A Ride in One of These Taxi Cabs Should Be on Your Bucket List
Serena Aburahma
· 3 min read
While
ridesharing
has become a popular alternative to taking a taxi, you might want to consider riding in a taxi next time you’re in one of these areas. Around the world, taxis are still in use and they’re more of an experience than just a simple ride from one place to another.We're talking about everything from meeting extremely knowledgeable taxi drivers to riding in one of the fabulous vintage Oldsmobiles and other classic cars used as taxis in Havana.
Iconic cars used as taxis in cities around the world
According to an article in
Stuff
, everything from ancient Peugeot 404s and 504s in Ethiopia to modern Porsche Cayennes in Moscow serve as taxis. In Ethiopia, those venerable Peugeots are painted a pretty sky blue and usually feature a roof rack. That roof rack comes in handy for your suitcases — or crate of chickens!
In contrast, those Russian Porsches are painted a can't miss, "who thought that was a good idea" shade of orange. Hopefully, the interior comfort makes up for the appalling exterior paintwork.
Porsches aren't the only luxury vehicles that travel the taxi lanes in Moscow. Many wealthy owners register their personal vehicles as taxis just to avoid the city's notorious traffic jams.
In Mexico City, you might still find a few VW Beetles used as unlicensed taxis. The city phased the white and green Bugs out in 2012, but a few have somehow survived as taxis, despite their lack of legroom and the exhaust fumes spewing everywhere.
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Could you pass ‘The Knowledge?’
Passing this legendary, and intimidating test is required to become a London taxi driver.
The drivers of London's iconic black cabs spend an average of two to four years studying for the exhaustive oral exams. They must know their way around every street within a six-mile radius of Trafalgar Square in order to pass the test. That's a total of 25,000 streets and roads.
In order to pass, they must memorize 320 sample runs that demonstrate how much they know about the shortest routes throughout London.
They also have to know every place of interest, park, shop, theater, restaurant, pub, nightclub, police station, apartment building, place of worship, or any other place a fare may want to go.
No wonder only one out of every five would-be taxi drivers passes the test. That's the same passing percentage as in the Navy Seals!
The colorful world of taxis
The color yellow is strongly associated with taxi cabs, but not all cabs are yellow. In many places around the world, other colors are associated with local cabs.
In Singapore, taxis are painted lollypop yellow, blue, or red. In Munich, the city's high-tech Mercedes-Benz taxis are all a shining cream. Havana's vintage American-made cabs sport popular '50s colors like lipstick pink or parrot green.
The taxi exteriors are simple, uniform, black, and yellow. However, the interiors are anything but standard. Some cab interiors are lined with colorful canvas fabric depicting anything from nature to yoga to Bollywood stars.
There are almost as many options for car insurance as there are cabs around the world. For help choosing the right insurance for your lifestyle, check out licensed insurance broker
Jerry
. The 45 seconds you spend signing up will pay off when Jerry compares quotes to find the cheapest car insurance from top-rated companies.
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