You probably don't know it, but in Paris, there is a special Police department dedicated to taxis ! It's called Les Boers (a slang word which origin is not really known) and they make sure taxis don't cheat (for example choose the night rate instead of the day one) nor even pretend to be taxis whereas they're not (more common than you would think...). Most of them are honest, but it's comforting to know that the police is watching! I took this photo of an old taxi at an exhibition that the Préfecture de Police de Paris (The Paris police) curated to celebrate the 75 anniversary of the Boers.
I imagine these Boers have nothing to do with what we call the Boer War in South Africa...
ReplyDeleteGood shot, and an impressive old car!
Nope LOL! The name is said to come from the Russians who fled to Paris and became taxis at the beginning of the 20th century.
DeleteI never take a taxi when in Paris...to beautiful to watch from the bus,or take Velib,the Metro...or mostly..take my feet...(walking)...the best way to enjoy Paris...Merci for the info and the great old taxi...we always learn something new on PDP..LOL!!!!
ReplyDelete;-)
DeleteI like that vintage car in the left background! They don't make them like that anymore. Most all car look very similar.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's another taxi (older obviously...) But I could not photograph it because the exhibition was actually closed when I went there. It may be one of the famous taxis de la Marne
Deletethis makes me wonder if NYC has anything like this type of enforcement as well.
ReplyDeleteI do like this car too.
See below ;-)
DeleteI don't have a car, but if I did I'd want one with red wheels like this! (Apparently, the "taxi police" in NYC are Taxi & Limousine Commission inspectors who patrol the streets looking for rule breakers. Who knew?)
ReplyDeleteSee, PDP helps you (re)discover you own city ;-))
DeleteYou're correct, I didn't know of the existence of the bogus taxi hunters. I wonder if they ride about in taxis all day. Seems like a pretty boering job. :-{
ReplyDeleteNice old taxi.
LOOOOOOOOOOL! Actually it's not that boering apparently... They have a lot to do!
Delete