Standing at College St. and Spadina tonight, there's three westbound vehicles close together, a cab about 30 feet behind them -- and a streetcar on the cab's ass honking angrily.

The busted cab driver guiltily moves up, making it easier for a young woman and myself to board the streetcar.

"You see that?" said the streetcar operator in a vaguely East European accent.

Then, referring to the amber light on the back of cabs  that asks people to phone 911 if they see it flashing, the operator says sarcastically: "I'll call -- my mother."

I told him of a previous encounter, where I jokingly suggested to a streetcar operator that he hit a double-parked cab.

"A lot of senior guys do," said the operator, adding the magic number was within 15 days of scheduled retirement.

But he went on to say that while tense, streetcar-cab relations are actually better than they were seven to 10 years ago. Some education by the police followed by enforcement calmed things down.

This operator said a group that is much worse than cabbies these days are BMW and Mercedes drivers.

Who'd a thunk it? :)