I often go to NYC for business. During rush hour I have stood on corners waiting for a taxi with my hand outstretched. I've had people see me, walk up the block and catch a taxi as it approaches me. I always assumed that if you saw someone waiting for a taxi, you would wait for them to get one and then you would look for one. I'm I off base?

The easiest place to get a taxi is in front of a hotel. The next easiest place is on the Avenues. It's each person for him/herself.

Don't believe that malarky that New Yorkers are nice. They're not. You could be bleeding and they'd still take your cab.

Walking against the traffic to get a cab before the other guy is standard procedure. You can do it, too. You can even walk further up than the people who one-upped you. Eventually people get tired of walking (in the opposite direction to which they are going, I might add). The people who do as you describe, and wait for you to get a taxi first, are very much in the minority.

You're not off base, just remember "survival of the fittest" applies to taxi waiting! I think this was the exact question posed to the NY Times Magazine "Ethicist" column last week, and his take on it was, that of course that is the "moral",kind thing to do.
There just aren;t enough taxis to go around, and people will do whatever they have to to get one. You decide if you want to participate in that "sport"
(me? I almost never take cabs --too hard to rely on getting them when you really wnat them...)

I hate it when this happens. I usually give them a dirty look and sarcastically yell "glad you were able to get a cab first". What more can you do?

Welcome to New York, Tina!! While it never hurts to be polite, it's pretty much every man (or woman) for themselves.

I think your assumption is actually correct as to what the etiquette is, and I think most people still observe it. In my own opinion, it is marginally okay to walk TWO BLOCKS past people waiting but not to just more or less get in front of them.

I may be wrong, but it's my impression that it's out of towners and not people who live here who jump these lines.

This same question was asked in the New York Times Sunday magazine this past Sunday in the "Ethicist" column. So it is either a coincidence or the poster did not like the answer. Anyway, the answer in the column from the self-proclaimed ethical expert was that this was not an ethical thing to do.

i'm that guy who steals your cab ......

it's a fun "sport" for sure....

He who hesitates ....has to walk or take the bus. This is an aggressive city, Become a real New Yorker and go for it.

Having grown up in an area that had NO public transit, I always used cabs in cities. After getting used to larger city public transit, ESPECIALLY New York, I don't even bother with a taxi anymore. Even the buses in most of Manhattan have excellent schedules.

I've found NYers to be very friendly and helpful, as long as I'm not competing with one for a cab!

r-travels what is your point? That you know how to use public transportation? Congrats.

On the flip side of the coin, I've had cabs drive right past me when I'm hailing them so they can pick up a fare who they 'think' may be better tippers. Cab drivers also seem to give priority to people with luggage who look like they're going to the airport. And then there are those cabbies who ask if you're 'going their way.'

Actually, I agree with r-travels: I prefer the bus. So many NYC cabs are tighter than a drum or the cabby doesn't know how to get where I'm going anyway. And if I can walk someplace, I prefer that too.

Flynn - the cabbies that ask if you are going their way are usually going off duty and have to be at the taxi center by a certain time or be fined. If you are headed in that direction and won't take them out of their way, they will pick you up. The changing of one of the shifts I know of is at about 4:30.

"xxx", the "point" is merely that other travel options exist, and they're not anywhere as complicated, nor dangerous, as many people from out-of-town think they are. And it's getting easier to use them too, with the proliferation of websites, so one can figure how to get around before their trip even begins.

Ellen, what you say has merit but this has happened to me at all hours. If the driver is going back to the garage, he should put on his 'off duty' sign. Additionally, it's illegal for a cabby to refuse to take a passenger anywhere in the five boroughs. Some of them just hate to drive a longer distance because they don't know how to get to a destination. One time I was on Fifth Avenue around 34th Street, hailed a cab to go to 14th Street and Fifth Avenue and he didn't know where it was.

My wife and I arrived in Penn Station at rush hour....and could not get a cab to stop. I think they all wanted airport fares.

A young kid about 10 or 11 offered to help getus a cab...and I took him up on it. He then proceeded to run out in the middle of the street and stood right in front of an oncoming (available)cab. When the cab stopped to avoid hitting him, he told us to get in. I got the cab and he got a generous tip.

And no, I don't condone putting kids in danger and would not have "used his services" if I had known what he was going to do.

It is just plain rude to try and walk a couple feet in front of someone trying to catch a cab and try to catch your own cab. If I see someone do this I will either offer to share my cab, if they try to get in before I do, I immediately tell them to get out of the cab or plan to share the cab with me. And if it is raining...all bets are off!