Public transportation in Cambridge is not very convenient for me. I live in a place where the city buses do not pass through, and the only way I can get on a bus is to walk about 15 to 20 minutes to the nearest bus station. Cycling would be much faster, but Aya doesn’t have a bicycle yet (and she hasn’t really perfected her biking skills yet). And I’m really not that ready to introduce my daughter to the big, bad world of cycling here in Cambridge. I’ve witnessed firsthand two accidents involving cyclists in my almost two months of stay here. The streets here are just too narrow and the cycling paths are right smack on the road.
Anyway, I’ve become quite a frequent customer of taxis-for-hire here. I just call them up to book a taxi, and within minutes of my call, the taxi will pick me up from wherever I am and take me to my destination.
Getting the taxi is fairly simple. The only problem is talking to the receptionist who takes the calls. Sometimes the person speaks with a very strong accent, I could barely understand what he or she is saying. I consider myself as a highly fluent English speaker, but sometimes I just have difficulty understanding their words, especially when spoken with a very heavy accent.
One time, I ordered for a taxi and instructed them to bring the taxi to the bus stop where we got off. The guy on the other line told me, "No, the taxi couldn’t come to the bus stop, that’s only reserved for buses. You’ll have to go to the playstation."