Taxi driver moment
Oct. 23rd, 2008 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bktheirregularComing back from work today...
...first, a couple of bits of background. Athens has two bus systems: one consists of the normal buses that you find in just about every city on the planet, and the other consists of trolley buses, getting power from a couple of trolley poles delivering power from overhead wires. The trolley system's been in place for as long as I can remember.
Upside: clean buses (if you don't count the fact that the power comes from lignite-fired coal plants). Downside: limited maneuverability.
Complicating things today was roadwork being done on Akadimias Street, blocking the right-hand lane of the street and limiting maneuverability still further.
So we come to today, where, right in front of me, somebody driving a taxi pulled up and turned on his emergency flashers and got out, right in front of a trolley bus. The taxi driver sauntered over to the sidewalk. Naturally, the bus driver was not pleased, and began shouting at him to move his heap. The taxi driver indicated that he was waiting for a phone call, presumably from someone who had ordered a radio cab, and once he got that call, he would be on his way.
The light went green.
The taxi didn't move. The bus couldn't move.
The light went red.
The pedestrian crossing light went green, and as has become my habit, I dashed across while I had the green, weaving around other cars that had pulled up with no consideration of the crosswalk, in the finest Athens driver tradition.
The light went green.
The taxi didn't move. The bus couldn't move.
The light went red.
The bus driver opened his front passenger door to yell at the taxi driver again. The taxi driver, still on the sidewalk, mimed a phone call with his thumb and pinkie, indicating that he'd be underway as soon as his fare called him.
I stood there, watching in disbelief.
The light went green.
I decided enough was enough, and yelled across the street: "The bus can't get past!"
The taxi didn't move. The bus couldn't move. Traffic was stacking up, honking.
The light went red.
Me: "The bus can't get past!"
Taxi Driver: "You talking to me?"
Me: "I'm talking to whoever's driving that taxicab!"
The light went green.
Maybe it was the humiliation factor, maybe he'd given up on the fare, but the taxi driver got in and drove away.
I was heading up Likavitos before the light turned red again.
...first, a couple of bits of background. Athens has two bus systems: one consists of the normal buses that you find in just about every city on the planet, and the other consists of trolley buses, getting power from a couple of trolley poles delivering power from overhead wires. The trolley system's been in place for as long as I can remember.
Upside: clean buses (if you don't count the fact that the power comes from lignite-fired coal plants). Downside: limited maneuverability.
Complicating things today was roadwork being done on Akadimias Street, blocking the right-hand lane of the street and limiting maneuverability still further.
So we come to today, where, right in front of me, somebody driving a taxi pulled up and turned on his emergency flashers and got out, right in front of a trolley bus. The taxi driver sauntered over to the sidewalk. Naturally, the bus driver was not pleased, and began shouting at him to move his heap. The taxi driver indicated that he was waiting for a phone call, presumably from someone who had ordered a radio cab, and once he got that call, he would be on his way.
The light went green.
The taxi didn't move. The bus couldn't move.
The light went red.
The pedestrian crossing light went green, and as has become my habit, I dashed across while I had the green, weaving around other cars that had pulled up with no consideration of the crosswalk, in the finest Athens driver tradition.
The light went green.
The taxi didn't move. The bus couldn't move.
The light went red.
The bus driver opened his front passenger door to yell at the taxi driver again. The taxi driver, still on the sidewalk, mimed a phone call with his thumb and pinkie, indicating that he'd be underway as soon as his fare called him.
I stood there, watching in disbelief.
The light went green.
I decided enough was enough, and yelled across the street: "The bus can't get past!"
The taxi didn't move. The bus couldn't move. Traffic was stacking up, honking.
The light went red.
Me: "The bus can't get past!"
Taxi Driver: "You talking to me?"
Me: "I'm talking to whoever's driving that taxicab!"
The light went green.
Maybe it was the humiliation factor, maybe he'd given up on the fare, but the taxi driver got in and drove away.
I was heading up Likavitos before the light turned red again.
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-24 05:34 pm (UTC)Look where the evolution got us...
no subject
Date: 2008-10-26 08:39 pm (UTC)And if I had a euro for every time I was in a taxi where the driver got lost somewhere in Athens along the way to where I was going...