On Cutthroat Street Etiquette

And Hailing a Cab.

There's an art to securing transportation in New York City, where car ownership is rare and transit fares are a constant subject of debate. For buses and trains, good timing and marathon sprints are almost always involved, whereas with cabs it gets personal. Cabs, which cost ten times more than their alternatives, offer luxury found in little else: arm space without the infringement of runny-nosed neighbors, a cool breeze far superior to the underground air conditioning constantly recycled in the lungs of dirty strangers, and a view of the city that tourists travel great lengths to see. It's no wonder that competition is a hurdle to overcome, often in the form of frenemies who look just like our siblings-on opposing street corners attempting to outsmart the location of your hail, even though you know better and will use your elbows if you have to. In New York, what's often mistaken as an inherent bad attitude is really evolution's survival of the fittest, of which us natives have simply had more practice. And if you still don't believe us, good luck getting your own cab (back to wherever you came from). Enjoy!