Hamra, bi service?

Here in Beirut there are three classes of taxi transportation - well, four, actually. In descending order:

1. A hired private taxi, usually ordered by phone. What shows up is a new car with great air conditioning, for a set price that is usually quoted without negotiation. Cost is pretty similar to normal cab costs in NYC.
2. A roving 'taxi'. This is one of the thousands of taxis that roam the streets looking for fares. For a long journey, they demand 'taxi', which means you will be the only passenger. You will also pay more, but the price is negotiated at the curb (or in the middle of the street, if that's where the driver had to or felt like stopping). You have to work fast, as the traffic building up behind you will quickly get furious at the delay.

Then there are two classes of 'service', or communal taxi. Often called 'jitney' in other countries.

3. 'Servicein'. That's the best I could come up with. It sounds like 'ser-vees' followed by our word 'ain't' without the 't'. It means, literally, 'two services'. You'll pay twice the fixed 'service' price, which is currently about $1.30. For your $2.60 you'll share with other passengers if the driver already has some or can find some along the way, and you don't get the luxury of two seats, but you'll get to go farther than you would by paying a single fare.
4. 'Service' (the 'i' sounds like 'eee' since it comes from the French, not English). The cost, as I mentioned, is just over a dollar, and doesn't vary. What happens is this: you stand on the street looking like you might like to be somewhere else. Every cab with at least one free seat will slow down and honk. If you were actually just looking at the building across the street, you indicate 'no', by moving your head brusquely in an short upward motion. This is universal 'no', not to be confused with shaking your head sideways, which means 'yes'. Of course, westerners are always confounded at the outset, since these gestures look very much like the opposite of ours.
   
   If, on the other hand, you actually were trying to get a cab, you then lean down to where you can see the driver. You start by stating your destination. Since there are no addresses as such, you indicate some landmark within walking distance of your actual destination. You then add, declaratively, 'b service'. The 'b' sound means 'by' or 'for', depending on context. Here it means, for example, 'ABC Mall for the price of a single service'. IOW, you want to get there for $1.30 and no more. The driver may assent by shaking his head or refuse by nodding it. If he says no, you are now free to suggest, 'b servicein' (for twice the price). Again, either yes or no. If his car is empty, he might then suggest, 'b taxi', i.e., as a taxi. At which point you must ask, 'bi kem?', how much?. This is where the negotiation begins, and tempers start to flare behind you. If your driver is intent on getting a fare, he will prefer to turn back and scream at the other drivers rather than cut off negotiations. If the negotiations conclude succesfully, you can then climb into the vehicle, which is generally more or less what we would call a 'beater' without much in the way of creature comforts and certainly without air conditioning.

No matter what condition it may be in, it's infintely preferable to the so-called 'buses', beaten-up vans with three rows of 3 seats in the space normally occupied by 5 seats. To be in the back row of one of these is to be trapped with no exit until people in the two rows in front of you fully exit the vehicle so that the seats they were occupying can be folded up!

A few moments in a Beirut 'service' (jitney, or communal cab):