make-out tax

this morning, a cab ride from cole valley back to hayes valley cost me $10 (8.25+1.75); certainly nothing out of the ordnary there. what i did find odd was that an almost identical cab ride cost $17 just five hours earlier.

cab drivers have a bit of a reputation for trying to run up the meter on customers, but honestly i don't think it happens all that much. at least in san francisco. this doesn't mean i have a deep belief in the virtuosity of people in this occupation, but just that it's too hard to know who you can take advantage of. since every ethnicity is represented in this city, it's not like you can see a chinese person and think, score, foreigner. and you have to be pretty confident you can get away with it, since the moment someone figures out the driver's taking the great circle route, he not only loses his tip, but maybe the entire fare. so unless you're carrying nine shopping bags in each hand and bust out in japanese, you'll probably get to your destination for a fair price.

of course all this goes out the window when you start to hook up with somebody in the back seat. at this point the cab driver could basically pull over to the side of the road, shut off the engine and take a nap with the meter on, because he knows that all your attention is going toward trying to get the girl's shirt off/pants unbuttoned. and even if you unravel the ruse, there's not exactly a whole bunch of options. what would telling the driver to pull over so you can get out accomplish at this point (except not getting you laid)? besides, even when you reach the destination and realize your fare is twice what it should be, are you really going to haggle for the eight dollar overcharge when only a flight of stairs stands between sex.

plus, chances are good both of you are pretty wet. after all, people who aren't wasted don't start in the back of the cab. which means you won't even know you were screwed until the taxi home the next morning.