Chicago -
Date: 6/10/06
From: Lakeview
To: River North
The Cab: A fine example of the growing and welcome tradition of exceedingly clean Chicago cabs, the lone item of clutter being the charming lucky penny just behind the driver’s seat. Classical music was kept to a barely-audible hum, clearly played solely for the driver’s personal enjoyment. Not a cell phone in sight.
Posted on June 16, 2006
Date: June 2, 2006
From: Lakeview
To: River North
The Cab: Essentially clean, save for a deeply-perplexing stain on the ceiling. Closer inspection yielded the general consensus that it was a smudged boot print, leading the backseat occupants to contemplate what exactly had been done to, with or in this cab to cause such a disfigurement. Aside from this grubby enigma, the seat belts were functional, and the generously opened windows provided plenty of ventilation.
Posted on June 15, 2006
Date: March 26, 2006
From: Wicker Park
To: Navy Pier
The Cab: Relatively clean, but with the sound-and-feel of a workhorse, with its bumpy suspension and telltale squeaks and harrumphs. A real respectable piece of work, though, like a hard-working family cab just trying to do its best for its cab family.
The Driver:“Navy Pier!” were the only words he uttered. It was hard to tell what he meant by that. He was driving silent when he picked me up, but, perhaps upon spotting my armful of newspapers, he quickly switched on the radio – to Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now!
He also wore a satisfying fishing hat that was not quite the measure of Lt. Col. Henry Blake’s, but slightly better than this one.
The Driving: Full of the quick stop-and-gos that tend to make me nauseas. Poor timing of (Dunkin’ Donuts) coffee-drinking imperiled safety. Fumbling for CDs almost put us into the back of a stopped school bus. Music was hard to place: Dido meets Shakira. Latin but not revolutionary.
Overall rating: 2 extended arms
– Steve Rhodes
Posted on May 26, 2006
Date: March 16, 2006
From: Wicker Park
To: Roscoe Village
The Cab: Intimidating full shield of bulletproof glass created vaguely aquarium-esque feel. Very clean, but with a slightly suspicious fabric-softener-on-crack smell.
The Driver: A cipher due in large part to the aforementioned protective screen. All we know for now is that he listens to sports radio at an inoffensive volume and takes an extremely conservative approach toward opening his safety panel to accept payment.
The Driving: Efficient if overly aggressive for the time of night and traffic conditions. Another clue to our driver’s internal life is that he never met a pedal that he did not wish to put to the metal. In fact, your reviewer was hard-pressed to take legible notes due to the sometimes violent acceleration, deceleration and centrifugal forces invoked by rapid lane changes. Perhaps this man is a retired rally driver, dreaming of one final glorious dash from Paris to Dakar in a modified Land Rover. And while I don’t dispute the romance of this dream, I can’t help but note with some concern the swathe of death and destruction that event annually carves across northern Africa.
Overall rating: 2.5 extended arms
– Natasha Julius
Posted on March 24, 2006
Date: March 16, 2006
From: Lakeview
To: Wicker Park
The Cab: Clean enough to belie the age of the vehicle. One hundred percent of the stitching on the seats was intact and slightly shiny, giving it the look of your grandmother’s classic Oldsmobile that never leaves the insulated bubble of her Florida garage. Backseat seams appeared to have been vacuumed recently, so complete was the lack of dust. The radio was kept at an acceptable level for the seminal ZZ Top classic “Sharp-Dressed Man” (that is to say, extremely quiet), although it did creep into intrusive noisiness once jangly, over-produced hip hop came on.
The Driver: Spent the entire ride talking on his cell phone, although to his credit using a hands-free device and admirably hushed tones. Seemed way too young to put that much effort into the care and maintenance of his vehicle; maybe this actually is his grandmother’s classic ride.
The Driving: Driver showed creativity in using side street to avoid traffic lights and congestion. Clearly knew the route and didn’t need any reminding. My companion felt the speed was a tad excessive, particularly on the smaller roads. I did not share this concern as the driver clearly appreciated the nuances of the steering wheel.
Overall rating: 3.5 extended arms
– Natasha Julius
Posted on March 24, 2006
Posted on March 9, 2006
Posted on March 9, 2006
Date: Feb. 14, 2006
From: Logan Square
To: Roscoe Village
The Cab: Maybe it was a previous fare or maybe it was the driver, but whatever it was, it reeked of patchouli. Seatbelts were tucked into seatfolds and difficult to access.
The Driver: Aside perhaps from the heavy dose of scented oil, pleasant and cordial.
The Driving: The driver took the time to ask our preferred route and followed it without incident.
Overall rating: Three extended arms
– Natasha Julius
Posted on February 25, 2006
Date: Feb. 14, 2006
From: Roscoe Village
To: Logan Square
The Cab: Acceptably clean, although the seatbelts were tucked into the seatfolds and difficult to access.
The Driver: Largely encased in bulletproof glass and listening to rather loud music on the radio.
The Driving: A fairly direct route provided few opportunities for confusion, although the driver failed to hear our request to pull over and wound up executing a risky lane-change from far left to the curb. This apparently flustered him, as he drove off just as another fare arrived on the scene.
Overall rating: Three extended arms
– Natasha Julius
Posted on February 25, 2006
Date: Feb. 5, 2006
From: Wicker Park
To: Roscoe Village
The Cab: It is very easy in this day and age for a cab driver to fake cleanliness. The easiest way is to confuse the issue with scent. Some cabbies drown out any dirtiness with a forest of tiny tree air fresheners. Others allow a million little smells to build up. Is it bleachy or musty? Musty because it was cleaned too much or because it wasn’t actually cleaned at all? There is so much nasal obfuscation that we forget what true cleanliness smells like. Readers, I invite you to step into Cab #1717 and remember. An honest-to-goodness clean vehicle smells natural and calm; it’s like a warm hug from your grandma. And that is how clean Cab #1717 is.
The Driver: I don’t like to waste time, so when I saw that cab #1717 had its Not For Hire lights on I didn’t bother waving at it. I just stood and braced myself for an indeterminate spell of waiting on a chilly February night. Then, like a knight in shining armor, the Driver #1717 pulled over anyway. He was heading home, he said, but couldn’t let my me and my companion wait out in the cold. No cell phone in sight, he regaled us with exciting, genuine, real conversation. And consider this: you’ve probably argued with cabbies over tips before, but how many times were they arguing that you gave them too much? Driver #1717 steadfastly refused to accept my generous tip, forcing money into my hand and insisting I use it for something more important.
The Driving: Safe, proficient, even moderately stylish. The driver of course knew our final address and the most efficient way to get there.
Overall rating: Five extended arms
– Natasha Julius
Posted on February 5, 2006
