Moving around from one point to another can be a huge problem, especially if one lives or works in a city center where traffic congestion has reached mammoth proportions. Speedy car pool lanes (or high occupancy vehicle lanes) have been introduced in many countries to encourage commuters to share transport. In addition, many of the large cities now levy a hefty surcharge on drivers who use their motor vehicles within the city’s business area.
Isn’t there an easier way?
Many people just do not want to be bothered with driving unless they are out in the countryside. For this reason, those who live in dormitory areas will often make use of public transport like buses or trains to get into the city. But, they still have the problem of getting from place to place once they are there. This is where the value of a taxi service comes in.
Recent statistics indicate that in America more than two billion passengers are transported annually from their homes to their offices; to their business appointments or to the airport; to places of worship or to sports events or entertainment venues.
Convenience is not the only reason to use a taxi service
Taxis serve a practical purpose in conveying us wherever we want to go, at any time of the day or night, without the problem of leaving our own vehicle unattended (for example, when one flies off on a month-long holiday). But taxis have also come to serve in specific ways.
• Service to the disabled
In the United States some fifty million or so people live with varying degrees of disability, yet they still pursue active, fulfilling lives. For many of them, using a taxi is often one of the only means of transport available to them, while there are so many more options open to people without disabilities. There has also been a growing awareness of the needs of the disabled, meaning that more of the taxi companies are gearing themselves to being able to offer wheelchair access too.
• Service to the elderly
With increased age, so decreased mobility has become a reality for so many people. Those who would previously have driven their own motor vehicles, or made use of public transport like buses, trains or the subway, now find themselves largely limited in their options. The benefit of a taxi is the door to door service that it provides and at a time which suits the person, who is no longer dependent upon the vicissitudes of timetables.
• Service to tourism
Where would tourists be without the taxi 傷健的士 industry? Airports, harbors and railway stations have one obvious thing in common: there are always hordes of taxis there, waiting to pick up passengers to take them to the next stop in their travel itinerary.
• Service to party people
Taxis offer a convenient, inexpensive and responsibility-free means of getting from one place to the next when you and your friends are having a celebratory function and will be consuming alcohol. You no longer have to appoint a designated driver or run the risk of driving under the influence, when all you need to do is to call a taxi.