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"If you get in a cab and say "take me to $x" it is the cab driver's responsibility to take the best route. " Obviously this can vary by municipality, but in mo
by tomkarlo 14y ago
"If you get in a cab and say "take me to $x" it is the cab driver's responsibility to take the best route. "
Obviously this can vary by municipality, but in most cities drivers are required to take the "most direct" route, rather than the "best" route, if for no other reason than the latter would be so subjective as to be useless for enforcement purposes.
So if you're in a New York taxi (for example), the driver in theory isn't allowed to take you off the most direct route without your permission, even if another path would be faster.
- sophacles 14y agoEven following this restriction on a grid: I'm at (1,1) and I want to get to (4,4). Assuming a restrictive interpretation of most direct[1] and no one-way streets factored in[2], there are still two equally direct and valid paths: (1,1) -> (1,4) -> (4,4) and (1,1) -> (4,1) -> (4,4) Which is most direct? If the cab driver chooses to go with the later because his buddy pays him to go past the billboard at (3,1), what's to stop him? What's wrong with that? [1] If most direct means "shortest path", then there are many more equivalent routes. [2] One way streets also offer a nice choice of where to do turns around a block under favorable circumstances. Similarly road construction offers extra choices by detour.