Family leaves child in the back of a cab

by Katie Hammel on

First some poor kid was left sleeping on a park bench when his family drove off without him in their motor home. Now another sleeping kid has gotten left behind, this time in a cab that her family had taken from the airport to their house in Boston. When they got inside, they realized the five-year old child wasn’t with them, and called the police.

The police were able to locate the cab driver, who had no idea he was carrying extra cargo. He returned the child to her parents and received a $50 tip. Then he found out he might face suspension of his license for failing to thoroughly check the backseat. The driver appealed and on Tuesday, according to the Boston Herald, police dropped the suspension with a warning for the cabbie to check his car more carefully next time.

Just another reason to make sure you keep tabs on your belongings at all times when traveling. . . especially if those “belongings” are your children.

Go Fast Cab brings text message taxi requests to Chicago

by Katie Hammel on

Go Fast Cab, a company that hopes to change the way you hail a taxi, is now offering service in Chicago. Rather than standing out on the street in the cold or rain, waiting impatiently for the sight of a taxi with an illuminated “available” light, all you have to do is text and a cab will arrive at your door.

Here’s how it works. You text your address to 777222 (777CAB) and the request is dispatched from Go Fast Cab to a local taxi company, who sends the next available car off to your location. Of course, that’s where the system has the potential to break down. At high volume times, you could be waiting a while (though you can text with the word STATUS for an update). You might wait just as long outside on the street-corner, but then at least you get to feel like you are doing something. You’ll also have the chance to flag down a cab from another company, whereas with Go Fast Cab, you’re pinning all your hopes on one dispatcher.

Still, on bad-weather days or for trips to the airport when I’m laden with bags, the idea of a cab showing up at my house, without me having to call and deal with cranky operators or endless holds, does sound nice. If you’re not in Chicago, you can still use the service too. The company, which started with San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County, has plans to expand Go Fast Cab to San Jose, Phoenix, Nashville and Charlotte.

London Black Cabs voted best in the world – Parisian cabbies the rudest

by Scott Carmichael on

A European survey of 1400 tourists has revealed where you can find the best taxi cab service.

33% of the votes went to London, followed by New York (17%) and Berlin (6%).

London cabs were also given high marks for friendliness and knowledge of the routes. They do lose marks for being exceptionally expensive.

New York came second in almost every category, except safety. In fact, New York cabbies were voted “worst drivers”, though they make up for it with their knowledge of the city.

Taxi drivers in Paris were voted the most unfriendly, and rightfully so in my opinion.

In all the times I visited Paris, I never came across a single cab driver who seemed to posses the will to live, let alone the ability to provide friendly and reliable service to the millions of tourists visiting their country. Paris also takes the top place in worst taxi availability.

NYC’s Taxis go Hybrid: Yellow Can be Green

by Iva Skoch on

NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg announced a plan to have the entire NYC fleet of taxicabs change to hybrids within five years. With 13,000 cabs, this is a tall order.

There are about 400 hybrid taxis currently in use now, and they’ve had good reviews from riders and drivers. Taxi models include the Toyota Prius, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the Lexus RX 400h, and the Ford Escape. Expect the number to double next year, and increase until the whole fleet is hybrid in 2012.

The fuel savings will be enormous. The current standard taxicab, a Ford Crown Victoria (at right), averages 14 miles to the gallon (mpg), while a hybrid Ford Escape can average 36 mpg. This can translate into savings of $10,000 in gasoline! And that’s not to mention the reduced carbon emissions footprint.

This is all part of Bloomberg’s greening efforts, which might include congestion charges as well. And this is coming from the city that already is one of the greenest in America.