Cash Cab?

[Infected Mushroom]

Please consider the following hypothetical:

You are running a bit late for work so you call a taxi. The taxi turns out to be a Cash Cab.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_Cab_ ... _game_show)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_Cab_ ... _game_show)

I think the Canadian version is slightly easier so we'll go with the Canadian version. The cab is a televised game show as the vehicle moves where you have the chance to EARN money (there's no cab fare). You will be asked questions worth certain amounts of money (starting from 25 and going up to 100 as you near your destination) and there's a counter keeping track of how much money you're making. If you get a question wrong you get a Strike; if you get 3 Strikes, you will be asked to leave the cab and be left on the curb.

In this version of the Cash Cab, you have two tools that you can use once in the game:
1. Street Shoutout (tell a cab to stop and ask a random person on the street to help you with a question)
2. Mobile Shoutout (call a friend/acquaintance on the phone on speakers and ask them for help, it is strictly timed though it won't count if the call didn't connect)

If you arrive at your destination, you can take or decline the Video Bonus Challenge. This is a special question with a video that plays and if you get it right, you walk out of the cash with DOUBLE THE MONEY. If you mess it up, then you walk out of then cab with no money; you forfeit all gains.

Now based on the episodes that have aired (and I don't know but it's possible they cut lots of episodes where contestants fail), it appears that more than half of the time, contestants walk out with about 400-550 dollars won and they usually decline the Video Bonus Challenge though from what I've seen, when they attempt it they almost always double their gains.

...

Now the discussion question is this. Seeing as you are running a bit late for work (a bit late so that you NEED to call a cab but not SO LATE that you can't wait for a second cab), do you accept or decline the Cash Cab game? Best case scenario is that you do the Cash Cab and get to your destination with monetary gains that have doubled because you've avoided the three strikes, gotten lots of questions right, AND won the Video Bonus Challenge.

Worst case scenario, is that you get on the Cash Cab, get three strikes, and get unceremoniously removed from the cab on live TV AND you turn up late to face a possibly very displeased boss.

How risk adverse are you?

Do you accept the Cash Cab ride or wait for a second taxi? Assuming you survive the three strikes, do you take the Video Bonus Challenge or do you 100% keep your gains? Would this depend on how many strikes you've accumulated so far?

Let's say you have 1 co-worker of moderate knowledge and intelligence with you who can help you (because I've never seen 1 person do the Cash Cab challenge) but with whom you'll have to split any gains.

Poll provided.

I am normally very risk adverse but because it's the Cash Cab I would accept because I want to be on TV and I think I MIGHT be able to explain it to the boss in the absolute worst case. However, I would not do the Video Bonus Challenge no matter how many strikes I have because it would be too frustrating to lose the gains. If I get booted out of the cab after failing, my plan would be to sprint to work or hop on the nearest subway station though it will probably not be good enough.

[Ifreann]

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd called a taxi company and they'd sent me a game show instead of a taxi.

[Ethel mermania]

Friends of mine know Ben,

I play, I am good at useless trivia

[Ethel mermania]

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd called a taxi company and they'd sent me a game show instead of a taxi.

In the city its a street hail, you can't call the cash cab. Don't know how it works in Canada

[The New California Republic]

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd called a taxi company and they'd sent me a game show instead of a taxi.

Tbh I'm surprised that in this hypothetical you aren't locked in the cab and not allowed to leave or something...

[Kerwa]

I voted other. I never take cabs.

[Ifreann]

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd called a taxi company and they'd sent me a game show instead of a taxi.

Tbh I'm surprised that in this hypothetical you aren't locked in the cab and not allowed to leave or something...

Waiting for the reveal that the cab is driven by Cain.

[Infected Mushroom]

Tbh I'm surprised that in this hypothetical you aren't locked in the cab and not allowed to leave or something...

Waiting for the reveal that the cab is driven by Cain.

This is likely your driver.

https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/news/alu ... pus-comedy

^

Growe wears many creative hats, but you might know him as the host of the television series Cash Cab.

At certain angles on TV this guy reminds me of Michael Keaton.

[Heloin]

So in this hypothetical we’re playing a game show with no risks whatsoever?

[Ethel mermania]

So in this hypothetical we’re playing a game show with no risks whatsoever?

Miss your meeting if you get thrown out of the cab before arrival. Essentially miss three triva questions in route.

[Kannap]

Trick question, if I'm in NYC or Vancouver then I'm on vacation. A very shit vacation if I chose the latter, but a vacation nonetheless. I don't live in either of these places so I'm not commuting to work. I play the game, whether I get kicked out or not is inconsequential.

[Kannap]

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd called a taxi company and they'd sent me a game show instead of a taxi.

"Yes, I'd like a taxi please"

"Come on down, you're the next contestant on the Price is Right!"

[Kannap]

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd called a taxi company and they'd sent me a game show instead of a taxi.

Tbh I'm surprised that in this hypothetical you aren't locked in the cab and not allowed to leave or something...

IM hypothetical's are getting soft. Where are the days when you lost the cash cab you'd have gotten brutally killed as punishment - or worse, immediately cast into another dimension to be eternally tortured by the witch ice king or something?

