Welcome to HOT AIR!
One of the main missions of this website is to spotlight the cool aspects of our city that sometimes tend to lurk under the radar. Our belief is that although this city gets a bad rap for being behind this times or not as hip as many other cities, that the coolness does exist in Cincinnati, though sometimes it takes a little work to uncover it. Unfortunately there are forces in Cincinnati that impede this city from reaching its full potential as a vibrant, cutting edge town. HOT AIR is the page on this site dedicated to indentifying these elements that need help and hopefully will spawn ideas on how to improve these faults. In other words, this is where we get to vent our frustrations against the forces in Cincinnati that keep this great city from reaching its complete coolness.
June 7, 2008-Hot Air vent # 1
Last night we went to a party. We got a ride to the party with the thought we would call a cab to get home when we were done partying. I called Towne Taxi at 2:55am, I told them where we were and where we were going. The dispatcher said it would be 20 minutes. After 30 minutes went by I called them back, after the phone rang for several minutes someone answered and promptly put me on hold. Finally, I spoke to the same dispatcher who said the driver would call me right away. I waited 15 more minutes, no call. I called back again and said I just wanted honesty, if they couldn't get us, just say so and I would call another company. The dispatcher assured me again that the driver would call me and I could even overhear the dispatcher reading my number to the driver. After another ten or so minutes I started to call back again and then the driver finally called me and said he would be about 20-30 minutes. After calling the driver a couple more times, the driver finally arrived a little more than an hour later. So after initially calling for the cab at 2:55am, we finally arrived home at 5:20am. We know several people who use cabs in Cincinnati frequently and they will tell you what we experienced is pretty typical. It was a Saturday night, we were inside the 275 loop on the eastside of town and it took 2 plus hours to get a cab. While waiting we did call a few other companies who were at least honest and said it would be at least an hour. That is ridiculous though, an hour??? No wonder people drink and drive. Even if you try to do the responsible thing and call a cab, they are unreliable. This leads me to the big picture problem in Cincinnati, in general public transportation is severely lacking. Downtown is trying to make a comeback but try to get a bus after midnight to get home or try getting a cab unless you are in one of the few areas where they linger. Cincinnati is screaming for a light rail system but when the chance was there a few years ago the narrow minded citizens voted it down with a resounding thump! Now with gas pushing $4.00 a gallon I bet many people would like to have that vote back. I know there are cab companies that try and the Metro system does what it can, but if Cincinnati truly wants to end the segregation that exists between its urban areas and its suburbs thus integrating a more mobile and cultural environment, then the leaders of this city really need to re-address the public transportation challenges we face.