City Letter of the Day
posted by on May 14 at 14:54 PM
TAXICAB SURVIVAL TIPSEDITOR: As an ex-cabbie, I found “The (Less Than) Amazing Race” an entertaining, if not nostalgic, read. To passengers, especially locals, it may seem like a simple task to drive along one’s usual rut from point A to Point B. But Seattle’s geography, along with its sometimes perplexing traffic engineering, make this city a challenging place to drive, especially when you are expected to figure out the best route between any two points that chance throws at you.
To reduce the chance of getting the cab ride from hell, I suggest using the following formats:
(1) When calling a dispatcher, state the exact address you are at, followed by the exact address or name of your destination. Understand that a vacant cab might be just around the corner, or things might be very busy and take longer. There’s no way around this. The alternative is having too many drivers (all starving) waiting for your beck and call. It’s sometimes next to impossible for the dispatcher to really know how long it will take to get a cab to you.
(2) When getting in the cab (whether you called or hailed it), FIRST state the general area you’re headed (“We’re going to Ballard”), then state the exact street address. If you know the route you would like to take, state that LAST (“We’d like to go up 15th through Interbay”). Very rarely you will encounter an immature driver who doesn’t like to be told what route to take; get out. Most drivers oblige, and may even appreciate the help.
Finally, if the Stranger REALLY wants to compare cab companies, do it during a weekday afternoon. And go against the glaciers; Wedgewood to Crown Hill, Magnolia to Madison Park, Seward Park to the Fauntleroy ferry dock. East-West travel in this city is generally trickier than north-south. That ought to overrun your weekly feature budget pretty well.
Blair Johnson
Farwest, North End & Yellow, 1980-1987
out of curiosity... Does Seattle not have cab stands? Cus those are pretty convenient.
Hear, hear, Blair. Seattle is a challenging, fun city to negotiate by motor vehicle. Any and every opportunity to learn new routes and short cuts is knowledge well-earned and is forevermore dividend-reaping.
Plus, kudos to you as someone who spent 7-years as a cabbie - in the 'service industry' - to remind customers to be courteous, polite and understanding.
It's a simple thing for service peeps of all stripes to quickly identify people who've never had to bust their hump accommodating other people's purchasing desires. As the joke goes: What do you call someone who's never been in the service industry? An Asshole.
I thought that was a very well written letter! He should freelance!
The neighborhood of Wedgwood is not spelled the same way as Wedgewood china.
My dad was a cabbie for thirty years -
Far West and Yellow.
Hard work, long shifts and he got beaten up twice in slug fest robberies - the robbers lost - big strong six footer - plus a coke bottle smash to the head, head wound which almost killed him.
Super good driver, smooth on the road, polite, opened the door, helped with packages, charming and quite good looking. Keeps the tips up he used to say.
Knew the city like the back of his hand, pitched pints, knew where the OK whores were to be found, for tourists and fishermen - big tips for that service too.
Delivered blood and was way cool helping spastic kids to school, many drivers turned down those fares, had a host of Magnolia afternoon rich ladies coming downtown who would ask for him.
Hit of my growing up was to ride around with him, mostly on Saturdays - Named Rudy, his street call was Roy.
Long dead, I miss him every day. I take cabs everywhere, always tip 4-5 bucks, and most of the drivers are idiots, can't drive and don't know the city. Though it is much better the last two-three years.
Oh well.....
My father, uncle, and two brothers were all cabbies for years. I've never had any trouble with cabs in Seattle; the drivers have nearly always been polite, competent drivers, and either knew where they were going or were secure enough to ask how to get there. I tip well and don't treat cabbies like crap. Anytime I stay in a hotel downtown (which I do about once a year; it's my personal splurge), I take cabs to get around the city.
Now, Boston, that's another matter. My GAWD, some of the cabbies there are dicks. I had one driver that I damned near called in a complaint on - the guy swore at me, bitched the whole way about having to drive "all the way out to the airport" with one passenger, blah blah blah. He was obnoxious beyond belief, and then so frigging rude about the tip that I damned near snatched it back. That was quite an eye-opener. I'd literally never experienced the apocryphal East Coast cabbie before.
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