Published 22:38, October the 13th, 2009
Book gathers true life taxi tales
Metro talked with author Amy Braunschweiger about her new book “Taxi Confidential: Life, Death and 3 a.m. Revelations in New York City Cabs,” filled with true-life stories from drivers and riders.
How did you find stories?
Passengers were easy. I’d go to a party and say, “Who has a taxicab story?” My hairdresser made the cut. She grew up in Brooklyn, and on a snowy New Year’s Eve during the 1980s, she and friends in the Lower East Side were trying to hail a cab. Finally, a checker careened over. The driver vomited and said, “I’m too drunk. Can someone drive?” They spent the evening picking up friends with the driver passed out in the back. ... Drivers were harder to get. ... But once I understood their world — issues with GPS, backaches, where to go to the bathroom — it was a lot easier. I would talk on the phone with them for hours.
Were they driving while on the phone?
That’s a good question.
What’s more common: people puking or having sex in cabs?
Sex. Some drivers were fine with it. Others weren’t. ... A lot of drivers told me, “This chick didn’t have any money so she offered ‘blank’ instead.” The passengers could be gay, straight. It doesn’t matter when you’re drunk.
