The Cultural Wonder Known as the Mexican Taxi

Welcome to our blog - Sandy and I are glad you could join us in our assorted ramblings and musings; we hope you enjoy. That being said, I would like to dive into a subject that I have always derived much awe and curiosity from - Mexican taxis.


When you ask someone to name the best methods of transportation in America's big cities, most will rattle off airplanes, subways, cars, and of course, taxis. Now while everyone is familiar with your standard bright yellow cab, few are familiar with the phenomenon known as the Mexican taxi. Living in the fine southwestern city of Phoenix, I am fortunate to have tons of opportunities to share the road with these unique examples of postmodern economic travel. I even once had a chance to ride in one (more on this in a minute).


Mexican cabs are very different from American cabs. Your typical American taxi is a Chevy Caprice or Ford Crown Vic, is painted yellow, and is adorned with an advertising thing on the top. There is no variation and no one screws with this design EVER. Mexican cabs, on the other hand, think more outside the box. They are made from ALL types of vehicles (Ford Taurus', Chevy Malibus, Vw's, station wagons, Astro vans, pickup trucks, etc.). Moreover, Mexican cabs don't restrain their color choices to just yellow; in fact, they are never yellow. I have seen neon green, red, navy blue, black, and even purple ones.


Mexican cabs also take a different approach to advertising. American cabs limit their advertising to the box on top of the cars, while Mexican cabs will use every single inch of car space to pimp themselves out. It is like NASCAR meets Telemundo - but decorated with the cheap alphabet stickers you can find at Staples. On a single Mexican cab, you could find out what the best Mexican radio station is, where is the nearest roller skating rink or discoteca, who sells the best menudo nearby, and where are the best deals on prepaid long distance phone cards - all on one fender.


The absolute best part about Mexican cabs is that they are ridiculously cheap. American cabs charge you a set posted fare based on miles travelled - simple and predictable. Mexican cabs charge you based on a vastly more complicated calculus that includes, but is not limited to, how their day is going, whether you are Mexican, how bad the neighborhood you're going to, whether you let them keep their Mexican radio station on, and whether you actually know the fastest way to your destination. There are rarely meters in these cabs and tipping is expected no matter what.


Speaking of how cheap they are, I once had the opportunity to find out for myself. My old buddy Scott and I got stranded going to a concert in north Scottsdale, AZ when his old Chevy Nova broke down. We were in a hispanic part of town and were able to hail a Mexican cab like ten minutes later. The cab was a navy blue Jeep Cherokee with green wording all over it and the driver spoke very little English (un poquito, as they say). We were able to communicate to him that we wanted to go to Scott's parents house in East Mesa, AZ. 40 minutes and 20 miles later (without using the freeway), we get to our destination and the driver simply said"$5". We quickly agreed, tipped him $10 more, and were off. The same ride in a standard American cab would have easily cost $60+ pre-tip.

Long live the Mexican taxi.