I’ve been using taxis a lot more lately (purely as a business efficiency improvement – as a consultant I am basically selling time, so saving an hour or more by catching a taxi instead of public transport each time I go to a client meeting really adds up after a while).
Sydney, whilst not a terrible city for traffic in global terms, can nonetheless be a pretty frustrating place to drive around in – especially in peak hour, and especially in CBD areas.
With this in mind, I’ve been taking notice of how taxi drivers deal with it. And I’m kinda amazed at how well they do. Taxi drivers seem to be a rare breed. They patiently wait for most things that drive me nuts (traffic lights, slow drivers, people cutting across lanes, etc) and on top of that they are quite ‘generous’ when it comes to letting people in. I live in a street that feeds out on to Pacific Highway. Just getting out of my street during morning peak hour can be a 10 minute exercise in frustration. A surprising number of times, as traffic has driven past, it’s been a taxi that slows and waves me in…
How is it that the people who have to experience the frustration of traffic the most, are the nicest on the roads? It’s something we can learn from.
Aside: Bus drivers are also in this category. I haven’t experienced bus drivers as much, but from what I have seen, they are some of the most patient and understanding people on the roads.
I thought that was going to be a complete beat up of sydney taxi drivers and instead the tone was more along the lines of ‘credit where its due.’ Â Nice.