This lesson is brought to you by the color yellow

I’ve lived in Austin for three years now and only recently have delved into the world of cab-riding. It’s a glamorous world really, with calling and running to catch one and listening to drivers talk about nonsense at 3 a.m. while you’re most likely drunk. Despite the stereotype, most of the few cab drivers I’ve experienced were nice and only slightly weird, probably because they were all hopped up on Mountain Dew to drive in the middle of the night.

[Photo from a technical blog]

But there are some rules to this business and Cab Driver Joe informed me of these last weekend.

#1 Yellow Cab sucks most of the time. Especially if you’re going from your apartment to downtown and especially if you live near Riverside, don’t call them. Their system is automated so they think you want to go to HEB and they won’t take the call. I like Austin Cab Co. better but they can be unreliable as well. The best thing to do is find a cabbie you like and get their card so you can call whenever you need to.

#2 Call before midnight if you’re going out. After this, most of the cabs hang around downtown (and not by your apartment) because there’s more people, therefore business there.

#3 Make sure the cab driver doesn’t “accidentally” pass your apartment. They’ll naturally take longer ways to get where you want to go, but if they’re taking a considerably longer way, they’re taking advantage of you more than they should. Find someone who uses the highway.

#4 Know how much it should cost to get from your apartment to downtown (or wherever you’re going.) From Riverside it should be just over $10 so be ready before you’re judgment is faltering and have just enough for fare and some tip. In other words, don’t carry around big bills.

Revolution?

All the businesses on Riverside from Lakeshore to the Breakers (apartments) are now closed for this Revolution Riverside. No one will most likely care about the Radio Shack, but there was an insurance place and small Mexican food restaurant and the Libertad bank. A few complexes on Lakeshore have already had residents move out and begun to be demolished. What for?

For this.

Ooh you got your cool blues-ish song and Abercrombie feel. Youth, sexyness, rich kids, moving people who can pretty much only afford to live on Riverside (I’m one of those people) out. I doubt they’ll rip up everything, especially not the student apartments, but transforming Riverside into an extension of downtown will undoubtedly raise prices.

At least we’ll get feedback in the design process!!