[_delirium]

That's been the same for me in NYC, but the whole taxi setup in NYC feels very "high-security", with only a small window peering through a bullet-resistant barrier between the front and back seats. That makes it feel more like a limo, since the driver is in a quasi-armored compartment separate from you, and it doesn't really encourage a friendly chat. In most other parts of the world a taxi is just a regular car, without internal barriers.

Actually now I'm a bit unsure: what is the regional etiquette on whether a single passenger should sit in the back or the front? When I lived in LA, I usually just sat in front, which nobody ever complained about, but in retrospect maybe that was weird? It's definitely more conducive to smalltalk if you're in the front passenger seat, sitting next to the driver.