Those of you that know me know that I yearn for life in a larger city. I pine for better public transportation and long for walkable spaces and the hustle bustle of city life. Yet I live in Minneapolis.
Don’t get me wrong. I love it here. I love the people, the lakes, the liberal tendencies of urban residents. There’s some decent shopping, good art fairs and plenty of shows.
However, today I had an experience that once again made me want to pick up and move to Toronto.
I work downtown and have an hour lunch break. I had to get clear across town (about 13 blocks, which is walkable but not walkable enough for me to still eat when I get back…) to drop off some items for a photo shoot. I thought about the bus. Too annoying to find a schedule that fits. I completely forgot about the light rail, which goes practically to the front step of the building I was heading to, and opted instead for a cab. I figured, it’s not that far, it won’t cost that much. The guy offered me a round trip for $20 “since sometimes people don’t meet you always on time” and I declined, saying I’d take my chances with the meter. $20 for a 5 minute car ride. Then, he got us lost.
I had to give HIM directions.
It’s a small city.
Despite my directions, he got us turned around AGAIN so I finally hopped out, paid him and said I’d walk the block I needed to go rather than spin around the block with him again and pay him an extra $2.
The ride was $8.14, plus tip. I took the light rail back for $1.75 and berated myself over the dumb mistake.
Now, I know cabbies are annoying in every city but I’ve never EVER had one get us lost in such a small downtown before. Maybe I’ve been lucky, or maybe that’s how it is in Minnesota.
Off to daydream about life with a subway system 
1 Comment
October 10, 2008 at 10:55 am
I feel your pain girl! I took a cab from the Midway in St. Paul to downtown and I think my cabbie got lost on purpose to make the meter run more! I was like, see that building? Get there….as fast as you can! So annoying! But, I do love the Twin Cities!