I know, that doesn't seem possible to those who came to Boston for ASAE this year and had the joy of dealing with our surly taxi drivers, but the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is trying to change all that. They just launched a program that would give drivers who play nice with conventioneers a chance at a $500 monthly prize. BCEC officials will hand out cards at the center, and attendees can check off whether their driver was courteous and helpful, knew where s/he was going, and was a "good ambassador" for the city. Drivers then turn in the cards with favorable reviews and get a shot at two monthly cash prizes.
Hey, it's worth a try, right? I have to say that when I was in Baltimore last month, I was so impressed with the cabbies I met. They were almost all not just nice, but genuinely seemed interested in what I was doing and what I thought about the city. One gave me the low-down on every hotel in the downtown area. If Boston could somehow get our cabbies to that same level of niceness, it sure couldn't hurt.