Travelogue: Taxis, taxis everywhere—stunningly, shockingly nice taxis

Vegas, New York, Chicago—step aside, because <em>this</em> is how you do transportation.

Read the whole story

 

[Joe F]

You need to travel to Europe more.
In Germany taxis have been Mercedes cars for decades. Used to be Mercedes Diesel cars.
Nowadays, you find Mercedes C-Class, Audi, and other nice cars. All very clean and new.
Not at all like US taxi cabs, which are often worn out and pieces of sh*t.

 

[Cheefachi]

The cost of that fast cab ride wound up being 55 euro—which worked out perfectly because I had precisely 60 euro left on me after the week.

Only a 9% tip huh?

 

[conan77]

LB1LF[/url]":2u898nx1]

bburdge[/url]":2u898nx1]
You would be surprised at how much of a misreputation for poor reliability Benz has in the states. I have 04 C230 for my daily driver at over 100K miles, and it has been quite a dependable vehicle, but I frequently get cracks from people about how it must be costing me a fortune to maintain.

-I didn't really say maintenance was cheap; just that if it was performed, the car is just about as reliable as they get.

The less is spoken about the parts cost for my colleague's Geländewagen, the better. (Though in fairness, G-wagen parts are eye-wateringly expensive, even by MB standards.)

Anyone who buys one of these has no right to complain about the parts cost. Unless they can't afford it, in which case they shouldn't have financed it.

 

[Jeff S]

Wickwick[/url]":2lw123id]I'm sure one of our German readers can flesh out the details. However, there are large stretches of road where the "dynamically" assigned speed limit is actually no limit. Because you were in a city center you may not have encountered such stretches.

It's important to note that it's a ticket-able offense to drive in anything but the far right lane unless you're actively passing. That's how the unlimited speeds thing can work.

I've wondered - does the 'unlimited' speed also apply to large trucks? Or do they have a speed limit and have to stay in the right lane except to pass someone going even slower than the trucks?

 

[Jeff S]

Regarding Taxis in the US - if you are willing to pay more, many cities have multiple 'levels' of taxicabs. You have the marked taxi cabs, which are much as this article describes, but there are also what are often called "Black Cars" or "Livery Cars". These are car services you call up and order a car from, it arrives and picks you up. It is not marked as a cab, and often will be a nicer vehicle than your typical cab.

 

[Hinton]

Taxi drivers in Denmark can purchase their license plate taxfree (which is a big deal since the tax is 180% on the cars price), and after having driven a certain distance, something a taxi will do in a few years, they're free to sell them in the open market at normal Danish prices.

This means that all taxis in Denmark are top line BMWs, Mercedes, Audi and sometimes Peugeot or Volvos. Because they retain their value, and can get a factory engine overhaul that leaves them as new.


I suspect they do the same in Germany.

Also, drivers wont be sleepy, as they're not allowed to work more than 8 hour shifts anyway. That's 3 man per car.

 

[LB1LF]

Jeff S[/url]"aild2mp]

I've wondered - does the 'unlimited' speed also apply to large trucks? Or do they have a speed limit and have to stay in the right lane except to pass someone going even slower than the trucks?

-In the EEC (EU+Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), heavy trucks and buses are limited to 100km/h (62mph).

Edit: (Or, come to think of it - I think I have seen a few buses labelled '110km/h maximum' (69mph) - perhaps there is more than one class of heavy vehicle)

 

[aexcorp]

I'm pretty delusional, but I'm still holding on to the hope that, one day, people in the US will also consistently drive in the right lane unless they're passing/speeding. I swear, that would reduce the number of road rage incidents (which are on the rise apparently, I saw an article on this in the Washington Post last week) by an order of magnitude.

Nothing more annoying than people going below speed limit and blocking all lanes, going the same slow speed for miles and miles. Worst, they don't even react (or react in a very hostile manner) to a short high-beam flash.

Maybe one day...

