When Sean in New York City contemplated telling his boss he wasn’t coming into work the next day, he texted a friend that he might bang out sick. He wonders about the phrase, which he picked up from his father, a police dispatcher in New York City...
What is a bingo? If you’re a taxi driver, a bingo is someone you don’t pick up because your cab is already occupied. Another bit of cabbie slang is bunco. That’s when they are called to a specific address but no passenger shows up. This is part of a...
Cabbies are sometimes known to stretch their hood, which means to fib to the dispatcher about their location. Sometimes they have to drive out of bounds to pick up a fare. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Stretch the Hood” At the...
double-back v.— «With so few dispatchers, people often work overtime to fill gaps in the schedule, according to the union. Eight-hour shifts can turn into 12 hours if there aren’t enough dispatchers available to work, which can lead to what is...

