Taxi Madness
What’s wrong with this picture?
Whoops. I sure hope his driving is much better than his spelling!
Painted on the trunk of every cab in the metro are the lines: “How’s My Driving? Call or Text LTFRB Hotline 0921-4487777. Or call Operater Tel. No. XXX-XXXX.” Have you ever called them though?
I’ve had my share of horrible cab encounters. There are cabs that refuse to take me as a passenger because my destination is too far or because there’s too much of a traffic jam for them to handle. There are cab drivers that refuse to let me into the vehicle unless we negotiate on a flat rate — usually two times more than the supposed metered fare. There are cab drivers whose meters go way too fast. These are illegal, but they still happen anyway. There are cab drivers who incessantly complain about the traffic jam while shooting dagger looks at me, making it appear it was my fault we were stuck in a jam. Terrible.
But then there are also the good ones. There are cab drivers who get a feel of their passenger’s mood before going into storytelling. I met a cab driver whose storytelling was so wonderfully engaging I was disappointed when I had arrived at my destination! There are cab drivers who are pleasant and drive smoothly, without complaint. There are cab drivers who suggest various routes in case you have any preferred way of getting to your destination. There are cab drivers who do not pout when you give them the exact meter fare.
Getting a cab around Manila is just like choosing from Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Well, I know for sure that I smile when I see this cab! How the cab driver is though, ah, I can’t realy tell. I just hope his driving will be as pleasant as the pup on his cab.
I can very well relate. I agree that getting a cab is like a box of chocolates. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a nice one but sometimes, you might just end up with an unpleasant one. I could count a few nice cab drivers that I met but it seems nowadays, the not-so-nice cab drivers outnumber the pleasant ones.
Many cab drivers often assume that you won’t get the change especially when it’s traffic. It’s quite embarassing when you have to ask for your change. It should be an automatic thing unless the passenger says you may keep the change.
I have my share of taxi troubles too (there was a time where most of my Metroblog entries were about taxis). Yup, there are the good ones, but unfortunately, most are just terrible. I suppose that’s the perk of working at home; you only get this kind of stress during the rare moments you venture outside the house.
I work from home and I seldom go out, so whenever I go out, I always take a cab. I agree that getting a cab is like a box of chocolates. There are bad ones out there, and there are good ones too. The taxi drivers that make me smile the most are the ones who insist on giving back change when I wasn’t expecting any anymore. They are a rare breed, but they definitely exist.
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share your latest travel blog and win!
http://lakbaypilipinas.com/blog/2006/08/23/lakbay-pilipinas-blog-your-travel-contest/