How do you call the taxi driver if you don't know his name?

[blackcrowcrowd]

When you come up to a parked taxi and ask whether they're available, how do you call the driver?
Sir? Mister? Uncle?

 

[Little-Moon]

I use Sir, or Miss can't do much wrong with that.

 

[Kenjona]

Mister or Miss in the USA is appropriate; though Mister has fallen a bit out of usage in the last Decade or so. So is Sir or Ma'am though the last one may get you in trouble with certain very Politically Oriented women; especially outside the Southern parts of the USA, though sometimes Miss gets you in trouble too I have found. If someone wants to start an argument over petty shit, they will do it no matter what you say anyway.

 

[georgelee5786]

Sir or boss

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

Sir or boss

Damn, you call them boss too?

 

[Rolanov]

When you come up to a parked taxi and ask whether they're available, how do you call the driver?
Sir? Mister? Uncle?

I think conventional cabs are less common these days. Plus, if they're available, the sign is usually lit.

 

[Bayleyrockstar]

When you come up to a parked taxi and ask whether they're available, how do you call the driver?
Sir? Mister? Uncle?

Unfortunately not really applicable in the US. I'm assuming this is in your language and country. I've seen some multicultural media that says to call them 'driver' or 'mister' or some other respectful title.

In the US, though, you just get in the taxi. Calling the driver anything from 'bud', 'guy' 'gal' 'hey' 'can you?' etc. Anything to get their attention. But generally, you either call a taxi service on your phone or you hail a taxi by raising your hand up in a taxi curb. Taxi's aren't really used too much anymore in the US, and they got a horrible reputation due to a lot of drivers abusing their systems to overcharge customers and take the extra.

when you do find a parked one, it's generaly just...

knock on their window. they roll it down.

"Hey, you available?"

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

Unfortunately not really applicable in the US. I'm assuming this is in your language and country. I've seen some multicultural media that says to call them 'driver' or 'mister' or some other respectful title.

In the US, though, you just get in the taxi. Calling the driver anything from 'bud', 'guy' 'gal' 'hey' 'can you?' etc. Anything to get their attention. But generally, you either call a taxi service on your phone or you hail a taxi by raising your hand up in a taxi curb. Taxi's aren't really used too much anymore in the US, and they got a horrible reputation due to a lot of drivers abusing their systems to overcharge customers and take the extra.

when you do find a parked one, it's generaly just...

knock on their window. they roll it down.

"Hey, you available?"

Yeah... in my language/country it feels a bit disrespectful to start talking with older people by 'Hey' instead of 'Pak' (Mister in ID) or something similar. Especially when you start chatting with the driver, saying you you you feels... odd when they're older than you, so we just use pak or kak (it means big bro/ big sis technically speaking, but is basically the universal way of calling anyone that is slightly older than you)

 

[Bimbanana]

Oh, i thought you're about to tell a joke

 

[SSBM2]

If you want:

"Excuse me, Mister. Is this taxi available?"

In IDN TL:

"Permisi Pak, apakah taxi ini bisa antar saya?"

I always use this. In Indonesia, we use Mister. Since EN-IDN is very different from EN-US. More likely closer to EN-UK.

Hidden rule in IDN: If you see a man/woman who is 20 - 35 years old. Use Kak (Brother/Sister). If you see a man or Woman who is 40 and above, use Mister or Madam (Bapak/Ibu). Also note, if they were already married, use mister or madam.

 

[Erysion]

If you want:

"Excuse me, Mister. Is this taxi available?"

In IDN TL:

"Permisi Pak, apakah taxi ini bisa antar saya?"

I always use this. In Indonesia, we use Mister. Since EN-IDN is very different from EN-US. More likely closer to EN-UK.

Hidden rule in IDN: If you see a man/woman who is 20 - 35 years old. Use Kak (Brother/Sister). If you see a man or Woman who is 40 and above, use Mister or Madam (Bapak/Ibu). Also note, if they were already married, use mister or madam.

If the driver look like this:

Call him Mulyono.

 

[NapLovingImmortal]

I always call them boss, and they seem to like it. On the other hand, I mostly have the same one.

 

[LeslieLevendale]

In the UK (depends where exactly you are in the country and who you are, that is your social class): mate, pal, fella, boss, guv, driver and sir. the latter two only if you're posh (or want to sound posh) haha.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Damn, you call them boss too?

