Miami v New York City Cabs

When you hail a cab you probably think there is no difference between one cab to another. They are usually yellow (although sometimes a little more orange or just dirty white). Maybe some smell different or one uses the A/C instead of windows. But yesterday I realized that cabs are very different - especially depending on the city you take them in.

When in NYC you often take cabs - especially on those days when you are late. NYC cab drivers are fast and know the in's and out's of the city. They can tell you the fastest routes from any street and you can just name an address and they can get you there with little explanation on your end.

In Miami we take cabs only if necessary. Like when you are drunk or don't have a ride from the airport. That is because most people have cars and can get around with ease on their own. I have noticed that the cab drivers down here are often clueless as to where a street address is and drive really really slow (to get the meter running longer and longer).

NYC cabs are heavily regulated. TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission) requires certain medallions to be on Taxi cabs (which aren't cheap) and they also require your cab meet certain criteria, such as putting up certain signs and licenses with your picture up.

In Miami you are lucky if the cab driver has a license issued by any state in the US. They usually do have a meter (lucky us) but they don't always have up anything that says their name or proof of a license. So who do you report when you have a complaint about a taxi driver? You don't know their name and I doubt there is anyone around to hear your complaint.

NYC cab drivers are smart. They know the importance of an EZ Pass (so you don't have to sit at tolls). More importantly, they know that their customer would complain like all hell and cross a bridge by foot instead of waiting in line for a cab to pay a toll.

In Miami they don't care about having a Sun Pass. You will sit at a toll, pay for the wait time, and pay for the toll on top of that. With no apology they waste your time and piss you off.

NYC cab drivers know the importance of keeping change to provide to the customer. If you have a twenty dollar bill you are likely to get exactly the change you want back. And if they don't have change you know they will run into a store quickly and get you exactly what you need.

In Miami you can be forced to sit at a toll, be brought to the wrong address, pay for the time the cab driver is lost and then find out that they don't have change for a twenty. They will make every excuse under the sun of why it is OK that they don't have change and then frustrate you to the point that you just walk out the cab, say a few choice words and try to forget about the frustration you just sat through.

(Picture from Daily Dose of Imagery)