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Taxi Rides refer to an ability to ride taxis in the Grand Theft Auto series.

The feature is present, in some form, in almost every title since Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Taxiride-GTAVC

A Kaufman Cab in GTA Vice City waiting in front of a hospital to take the player to the trigger that activates the last mission the player attempted, after the player failed the mission by dying.

Description[]

GTA Vice City — GTA Vice City Stories[]

The ability to ride taxis was first featured in a limited scale in GTA Vice City as merely a means to repeat failed missions if the player is arrested or killed in one. After respawning at a hospital or police station, a marked Kaufman Cab is spawned in front, which can be ridden to the marker that activated the failed mission, allowing the player to replay the mission faster. This feature is implemented once in the mission Spilling the Beans where Tommy can choose to ride a Taxi to Malibu Club at the beginning of the mission. A taxi ride in GTA Vice City costs $9 per use.

The feature is also present, largely unchanged, in GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories (both of which inherit GTA Vice City's game mechanics).

GTA IV and its Episodes[]

Players could only begin hailing for and entering a taxi at will, and taking taxi rides to nearly all destinations all at a variable cost, in GTA IV. The ability to take rides in taxis is not available at the beginning of the game, but must be unlocked by completing missions. After the mission Bull in a China Shop, taxi rides are unlocked.

Hailing and entering the Taxi[]

Taxiride-GTAIV-hailing

Hailing a cab in GTA IV.

While on foot, the player can whistle for a cab by pressing the appropriate action button, and, provided the protagonist is not wanted by the police, take a seat in the back and be driven anywhere in the city for a fee. It should be noted that entry into a taxi as a passenger is only possible if the player holds the enter/exit vehicle button. Simply pressing the button will result in the protagonist carjacking the driver instead.
If the player acts aggressively or receives a wanted level while riding in a taxi, the driver will stop the car and run away in fear.
Taxis which already have passengers turn off their roof lights and will not stop when hailed, which may trigger an unsavory comment from the protagonist. If the player manages to catch up to an occupied taxi, however, it can still be entered—the player will pull the passenger out of the back seat and hop in. Passengers do not retaliate, and there is no reaction from the driver. This is usually easier to execute when the taxi is either traveling at low speeds or is stationary (e.g. stopping near an intersection, or waiting for the protagonist to get out of the way).

Select Destination[]

Taxiride-GTAIV-selection

Picking a destination for the taxi to go in GTA IV.

Upon entering a taxi, the player can use a terminal within the vehicle to direct the driver to various preset landmarks (safe-houses, mission starting locations, recreational facilities such as bowling alleys or the Helitours depot, etc.) or to a waypoint set by the player, and during some missions, the player can take a taxi to (stationary) mission markers.

Fare[]

The taxi fare is determined by distance, and whether the player used the "trip-skip" option (where the journey is omitted entirely, the game resuming as the cab pulls up at its location, and the cost of the fare doubling).
The player can also issue a "hurry" option, which results in the driver ignoring the laws of the road and driving to the destination as fast as possible.
If the taxi driver exits the taxi first (e.g. taxi flips over), the taxi fare will be free.

Roman's Taxi[]

Niko can get free cab rides from Roman Bellic after the mission Bull in a China Shop and after the player attains 60% friendship (Roman will call to inform the player once the service is available). Selecting "Car Services" from Roman's address-book entry in the mobile phone will initiate a call to Roman, and he will dispatch one of his cabs driven by Mohammed to the player's location. In the beginning of the game, Roman's taxis are customized dark gray Esperantos (see Roman's Taxi), but as his fortunes rise, his company switches to using dark gray Cavalcades. Cabs sent by Roman can still be used even if the player has a wanted level and can still be shot out of without scaring the driver. The cabs cannot be requested for back-to-back rides, as Roman will indicate there are no cars available. The service is unavailable between the missions Roman's Sorrow and Blow Your Cover due to the destruction of the garage; a text message received from Roman soon after the conclusion of the latter mission reactivates the service.

GTA Chinatown Wars[]

Taxiride-GTACW-selection

Selecting a taxi's destination in GTA Chinatown Wars (DS version).