[Free Ravensburg]

Say that this was, in fact, where i needed to get off, even though i just got on it. I ain’t about to have my face broadcasted on public television.

[Luziyca]

Well, if I'm going to be late anyway, I may as well just give it a shot: I'll probably not take the Video Bonus Challenge though, since once I'm at my destination I got more important things to do, like, you know, work.

Then again, having experienced North American transit, I feel like if I have to take a cab, I'll probably give myself enough time so if things go right, I arrive early, and if things go wrong, I'll still be on time.

[Kannap]

So in this hypothetical we’re playing a game show with no risks whatsoever?

Miss your meeting if you get thrown out of the cab before arrival. Essentially miss three triva questions in route.

My understanding is the cab ride in the cash cab is the same length of time as a regular cab ride just with money earning questions, right?

IM's hypothetical states you are late enough to have time to hail a second cab - I'm just assuming here but would it take tremendously longer to hail a second cab whether you're at random city location #1 or random city location #2?

Like, if I say no to the cash cab and hail a second cab, versus getting closer to my destination and hailing a second cab - I'd probably get to work on time either way? Unless the Cash Cab specifically drives slower and/or takes a more scenic route as a design feature of giving me more chance to be on a game show.

[Heloin]

So in this hypothetical we’re playing a game show with no risks whatsoever?

Miss your meeting if you get thrown out of the cab before arrival. Essentially miss three triva questions in route.

Literally no downsides.

[Infected Mushroom]

Miss your meeting if you get thrown out of the cab before arrival. Essentially miss three triva questions in route.

My understanding is the cab ride in the cash cab is the same length of time as a regular cab ride just with money earning questions, right?

IM's hypothetical states you are late enough to have time to hail a second cab - I'm just assuming here but would it take tremendously longer to hail a second cab whether you're at random city location #1 or random city location #2?

Like, if I say no to the cash cab and hail a second cab, versus getting closer to my destination and hailing a second cab - I'd probably get to work on time either way? Unless the Cash Cab specifically drives slower and/or takes a more scenic route as a design feature of giving me more chance to be on a game show.

I don't know how it works exactly but I would assume that Cash Cab would drive a bit slower just because the driver would be a bit distracted managing the Q and A game. If someone has insider knowledge of the show please do tell.

I don't know taking a second cab would be faster than taking a second cab at a random city location if you get placed on the curb. However, it would be a risk. At the start you're at a very good place to call taxis (what you're used ), but on a random street location, calling a second cab just might get harder. It would also depend on the traffic etc at the location. It would be a hassle and a stress factor either way.

[Ethel mermania]

Miss your meeting if you get thrown out of the cab before arrival. Essentially miss three triva questions in route.

My understanding is the cab ride in the cash cab is the same length of time as a regular cab ride just with money earning questions, right?

IM's hypothetical states you are late enough to have time to hail a second cab - I'm just assuming here but would it take tremendously longer to hail a second cab whether you're at random city location #1 or random city location #2?

Like, if I say no to the cash cab and hail a second cab, versus getting closer to my destination and hailing a second cab - I'd probably get to work on time either way? Unless the Cash Cab specifically drives slower and/or takes a more scenic route as a design feature of giving me more chance to be on a game show.

In nyc the driver is legally obligated to go the shortest way possible. ( with the exception of the airports)

[Czervenika]

I'd play. Trivia is kind of one of my things.

[Countesia]

The real travesty here is that you resort to hiring a taxi instead of having reliable public transport to rely on :/

[Czervenika]

The real travesty here is that you resort to hiring a taxi instead of having reliable public transport to rely on :/

In many places, especially in North America, public transport is hugely under-developed.

[USS Monitor]

The real travesty here is that you resort to hiring a taxi instead of having reliable public transport to rely on :/

In many places, especially in North America, public transport is hugely under-developed.

Cash Cab runs in large cities where there is public transit, like the US one is in NYC which has an extensive subway system -- but a cab may still be faster because you can take a direct route and do not need to change trains.

[Countesia]

The real travesty here is that you resort to hiring a taxi instead of having reliable public transport to rely on :/

In many places, especially in North America, public transport is hugely under-developed.

Same in the UK. Outside of a handful of larger cities busses are all you've got and even then you're planning your journey an hour or so ahead of time to compensate for how unreliable it is. Some might have bus lanes but all are very motor dominated. No light rail or anything. One of the many things I envy about Europe.

[Cannot think of a name]

Miss your meeting if you get thrown out of the cab before arrival. Essentially miss three triva questions in route.

My understanding is the cab ride in the cash cab is the same length of time as a regular cab ride just with money earning questions, right?

IM's hypothetical states you are late enough to have time to hail a second cab - I'm just assuming here but would it take tremendously longer to hail a second cab whether you're at random city location #1 or random city location #2?

Like, if I say no to the cash cab and hail a second cab, versus getting closer to my destination and hailing a second cab - I'd probably get to work on time either way? Unless the Cash Cab specifically drives slower and/or takes a more scenic route as a design feature of giving me more chance to be on a game show.

Participants are pre-selected and sent to a specific corner at a specific time and given instructions. They may not specifically know that they're about to be on Cash Cab but they know they are participating in something.