 

[r3loaded]

Joe F[/url]":3f8h561z]You need to travel to Europe more.
In Germany taxis have been Mercedes cars for decades. Used to be Mercedes Diesel cars.
Nowadays, you find Mercedes C-Class, Audi, and other nice cars. All very clean and new.
Not at all like US taxi cabs, which are often worn out and pieces of sh*t.

We're not so fancy in the UK - standard taxis are usually a Toyota Avensis, Skoda Octavia or Honda Accord. I have seen C-Class's around but they're uncommon. Not at the same level of cleanliness but they're usually passable.

 

[urpert]

daxis[/url]":5t62dob2]

심돌산[/url]":5t62dob2]

Wickwick[/url]":5t62dob2]I'm sure one of our German readers can flesh out the details. However, there are large stretches of road where the "dynamically" assigned speed limit is actually no limit. Because you were in a city center you may not have encountered such stretches.

It's important to note that it's a ticket-able offense to drive in anything but the far right lane unless you're actively passing. That's how the unlimited speeds thing can work.

I'm not German but you mean the far left lane. And you can stay in the far left lane all day as long as you are driving fast.

Nope. You don't just hang out in the left lane on the Autobahn. You only go there to pass, and then you get out of it when the passing is done.

Particularly on the narrow bit of the A1 between Münster and Bremen.

 

[urpert]

Munich is great, but everyone knows the world's best taxis are in London (even if half of them are Mercedes vans these days...)

 

[BilldeBerg]

I remember driving back to the uk from Munich for a long weekend.
I was in the right lane, tootling along at 100(mph) when a Passat blew past me and then slammed on the anchors so as to take the exit.
As I passed I glanced across to see a nun, yes wearing a habit. I've always wondered if it was a real nun or a strippergram.

 

[LB1LF]

r3loaded[/url]"iss2q5d]
We're not so fancy in the UK - standard taxis are usually a Toyota Avensis, Skoda Octavia or Honda Accord. I have seen C-Class's around but they're uncommon. Not at the same level of cleanliness but they're usually passable.

-The most -ahem- interesting taxi service I've ever seen was in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo.

The taxis were battered-down Toyotas, but cleaner than taxis in a number of other countries - say, the US, for instance. The taxis operated on a fixed-fare system - 1000 central african francs ($1.50 or so) to use one, the taxi was yours until you arrived at your destination or despaired enough at the confusion caused by the driver's total lack of knowledge of English paired with your own total lack of French that you simply waved to indicate you had arrived, got out and hailed another one.

All taxis had a sticker on the rear bumper saying something along the lines of 'If you see me driving like an ****, call my supervisor at XXX-YYYY.'

I spent a total of nine weeks in the place, and not once did I see a taxi which hadn't bumped into something obscuring the last couple of digits on that sticker. Purely coincidental, I am sure.

 

[Deleted member 1]

Joe F[/url]":1y2k2nkf]You need to travel to Europe more.
In Germany taxis have been Mercedes cars for decades. Used to be Mercedes Diesel cars.
Nowadays, you find Mercedes C-Class, Audi, and other nice cars. All very clean and new.
Not at all like US taxi cabs, which are often worn out and pieces of sh*t.

Over here (Dublin) the range goes from Avensis to the C-class and its Beemer and VAG equivalents and I'm always amused at how visiting colleagues from the States always gush about how they were driven from the airport by a Benz (I never find the heart to tell 'em that a C-class is just a normal sedan ).

Edit: As for the Autobahn - I wonder how the author would've reacted if he had seen a 911 Polizei vehicle

 

[effgee]

Hinton[/url]":20mbjwue]Taxi drivers in Denmark can purchase their license plate taxfree (which is a big deal since the tax is 180% on the cars price), and after having driven a certain distance, something a taxi will do in a few years, they're free to sell them in the open market at normal Danish prices.

This means that all taxis in Denmark are top line BMWs, Mercedes, Audi and sometimes Peugeot or Volvos. Because they retain their value, and can get a factory engine overhaul that leaves them as new.

