Taxi – The Weird Traveling

I’ve been thinking a lot on what it might take for a person to become a taxi driver. Clearly it never requires directional skills or knowledge of the city – no, that seems to be an extra perk you might pay extra for. And you’ll pay even more if the driver actually knows his way around.

Cynical, am I?

Let’s see – Whenever I am REALLY late and I feel I have enough of my spending money to burn on Taxi, there are some facts that always seems to happen.

• I ALWAYS get a black guy who barely can speak. Sign language ftw!
• They NEVER know where Cavendish is, so backtracking skills are essential (Cavendish -> Thimmens -> Marcel Laurent -> Henri Bourassa)
• If no directions are given, you KNOW he’s either following the busiest bus route, or decides to brave the 40.
• It will always cost 20% more than you think.

I do have to admit that there are good drivers around, decent people with decent lives, holding decent conversations… and some even get you from point A to point B in the fastest way possible. Imagine that!

Famous rides I’ll never forget:

• Taxi from Cote Vertu Mall where I seemed to have been picked up before the guy was to make his last deposit before the bank closed. It seemed like a life or death thing, and God knows death was a HUGE factor. The entire trip took less than 9 minutes – something normally going on 20 – 25. Halfway he was wondering if I had a problem with speeds, since he was in a hurry. “Hell No, as long as I am alive when we get there” was my response. He laughed and thought I was joking. I was not.

• The newly minted driver who had never been in St-Laurent and picked me up at the Metro, to go to a friend of mine living (it turned out) about 10 min walking distance from the metro. Had I known that then, I would have saved about 30 min off the trip, and tons of $$$.

• The old man who was a pro taxi driver (clearly, cause he was very friendly and had a infectious smile that made you think “I got to tip” even before he started driving) that missed the turn to get to Marcel Laurent, and the 2 following exits, before going around in the wrong place, trying to get his bearing. Granted, he did stop the meter after realizing his problems and we still arrived without problems, but still… I gave a large tip.

In the end, I probably think that being a taxi driver is amongst the high end jobs available for people. Where else can you see the sights of a city for free, get to meet people on a daily basis and get money for simply being friendly? Although you have lots of dead time and you run the risk of being robbed and stuff… I can still see why so many people want to be drivers.