Potty Mouth

There's a whole underground transportation system in New York and I'm not talking about the subway. Technically, towncars are not allowed to solicit customers in the city -- since towncars are unmetered, only cabs are allowed to stop and pick up someone who's hailing a ride.

But oftentimes, you'll encounter a towncar driver who's probably just brought someone into the city from the airport and who likely doesn't have another scheduled fare back out of the city. In that case, some drivers will try to be opportunistic and scam a fare here and there.

You can hop into a towncar if you want, but you have to aggressively negotiate your rate BEFORE you get in. So, it's imperative that you know what it would normally cost to take a cab, so that the towncar driver doesn't completely scam you. Granted, you can't expect the price to be quite as low as a cab, but it shouldn't be significantly higher. Make sure you have a solid agreement on the price before you get in the car, or the driver may try to raise the price once he gets you to your destination.

So, tonight when I left the office, it was still raining and since I was dragging half my office with me (I'm traveling again tomorrow), I decided to grab a cab instead of walking. As I was standing in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater looking up Broadway for a cab with its "I'm vacant!" lights on, a silver Lincoln Towncar pulled over.

The driver rolls down the window and and motions me to the car. I politely shake my head in decline and say no thanks.

"Hey, get in the car!"

"No, I'm fine, thanks" and I move past the towncar, looking up the block for a cab.

"Just get in the f*cking car!"

Yeah, that makes me want to hitch a ride home with you even more.

I told him that he should pay me for the privilege of driving me home. He called me a name (a nasty one, natch) and screeched away... just as a cab came around the corner, driven by what turned out to be a very pleasant and polite driver. And I made it home for less than ten dollars.