March 26th, 2008, 8 Comments »
Over the past few days, I’ve taken a number of rides in taxis. In every case, after I specified where I want to go, they clarified the route with me. That is, they asked me how I wanted to get from point A to point B.
This strikes me as a little odd. After all, they’re the experts in getting around. They traverse the city on a daily basis. Surely they know all the optimized routes. I don’t tell my dentist how to clean my teeth. So, I always answer their questions with “whatever route you think is best”.
This morning I asked a driver why he asks about the preferred route. He replied that he wants to avoid arguments with customers. That’s a bit tragic, isn’t it?
It’s kind of de rigeur in our culture to mock taxi drivers for their crappy navigation and lousy driving. I always feel really safe in a cab. Not only do they drive all day, but they’re motivated to, you know, stay alive and keep their car unharmed.
8 Comments »
July 23rd, 2007, 6 Comments »
Joe assembled an amusing list of reasons why drivers don’t use their signals (in the British Isles they call it ‘indicating’):
- I’m performing an illegal manoeuvre and the Garda [Ed: police] might notice
- I’m only changing lanes
- I’ve passed my test
- I’m on my second provisional license
- I’ve stolen this car
- I’m driving a white van/taxi/mercedes/BMW
- It should be obvious from my road position what I’m planning to do
- I’m running this red light (see reason 1)
- Using my indicators runs down the battery
- I used my indicators yesterday
Do people signal more consistently in North America? I think so, but I’m not really sure. I’ve barely driven in Europe, and I rarely drive back home, so I have only vague impressions. Someone ought to do a study.
6 Comments »
April 11th, 2007, 1 Comment »
I’ve been meaning to write a post about Zipcar, and how they’re an American car-sharing company that’s come to Vancouver. They’re in the midst of a marketing blitz, and are obviously in direct competition with the much loved Vancouver Cooperative Auto Network.
Happily, Jen wrote that post for me. Go read it on her site. She’s a co-op member and has a very thorough price comparison:
The Zip car would cost nearly double. Actually more than that, because the only cars available in my neighbourhood are “cool” cars - so I would mostly be paying the $11.75 rate, rather than the $9.75. Though Zipcar does offer discounts (around 10%) for pre-paying at least $50 every month, the $50 doesn’t roll-over if you don’t use it. Also, my average trip length is about 25kms. To use the included 150kms/day, you’d have to be driving to Abbotsford and back on each trip.
I figure if you’re going 150km a day, you should just rent a car, or buy your own.
Of course, as Jen points out, the co-op requires a $500 deposit, which you get back when you leave the organization. So, there’s a lower barrier to entry for Zipcar. On the other hand, it sure ain’t cheap.
In related news, Tara Hunt is a big fan of Zipcar.
1 Comment »