I suspect they do the same in Germany. ...

Nope, not the same. But they're purchased, run and taxed as taxis, meaning they are VAT exempt at the time of purchase, and the maintenance during its lifetime as a taxi are tax-deductible as costs of doing business. Owners of taxi companies do also get special fleet-pricing, meaning they pay (comparably) less for the car than you and I who purchase a similar model for private use.

 

[Seno]

Seem like the taxi drivers where I live have bought up Priuses in job lots (just a bit north of London), also see loads of Avensis and quite a few Mercs and audis

 

[mmnw]

Cheefachi[/url]":2vevmoaf]

The cost of that fast cab ride wound up being 55 euro—which worked out perfectly because I had precisely 60 euro left on me after the week.

Only a 9% tip huh?

That's a perfectly sized tip in Germany. Germans rarely tip much. About 10% is standard if you were satisfied with your ride. The driver would have been fine with less, or even without it.

 

[chrisnehren]

You mean Europe does something better than the US? No way!

 

[LabRatBob]

Zak[/url]":2tksl0iq]

LKGC[/url]":2tksl0iq]As someone who regularly takes cabs in Phoenix, AZ (the 8th biggest city in the country) - your description of US taxis surprises me. The cabs here are generally new, clean and very pleasant. I've never seen garbage in a cab, other than the driver's McDonalds bag or something.

Don't know about Phoenix. A typical NYC taxi is dirty, stinky and is driven by a reckless asshole who can't speak English, doesn't know the traffic rules, can barely operate the vehicle and constantly yaps on a cell phone.

No that's not the typical, that's the ideal.

The typical one doubles as a roving landfill and medical waste holding facility, is driven by a psychopath who knows the traffic rules and intentionally breaks them, and who is legally blind, all the time while blaring that in-seat entertain-torture-video system at a sound pressure level equal to a jet engine.

And he lays on the horn during the entire trip. I think they do it so they can annoy those who are not their passenger/victim.

 

[Lostfanboi]

Having taken many a taxi in Germany, I enjoyed this article. It really makes the taxis in the US mostly seem like a joke.

 

[Sulla]

aexcorp[/url]":kkrdt0qy]I'm pretty delusional, but I'm still holding on to the hope that, one day, people in the US will also consistently drive in the right lane

I know I spend a lot of time in the right lane...passing idiots camped out in the left one(s).

 

[TheFu]

Ostracus[/url]":393inhh6]Mercedes? Wow!

Vienna has Mercedes too. I've never been to Germany but I think I'd like to live in Vienna. Beautiful. Anyone hiring?

I've been in taxis all around the world and I honestly only care about 3 things when riding:
* being taken to the correct location - forget that in Barcelona; 3 times out of 5 in 3 days, wrong place
* not being in an accident - likely in Istanbul, Kathmandu, Buenos Aires (nearly died at 430am here)
* not sweating in the taxi - hotter climates make this tough, since taxis don't usually have A/C in less developed parts of the world.

I expect to be ripped off - or at least they will try - like in Prague where the taxis seem to be part of organized crime. A local said we should pay 1/3rd what the taxi "organizer" offered outside the main train station there. They had a laminated price list - which was complete bunk. We walked to the opposite exit, found another "taxi organizer" - agreed on a price less than the local said we should pay - $60 less to the same place for walking across a train station.

In Bangkok - no taxis have change for any amount. Don't get me started. Traffic is terrible, so take the subway/BTS whenever possible.

In Costa Rica - there are 3 prices for everything. Americans with thick Spanish accents pay the highest. Know what you are willing to pay to get to the location and set the price in advance. 500-1200c should get you pretty far in normal towns. San Jose and around the airport, I don't know - had a driver.

