Dear Urban Diplomat: what should I do with my back-seat cab-driving boyfriend?
Dear Urban Diplomat,
Every time I take a cab with my boyfriend, he guides our driver using the Waze app, which plots out the fastest route based on real-time traffic updates. He shouts, “Left here! Now right!” and so on, not unlike an English lord addressing his valet, and it makes me extremely uncomfortable. Do passengers have the right to undermine a cabbie with an app?
—Not-So-Set in My Waze, King West
If there’s one app all taxi drivers hate, it isn’t Waze. Sure, it’s annoying when an Android-toting know-it-all yells out crowdsourced directions. But these days, I imagine the driver will be thankful you’re taking an old-fashioned taxi and not Ubering around like everyone else. The Taxicab Bill of Rights, displayed in licensed cabs, states, “As the passenger, you may direct your driver on the route to be taken.” But get your boyfriend to rein in the jackassery with these three easy steps. One, direct without shouting. Two, nix the imperious tone. Three, tip generously, even if your preferred route ends up gridlocked thanks to all the other Waze-gazers.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com
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