Date Taken: 4/2/07
From: State and Grand
To:: Wicker Park
The Cab: Spotless. Not brand new spotless, but as spotless as a cab with a bit of wear could be. A light odor of cab scent. I have to say I was also thrilled, for some reason, at the cab’s low number. It was like riding in a clout cab.
The Driver: Exceedingly polite. Exceedingly. His “Thank you, sir” routine was a bit off-putting. I don’t like being called “sir.” I kept wondering who he was talking to, but there was no one else but me.

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Posted on April 9, 2007

Date Taken: 4/2/07
From: Wicker Park
To: State and Illinois
The Cab: Well-tended, but drowning in a heavy, stale vanilla scent made worse by how it was disconcertingly slightly too warm in there. A nice leather hand strap thingie hung from the cab ceiling near the door, though, which was kind of nice. I guess if you have to grab something and hang on, Driver #6681 wants you to grab something with class, as opposed to the drunk skanks his typical riders probably bring with them.

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Posted on April 6, 2007

Date Taken: 2/28/07
From: The Drake
To: Millennium Park
The Cab: Clean, fairly roomy. The center seat boasted a functional restraint device with lap and shoulder belt. That’s a whole lot of love for a frequently unoccupied place.
The Driver: If you’re aching for a well-considered and definitive answer to any of life’s burning questions – how long an ice skating trip should last, why people have big families, underage marriage – you’ve hailed the right cab.

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Posted on March 4, 2007

Date Taken: 3/2/07
From: Roscoe Village
To: Lincoln Square
The Cab: Nothing fancy; plain and simple vinyl seating and a standard-issue driver shield, albeit fully open. A bit grubby, perhaps, but mostly due to salt transference.
The Driver: An unwavering devotion to the dulcet tones of WBBM-AM 780 can say any number of things about a person. Perhaps this is someone who needs a constant flow of information to satiate a ravenous intellect. Maybe the listener just really, really likes traffic and weather on the 8s. In the case of Driver #843, it’s probably a little of both.

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Posted on March 4, 2007

Date Taken: 2/17/07
From: Streeterville
To: Wicker Park
The Cab: A red Royal 3CC Cab Co. sedan that was classically squeaky and rough-hewn. A puddle had formed in the rear left floor space. I guess the cabbie hasn’t learned the newspaper-as-mat trick.

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Posted on February 17, 2007

Date Taken: 2/17/07
From: Wicker Park
To: Streeterville
The Cab: This was a van cab. I’ve never known if these were strictly for airport use or large parties; I confess, in my embarrassed ignorance, I’ve stood on cold corners and let van cabs go by with nary a wave. This time I gave a half-hearted, barely perceptible wave and the guy pulled up and lowered the front passenger window, as if I wanted to ask for directions or something and not for a ride because, well, this is a van cab. I admitted to the driver that I was clueless about van cabs, but needed to go downtown. “I’ll do it, no problem,” he said – leaving the question of van cab etiquette and use unanswered. Maybe he was just bored.

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Posted on February 17, 2007

Date Taken: 2/6/07
From: Loop
To: Wicker Park
The Cab: The newspapers on the floor, to absorb wet footwear I presume, were folksy yet unappealing. They appeared to be Tribune pages. More coverage, I suppose. The driver also kept an ample supply of straws, Q-Tips, and dental floss within reach.

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Posted on February 15, 2007

Date Taken: 2/6/07
From:: Wicker Park
To:: Loop
The Cab: With no separating glass between the front and back seats, and bucket front seats instead of the high-backed bench seat, this was the cab equivalent to having seats really close to the field. The additional touch of bills and mail stuffed under the visors made it feel like I was just getting a ride from a friend.

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Posted on February 8, 2007

Date Taken: 1/19/07
From:: River North
To:: Roscoe Village via Bucktown
The Cab: Clean and comfy, with working restraint devices and an open thief window. No radio or cell phone to detract from the experience. Overall, another fine example of Chicago cabbie workplace pride.

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Posted on January 26, 2007

Date Taken: 12/20/06
From: Lincoln Square
To: Roscoe Village
The Cab: There is no more magical sight on a rainy winter’s eve than a van cab with an automatic door. But wait . . . it gets better. The interior features captain’s chairs in the front-rear section, each fitted with their own snug-fitting seatbelt. The air freshening is kept to nose-tickling levels, although perhaps a tad sweet for such a clean, bold, masculine interior.
The Driver: True, he loves his hands-free cell phone, but he keeps the conversational volume politely low. Not so the cheesy, soft-jazz instrumental interpretations of Yuletide classics, which are unfortunately just loud enough to lodge firmly in the passenger’s brain. But when the velvet-voiced chauffeur begins cheerfully humming and scatting along, well, come on now. This reviewer’s not made of stone.

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Posted on December 20, 2006