Let's Talk Taxi's!

So now with cruise season in full swing we are in Taxi hell! Yup, it is crazy around this city. There are 3 cruise ships in port 5 days a week from Thursday through Monday. It is amazing to see them drive. They race to see how many fares they can get and boy do you have to be defensive at times. I got a taste of it this morning as I headed up to have breakfast with Mick up at Patty's Eggnest and went by the dock at Interbay where two cruise ships dock. The third one ties up down on the waterfront, usually it is NCL. It is amazing how Seattle has become a major player in the whole Alaska cruise scene. Last year there were over 800 sailings. Now that is a lot of people going up to Alaska. Talking to my friend who is in the travel industry, Alaska appears to have peaked as a destination. They used to run the cruises out of Vancouver, BC. Then they used Victoria, BC more and more. Seattle finally got into the fray. We have been playing host for a decade or so. Alas, next year the departures will drop down to the mid-700's and then go down from there.

But this posting is not just about the cruise industry but about the cabs. They all screamed when lightrail went in saying it was their doom. Well, it appears that has not happened and in fact, Yellow Cab just got the new contract to begin schlepping people from the airport in September. It was not willingly given up either from what I heard. Here in Seattle we have yellow cab, green cab, orange cab and heck there is one called Sitka. I use one maybe once a month, but they always seem full. And the cabs today look pretty much like the picture above.

But oh the days when Checker Cabs controlled the road and oh so comfortable. They were big and you felt special riding in one. My friend Markie used to own one. Oh the fun we had riding in that thing. He sold it but the memories still ring true. I enjoy seeing one in a movie now and then, but you so know if one shows up now, it is a total fantasy as they have been off the streets for a while now as actual cabs. But the memories live on, Happy Saturday!