Navigating via Taxi in Manhattan and Mumbai

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Most addresses in Manhattan are accompanied by a cross street. You can find this cross street on a map, or by asking your friend who lives at the address.

If I wanted to get to 349 Broadway in TriBeCa (a neighborhood in Manhattan), I would simply tell the taxi driver to take me to Broadway and Leonard. This is where the Broadway street intersects the Leonard street. Any taxi driver would know almost any cross street in Manhattan, so it is a very convenient system for tourists and residents alike.

But there is no knowledge of cross streets in Mumbai. Many addresses will instead reference a nearby landmark.

I usually tell Mumbai taxi drivers my destination in this order - Neighborhood, Landmark, Building. The driver will definitely know the neighborhood, will probably know the landmark, and will probably not know the exact building. When you reach the landmark, you will have to ask several more people for the minute directions to your destination.

For a tourist, this process of landmark-based navigation is sort of complicated. Here is an example.

Last week, I had to meet my friend Akshay at a photo studio in another neighborhood. He was having his picture taken for Elle magazine. Here is how I found my way to the photo studio.

1. I hailed a taxi driver and told him to take me to Mahim, the neighborhood.
2. The driver agreed, so I told him the nearest landmark to my destination - Hinduja Hospital. He acknowledged this landmark, and we started the trip.
3. When we reached the landmark, I asked the driver if he knew where the Saint Alvares Building was. He didn't, so I paid my fare and exited the taxi.
4. I found the nearest paan wallah or cigarette stand. The proprietor pointed me northbound.
5. After about 5 minutes of walking north and asking passersby, I found the building.

There was no visible signage to identify it as the Saint Alvares Building, or to indicate any sort of street address. In conclusion, taxis in Mumbai will help you reach 95% of your destination. The last 5% is like a treasure hunt.