As a rule of the thumb, the bigger the city you live in, the more unprofessional its cab drivers will get. Cabbies in Mumbai will short-change you for cash, won't agree to ply you to your destination, will almost always listen to terrible music on the loudspeaker and won't turn it down till you ask them multiple times.
So, I was once complaining to my colleague how I'd rather pick public transport than actually pay those petty unprofessional cabbies my money. My colleague then tried explained how Mumbai's cab drivers and rickshawallahs were far better than Delhi's. Now as a second rule of the thumb, it's safe to assume that Mumbai is better than Delhi in every possible way. But my colleague had a logical argument to back her case.
When she used to work in Delhi. Well, in Gurgaon actually because no one seems to work in Delhi anymore, it's all Gurgaon. Anyway, she took a standard prepaid cab from her office to her home. The cab driver was someone who was picking her for the second time. He made it a point to tell her this. Then, a few days later, he made it a point to get drunk and declare his love for my colleague. When my colleague told him to buzz off, he was courteous enough to abuse her. You can of course say that this was a one-off incident, that not all Delhi cabbies are this bad.
Now here's the next story she told me - the one that makes her respect Mumbai's cabbies so much. She was once travelling late from work. It was around midnight and she was out of cash. She told the cabbie to stop at an ATM, so she could take out some cash. As luck would have it, her cab broke down in the middle of a flyover. The cab driver apologised profusely, then got down and hailed her a rickshaw. The rickshaw driver once he understood the situation promptly paid the cabbie and then asked her to withdraw money at the next ATM. Then, my friend had a pretty uneventful night as the rickshaw driver safely dropped her home.
Of course, these are two isolated incidents. There's no rule of the thumb for judging cab drivers across any city or any basis for comparing them. But you have to admit, just like me, you too are less mad at Mumbai's cabbies and rickshaw drivers after learning of this incident.
So, I was once complaining to my colleague how I'd rather pick public transport than actually pay those petty unprofessional cabbies my money. My colleague then tried explained how Mumbai's cab drivers and rickshawallahs were far better than Delhi's. Now as a second rule of the thumb, it's safe to assume that Mumbai is better than Delhi in every possible way. But my colleague had a logical argument to back her case.
When she used to work in Delhi. Well, in Gurgaon actually because no one seems to work in Delhi anymore, it's all Gurgaon. Anyway, she took a standard prepaid cab from her office to her home. The cab driver was someone who was picking her for the second time. He made it a point to tell her this. Then, a few days later, he made it a point to get drunk and declare his love for my colleague. When my colleague told him to buzz off, he was courteous enough to abuse her. You can of course say that this was a one-off incident, that not all Delhi cabbies are this bad.
Now here's the next story she told me - the one that makes her respect Mumbai's cabbies so much. She was once travelling late from work. It was around midnight and she was out of cash. She told the cabbie to stop at an ATM, so she could take out some cash. As luck would have it, her cab broke down in the middle of a flyover. The cab driver apologised profusely, then got down and hailed her a rickshaw. The rickshaw driver once he understood the situation promptly paid the cabbie and then asked her to withdraw money at the next ATM. Then, my friend had a pretty uneventful night as the rickshaw driver safely dropped her home.
Of course, these are two isolated incidents. There's no rule of the thumb for judging cab drivers across any city or any basis for comparing them. But you have to admit, just like me, you too are less mad at Mumbai's cabbies and rickshaw drivers after learning of this incident.
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