Cabs in different cities

Whenever I travel to Europe, I love taking cabs. They are mostly very new vehicles, the drivers mostly pleasant and accommodating. Sure, some of the cars are not that large, but then again, I drive a Mini-Cooper.

In Paris, the variety of brands used as cabs is astounding. I have seen Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Mercedes, BMW, Opel, VW, Volvo, Fiat, Skoda, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Chrysler cabs, all clean, in pristine condition. In other words, cars from France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Czech Republic.

In England, they have their own brand of London cabs, all very nice, a treat in their own. And more than spacious. Italy, Belgium, Holland, pretty much the same.

Even Brazil, which until second notice is not a First World country, has a fleet of spanking new cabs in Sao Paulo, and other cities.

I live in Miami. Previously, I lived in New York. These are two cities where buying a medallion, or tax license, requires hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The price is obviously boosted by fine folks who bought quite a few of such licenses when they were cheap, and now, accumulate more and more of them, raising the price to the roof.

One would expect that since the license costs so much, the vehicles and drivers would be top notch. Think again.


Normally, the Chevrolets and Fords that comprise the Miami fleet, are very old, dirty and smelly cabs, with myriad noises. Adding insult to injury, a lot of the drivers, especially the Haitians, mistreat passengers. The license owners seem to milk dry both the vehicles and drivers until there is nothing left.

When I lived in New York, it was much the same state of affairs.

I don't know what to make of this. Obviously, cab users will continue to "enjoy" these vehicles for a very long time, and paying outrageous prices on the trot.