Investigate pirate cars, gypsy taxis, and off-book ride networks that sprouted wherever official cabs were scarce.
Explore neighborhood liveries that provided vital street service to underserved outer boroughs.
Learn about privately owned cars that cruised busy avenues to poach fares from licensed operators.
Trace the smooth-talking curbside solicitations made to unsuspecting incoming travelers.
Discover wartime and ration-era transport solutions powered by home-blended fuel and bartered rides.
Examine informal estate shuttles that carried shopping bags and elderly residents up steep hills.
Follow daring drivers who specialized in shuttling passengers and parcels across remote frontiers.
Step into unlicensed neighborhood car services operating from suburban living rooms and corner groceries.
Learn about grassroots passenger carpools arranged through workplace bulletin boards and neighborhood notices.
When factory wages met crowded streetcar lines, Detroit autoworkers discovered that the sedans rolling off their own assembly lines could run pirate transit along the city's widest avenues.
You have reached the end of this shelf. More city stories await.
We trace the records behind the ride: drivers, fares, closed associations and changing streets. Evidence comes before the legend.
Our approach
