In America, can you actually shout "Taxi!" and one comes like in the films?

[Mr Allen]

Topic.

I'd like to visit North America one day purely to see if the "Taxi!" thing actually works, and to visit a few places in America such as Disney World, Hollywood etc.

Sounds completely mad I know, but I did wonder, lol.

 

[WildCat]

Depends where you go. Never been to downtown NYC (for example), but if you're within sight of one and if they're available for service there then yes.

In my neck of the woods, you have to make a phone call to the company and wait for one to arrive at your location. That probably applies to the outlying areas of wherever you go as well, NYC included, so know before you go!

 

[FreeDiver]

Actually, in big cities like New York. That does work and you see it happening all the time. It's just how you flag down a taxi for service. If you ever go to New York and visit the Manhattan area, You'll find that more then half of all the cars on the streets are taxies.

 

[Mia]

Interesting that you want to do that, you cannot in your own country? You can also flag down cabs in major Canadian cities as well, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver.

 

[Mr Allen]

Interesting that you want to do that, you cannot in your own country? You can also flag down cabs in major Canadian cities as well, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver.

All the big Taxi firms here have mobile apps, I use the app from Uber a lot.

 

[Mia]

All the big Taxi firms here have mobile apps, I use the app from Uber a lot.

So do the taxi firms here. You can flag them down as well.

 

[pjcnet]

You don't need to go to America, just visit the centre of London in the UK and flag down a Black Cab shouting "taxi" lol! Sometimes they will actually stop if the "For hire" sign is lit, in fact it can happen anywhere in the UK where you see a Black Cab or equivalent, although London has the most. Private hire taxis aren't officially allowed to pickup without being pre-booked however in most places in the UK, but it still doesn't stop a few drivers from doing it. The convenience of having a mobile phone has however made the need for flagging down taxis less common and as people have said already, smart phone apps are making flagging down taxis even more a thing of the past and I would imagine the same is true in the USA.

 

[tducey]

I live in a rural area but when I go to the city it's common to see a taxi parked by the mall or a hotel.

 

[Gritches]

Doing so is definitely an item on my bucket list.

 

[Coupe]

I think @WildCat is right in that it largely depends on the location - it probably does work in NYC, although I don't really know for sure, since I've never called for a cab in NYC. The one time I've taken a cab, I called a cab company in advance and arranged a time for them to come pick me up, and that's what my dad used to do all the time when he took cabs to the airport, too.

 

[Streetwise]

in the uk it stopped because women were sexually assaulted, there are still assaults by unlicensed TAXIS.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

in the uk it stopped because women were sexually assaulted, there are still assaults by unlicensed TAXIS.

You can still do it in central london, but not advisable if alone.