Let Taxis Guide You Through The City

By Ciara Hodson McLemon


You can use taxis to do more than move you from point A to point B. Some cities have such distinctive taxi cabs, just seeing them will tell you exactly where you are. In some cases, it is the color of the taxi that gives you the hint. In other cases, it is the type of taxi, which might not even be a car, that gives the city away.

The second you see the large, black cab you know it belongs to London. They are also called Hackney cabs after the horse and buggies used as cabs before there were cars. The precise model of the British cab has changed over the years, but the most widely used current model is the Austin FX4. Along with its black color, the shape of the FX4 cab clearly lets you know from where it comes.

In New York City, all the taxis are yellow. It does not matter which cab company owns the car. Yellow is so clearly known in the United States as the color of cabs that it is probably impossible to find any city in the United States that does not have at least some yellow cabs. New York City stands out as only city exclusively using yellow on its cabs.

However, Miami is one of the few cities in the world where you can ride in a pink taxi. They are meant to be both distinctive and to blend in with the Art Deco and pastel style of the city. There are other types of cabs in Miami, but getting to ride in a pink taxi is a unique experience. You can also hail a pink taxi in Beirut, but these pink taxis are driven by women and only women get to use them.

In some cases, the cabs are not even cars. Rickshaws are a type of cab that is powered by human strength. A rickshaw driver either pulls or pedals the cab behind him. This type of taxi is mostly often found in cities throughout Asia, often also called pedicabs.

In cities that have a lot of waterways, you can often find cabs that move along the river. The gondolas of Venice are just the most famous example of these water taxis. Some cities have large water cabs that hold hundreds of passengers and dock securely. However, in other cities, like Bangkok, the water cabs just slow down as they float by their stops.

Regardless of the color or type available to you, it is the taxi driver who can often provide the most interesting part of your cab ride. With drivers doing nothing all day but moving through all the city's streets, no one knows a city better. In fact, many cities offer special tourist taxis with drivers trained specifically to act as tour guides.




About the Author:



Grab The Post URL

URL:
HTML link code:
BB (forum) link code:

Leave a comment

  • Google+
  • 0Blogger
  • Facebook
  • Disqus

0 Response to "Let Taxis Guide You Through The City"

Post a Comment

comments powered by Disqus
Powered by Blogger.