2 Raindrops/1 Snowflake=0 Cabs

They are off chasing rainbows?

Or perhaps they are all haunting the high rent districts? The Very Well Off will pay not to get wet.

Noddy, I'm in a high-rent district. My rent isn't high, but here I am. My money is as good as a rich person's. The meter says what the meter says.

Chasing rainbows. Could be

Imagine in this wicked world that when the rain is drizzling or the snow is falling that the Taxis of New York, yellow, checkered, gypsy, ghost cabs, are all assigned to the pursuit of rainbows.

Glad I don't have to depend on someone else for transportation, but I think I understand why you would where you live.

I'm guessing that they may go to designated posts where they know they get more fares and larger tips because it is raining or snowing.

A lot of cab drivers will go home if the snow is bad and some even if it's snowing just a little. I for one use to throw myself right in the snow working double shifts and I made a bundle due to the lack of cabs.

Here's a thought - everyone who usually walks takes a cab when it's raining.

Littlek
I was just going to mention that when it rains and snows there is a huge demand for cabs and they're just busy.

Brand X, I'm completely dependent on others for transportation. I don't know how to drive. Most of my friends who are native New Yorkers don't drive either.

Colorbook, There are no designated places in NY for cabs--outside of the airports. Some cabs might cruise by the bigger hotels.

Littlek, Of course people who might normally walk would hail a cab when the weather turns bad. That accounts for the busy cabs. Problem is that there are far fewer cabs on the street in bad weather--busy or otherwise.

Montana, They go home? That's it? They just leave? No melting. No secret underground meeting spot where the drivers get together and wait out the storm. Home? Now why didn't I think of that?

Yeah.. going home is a bit of an anticlimax! We have about forty cab companies, and so during the rain, one is bound to come. I would have thought that taxi drivers would have used the rain to enterprise! Around here, they try to come twice as fast if it is raining, as they realize that a dry customer is also a generous customer.

Are the cabs rather expensive in New York?

Two dollars to start the meter and 30 cents for each additional fraction of a mile (I think it's 1/6) plus meter calculations for nonmoving time. I haven't much to compare it to, but it seems relatively reasonable to me. The bus/subway is two bucks a pop.

They recently raised taxi fares in Toronto to catch up with the rest of the world, but it's not too much more, 25% I think, which on a quick ride adds up to a buck or two more. I have a cab connection....some time ago, a lot of cabbies worked hard to get 'Ambassador' plates. They all own their vehicles, and at one time, an 'Ambassador' plate was very valuable for business. That is, until the taxi commission made them sort of obsolete. One dude started up an indepedent company called 'Mobile Ambassadors', and once I started using them, I couldn't go back to the big companies. However, it seems there were money issues between him and the other drivers, most of whom I got to know. So, the company dissolved, and one of the drivers who I knew quite well took a few comrades from the old company and has just started his own company, 'Express Ambassadors'. Never ever had a problem getting a taxi, rain, sleet or snow. One time, when he absolutely couldn't find a taxi, he called me to apologize, and asked if I didn't mind waiting a bit more, he would come get me himself. Unless I'm hailing someone down, I won't use any other company.

when it starts snowing they realize it's almost christmas and Santa Clause (or father christmas, what have you) is going to need some transportation... and since he is such a big guy and has so many gifts, it takes all the taxis :wink:

Cav, Private car services in Manhattan are almost exclusively used by corporate accounts. Trying to get someone to come for a lone individual is practically impossible. Gypsies are around. But there is no "rate." It's negotiated. And their picking up someone from the street is illegal.

Innie, So Santa's to blame for the problem. Well, I can't hold it against him.

As far as drivers going home, I've only known some drivers to go home if it's snowing (not raining). In the city where I lived, most of us owned our own taxi's, so we could come and go as we pleased. I never went home when it snowed, but the work was piled up like no tomorrow. Even when it rained and all the cabs were on the road, we were extremely backed up. As someone else said "when it's raining, the people who normally walk or take buses end up calling a cab instead". Taxi companies get a bad wrap when the weather is bad because some people just don't understand the huge demand for cabs during those times.

Montana, I completely understand the extra need for cabs in bad weather. Truly I do. All I was suggesting was that there are fewer cabs on the street in bad weather. The cabs that are out there are either occupied or off duty. But where are the rest of them? They gotta be somewhere.

Example: In my neighborhood, you walk out the door, stick your hand in the air, and a cab stops. This is not the case during rush hour when every cab is taken. But mostly, any hour, day or night, I can get a cab. Recently, the day after it snowed there were no cabs to be seen. I'm not talking about cabs that were occupied. I'm not talking about cabs that were off duty. There were no cabs. None. Nada. They had to be somewhere.

Roberta
If there's bad weather I think it's safe to assume that they're busy, but New York is huge compared to the city I ran my cab in, so I honestly don't know. Maybe they're taking care of fares going outside the city.
I can't imagine any cab that wouldn't be busy during lousy weather, but you not even seeing any cabs is a mystery to me.