Taxi questions.....
 

I know this will sound very silly to most people but I am from a small town where public transportation basically does not exist. I have traveled as far as London England but have only used taxi from airports. Hubby and I will be in NYC in Oct. Planning to use bus and subway majority of the time but we have tickets to Phantom and since we will be dressed up thought we would get a taxi. I understand how to tell if a taxi is on duty - middle light is lit - and how to hail the cab but my question is - do we need to be on the side of the street going in the direction of The Majestic or does it matter? Once we are in the taxi do we need to say 247 West 44th Street or just The Majestic or either?? We are traveling from The Mansfield 12 W 44th - from a fare estimator we are guessing $10 for one way - is that close????

First of all you will walk the two blocks from the hotel to the theater.

If you still want to take a taxi, the hotel doorman should actually hail one for you. To hail a taxi yourself is easy - you stand out and raise your hand. Watch others and learn.

But getting an open taxi at evening rush hour may not be easy. By the time you find an open taxi you'd probably already be seated in the theater.




Like most NYC streets 44th st is one way only, so you can't truns one way west to east

You do not have to take a taxi from the hotel to the theater. It's a simple 2 to 2 1/2 block walk. (Interestingly, it might take you less time to walk the distance than take a cab!)

Taking a taxi a couple of blocks to the theater is just silly. Picking up a taxi in the theater district just before or after a show is not easy - and you will probably stand there waiting to get one for far longer than the 4 or 5 minutes it will take you to walk.

If you do decide to do this you give the driver the address - most wont know exactly where each of the theaters are located.

And if you do take a taxi anywhere do remember that a 20% tip is the standard minimum. (Give more if the driver is hauling luggage around for you.)

Two blocks will take you less than 10 minutes to walk. For other cab rides, give the driver the address of your destination with the cross streets. When the cab stops for you, just get in, close the door and give him the directions. Don't ask if he'll take you here or there; he's obligated to take you where you want to go.

It will probably take you longer by taxi because the traffic flows one way on 44th Street to the east--the opposite direction to the one you want to travel.

So if you hailed a cab in front of your hotel, you would have to travel east first and then make two turns to head west, and then again make two turns to reach the theater--a trip of 0.7 mile. Walking, the distance is 0.4 mile with no turns.

In general, I usually hail cabs on the avenues, or the major cross streets with two-way traffic, because those routes have more cabs and faster moving traffic. I usually like to pick the avenue that has traffic headed in the right direction for my destination--not because it is required--only because I don't like to pay an extra dollar to have the cab take me around the block when I could have easily walked it. For the majority of my trips, unless it is a well-known place like a major train station, a museum, or an airport, I give the cross streets rather than the address. Again, I don't like to waste time and money crawling along a one-way cross street to reach my final destination--I'll walk the final half a block from the corner. These are not rules, but preferences. It is perfectly fine to travel door to door.

two blocks!! How did I miss that?? Thanks - planning to wear comfortable shoes - walking it is!! Thanks!!