Global Q&A: ‘What’s the most memorable taxi ride you’ve ever given?’

Puerto Montt, Chile

Jose Luis Rehbein, 50, Taxi Driver

Well, it was a trip to Chaitén, after the volcanic eruption. Chaitén is situated in the southeast of Puerto Montt, and we could only go there by plane, or by boat through Argentina. It was a three–daylong trip—one day to go, another one to charge the stuff, and one to come back. A family contacted me to look for things with high sentimental value—photos, clothes, [and] cherished things. … They were very kind and polite, with many human qualities. It was for me a very exceptional ride; furthermore, when we came back, we arrived late at the checkpoint so we had to stay in Argentina another night. I think this was the most unforgettable ride I’ve had.

Peru

Miguel Escudero, 78, Taxi Driver

I provided a taxi service for two married couples—Spanish and Peruvian. The Spanish gentleman reminded everyone not to leave their wallets and documents in the car. After dropping the passengers at their destination, I noticed on the floor of the car a portfolio left behind. I did nothing at first, but then an inner voice, my conscience, told me I must return the portfolio. I called the passengers back. They said that if everyone were like me there would be no police. There was no reward, but the tranquility of the moment that gave me the awareness of peace to return what does not belong to me, was most rewarding.

Medellín, Colombia

Miguel Angel Roldan Herrera, 52, Taxi Driver

The trip that I most remember was an occasion when I took a lady to Guarne, a nearby town. The lady turned out to be very nice, and during the entire trip, she was telling me jokes and humorous stories. I laughed a lot during the whole journey; I didn’t feel the trip.

New York City, USA

Oumar Bah, NYC Taxi Driver

There was a couple I picked up after the U.S. open from Scotland; I think he was one of the players who won the tournament. They were in Manhattan and I picked them up on the corner of Madison and 38th Street. They wanted to go back to their hotel in Queens, but they didn’t know the address. … They told me that if I drive on the upper level part of the bridge you can see the hotel sign from the very top of the bridge. I saw it but when I got off the bridge in Queens, we couldn’t find it. … After we found it they really thanked me because he said tomorrow they had to go back to Scotland and they were happy that even though they didn’t know the address, I was able to find it for them.

Malmo, Sweden

Dorota Kubiak, 46, Nurse, Former Taxi Driver

Once I had an unusual customer who was acting very aggressively. I felt threatened. I was a bit afraid for my life, because he was banging on the front of the car with an empty Coca-Cola bottle. He sat next to me, and he ordered me to drive outside the city. Before we left the city, I asked him some questions and tried to find out the motive—why he was so angry, and tried to be a “friend” with him. … He confessed he was angry with his boss, and he wanted to pay him a visit. The ride finished in a good way … eventually he wanted us to be friends. So, I returned home safely.

Thessaloniki, Greece

Diggiaris Fwtis, 27, Taxi Driver

One funny experience I remember: It was in the middle of the hot summer when a nun from the Holy Mountain of Greece rode in my taxi. She had with her a bottle of whiskey, and was drinking until we reached her final destination a church—she was completely drunk. I remember that very well because I never expected something like that from a nun.

Bucharest, Romania

Vlad Ion, 61, Taxi Driver

That’s a risky job. For example, I had situations, not many, when people got off without paying, and somebody once even stole my cellphone. A memorable ride is one given in another city—a round trip of almost 310 miles (500 km). Even if I didn’t charge my client as I should—I had to agree on his price—I earned more than I would have done if I had remained in Bucharest. It was a good day but very tiring. This job is hard, too. You have to face all kinds of short, low–paid rides, expensive oil, traffic jams, and difficult clients.

Itatiba, Brazil

João Rocha, 40, Taxi Driver

One Friday a promising ride became disturbing, but in the end worked out. I gave a man a ride to a nearby town from Itatiba. He started talking and mentioned he was a prisoner. Then I started to get scared. When we arrived, he had no money to pay me, but said he would draw from a bank. But the bank wasn’t in this area, only in another. When we were in the other area, he withdrew the money. At this point, I thought maybe he wants to rob me. We returned to his original destination. I was lucky that he paid me anything, but I was kind of worried. A ride that was to take 1 hour and 30 minutes lasted 3 hours because we stopped to buy cigarettes and beer.

Sydney, Australia

Arjan Singh, 31, Taxi Driver

Just last week, I picked up a passenger from the airport to Pheasants Nest. … It was $270! It was a really long trip, and a really good trip! He was of Indian origin; his grandmother came from India, then moved to Malaysia and got married to an Australian guy. So when I saw him I just thought he was full Australian, but then he told me his name was Suresh, which is a very Indian name, and then he told me that he has an Indian background. … It was such a bad day for me before that, but it turned out not such a bad day after all!

Look for the Global Q&A column every week. Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: “Do you think protests are an effective way to bring about change?”

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