But I’ve been in cabs that had a GPS system, and the cabbie still asked me how to get there. Try turning on your fucking GPS!