History Main / TheTaxi

Cab drivers range from friendly and wholesome (especially in a nostalgia-tinged {{Everytown, America}} setting), funny (in films where the driver is a source of comic relief), sleazy (in a FilmNoir), or downright sinister, the DerangedTaxiDriver in a {{Horror}} film.

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxicab. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Like bartenders and barbers, part of a taxi driver's job is to make small talk with customers, so having a character take a cab can be used as an opportunity for the character to chit chat

Cab drivers range from friendly and wholesome (especially in a nostalgia-tinged {{Everytown, America}} setting), funny (in films where the driver is a source of comic relief), sleazy (in a FilmNoir), or downright sinister (in a {{Horror}} film).

Cab drivers range from friendly and wholesome (especially in a nostalgia-tinged {{Everytown, America}} setting), sleazy or mob-connected (in a FilmNoir), or downright sinister (in a {{Horror}} film).

Especially likely to be seen in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity or its [[BigApplesauce fictional equivalents]]. A New York taxi in a movie or TV series is likely to be an old-fashioned '50s-style Checker model.[[note]]The last of which was retired from RealLife NYC service in 1999, though the motif held.[[/note]]

Cab drivers range from friendly and wholesome (especially in a nostalgia-tinged Everytown, America setting), sleazy or mob-connected (in a FilmNoir), or downright sinister (in a Horror film).

Cab drivers range from friendly and wholesome (especially in a nostalgia-tinged Everytown, America setting), sleazy or mob-connected (in a FilmNoir), or downright sinister (in a HorrorFilm).

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxicab. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Like bartenders and barbers, part of a taxi driver's job is to make small talk with customers, so having a character take a cab can be used as an opportunity for the character to tell a chit chat

Cab driving is a lonely job without room to advance, which may make drivers world-weary and frustrated (''Film/TaxiDriver'' being a prototypical example), although some deal with it by taking on a philosophical perspective, which means they may dispense pearls of wisdom to the hero.

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxicab. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Like bartenders and barbers, part of a taxi driver's job is to make small talk with customers. This means that having a character take a cab can be used by the character to give backstory . Alternatively, the cab driver may make an innocuous remark that jogs the protagonist's mind. Cab driving is a lonely job without room to advance, which may make drivers world-weary and frustrated (''[[Film/TaxiDriver]]'' being a prototypical example), although some deal with it by taking on a philosophical perspective, which means they may dispense pearls of wisdom to the hero.

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxicab. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Like bartenders and barbers, part of a taxi driver's job is to make small talk with customers. This means that having a character take a cab can be used by the character to give backstory . Alternatively, the cab driver may make an innocuous remark that jogs the protagonist's mind. Cab driving is a lonely job without room to advance, which may make drivers world-weary and frustrated (''[[Film/Taxi Driver]]'' being a prototypical example), although some deal with it by taking on a philosophical perspective, which means they may dispense pearls of wisdom to the hero.

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxicab. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Like bartenders and barbers, part of a taxi driver's job is to make small talk with customers. This means that having a character take a cab can be used by the character to give backstory . Alternatively, the cab driver may make an innocuous remark that jogs the protagonist's mind. Cab driving is a lonely job without room to advance, which may make drivers world-weary and frustrated (though some deal with their ennui by taking a philosophical perspective).

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxicab. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Especially likely to be seen in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity or its [[BigApplesauce fictional equivalents]]. A New York taxi in a movie or TV series is likely to be an old-fashioned '50s-style Checker model.[[note]]The last of which was retired from RealLife NYC service in 1999, though the motif held.[[/note]]

* In ''The Pushcart War''(about a feud between the truckers and the pushcart-vendors in New York) it claims that the taxidrivers were among the few in the streets not intimidated by the truckers.

* ''Film/{{Ten}}'' is a film by Creator/AbbasKiarostami depicting ten journeys by a woman taxi driver in contemporary Tehran, and how she relates to her various passengers.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' has had taxi sidequests since [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII the third game]], as well as occasional missions involving carjacking a taxi and using it for some [[NotMyDriver nefarious purpose]]. In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', you can buy a cab company, and get into a violent turf-war with the ''other'' cab companies in the city.

* Another contemporary Iranian film, ''There Are Things You Don't Know'', follows a taxi driver picking up various passengers in Tehran. Unsurprisingly, the driver likes to say "there are things you don't know".

** Loosely adapted as a 2004 American film by the same title, starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon.

* Not quite video, but a pinball game also called 'Taxi' had this theme. Fares included SantaClaus, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Pin Bot.

* ''Night on Earth'' by Creator/JimJarmusch: Five people take five taxis in five different cities in the world, and the film is about how every one of them will interact with the driver.

* ''Ten'' is a film by Abbas Kiarostami depicting ten journeys by a woman taxi driver in contemporary Tehran, and how she relates to her various passengers.

* A ''Pyramid'' article for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' featured the Phantom Cabriolet; the vehicle that always turns up to get the heroes to where they need to be in the nick of time. It can be a yellow cab, a hansom carriage, a rickshaw, or even a truck inclined to pick up hitchhikers, and the Driver is always an almost-average example of the sort of person you'd expect to drive such a vehicle. Even those who recognise his supernatural nature don't know his origin, but it's been speculated that he's an aspect of Charon the Boatman or St Christopher.

[[quoteright:250:[[Film/TaxiDriver https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taxi_driver_sm_4414.jpg]]]]

-->-- '''Travis''', ''Film/TaxiDriver''

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxi. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Especially likely to be seen in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity or its [[BigApplesauce fictional equivalents]]. A New York taxi in a movie is likely to be an old-fashioned '50s-style Checker model [[note]]The last of which was retired from NYC taxi service in 1999, though the motif held[[/note]].

In RealLife, a common means of transportation in urban environments is to take a taxi. As a result the Taxi makes a cameo in many stories, is a plot point in several of them, and in some may be the whole point of the story. Especially likely to be seen in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity or its [[BigApplesauce fictional equivalents]]. A New York taxi in a movie is likely to be an old-fashioned '50s-style Checker model [[note]]The last of which was retired from NYC taxi service in 1999[[/note]].

* ''Film/{{Taxi}}'', a 1998 French action-comedy film written by Creator/LucBesson about a cabdriver who teams up with a police inspector to solve a series of robberies, features a taxi that's also a CoolCar with a SuperMode. It spawned three sequels.

* In the movie ''WesternAnimation/CuriousGeorge'', Ted takes a taxi back to his apartment and offers the driver a big tip if he doesn't call him "Yellow." The driver says, "You got it, Sunshine." Another driver keeps telling his passengers that he's[[CityOfWeirdos seen "everything" in New York,]] including, "Giant ape causing unintentional panic? Seen it."

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'' spent its first years with Sam employed as a taxi driver. [[TheAce Carlyle]] makes infrequent appearances even after Sam has quit, as a mysterious taxi driver to dispense characters {{koan}}s about their current situation.
[[/folder]]