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Is Cell Chatter Killing the Cab Ride?

Constant gab has drivers, riders at odds

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Apr 13, 2008 6:18 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Where cabbies and riders once chatted, they now gab on cellphones—and it's getting under people's skin. "Sometimes passengers, they don't even stop talking to tell me where to go," one cabbie said. But one rider blames the drivers, who often speak in other tongues: "I always assume they're talking about me," she said. How much love has really been lost? Quite a bit, the Washington Post reports.

"It used to be that when people came to a new town they would use the cabdriver to learn what was what," a Rutgers professor said. "It's been part of our cultural tradition." One Washington cabbie agrees: He had some bad talks with riders, true, "but I do miss it sometimes." And chatting once inspired better tips. "If you talk a lot, they tip a lot," one driver said. "It's about the conversation."

New York City Yellow Cabs at a Manhattan intersection.
New York City "Yellow Cabs" at a Manhattan intersection.   (Magnum Photos)
Cabbies spend a lot more time on their cell phones than talking to their clients these days. So do their passengers.
Cabbies spend a lot more time on their cell phones than talking to their clients these days. So do their passengers.   (Magnum Photos)
The days of cross-cultural communication between cab drivers and passengers are over with the advent of the cell phone.
The days of cross-cultural communication between cab drivers and passengers are over with the advent of the cell phone.   (Magnum Photos)
NYC cabs drive around Manhattan. Most drivers and passengers are probably chatting away on their cell phones.
NYC cabs drive around Manhattan. Most drivers and passengers are probably chatting away on their cell phones.   (Magnum Photos)
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