as a park slope resident i used arecibo for years as we lived in the north slope. i went abroad for a couple of years and when i came back everyone was using 11th St (Express 11) when no used to use them. i now know why. this segment was awesome!

Riding in these mexican livery svcs is quite a trip..... the guy always says "five minutes" sometimes its way more. how about illegals? they seem staffed by illegals...... the segment was a little lacking.......

This was a great segment. I'm surprised, though, that Brian ignored two people talking openly about working as children. The dispatcher said he'd been doing this for five years; 13 is too young to work even part time legally. And the driver who called in said he'd been driving at 16-- you can't drive alone in this city until 18. Please make this a follow up friday!

I agree completely with Eric from Bed-Stuy - Arecibo is amazing. I've been using them for years, and I've never understood how they do it, but "five minutes" really does mean five minutes. And this kid is only eighteen? Wow! I've begun to wonder lately if anyone under thirty has any idea what it means to actually work for a living - I guess this answers my question.

Can you talk about how incredibly badly NYC cabbies and car drivers handle snow conditions? People tend to drive like they don't understand ice or snow. It's dangerous and just pathetic (and surprising).

I live in Bushwick and occassionally use car services to get around. I generally have a good experience with my drivers, but recently I had an incident where the driver was clearly flirting with me. I kept our conversation light, and I told him I was married. When we got the to street where he was supposed to turn, he missed it, and when I pointed it out to him, he said he knew but he would like to talk to me some more, maybe take me out I became very stern and told him to take me to my destination. What is the best way to deal with these situations? I want to get mad, but then I am in a stranger's car, so I might not be able leave. Or, I could put on a happy face, and let him say what he wants, but then I feel bad at not standing up for myself.

what if anything could the city do to make your biz easier? ie what are the big gripes/complaints?

also -- horns -- do you know of any colleagues who have actually gotten a ticket for honking (to alert the person who called for the car)?

I live in Sunset Park, BK. I use 11th street all the time, they are my favorite company. Me and my friends are very loyal to them. They provide a great service and their drivers are great. I am happy to see that their work is being recognized.

Brian, please settle the whole to-tip-or-not-to-tip livery cab conundrum. Thanks.

is Express 11 as cheap as Arecibo? I am a regular customer of the latter but am a little disconcerted to hear that they fired Manny and others for no apparent reason.

I lived in a 3rd world country for some years, too much investment in taxis for the market -- dispatchers could be heard by anybody w a radio -- therefore much business came poaching from one another's fares.

You call for a car and w/in 5 minutes there were at least 3 cars from different companies. Fights often ensued.

beautiful, Bryan. a real new yorker segment highlighting real deal heroes. they know the streets better than any yellow cab driver ever could. they do 15 things at once in high efficiency. they're professional - when they say 2 minutes they mean EXACTLY two minutes, when they say 5 they mean 5. for folks in low-income and underserved parts of the 5-borough area, i.e. anything not manhattan below 125th street - this is lifeblood. you also build relationships with these guys (and some female drivers) that makes the working even better.