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). bq. I ask, "How's business tonight?" bq. "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." bq. We talk some more about the weather, the Asian Tsunami, Britney Spears, etc. bq. "What's the biggest tip that you've ever received?" bq. "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." bq. "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)] bq. 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." bq. "In your opinion, what is the percentage of DC cabbies that rip people off by overcharging them because they don't know the zones?" bq. "Oh, you have to be careful. There are undercover cops. They will fine you if you overcharge." bq. "Yeah, but what's the percentage? How many cabbies will overcharge?" bq. "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.
Posted at Andrew Roth at 10:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
