Green Day

My Green Cab id
Originally uploaded by Verabug.

Today I drove a Green Cab for the first time. It was super fun. I love that little Prius. It's so zippy and shiny and brand new. It reminds me a little of my Beetle.

I arrived at the lot at 6am and was greeted by Mark who gave me the keys and who taught me about the Prius because it's quite different from a regular gasoline car. Mark also gave me my Green Cab id! It was an awesome surprise. Apparently, Thomas had found some pictures of mine online and used one for my id. Normally you have to have your picture taken at Civic Center, but this worked out so much better! I love my id. And I love that I'm wearing green in it.

I picked up my first customer at Castro and Market. It was the sweetest old black man with coke bottle glasses. I said "Welcome to the Green Cab!" He said "Yeah, I thought you were the new cab on the block." He told me he used to drive a postal car, but that he retired in 1974. He told me that he had five children, eleven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He said that he had six sisters, but the oldest and the youngest had died already. He was now the oldest of his living siblings. He was going to a house in Hunter's Point.

When we got there, a woman greeted us. It was one of his granddaughters. He told her excitedly that this was a Green Cab, a hybrid, and that it was my first day and that he was my first customer. He sounded like a little boy who is telling his mother what happened at school that day. I told him that it was nice to meet him and we shook hands.

"Have fun with the Green Cab!" he said.

"I'm the new cab on the block!" I said.

I continued to tell all my customers that day about the Green Cab. I became an instant spokesperson. I never thought I would enjoy something like that, but I totally did. I loved putting out the word about Green Cab. I want everybody to start calling them: 415.626.GREEN.

I also loved how many heads I turned. I got attention everywhere I went. I could tell that people were curious about this bubbly green taxi they had never seen before. It made me want to wave at everybody.

I can't wait for my next shift.