A Balmy Night in November

Date: 12 November 2010
Day of Chronicles: 14
Hours: 3:45-8:00pm
Rides Given: 7

Friday was a busy night, probably because it was unseasonably warm. I picked up a fare on my first pass through Times Square, around 4:00pm, and then didn't stay empty for more than maybe 15 minutes at a time thereafter.

Usually I spend most of my pedicabbing time on the West Side, and in Midtown; on Friday, one ride led to another, and I ended up farther north and east than I've ever taken passengers: 94th & 3d! First I took a tired lady with a large Forever 21 bag from Times Square to Grand Central. Then I took a mom and her kids (car-driving dad had, apparently, stood them up) from Grand Central to 78th & Madison. Finally, I took a single lady from Madison & 79th to 94th & 3d. Luckily, I picked up a Penn-Station-bound passenger on 5th Avenue, in the high 60s, so I didn't have to deadhead all the way back to the thick of things. (I'd thought Park Avenue in the 80s or 90s might be a good place to get a ride but, alas, no luck.)

Speaking of Penn Station - I believe I have realized a couple worthwhile truths about the lines. One is that the real renegades don't even bother with the line - they go up- or downtown of it and see what they can rustle up on their own. The other is that those further from the end of the line have already invested a significant amount of time in standing in it, hence are less likely to jump ship. (The more you sacrifice, the more you cling to that which you've sacrificed for.) These may well be "Duh!" ideas to any veteran pedicab driver - but to me they seem quite useful. So I'm passing them along.

My very last passengers Friday night were a couple from Philadelphia celebrating their 22nd anniversary in the big(ger) city. The husband flagged me down at 56th & Broadway, asking me how far it was to Broadway. I told him and, of course, offered him to take him there. I think the two of them had actually never seen Times Square before! And they were at least in their fifties!

Anyhow, I realized while they were peering up at the lights and the billboards, and peering out at the people, that my open-air chariot was precisely the perfect vehicle for their purposes. How much of Times Square can you really see from a taxi?