8/29/08

The lesser spotted taxi!

One of the strangest things about living way out in rural Okieland having come from the UK, is the total lack of taxi's!!

Since I arrived here nearly 3 years ago, I have only ever seen a lone taxi within the surrounding 3 counties and it's a rare sight. It's based in the nearest large town and I have only ever seen it there, never out our way. And consider there is also absolutely zero public transportation available out here.

It's just downright wierd for an expat used to seeing taxi's, buses and trains people actually ride on, all day everyday. It's also a big problem if you don't drive or no longer can, as is the case with many of the elderly here. They are quite literally stuck depending on the goodwill of family or neighbours to get groceries or keep appointments.

Prior to living here I had used taxi's or public transport all the time to get around. The UK has a whole interlinked public transportation system and this is then supplemented by private taxi's as well.

This week I was without my car for a few days and this really made me realise how reliant we all are on them out here in the 'boonies'. I realise it's because of where I live and this is not the norm' for most of you here in the US.

But who knew that one day I'd be excited by the sight of a taxi!!

9 comments:

Janet said...

Sarah, it isn't only in Oklahoma that you'll encounter the lack of public transportation. Even some of America's biggest cities don't have much - Houston, for example. Without a car and/or driver's license in the Houston area, you're sunk.

People complain so much here in the UK about the dire situation with trains, buses, etc. I tell them that back where I came from, they'd be delighted with the services available here - unreliable as they might be sometimes.

Good post.

Janet

Tess Kincaid said...

Unfortunately, our country is not appropriately set up with public transportation. I think we made the wrong decision a hundred years ago when we chose the car route!

Sandi McBride said...

Mac was just saying last night that even when we lived in the UK gas was five dollars a gallon...we used public transport frequently and I love a train! I also loved the buses especially the double deckers...we don't have taxi service here, either, but I hear the next county over does...so, we are in the boonies, too, I guess (LOL)
I'll have an award for you at my place tomorrow, please do come by and pick it up!
hugs
Sandi

Pam said...

Totally agreed, but with the easy availability of cars and really, not much traffic, I just don't know how much you could get people to use it here in OK. But, back in my mom's youth, there were trolleys (trains on tracks) that took you from Edmond to Norman and all around OKC. The Interurban restaurants are named for it. The first one of those was in Norman in the old tram building. Now, with the price of gas and traffic on I-35 what it is, that would be a wonderful place to re-launch such a system!

Happy labor day to you and remind me if you can what time you are in OKC over the weekend! My recall abilities are nil without a pad/pencil nearby!

Anonymous said...

Oh Sarah, loving the clever title!

Expat mum said...

I think Janet's right. In older cities like NYC and Chicago, you can flag a cab or phone for one fairly easily, but a lot of the newer cities (Dallas, Atlanta) don't have as many.
I love the fact that I can go out for a meal and a drink where I live, not have to take the car and not have to worry about getting home.
There's another question. Have you noticed how many Americans drink and drive?

Anna's Spot said...

I don't see many cabs in Tucson either. Of course here I do see alot of bicycles, walkers and joggers. But I think they are doing it for exercise not for transportation. Except for school buses, I don't see many buses. Having said that, on Anna Maria Island Florida they have a great trolly system and you always see the Buses and bus stops around there and that is a much smaller area than Tucson. So they do exists, it just depends on the area of the country you live in. Where are grew up in Canada we didn't have alot of public transport like buses, but you wouldd see alot of cabs.
Have a great weekend.
Anna
Anna

wanderingbtrfly said...

I'm with you there! Born and bred in Seattle and, although we have limited public transport, it is no where near as user-friendly as it is in the UK. I think I have taken the bus twice and a taxi once in all my years over here.

I wish we had better options that relying on cars!

Brenda B said...

LOL, never really though of that as I see quite a few taxis around us in Metro Detroit, but there's no good transport system though, as in most American cities. A lot of it's the mindset though, even if it were more freely available I wonder how many people would actually use it?