GTA Chinatown Wars retains GTA IV's taxi riding system, with several changes in place. Players can no longer enter any Cabbie at will, as they can only be entered after the player hails a taxi, triggering the taxi to stop and be marked by yellow chevrons pointing where the player should walk to automatically enter a taxi as a passenger.

After entering a Cabbie, the player, as in GTA IV, can pick nearly any location in Liberty City to go, as are the usual gameplay-specific locales. Instead of a basic destination selector, however, the player is automatically shown a map of the city, allowing the player to immediately pinpoint their destination using a map marker. After selecting a destination, the player is treated with a similar cutscene of the taxi the player is in traveling towards the destination, which the player can skip.

Like GTA IV, the cost of a taxi ride is dependent on the distance of the ride; the longer the ride, the more expensive it is.

Grand Theft Auto V[]

The ability to ride taxis returns to Grand Theft Auto V. The feature remains similar to GTA IV, but has been expanded upon.

As well as being able to hail taxis on the road in a similar manner to GTA IV, the player can also call the Downtown Cab Co. directly, and ask for one to be sent out to them, providing more convenience as Taxis are far less common on the streets of Los Santos compared to Liberty City, and do not spawn at all around Blaine County.

Upon calling up the cab company, provided the player is close enough to a road, the dispatcher will ask where the player's current position is. The player will then name roughly the area they are in (for example, Burton, Alta or Mirror Park), and a Taxi will be sent to them shortly. If the Taxi fails to make it to the player, the cab company will call back and tell them to try again later.

Similar to a hailed taxi, a cab that has been called for will stop in the middle of the road nearby and appear marked on the map, as well as sound its horn. The functionality from hereon remains identical to using a cab off the street; the player chooses their destination from a list of presets (or sets their own), and their journey begins.

Like GTA IV, taxi drivers have zero tolerance to violence; if the player arms or fires a weapon whilst inside a cab, the driver will stop and force the player out. Likewise, if the player gains a wanted level, or attempts to enter a cab whilst wanted, the taxi driver will stop the car and flee.

Should the player not have enough funds to pay for their journey, they will be forced out of the car and given a 2-star wanted level. This also occurs if the player bails out of the taxi mid-journey or just before arriving at their destination.

The running total for the current fare will be shown on the taxi meter; this can only be viewed if the player prompts to change their destination, as the taxi meter cannot be seen in any other circumstance. The fare will only be taken once the player has reached their destination, or prompts the driver to stop, before leaving the taxi.

Franklin Clinton also has the option to purchase the Downtown Cab Co. for $200,000. If he does so, every subsequent taxi journey he takes will be free of charge. Purchasing the Downtown Cab Co. also unlocks Private Taxi Fare missions.

Grand Theft Auto Online[]

Taxi functionality in Grand Theft Auto Online remains largely unchanged from GTA V. The player can reach out to Downtown Cab Co. via their Contact List, just like GTA V. Upon dialing the cab company, however, due to the player's inability to speak, the dispatcher will simply confirm that a taxi is being sent to them.

Taxis called for via phone often take much longer to arrive compared to GTA V, often failing to arrive at all. Similar to GTA V, if the taxi fails to arrive, the taxi firm will contact the player again to apologise, and recommends they call back later. If at any point the player rings the firm back while waiting for a taxi, the firm will confirm that a taxi has already been dispatched.

The cab ride itself remains unchanged, too, however the ability to "Skip" the journey has been removed. It was re-added exclusively to the Expanded and Enhanced versions of the game as part of the Los Santos Drug Wars update continuation, but with a fee of $1,000, unless the player is subscribed to GTA+, in which case skipping journeys is free. There is a 48 minute cooldown (24[citation/verification needed] minutes if the player is subscribed to GTA+) before another journey can be skipped.

As Taxis do not spawn natively in traffic in GTA Online, calling the cab company is, in most cases, the only way of getting a taxi ride. Taxis do still occasionally spawn around LSIA, should the player be unable to find one to request a ride from.

Gallery[]

Grand Theft Auto V[]

Grand Theft Auto Online[]

Trivia[]

Grand Theft Auto IV[]

Bugs/Glitches[]

See Also[]

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