Ever Worry About Bedbugs?
by Ryan Vlastica
Khalid
Hailed in: Soho
Hails From: Pakistan
I had bedbugs once, more than ten years ago. It was horrible. I was bitten everywhere. I had to throw out all my clothing, all my stuff. I even moved. I'm very careful now; I had exterminators come in to check things to be safe. Whenever I hear people talking about them in the cabs, I stop and ask if their apartment has them. No one has said so. If they were to admit it I don't think I would kick them out, but I would wait before I got another passenger so I could check the car.
Pedro
Hailed in: Lower East Side
Hails From: Guatemala
Everyone is scared of bedbugs. When all the cases started coming up, we got all this information about how to check for them in cabs, since you can't tell who has them just by looking at them, and it's so easy for people to carry them in and then leave them behind. So I check for them every time I clean my cab.
Harold
Hailed in: Midtown
Hails From: Queens
I'm more worried about them in my house. There's this plastic on the seats, so I don't think the cab could really get so bad since I clean it and check my clothes for any sign when I leave my shift. My fear is that somehow something will get on me when I'm just out and about and then I take them back home. I have a mattress cover—everyone should get a mattress cover—but those little fuckers can get anywhere.
Muhammad
Hailed in: Grand Army Plaza
Hails From: Turkey
I don't really think about it, to be honest with you. I guess they can be spread from person to person, but I don't know about from passenger to driver. The partition prevents us from touching, for the most part, so I don't see how I can get them. It's rare that people sit in the front.