Many cities have current taxi price apps which are fairly accurate so travellers can estimate a price to prenegotiate. Great in Istanbul to/from the airport. Take the tram system for everything else. The old city in Istanbul is confusing even for locals. Have the phone number for the destination so your driver can call them to get you there.

Tipped the driver when leaving Kathmandu with all my remaining rupis - 3x the price of the ride. Don't think I'll ever be back and the US$15 just wasn't worth changing later. He refused 3 times, so I explained it was easier for me to give it to him than change money later.

Nice, comfortable, clean, A/C taxis are available in many places, but these tend to be expensive related to other getting-around methods.
* Vienna - be certain to visit the toilet of modern art!
* Nice - there's a tram, but the taxis are nice too.
* London - I wasn't paying. Nice driver.
* Atlanta - don't use a taxi for the airport. Take MARTA anywhere, then get a taxi away from the airport.
* Tokyo - the trick is to have the address you want to go to written in Japanese to hand to the driver. I love that the door opens and closes automatically.

In South Africa, the taxi costs weren't too bad, the drivers were personable and we were never taken to the wrong place. We also hired a car for 2 days to see some places outside the normal cities with a guide. THAT was fantastic - highly recommended.

NYC - never used a taxi there. In the rest of the USA, we tend to rent cars. I've lived all around the USA - 11 states. 13 cities. A vehicle is really needed in most cities unless you are there for a conference.

In Seoul, ... never used a taxi there.

When you don't speak the local language, get a SIM for your phone and pre-program the tourist English translation hotline. That way you can call it and they will translate for you. Even at some tourist places, English isn't always spoken.

 

[Snark218]

whisk3rs[/url]":2wyv111y]

The Quick & The Read[/url]":2wyv111y]Beautiful travelogue. Thank you.

All were sparking clean BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class sedans. All were kitted out inside with leather and dashboard displays.

Why? I'm sure there are less expensive automotive options, why did they standardize on the (undoubtedly) more expensive one? I feel a joke about Apple coming on...

Maybe, just maybe, the Europeans are not bent gung-ho on the cheapest option and are OK with spending a little bit more money to enjoy things? Think processed food vs. freshly cooked cuisine, American Cheese vs. French cheese, etc..)

My father-in-law is a Mercedes executive in Germany; I've asked him about this, and it has nothing to do with some notional German sentimental fondness for high quality. Mercedes is incredibly invested in the taxi market and bends over backward to keep its cars in the livery market. It has done so for decades. BMW has recently decided to do the same. Among their incentives are special maintenance and warranty packages and dedicated taxi service centers that keep upkeep and maintenance costs very low. They also offer rebates and substantial discounts, periodic buyback programs, and fleet purchase discounts that other manufacturers don't offer. They also offer factory taxi packages, which include not only built-in meters but also tax-friendly drivetrain packages that reduce running costs. Taxis are also exempt from VAT and there are other deductions for maintenance. You can have a taxi-spec E- or C- class delivered from the factory ready to take fares, and its cost of ownership over a taxi's service lifetime is actually lower than something like a Ford Mondeo or an Opel Insignia.

So...no. As with most business decisions, it's economics and practicality. When an option is cheaper and more convenient and pretty comfortable and good to drive, and you spend 12 hours a day behind the wheel, naturally you're going to take that option.

 

[Baenwort]

aexcorp[/url]":1af1j4bx]I'm pretty delusional, but I'm still holding on to the hope that, one day, people in the US will also consistently drive in the right lane unless they're passing/speeding. I swear, that would reduce the number of road rage incidents (which are on the rise apparently, I saw an article on this in the Washington Post last week) by an order of magnitude.

Nothing more annoying than people going below speed limit and blocking all lanes, going the same slow speed for miles and miles. Worst, they don't even react (or react in a very hostile manner) to a short high-beam flash.

Maybe one day...

It is a law in some states that you must drive on the right unless you are actively passing. Illinois for one has such a law...it is just enforced even less than the seat belt law.

 

[Rayto]

We live in the "value" economy. As long as its cheap, feels cheap, looks cheap and smells cheap, Americans love it.

