Traveling around the world, cab drivers are often times some of my favorite people. I like the profession, generally finding cab drivers to be interesting and knowledgeable of local areas. In San Francisco, I try to take regular cabs when I can just to meet people and support the old profession and working class folks.
Bay Area, about a week ago. It was dark, cold, and raining around 5:30pm. Myself and the wife, who is at term and therefore obviously pregnant, got off at the train station and attempted to take a cab to alleviate the few minute wait in the rain for a Lyft or Uber.
I didn't have any cash. I know by now that you have to ask if they take credit card ahead of time; fine.
Me: "Hi, do you take credit card?"
Them: "No, no credit card. It's broken."
Me: "You've got stickers on your window that say you take them?"
Them: "Well, how far are you going?"
Me: "No thanks, I'll try the next one.
Me: "Hello, do you take credit card?"
Them: "Maybe. Where are you going? Minimum 15 dollar."
I know that it's about 12 dollars to my house. I tell him where we're going, and he just shakes his head.
Me: "Fine, screw it. I'll just get a Lyft."
I pulled out my phone, standing in front of a line of Taxis, and got a Lyft. About 6-8 minutes later, they picked us up, and took us on our way.
An entire line of cab drivers, my pregnant wife and I standing there in the rain and cold, and not a single one of them trying to actually take the fare.
During the 15 minutes or so of this interaction, and us waiting for Lyft, not a single cab was taken by the very strong flow of people leaving the train station at rush hour. Lots of pickups from friends and family. Plenty of Uber cars. Pink mustaches in quite a few windshields.
It was like something out of a movie. An entire line of real people, sitting there in their cars, often complaining about a lack of business, or how times have changed, or how insurance is X, or Uber is Y.
Not a single one with enough gumption to step up to the plate, smile, and say: "Where to mister?"