Sunday, June 22, 2008
Melbourne has town cars, apparently. Last night I was waiting for a taxi on Swan Street when a small white car pulled up beside me. My first thought was that I was inadvertently standing in a parking space this car wanted, but then the driver rolled down the window and started waving a laminated sign at me. I was too drunk, tired and upset to take much notice of what the sign said, but the upshot was that this was a private taxi.
London might have its minicabs and New York its town cars, but in Melbourne I can't help but think that if I got into a strange car on the street I would be well on my way to getting mugged, raped, murdered, etc. Is this a provincial attitude? Perhaps with petrol so expensive and taxi fares rising, a private taxi industry is indeed beginning to thrive here. There are already plenty of lift-sharing websites operating here (I've seen them advertised on Facebook) and Minicab.com.au has been registered and parked...
London might have its minicabs and New York its town cars, but in Melbourne I can't help but think that if I got into a strange car on the street I would be well on my way to getting mugged, raped, murdered, etc. Is this a provincial attitude? Perhaps with petrol so expensive and taxi fares rising, a private taxi industry is indeed beginning to thrive here. There are already plenty of lift-sharing websites operating here (I've seen them advertised on Facebook) and Minicab.com.au has been registered and parked...
