First Up at the Mall

I took this picture just after nine a.m. today.

If you look real close, you'll see a cab at 100 Front Street. The spot used to be a good place to stand in the afternoon, waiting for pickups.

Maybe I should explain some of the "cab lingo" here. A "pickup" is someone who walks up and gets into the cab while you're standing somewhere, or hails you on the street as you're driving by. "Standing" is sitting with the engine running, in order to be available for anyone who might walk up and need a ride.

There are a few official taxi stands in the city, where taxicabs can legally "stand", but none of them are any longer in places where people congregate, looking for transportation. Consequently, the places that DO tend to have people looking for cabs AREN'T official taxi stands.

100 Front Street used to be one of those places, but the city never bothered to recognize the convenience for people who might want a taxi. In fact, the police would occasionally chase all the cabs out of there, saying that there's "no parking" along that section of the road. "What about standing?" I sometimes wanted to retort, but always bit my tongue.

The cabs would line up there, and whoever was first in line was referred to as being "first up" and the one that customers should choose, if they wanted a taxi. This was an honor system, the idea being that whoever got there first should be the one to get the next customer.

Being first up at the Mall during certain parts of the afternoon always used to be a sure bet for a fare within a few minutes. Today, being first up at the Mall means you're either taking a break, or you're a new driver who was told that was a good place to get pickups (we have to learn the hard way in this business).

When I drove by the cab in the picture, it looked like a new driver.