We've done our fair share of ending up not exactly where we planned when traveling by bus or even taxi in foreign countries, but the Spanish couple who just spent a fortune on two long taxi rides in Norway have far exceeded our attempts.
Headed for Olden to re-join a cruise ship, the taxi driver misunderstood them--apparently--and took them to Halden instead, 380 miles away from their intended destination. They spent the night in a hotel there and only realized their mistake when no cruise-ship awaited them--and they taxied on to Olden. Round trip bill: €3,870 ($5,680) for a scenic trip between the northwest and the southeast of the country.
We wonder why the taxi driver didn't double check the destination, unless he deliberately tricked them; we also don't get why the Spanish couple didn't notice that the journey seemed to be taking a really, really long time. Then again, they were the cruising kind who usually just come ashore with a nametag, so perhaps their travel skills were lacking. In any case, they've given a couple of taxi drivers a big income boost.
Watch what you say in that Beijing taxi: The Wall Street Journal says tens of thousands of cabs in the capital have been outfitted with small microphones and GPS trackers that can be used to spy on passengers and drivers.
Officials have asked cabbies to watch out for "suspicious behavior and odd packages," the paper reports, though it's doubtful that China has the ability to monitor every conversation in every one of Beijing's 70,000 taxis. Maybe that's why the city of Shenyang--where some soccer matches will be held--recruited 38,000 drivers to work as unofficial spies?
You won't be safe to gossip in secret once you step out of the cab, either. The State Department advises visitors that hotel and conference rooms could be bugged at any time, and every phone in the country, including cell phones, can be tapped.
Next time you're in Dublin trying to get around the congested city center, just keep your eyes open for one of these brightly colored, blob shaped Ecocabs.
Looking like a hybrid golf cart and pedicab, the Ecocab is a pedal powered tricycle. They provide an easy green transportation option for making short distance trips through busy cities. (A battery back up is included, just in case the driver gets a little winded or encounters a big hill.)
The aerodynamic cab comfortably seats three passengers and is totally free. The service is sponsored by advertising, and all Ecocabs are wrapped with can't miss ads. The drivers are even dressed to match.
Ecocabs are also on the streets of Toronto, and full-fare versions are running in several other cities. In Dublin, the cabs run from 10 am to 7 pm, 7 days a week.
New Yorker writer and hyper-liberal Hendrik Hertzberg got lucky on a recent visit to Austin and snagged what could be the coolest taxi this side of the Cash Cab.
The Land Yacht bills itself as the city's only rock 'n' roll taxi, and the specs on this thing back up the claim. Here's the word, unedited and straight from the cab's website:
So much BASS it'll shake yer @ss right outta the seat! Music Videos playin from 4 honkin big video screens right up in your face. Oh, did I mention that you get to CHOOSE the Music Videos you wanna watch?
And what runs all of this? It ain't yer garden variety little dvd player in 'da dash. Full computer setup right in the cab means I can do just about anything you can do with a computer! Over 2 teraBytes of hard drives means I gotz plenty of space for over 15,000 High Quality music videos available at your fingertips!
We're not saying you should go to Austin just for the transportation... Actually, you know what? That is what we're saying.
If you've ever wanted to ride in a helicopter to get to New York'sJFK, you better act fast. As NewYorkology reports, the air ferry service, which gets passengers from Wall Street to JFK in eight minutes, has:
incurred substantial net operating losses and used substantial amounts of cash in our operating activities. Since our inception, we have incurred losses, have an accumulated deficit, and have experienced negative cash flows from operations.
Yikes. Fortunately, US Helicopter's losses could be your gain: tickets are going for $99 one-way through October 31. A C-note is still a lot to spend on a ride to the airport, sure, but a cab will cost you $90 round trip. Besides, this might be your last chance to fly to your flight.
We had this hope that after the Labor Day crush, travel would return to normal and the summer of airport nightmares would end. Any corner of the globe would be within reach. Connections would sync up, and gate agents would upgrade us for no reason. Heh. That's what we get for being optimistic.
While visitors--and locals--in London deal with a strike that's shut down the Underground, New Yorkers and tourists are prepping for a cabbie walkout. And, though we probably don't need to remind you, the situation in the air isn't much better.
Lushes of MSP, be free! Remember the controversy over Muslim cab drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport who refused to pick up passengers carrying duty free booze? The kerfuffle has been rectified, and the cabbies are now required to transport liquor-toting travelers. Failure to do so results in a 30-day cab license suspension for a first offense. You might not think that MSP is a hot spot for such shopping, but as a hub for Northwest Airlines, it sees many international arrivals from places where the trade is hot. Now, the conflict wasn't that hard to get around for anyone who could just stuff their bottles in some opaque luggage, but if you worried you can now rest easy. Unless you're in steerage on NWA, in which case you probably will not be resting all that much.
PlanetTran, the once Boston-exclusive all-hybrid car service, has launched its San Francisco Bay Area operations. The SF office operates a fleet of Toyota Priuses and serves San Francisco International, Oakland, and San Jose Airports. They do most of their business as an airport car service, but can accommodate most trips around town with a reservation.
An online quote shows a sample base fare of $71 from the Savoy Hotel at 580 Geary Street to SFO, and $88 to OAK. That's a billion times more expensive than the BART, but ask yourself this: does the BART have WiFi? It sure doesn't, but PlanetTran's cars do! That's right: WiFi in the cars. Could it get more geeky or amazing? Are there black-out windows so no one has to know what we're overpaying for?
PlanetTran accepts reservations online for departure times that are at least two hours away. After that, you'll have to call 'em.