 

[aexcorp]

Baenwort[/url]":16oi1mm1]

aexcorp[/url]":16oi1mm1]I'm pretty delusional, but I'm still holding on to the hope that, one day, people in the US will also consistently drive in the right lane unless they're passing/speeding. I swear, that would reduce the number of road rage incidents (which are on the rise apparently, I saw an article on this in the Washington Post last week) by an order of magnitude.

Nothing more annoying than people going below speed limit and blocking all lanes, going the same slow speed for miles and miles. Worst, they don't even react (or react in a very hostile manner) to a short high-beam flash.

Maybe one day...

It is a law in some states that you must drive on the right unless you are actively passing. Illinois for one has such a law...it is just enforced even less than the seat belt law.

Yeah, I heard a few states have this as a law in their books, but I have yet to hear anybody getting a ticket for it. I did hear of cops using this as an argument to pull people over to see if they had been drinking on the other hand.

Sulla[/url]":16oi1mm1]

aexcorp[/url]":16oi1mm1]I'm pretty delusional, but I'm still holding on to the hope that, one day, people in the US will also consistently drive in the right lane

I know I spend a lot of time in the right lane...passing idiots camped out in the left one(s).

Me too, and as somebody who was taught to drive in Europe, it always bothers me that I have to do this. But after a while, it became clear that this was the only option available unless I want to be stuck behind slow traffic for miles on end

 

[Peter2k]

Hmm
Those nice cars have a good resell value
These days they're not even painted as cabs
They're silver (best selling color for some reason), and a special sticky foil is applied to the car in cab colors
Can be removed without too much trouble
Add some tax deductions and maybe some good deals from the car manufacture (some buy in bulk)
Well it's a good deal I guess

Of course you also have other manufacturers present as cabs
But Munich is an expensive and international city, even by our German standards

Teslas as cabs?
Would love that
Could buy a used one than
Cabs waiting in line for customers, at least at certain places is kinda normal
Don't know if a Teslas battery would die sooner, but they could be charged while waiting for a customer

frankly where I live I only use buses to get around
Normally reliable and not really expensive
Something like a lot of grocerys I'll just get with a cab
Can't finace a car for less than 10€ a week
Gasoline costs about 1.20 per liter(price varies where you live, since naturally gasoline cost more to make in differnt parts of the same country than in others /s), gotta pay taxes, insurance is eating you alive, you have to let you're car be inspected
If it's not up to spec you have to fix those things and let it be inspected again

We're big on safety

 

[Borkis]

LB1LF[/url]":2om2rezg]

Jeff S[/url]":2om2rezg]

I've wondered - does the 'unlimited' speed also apply to large trucks? Or do they have a speed limit and have to stay in the right lane except to pass someone going even slower than the trucks?

-In the EEC (EU+Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), heavy trucks and buses are limited to 100km/h (62mph).

Edit: (Or, come to think of it - I think I have seen a few buses labelled '110km/h maximum' (69mph) - perhaps there is more than one class of heavy vehicle)

I'll have to correct you a little there: In Norway, most trucks are limited to 80km/h, busses usually 90km/h.

[...]that’s 160 kilometers per hour for Ars European readers[...]

Thank you!

 

[nyuknyuknyuk]

Why take a cab in Munich? If you can't walk to your destination, the U-Bahn etc. will get you there just fine. Public transport systems are such an important part of a city's character that you really need to ride on them to experience the city to the fullest.

 

[Fixpir]

whisk3rs[/url]":fgdxw32n]

The Quick & The Read[/url]":fgdxw32n]Beautiful travelogue. Thank you.

All were sparking clean BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class sedans. All were kitted out inside with leather and dashboard displays.

Why? I'm sure there are less expensive automotive options, why did they standardize on the (undoubtedly) more expensive one? I feel a joke about Apple coming on...

