5 Ways to Turn Cabbies Into Tour Guides

Alyssa Hollingsworth | April 22, 2016

1. Be Friendly

As soon as I select or flag down my cab, I test the waters while I get settled by smiling and saying hi. Once I’ve given my destination, I ask how my driver’s day has been or make some remark about the weather. (Weather is always a popular subject in the UK.)

Normally I find that cabbies are happy to talk if you give the right cues, but they wait to gauge what you’re after because they don’t want to be rude — especially the British ones. When you open the door with an extroverted attitude (even if you are deeply introverted, like me), they warm right up to you.

This does require an acquaintance-level of information exchange. Cabbies usually like to find out where you’re from and the general reason you’re traveling. Though you should of course use common sense caution, by sharing a bit about yourself you’ll often gain a lot.

Rob Hurson

For instance, when my sister and I were traveling in Turkey we exchanged news with our driver. When he found out my sister had lived in some of the places his family had worked, he told us about Turkey’s foreign relations and how it influenced the unrest in Istanbul. We returned to the city with far more understanding of the country we were in, all from a local man’s perspective.

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