Some time ago (about three months) we reported on a particularly industrious player deciding to play GTA Online their own way. Lesi20 decided to turn his back on the violent ways of the game most players are accustomed to and started his own little taxi service.
In the three months that have passed since starting his little taxi crew, Lesi20's idea has enthralled countless GTA Online players. The Los Santos Taxi Department has grown to number over 300 members and is still growing. Players often appear in various yellow vehicles all sporting the taxi crew emblem, showing others that they're not taking part in regular gameplay, but are rather offering their services.
This whole taxi thing has become a well known phenomenon in GTA Online. Sometimes there are several taxi drivers in a single session, driving their clients to their desired destinations. Other players also recognize the taxi drivers as "serving the public good". Lesi20 has reported that he is attacked randomly with much lower frequency. Considering most GTA Online players kill you for saying "Hi", that's rather impressive.
First off all, people tends to be a lot nicer. I mean holy shit. Usually before the Taxi Job 7-8 people out of 10 would attack me for no reason. Now... Maybe 2-3/10. And I do feel the difference. Even if they attack me, I usually have a distance to drive away as fast as possible. I don't really approach people who are red colored on the map, but I make exceptions time to time.
Even so, some players struggle with grasping the concept of taxis. Often times players sit into a taxi and give no destination. Even after asking them politely, Lesi20 often needs to improvise. You don't even need to go to the effort of setting a way-point — just tell your driver over chat where you want to go.
Of course, being a taxi driver in Los Santos has its dangers. As Lesi20 describes, picking up violent clients can sometimes mix thing up. For example, when a Hydra griefer draws the ire of multiple players in the session and jumps into the taxi for safety, chances are the begrieved players will go after the yellow cab nonetheless.
[...]he entered the Taxi and typed "Drive!" I noticed the guys chasing [Jack] still wanted to kill him and now I am their target as well. What followed is a good 20-25 minute chase against 2-3 helicopters and hydras. Shit was awesome yo. Sadly, there was no official winners because Server dropped all the players.
You might think simply driving around Los Santos gets boring after a while, but when you take part in epic chases like that, being a taxi driver can result in some of the most exhilarating gameplay experiences GTA Online has to offer.
The taxi service idea has even produced some offshoots. Other players have come up with various ways to mix up gameplay while serving the community. One player in particular decided to grab a medical helicopter to air-lift players stranded in the northern regions in case they lose their rides off-roading. A shout out to Atari26K, a model citizen.
The next thing we need is some sort of community made police force made up of high-level, heavily armed players to patrol sessions and hunt down griefers and other miscreants. Vigilante justice is something GTA Online desperately needs.
Considering how popular these kinds of activities have become, how about Rockstar makes them official in an update? What if injured players can call others to "Medevac" them for a small fee?
Would you like to see social services come to GTA Online as an official gameplay feature?
