USA: New York City couple hail a cab from the Big Apple all the way to Arizona

Most New Yorkers love hailing a taxi but their ride usually doesn't last more than about half an hour. But now an elderly, retired couple are taking their love for the classic New York yellow cab to a whole new level. They will be taking a cab from their home in the Queens borough of New York, to their new retirement home in Sedona, Arizona, a distance of about 2,400 miles. On Tuesday (April 11) Bob, 72, and Betty Matas, 71, prepared to make the cab journey across the United States, but first there was a lot of packing to finish. A U-Haul parked outside their home in Forest Hills was slowly and steadily being loaded with belongings collected over a lifetime of living in New York. The Matas had arranged to send their belongings by truck several weeks before, but they had been in a quandary about how to transport themselves. The native New Yorkers do not drive, and they were concerned that their two cats might not make it on a plane. But when they took their first cab ride with likeable driver Douglas Guldeniz, 45, three months back, an idea struck them. Perhaps, they could just hail a cab all the way to Arizona. At first, it almost seemed like a joke and Guldeniz didn't take them seriously either. But over the course of several cab rides with Guldeniz, the trio developed a friendship and after further discussions, made a pact to take the plunge with their Arizona drive plan. This way, the Matases could travel with their pet cats and Guldeniz would get a chance to take a break from the frenetic, honking Manhattan traffic. At their home on Tuesday, the Matas stroked their two cats, Cleo, 1, and Pretty Face, 6, and spoke about what made them decide on their yellow cab cross-country adventure. "We felt to be more secure, more security riding a cab and more comfortable, and the fact we had a lot of furniture in the U-Haul and it would be more comfortable sitting in U-haul and changing over to the cab. And with a cab you can always stop any where, and there was a very nice cab driver that we met," said Bob. The Matases said they trusted and liked Guldeniz and were looking forward to the journey which would take 4-5 days. Guldeniz will get 3000 U.S Dollars to take the Matases to their new home, and in addition, will be paid for gas, lodging and food expenses for both sides of the journey -- from and back to New York. The Matases' are certainly getting a good rate from Guldeniz. The standard fare for each way would be 5000 U.S Dollars , thereby a total of 10,000 U.S Dollars , according to Guldeniz. But Guldeniz agreed to the fare because he saw this whole exercise in more than just money terms. He said he was keen to help the Matases and this would also serve as a break from his hectic schedule as a cab driver in Manhattan. "I try to help and also I want to try something different in my life, and also seven days, I think better than work Manhattan from, you don't have to worry always you have passenger or not, too many thinking in Manhattan, red light too much you stop. Yellow cab job, drivers - not easy a job, but good job - I am really happy doing this job right now." The Executive Director of the Committee for Taxi Safety, David Pollack, who was with Guldeniz before the Matas' left, explained that New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission rules allow passengers and drivers to negotiate before hand a flat fare for trips outside the city. Pollack claims that this is the first time that a distance of over 2000 miles would be undertaken by a New York City cab and that he is proud of Guldeniz for agreeing to it. "Douglas I guess is a representative of all taxi drivers, because it used to be - Come to New York and drive a taxi cab in New York and you'll learn about the world, now it's - drive a taxi cab in New York and see the country!" said Pollack. But it wasn't just Guldeniz who was excited about seeing the country. So were the Matases, with Betty saying that she thought it would be great "fun". "It's (the cab ride) a great way to see the country and get to see other people quickly, and we're going to maybe ten states, which is great. We could never do that with just one air plane ride, or two," said Betty. She added that along the way, they would spend time by taking photographs, reading, meeting new people and eating. A few hours before they left New York, the Matases seemed confident of enjoying a relaxed, comfortable ride in Guldeniz's Ford Hybrid Escape. While Guldeniz, with a photograph of his new friend Bob Matas in hand, was gearing to drive about ten hours every day, with frequent breaks for the couple and their cats of course. A quirky story.

ITN Source | April 13, 2007

Tags:. .joke. .committee. .wasnt. .schedule. .retirement