From Yahoo News
Hailing a taxi in New York City is practically a competitive sport but one cabbie is making the grind a little bit sweeter.
Mansoor Khalid, 37, an electrical engineer graduate from Pakistan who’s driven a cab since 1996, has turned his taxi into a Willy Wonka factory on wheels by filling his car with boatloads of candy.
The sign in his cab reads, “No eating or drinking inside this car. Except candies.” And the back dashboard of his car is brimming with candy and chocolate. “Snickers, Milky Way, Starburst, Skittles, you name it, I have it,” Khalid told Yahoo! Shine. To get the party started, passengers can plug their music devices into his $400 subwoofer and blast their tunes while enjoying the cab’s elaborate lighting system which flashes blue, purple, and pink rays. To further sweeten the experience, Khalid strikes a deal with his passengers: If they can finish all the candy in the car by the time they arrive at their destination, there’s no charge. “No one has accomplished this, although four girls gave it a good try,” says Khalid. “However, one got sick so I told her it wasn’t worth it.
Khalid launched his candy cab in April 2012 after the death of his 18-month-old son Saad who, according to a recent story in the New York Times, was born with a congenital heart defect in 2010. “I used to bring coffee to the nurses at the hospital and they called me ‘coffee man.’ After my son died, I wanted to feel happy so I put a few candies in my cab. People loved them so I joined Costco to buy in bulk. Cashiers always ask if I’m throwing a party when I go through the checkout line.” Khalid’s wife, ironically a nutritionist, accompanies him on the trip, where he spends an average of $300 a month on the sweet stuff.
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