Friday, December 21, 2007

Have Fun All

Hope everybody has a good holiday season - I may not be blogging again until the new year - so enjoy.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Feeling Gassy?

I forgot to add one more choice to the poll - gas fees. In DC cabs are allowed to charge $1 more sometimes to make up for higher gas prices. These little tags appear on the window saying that from date A to date B cabs can charge $1 more per ride to offset gas costs.

Do other cities let drivers charge more when gas prices are high?

Random Notes - Dispatcher-Driver Fun

I've got a piece of paper in my purse I use for random notes on cab rides. Now that I've pulled it out to write some of them up I have no idea what some meant. But here's some memories jogged by the ones that I do remember on dispatcher monologues heard while riding in cabs.

#1
Dispatcher: No, 410 [rest of address]. 410. four one zero. [pause] four ONE zero. [pause] ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE. Four ONE Zero! Are you deaf or just stupid?

#2
Dispatcher: Who is bidding on Lincoln? Nobody? The woman is waiting. [Pause] No that one is already taken. Where are you [cab number]? That's in Georgetown. You're not in Georgetown. Stop bidding on jobs unless you're there. Take the Lincoln job. [pause]. [unrelated dispatcher chatter for a few minutes] No [cab number] You're not in Gerogetown, stop bidding on that.

#3
Dispatcher: Use channel 2 [cab #], I can't hear you. Channel 2. [pause] Are you trying to talk to me [cab #]? I can't hear you. Use channel 2. [pause] Oh forget it. I'm done with you today.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Smokin' Hot, Not?

I was in a cab last week that just reeked of smoke. That's pretty unusual anymore. So many cabs sport those red "No Smoking / Please Do Not Slam Door" signs. Got me asking myself - is smoking bad for business? Have drivers stopped smoking to keep passengers happy? (certainly not for the health benefits!) Or is that why one cab I was in had almost a dozen of those little green Christmas tree scent things plastered all over the sides and roof?

Drivers - do you let people smoke in your cabs? Did you stop smoking because it was stinking up your cab?

Passengers - do you jump out of a cab if it reeks of smoke?

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Polls - Results and New Poll

The results from the last poll - best and worst DC Cab Companies are:

Best Cab Company Votes
Yellow - 17
Diamond - 12
UCC - 4
Sun - 2
Dial - 1
Royal - 0

Worst Cab Company Votes
Diamond - 16
Yellow and UCC - 9
Dial - 6
Royal - 5
Sun - 1

Interesting - Diamond Cab got a lot of votes. At 16 it is the winner for worst, but at 12, it's in 2nd place for best. Go figure LOL. What I think is really telling is that more people voted in the worst cab poll (46) than in the best cab poll (36). I have a feeling that there's a lot of animus out there for DC cabs.

Was there a company that wasn't on the list that should have been? It was just DC cabs, not any of the suburban companies. If your favorite or worst cab company wasn't on the list - now's the chance to vent ;).

In the meantime - new poll. Extra fees. Should they be charged? And for what?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

He's a poet and he knows it

I just got an email from Susan. She just got home from a ride with the cab driver poet, she thinks the same one I wrote up back in April 2006. He had a couple books of poetry he was sharing (wanting to sell I'm sure) and recited some of them. She said it was an interesting ride - and more enjoyable than hearing non-ending complaints about traffic.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Shame Cab List - The Drive Bys

Friends send me cab info for posting as a "shame on you" piece. So here are some of them. They all have one thing in common - driving right on by someone who is trying to hail them.

Columbia cab #5 - Black is a skin color, not a sign for no money in wallet. This person had money and tips well.

Grand cab #38 - People who wave madly at you are trying to hail you to stop. It's your job to do that.

Dial cab #786 - The woman you passed by the other night often tips very well. She was so annoyed at being passed by by you that she gave the driver who picked her up over double the fare.

Yellow #329 - If you're going to pretend you didn't see the woman trying to flag you down, you shouldn't make eye contact with her.

Empire #328 - Upper NW DC isn't on the moon - and it's illegal to refuse to take someone there.