Name: Driven
ISBN: 9781771963848

Marcello Di Cintio

In conversations with drivers ranging from refugees to American expats, Di Cintio explores the borderland of the North American taxi.

The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers

Driven

In conversations with drivers ranging from veterans of foreign wars to Indigenous women protecting one another, Di Cintio explores the borderland of the North American taxi. “The taxi,” writes Marcello Di Cintio, “is a border.” Occupying the space between public and private, a cab brings together people who might otherwise never have met—yet most of us sit in the back and stare at our phones. Nowhere else do people occupy such intimate quarters and share so little. In a series of interviews with drivers, their backgrounds ranging from the Iraqi National Guard, to the Westboro Baptist Church, to an arranged marriage that left one woman stranded in a foreign country with nothing but a suitcase, Driven seeks out those missed conversations, revealing the unknown stories that surround us. Travelling across borders of all kinds, from battlefields and occupied lands to midnight fares and Tim Hortons parking lots, Di Cintio chronicles the many journeys each driver made merely for the privilege to turn on their rooflight. Yet these lives aren’t defined by tragedy or frustration but by ingenuity and generosity, hope and indomitable hard work. From night school and sixteen-hour shifts to schemes for athletic careers and the secret Shakespeare of Dylan’s lyrics, Di Cintio’s subjects share the passions and triumphs that drive them. Like the people encountered in its pages, Driven is an unexpected delight, and that most wondrous of all things: a book that will change the way you see the world around you. A paean to the power of personality and perseverance, it’s a compassionate and joyful tribute to the men and women who take us where we want to go.

Fraser Simons

What begins as something of an article on various taxi driver demographics and various socio-economic statistics became much more interesting. Shifting to individual stories of drivers all over the country to embody the points made about racism, sexism, and the role of taxi cabs at an individual and national identity level. From Uber wreaking havoc on cities to immigrant stories, to the story of a cab driver turned writer, I found most of these stories to be captivating. Especially the one focusing on female cab drivers. 

This does a great job of shining a light on how society treats people as lesser than while showcasing the dynamic and incredible stories of people fulfilling a service literally everyone has used at some point in their lives. It’s an effectively humanizing tale, and one that can be extrapolated to people doing other kind of work, who also are looked down on. Effective piece of writing, for me.

Driven The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers

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