New Yorkers seem reluctant to share cabs so far…
“In its combination of physical proximity and psychic distance, the taxi-sharing experiment sounded like a microcosm of New York. Like hearing your neighbor’s intimate moments through the bedroom wall, but not acknowledging him when you see him by the mailboxes. Or standing closer to a sweaty ogre on the subway than you ever would to your best friend, all the while willing your mind to someplace very far away. Up close and impersonal: that’s the way we seem to like it….. The only problem was: there were no test subjects. On the program’s first two days, the only people lining up at the three pickup points were other journalists….
Why were New Yorkers so reluctant to share a cab yet so willing to share everything else? And if the group-ride program picks up speed, how soon might sharing give way to oversharing? Then the challenge will be how to silence the chatter. Fiddling with a BlackBerry would work, sure. But I’ve still got some unused opening lines, yours for the taking: “Anyone know a gynecologist near Penn Station?” “Boy, the [ethnic group X] sure do get a lot of mileage out of that [historical tragedy Y], don’t they?” “Sorry to bug you, but do you know anything about rashes?” They’ll get the message.”
