When your driver just got out of jail

Passenger Story, by anonymous: It was 6 a.m., and I was catching a plane for a business trip. I live in Brooklyn, and you can’t find yellow cabs there, so I called a discount car service.

This driver seemed pleasant enough, and he was a talker.

"Wow, this is great,” the driver began. “I really needed this fare. Thanks man.”

I told him no problem, and told him I was heading to LaGuardia’s Delta terminal.

"Yeah, when dispatch called me to pick you up, I was pretty happy,” the driver continued. “I could use the money. I had a tough weekend."

My curiosity was piqued. "Oh, I’m sorry, what happened?” I asked, figuring he was going to share an amusing yarn in hopes of scoring a bigger tip.

“Well, I was in jail all weekend,” he said. “I just got released, like, an hour ago."

Um, okay. I probed further. “That’s too bad. What happened?"

"Well, the police found cocaine and some drugs in this car. But they weren't my drugs. I leant this car to my friend, and he must have put them in there."

Well shit.

Taxi! iPhone app saving lives daily

Remember that night when the G train just stopped running, and when you exited the subway station, you turned out to be in sketchy-ass middle of nowhere? And there were no other subways? And no bus stops to be seen? And certainly no yellow cabs? You did, however, see homeless and/or strung-out people. And you thought "I need a car service!"

But how the hell do you find a car servicenin the middle of nowhere?

The solution: iPhone app Taxi! developed by my brilliant friend Blake Engel. His app uses the iPhone's GPS to pinpoint your location, bringing up a list of area cab companies to call. If I owned an iPhone, I would totally download it. Because I never, ever want another night like when the G train stopped running.