[Oompa]

You were able to hail a cab in the street? Lucky you. I've had cabbies refuse to take me to where I want to go. I've called cab companies, told them where I am, and they refuse to come pick me up. I've seen a cab turn down an elderly couple want to go across town because his "meter was broken", but 2 minutes later take a fare that just went a couple blocks. And I'm a white male. Minorities have an even harder problem getting cabs.

Depending on where you live, cabs are not always something that is just as easy or reliable as Uber/Lyft/Sidecar/etc. When I'm unable to get home for whatever reason, I need a service I can rely on.

[emidln]

Personal anecdote here, but I don't look like I belong in the loop for anything other than begging. I'm an overweight white male with long, typically unkempt hair, an untrimmed beard, and a pair of shoes that are dirty and have an obvious rip in the front. My jacket is dirty and often covered in mud / dust / etc. Most of the beggars I pass on my walk into work look far better off than I do.

I have never felt as though I couldn't get a cab in Chicago. Not during rush hour in the loop (when I could easily be passed for a well-off guy in a suit thirty paces down the line). Not at 3am when the bar is closing and there exists a line of upper middle class to upper class drunks failing over themselves for a cab. Not on Michigan at lunch. Endless opportunities to not pick up a ragged homeless guy, and money always plays.

Edit: Have a beard, unfortunately not an ursine.

[fsloth]

Sorry to pick up on a lacking letter, but:

"an untrimmed bear"

The cabbies must be really service oriented to drive you with your unkept ursine buddy ;)

[emidln]

Lol, nice catch.