Maybe, just maybe, the Europeans are not bent gung-ho on the cheapest option and are OK with spending a little bit more money to enjoy things? Think processed food vs. freshly cooked cuisine, American Cheese vs. French cheese, etc.

Depends on countries.
American cheese ? Not sold over here. At least not in food stores.

Wickwick[/url]":fgdxw32n]I'm sure one of our German readers can flesh out the details. However, there are large stretches of road where the "dynamically" assigned speed limit is actually no limit. Because you were in a city center you may not have encountered such stretches.

It's important to note that it's a ticket-able offense to drive in anything but the far right lane unless you're actively passing. That's how the unlimited speeds thing can work.

Also, absolutely no passing on the right plus you will get ticketed for gesturing or aggravating another driver (think flipping the bird, honking, tailgaiting...)

Driving in Germany is so cool. Drivers are polite, calm etc... But there is a strong north-south gradient in driving politeness in Europe.

 

[pokrface]

nyuknyuknyuk[/url]":1aj1kskb]Why take a cab in Munich? If you can't walk to your destination, the U-Bahn etc. will get you there just fine. Public transport systems are such an important part of a city's character that you really need to ride on them to experience the city to the fullest.

Fastest and most efficient way to get from where we were to where we needed to be, especially when that was from the hotel to MUC. Most of the time we were in rental cars (the GE campus was out near TUM, I believe). We were only actually IN the city for a very limited amount of time each day.

 

[H Klang]

daxis[/url]":23oetxse]

심돌산[/url]":23oetxse]

Wickwick[/url]":23oetxse]I'm sure one of our German readers can flesh out the details. However, there are large stretches of road where the "dynamically" assigned speed limit is actually no limit. Because you were in a city center you may not have encountered such stretches.

It's important to note that it's a ticket-able offense to drive in anything but the far right lane unless you're actively passing. That's how the unlimited speeds thing can work.

I'm not German but you mean the far left lane. And you can stay in the far left lane all day as long as you are driving fast.

Nope. You don't just hang out in the left lane on the Autobahn. You only go there to pass, and then you get out of it when the passing is done.

Or you stay in the left lane most of the time, in your pokey underpowered vehicle at 130-140, but move out of the way briefly when a faster car behind you wants to overtake you. Frequently they'll make this wish obvious by blinking their lights and driving a few meters behind you. This strategy works best when traffic is thicker, otherwise you're better off keeping out of the way. Whereas if you have a fast car and are aggressive, you can actually stay in the left lane all day, passing or powering through nearly everyone.

 

[PsychoStreak]

Jeff S[/url]":3gj9djb1]Regarding Taxis in the US - if you are willing to pay more, many cities have multiple 'levels' of taxicabs. You have the marked taxi cabs, which are much as this article describes, but there are also what are often called "Black Cars" or "Livery Cars". These are car services you call up and order a car from, it arrives and picks you up. It is not marked as a cab, and often will be a nicer vehicle than your typical cab.

Actually, Black cars and Livery Cars in NYC are different creatures. You never pay Black cars in the car, they almost all use a voucher system where you pay before or after the trip, and print out or fill out the voucher. Yellow cabs take cash and more recently plastic. Livery cabs are mostly still plastic, though I haven't been in one in a couple of years.

Livery cabs tend to be radio dispatched and generally operate in areas in a roughly defined radius around their bases. The types of cars very but Town Cars and Crown Vics dominate, though it used to be almost nothing but the Chevy Caprice. The other main distinction between them and the Black Cars is well color. While you'll occasionally see a dark blue or silver Black Car, 99% of them are black. With Black cars, they all use apps now to list jobs and hot spots, and most of the drivers have a tendency to look at the tablets or phones they access them constantly, glancing and in some cases scrolling through while driving - worse, many need reading glasses to see them and occasionally forget to remove them, which I can only imagine makes for bad depth perception when looking outside the car. In this regard, the yellow cabs are much less stressful to ride in, as are Livery cabs, but they have their own issues.

