Back in the Day: Hacks got you where you needed to go

Traveling around the city was challenging, if you did not have access to an automobile back in the day. It was even more challenging to get to the train station or airport. How did people get to their various destinations? They used public transportation, sometimes they were forced to walk, and other times they resorted to using their thumb. Your thumb, you may ask. For many of us, using our thumbs to hitchhike was something we were forced to do. This was particularly true in trips home from our college campuses. But then again, we also had yellow taxi cabs that went everywhere locally. There were also independent taxicab companies such as Liberty, Chester, Quaker City, Penn, and Get A Cab. Today, we have Uber and Lyft, but back in the day hacks were in abundance.

As I sat down to write this column, I was reminded that this is 2022 and many people may not be familiar with hacks. I turned to the Meriam-Webster Dictionary which indicates that a hack can apply to many disciplines, usually with a tinge of a negative connotation; a writer, prison guard, custodian, and a golfer, in particular, one that swings poorly. Today, many people associate hacks or hackers with those who access computer networks by surreptitious means. In our computer environment, we dread being told that we have been hacked. For those of you that took a quick look at the word hack by turning to a dictionary or checking on-line, a hack or hacker is primarily described as someone who drives a taxi for a living. This is not the hack that is the focus of this column. Rather, this column is about those illegal taxicab drivers, or what some refer to as pirate taxis, gypsy cabs, or jitney cabs.

If you remember hacks, you might have memories of them being targeted by the police and requested to move or face arrest as they were not permitted to operate in most communities. Hacks were everywhere, small towns and big cities. They all had several things in common: they mainly operated in working-class neighborhoods, the vehicles that they drove were not licensed, they had no safety inspections, they were not insured for use as a taxicab, the cars had no meters, and the drivers were not registered. Some hackers went so far as to mark their cars as taxis. You may recall that some referred to these taxicabs as “speedy cabs.”

In examining the origin and history of hacks, I found Miriam-Webster Dictionary to be helpful in answering these questions. Webster indicates that hacks or hackers are terms that originated with the hackney horse, a breed of horse typically offered for hire in the 19th century. Sir Walter Besant, in “A Hackney Coach, 1842,” from ‘London in the Nineteenth Century’ describes the word hackney as the vehicle the horse pulled; from there, ‘hack’ became a term for a person who works for hire. With regard to my focus on hacks, it should be understood that illegal taxi cabs are not only found in the United States, they are fond in countries around the world. For example, China has black taxis; Nigeria calls them kabu kabu.

If you grew up during the era when hacks were popular, you must have special memories. Some of you will recall that they were predominately located at airports, train stations or shopping centers. Several elderly females told me that they depended on hacks at supermarkets to assist in getting home with their purchases. In many cases, hacks worked from specific supermarkets and street corners. Some hacks closely associated themselves with stores, showing identification, claiming to work for the store in an attempt to get business.

Hacks were aggressive and pursued passengers by calling out, “hack for hire.” It was not unusual for some people to have a designated hack; someone that he or she could depend on to be their driver. A friend told me that her girlfriend had the telephone number of the hack that provided driving services to her and he would immediately respond when called. In other cases, the selection of a hack was based on instinct. Was the hack a regular at the location where the hacking service was provided? Did the hack present himself well? Did the hack drive a decent looking automobile? Did he have a reputation for being fair and reasonable when it came to what would be charged for the service? Some hacks secured business from those needing transportation by picking up those that were simply pointing a finger to the ground.

Then there was the process of negotiating a fee once a potential hack was identified. Most rates were reasonable, with standard fares for traveling to specific locations. How many of you recall a hack giving a fare and the potential passenger responds that it is too much and the hack immediately shouts out a lesser amount as the passenger starts to walk away. Have you ever observed a hack getting into a confrontation with other hacks as attempts were made to hold off a fare going to another hack? You may have heard of potential passengers waiting until a hack returned as he was taking someone else to their destination first. Upon returning, the hack learned the passenger had gone with another hack, thus a verbal and sometimes a physical altercation arose among the hacks. Is anyone aware of passengers refusing to pay a hack once arriving at their location; they went into their home and refused to return to pay. Yes, hacking had its challenges, but paying up front was one common characteristic, back in the day.

After reading this column, some of you may conclude that being a hack is a good hustle. If so, think twice! Believe me, the work as a hack today does not have the promise nor the benefits that working as a hack had, back in the day.