Author: Alanna Fichtel
As college students who live too far (read: are too lazy) to walk from parties, restaurants, and other destinations, we’re pretty used to the cab ride experience. Getting a ride usually happens in the same way: you’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for your cab to arrive, and when it finally does you feel like a million bucks. You politely tell the driver where you would like to go, and settle into an alarmingly dirty seat (after buckling up, of course).
At this point, your ride can go one of two ways: either the cab remains silent and the ride goes by relatively quickly, or you become the victim of a chatty cab driver.
Whether here in Ithaca or in our hometowns, many of us have dealt with a cab driver who just won’t shut up. Some people handle this situation better than others – people who are outgoing and chatty themselves might even enjoy a random conversation. But whether you like to talk, or are a quieter person like me, you probably don’t care to hear about the life of your driver when you just want to get home.
I get it – they are tired of driving and just trying to be friendly. Maybe they don’t have a lot of other people to talk to. But when it’s 2 a.m. and my responses to their comments on Cornell Hockey’s latest performance are “Oh, wow” and “Hm, interesting,” they should get the hint that I’m not in the mood to talk. I don’t know why their car didn’t start this morning and I’m also not their therapist (#sorrynotsorry).
And asking me where I’m from so they can make conversation is just creepy, as well as unnecessary. Oh, your best friend’s brother’s friend’s sister-in-law is from the same town as me? Small world.
Cab drivers tend to be more talkative when the only passenger is you, or maybe you and a couple friends. For them to strike up a conversation with ten girls packed in their van would be a bold move. (Side note: props to drivers for allowing that)
But when I’m not traveling with a group of friends, I feel a little bit of anxiety before I get into a cab alone. I know that if the driver starts chatting it up, I’ll be faced with the internal struggle of not wanting to talk, but not wanting to be flat-out rude.
In general, I’m not a fan of making conversation with strangers. I don’t know you, and probably won’t ever see you again, so what’s the point? Some might say a silent car ride is awkward, but I say silence is golden. So cab drivers: unless you have a realllllly interesting story to tell, do less.