Vehicle wise, you get a mix of Town Cars and Escalades, a few Caddies and the odd Benz, but I've seen more Avalons in the last couple of years, and the odd Prius now and again. Livery Cabs by contrast seem to be either whatever color the dealer couldn't sell or whatever color the driver thought would make his ride more memorable (frequent riders often request certain drivers). Many will have partitions, but that's driver/owner preference. Black cars never have partitions. The Black car services all have dress codes for their drivers as well, while livery drivers wear pretty much whatever they want.

The all have to have special plates, and if they want to do do Airport runs, there's a sticker that has to be displayed on the car. Yellow cabs need this sticker as well IIRC.

IIRC there are 3 types of plates, Yellow (& now Green) cabs get Taxi, Livery for Livery Cabs, and T&LC plates for the Black cars.

Livery cabs taken as a whole will probably be in the worst condition of the three, though that's totally dependent on the driver/owner. Some do indeed stink beyond the ability of Little Trees to mask, though it's usually not the car. You will see more customization on livery cabs though, - metal flake paint jobs, rims, whitewalls, and the occasional unique interior. Also some silly ass antennas.

Black cars on the whole are the cleanest and in the best condition, although again, some drivers maintain just what they have to - keeping the interior clean, as they will lose jobs if people complain about dirty cars, and they replace them more often as people will also complain if the car looks worn out. These usually wind up in the hands of Livery cab drivers, as frankly the expectations are lower.

Yellow cabs also get driven until it's more expensive to fix them than replace them, but again, this varies depending on the owner. You'll occasionally see one with rims or wheel covers and occasionally raised rear suspension, but with the newer models of cab that's not cheap or feasible, so things are a lot more generic than they used to be.

Livery cabs are probably the most rested, followed by yellow cabs, then Black cars, who probably should have a time limit on how many hours they can drive, but don't seem to. Yellow cabs have designated rest areas around the city where they can park and rest and not have to worry about getting ticketed; the other types aren't allowed to stop there.

Driver insanity and questionable ability abounds among all three types of cab but as you might expect, you don't get the suicidal lane changes and battling for fares with Livery & Black cars, since they're not supposed to just pick up fares on the street.

But honestly, I've lived here for all but a year or so of my life and have never seen trash in a cab other than a discarded receipt. Gum? Yes, though not for many years. And while some have smelled rather poorly, puke was never one of those scents.

But I think a bigger part of the difference you saw in Germany was that they take driving more seriously, and it's harder to get a regular drivers license and later a Taxi drivers license. I believe we'd have a lot fewer cabs here if the criteria were stricter.

 

[JstAnthrBstrd]

(* – Not to mention a Porsche/BMW/Audi up yer hindquarters with their left turn signal on and flashing high-beams )

And the fact that some of these vehicles come with the Extra, extra-bright high beam option, or as my brother dubbed them "the asshole lights".

 

[JPan]

whisk3rs[/url]":rmps6b7v]

The Quick & The Read[/url]":rmps6b7v]Beautiful travelogue. Thank you.

All were sparking clean BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class sedans. All were kitted out inside with leather and dashboard displays.

Why? I'm sure there are less expensive automotive options, why did they standardize on the (undoubtedly) more expensive one? I feel a joke about Apple coming on...

Maybe, just maybe, the Europeans are not bent gung-ho on the cheapest option and are OK with spending a little bit more money to enjoy things? Think processed food vs. freshly cooked cuisine, American Cheese vs. French cheese, etc.

Wickwick[/url]":rmps6b7v]I'm sure one of our German readers can flesh out the details. However, there are large stretches of road where the "dynamically" assigned speed limit is actually no limit. Because you were in a city center you may not have encountered such stretches.

It's important to note that it's a ticket-able offense to drive in anything but the far right lane unless you're actively passing. That's how the unlimited speeds thing can work.

