DC Cabbies
While I'm not enthusiastic about riding around DC in cabs (the Metro is cheaper), I love quizzing the cabbies about their occupation. Last night, I hailed a cab, and got a driver from Ethiopia. I asked him to take me from Downtown DC to Arlington, Virgina (a lot of cabbies hate this because they usually have to cross the river back into DC without picking up another fare).
I ask, "How's business tonight?"
"It's horrible. I've been driving around for 2 hours without a fare. I'm only taking you to Virginia because it's so slow."
We talk some more about the weather, the Asian Tsunami, Britney Spears, etc.
"What's the biggest tip that you've ever received?"
"One guy, he gave me a $40 tip on a $18 fare. He was a good man. Good American. I love America. I love supply and demand. In my country, if the rider thinks the fare is too high, they say they will call the police."
"What do you think about the meter versus the zones?" [In Virginia, cabs use the standard meter, but in DC, they charge fares according to "zones". If your destination is confined to one geographical zone, it's $5.50. As you cross into more zones, it's more money. With zones, the rider often does not know what the fare is unless s/he is familiar with the town and the awful "zone map" (PDF)]
He replies, "Before I started driving, I hated the zones. Now, I don't mind. If we go back to the meter, I'm okay with it, but I like the zones."
"In your opinion, what is the percentage of DC cabbies that rip people off by overcharging them because they don't know the zones?"
"Oh, you have to be careful. There are undercover cops. They will fine you if you overcharge."
"Yeah, but what's the percentage? How many cabbies will overcharge?"
"On slow days like today, all of them will overcharge. All of them. But on busy nights, they will be fair."
You can learn a lot from these guys.
TrackBack
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference DC Cabbies:
» Adventures in Cab Driving from The Club for Growth Blog
I took a cab both to and from lunch today. I love chatting with the drivers because they’ve always got something interesting to say (here’s a previous post on the subject). The first driver today was updating me on the... [Read More]
Comments
"Overcharge"? Whose cab is it, the district's or the cabbies?
Posted by: Tom Hanna | December 31, 2004 1:30 AM
Britney Spears? what did he have to say about her?
Posted by: Charlie Roth | December 31, 2004 11:56 AM
Britney Spears? What did he have to say about her?
Posted by: Charlie Roth | December 31, 2004 11:57 AM
Thought you might enjoy my D.C. cab story.
As a young paralegal I was sent to DC to mine import data at the FCC. When I landed, I went to the ariport board listing local hotels and providing a direct phone hookup. I called one of the hotels near the airport and asked if they had a courtesy car.
"Sure! He comes by about every 15 minutes. Look for a white station wagon that says blahblah ( I forget exactly what) on it. He'll let you off at the Kings Inn across the street. We don't have room to park him here, but we share a car. Just walk over."
So I went where instructed. And sure enough after about 10 minutes, a car matching his description showed up. The driver put my bags in his trunk, and off we went.
You're the car for the XYZ motel, right, I asked, just bit uncertain because the verbiage on his car didn't match the name of the hotel I was going to?
"NOT AGAIN!" he said. Screeching to a halt, he yelled: "Get out of the car!"
Seems that the clerk at the hotel I was staying at - which didn't have a courtesy car - was freeloading on his competitor across the street.
I walkd about 2 blocks back to the airport and caught a cab.
Ed
Posted by: Ed Mick | January 2, 2005 3:37 AM