Seems to have become a generic greeting, at least in the New England part of the United States, in the last two or three years, for anyone.

In the US, though, you just get in the taxi. Calling the driver anything from 'bud', 'guy' 'gal' 'hey' 'can you?' etc. Anything to get their attention. But generally, you either call a taxi service on your phone or you hail a taxi by raising your hand up in a taxi curb. Taxi's aren't really used too much anymore in the US, and they got a horrible reputation due to a lot of drivers abusing their systems to overcharge customers and take the extra.

Also, the fights between the cab drivers' unions and rideshare apps a few years ago (MOST of them fought in the legislature or on TV and Radio ads, initially trying to block rideshares from coming into the state, and then "permitting" rideshare drivers to unionize) cast the cabbies in a pretty negative light.

One year in the mid 90s, I wound up using a cab for the same route twice a day for five days in Milwaukee - never got charged the same amount twice, even once when I got the same driver a second time (with each ride about $2 different. + or -, from the last, and the biggest gap $7 USD). And the driver who took me on the longest route, time and distance wise, was the CHEAPEST (second longest was the most expensive - but he also did point out some good tourist spots, even though I only had time to hit one, a restaurant near the convention hall I spent most of my time at - during the entire trip)

 

[Bayleyrockstar]

One year in the mid 90s, I wound up using a cab for the same route twice a day for five days in Milwaukee - never got charged the same amount twice, even once when I got the same driver a second time (with each ride about $2 different. + or -, from the last, and the biggest gap $7 USD). And the driver who took me on the longest route, time and distance wise, was the CHEAPEST (second longest was the most expensive - but he also did point out some good tourist spots, even though I only had time to hit one, a restaurant near the convention hall I spent most of my time at - during the entire trip)

To be fair, that's because the taxi meter measures time instead of distance. You're literally charged by how long the driver can keep you in the cab. It's why you see in some movies or shows the cab driver says, when the MC goes inside and has the driver wait, "I'm keeping the meter running!"

The longest route was probably less used, so it had less traffic, along with a lot of other things going for it. You can always request a specific route from a taxi now. But taxis are a rare breed due to getting all the needed reforms and laws in place too late. Sounds like you got some great cab drivers. And it also could have been your cab driver paused the timer for stops or something. A thing which they aren't supposed to do, but they had very little oversight.

There are horror stories of taxi drivers circling a block several times, refusing to park, choosing the busiest streets during rush hour, and even pre-running the meter.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The longest route was probably less used, so it had less traffic, along with a lot of other things going for it. You can always request a specific route from a taxi now. But taxis are a rare breed due to getting all the needed reforms and laws in place too late. Sounds like you got some great cab drivers.

Actually that longest route, the guy drove three blocks before turning on the meter - one of those blocks (the last one) in heavy traffic. Most of these trips were either early morning, before there was much traffic, or after 10 PM when there was ... more than in the morning but not a lot more.
One of those drivers was just irritating, and one, the third most expensive, average "Length" one, was stoney silent... which might have irritated me mid-day, but was kind of nice early morning...
And "keep the meter running" usually means "I'm going to need to go somewhere else and don't have the time to pay right now, so keep it as a single trip" from my experience. Only time I ran into one who charged by time unit rather than distance was here in Boston back around '99, though a few had a time surcharge, where a fee was added if you "tied them up" longer than a set drive would take normally.

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

Oh, i thought you're about to tell a joke

Nope... I'm finally writing a story (for real this time), and there's a moment where my MC was hailing a cab, and I got confused about how the guy was going to refer to the driver uncle

 

[Bald-san]

When you come up to a parked taxi and ask whether they're available, how do you call the driver?
Sir? Mister? Uncle?

His/her emperial majesty... No, I call them 'kuya' or 'ate' means brother and sister loterally, but sir and maam is their contextual translation

 

[LeslieLevendale]

His/her emperial majesty... No, I call them 'kuya' or 'ate' means brother and sister loterally, but sir and maam is their contextual translation

I hardly ever see a female driver where I live but it's quite a rural part of England. I'm sure in bigger towns and cities there are plenty. I would call them ma'am.

 

[Bimbanana]

You don’t… you just wave and pray he accepts your ride request

Phew finally, i've been thinking all day for this