Also, absolutely no passing on the right plus you will get ticketed for gesturing or aggravating another driver (think flipping the bird, honking, tailgaiting...)

Actually Mercedes is the cheapest option as crazy as it sounds. They give pretty good discounts have a good resale value used to keep a long time ( at least historically) and they are pretty cheap in maintenance ( at least in Germany if you don't take the Mercedes centers themselves) also it's a competition thing. Which cab would you enter if you had the choice?

 

[Deleted member 1]

H Klang[/url]":gzh1fxsz]

daxis[/url]":gzh1fxsz]

심돌산[/url]":gzh1fxsz]

Wickwick[/url]":gzh1fxsz]I'm sure one of our German readers can flesh out the details. However, there are large stretches of road where the "dynamically" assigned speed limit is actually no limit. Because you were in a city center you may not have encountered such stretches.

It's important to note that it's a ticket-able offense to drive in anything but the far right lane unless you're actively passing. That's how the unlimited speeds thing can work.

I'm not German but you mean the far left lane. And you can stay in the far left lane all day as long as you are driving fast.

Nope. You don't just hang out in the left lane on the Autobahn. You only go there to pass, and then you get out of it when the passing is done.

Or you stay in the left lane most of the time, in your pokey underpowered vehicle at 130-140, but move out of the way briefly when a faster car behind you wants to overtake you. Frequently they'll make this wish obvious by blinking their lights and driving a few meters behind you. This strategy works best when traffic is thicker, otherwise you're better off keeping out of the way. Whereas if you have a fast car and are aggressive, you can actually stay in the left lane all day, passing or powering through nearly everyone.

That's assuming that you see them coming in the first place,lol.Depending on the route you're taking and the road conditions the sight of a car blowing past you while you're doing a rather respective 180kph/111mph becomes depressingly common

 

[Basil Forthrightly]

Baenwort[/url]":2bdth5vy]

aexcorp[/url]":2bdth5vy]I'm pretty delusional, but I'm still holding on to the hope that, one day, people in the US will also consistently drive in the right lane unless they're passing/speeding. I swear, that would reduce the number of road rage incidents (which are on the rise apparently, I saw an article on this in the Washington Post last week) by an order of magnitude.

Nothing more annoying than people going below speed limit and blocking all lanes, going the same slow speed for miles and miles. Worst, they don't even react (or react in a very hostile manner) to a short high-beam flash.

Maybe one day...

It is a law in some states that you must drive on the right unless you are actively passing. Illinois for one has such a law...it is just enforced even less than the seat belt law.

On large stretches of I-35 in Texas, semi-trailers are barred from the far left lane. It must be actually enforced, because it's really rare to see a semi breaking the law. I'm not sure, but I think it's just the three-lane on a side stretches. They're in the process of going to three lanes or more from Dallas to the Mexican border at Laredo, with most of that now complete.

 

[realityking]

The Quick & The Read[/url]":1af6lnv4]

whisk3rs[/url]":1af6lnv4]

Maybe, just maybe, the Europeans are not bent gung-ho on the cheapest option and are OK with spending a little bit more money to enjoy things? Think processed food vs. freshly cooked cuisine, American Cheese vs. French cheese, etc.

As I suspected.

Also consider, that in most German cities there's excellent public transportation. Taxis have to distinct themselves so people don't take the far cheaper bus, tram or train. I suspect that during the day most customers will be business travellers. If you're paying yourself and not particularly well off, you will probably only take a taxi at night.

 

[Drew314]

NYC taxis legally have to have a medallion stamped to their hood which currently cost about $1 million. This cost is generally passed on to the driver as a per-day fee to lease the taxi from a management company.
The NYC taxi is actually a very exclusive and valuable vehicle, but the benefit is not enjoyed by the drivers or passengers.

 

[Deleted member 192806]

Drew314[/url]":17i0ug98]NYC taxis legally have to have a medallion stamped to their hood which currently cost about $1 million.

Fueling a market in stolen hoods.