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Dave-TD, are you the same Dave that used to post on here (under Dave Taxi Driver IIRC)? If so, how did the Milton Keynes to Glasgow project go?
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I remember the MK to Glasgow query; moving specialist medical equipment wasn't it? Skoda Octavia esatate recommended as I recall.
Some people make a steady and relatively safe living from specialising in home to airport and back transfers.
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are you the same Dave that used to post on here (under Dave Taxi Driver)?
Yes, that's me!
how did the Milton Keynes to Glasgow project go? (Sprice) I remember the MK to Glasgow query (AS)
It never got off the ground, unfortunately. Rather embarrassingly for me, it seems I was led up the garden path by the (seemingly respectable) businessman who was supposed to be organising the contract - I still can't fathom why he went to such lengths to fabricate a massively complicated story about this Glasgow contract for no apparent personal gain. I was also told not to tell any of my colleagues about it "in case someone else tried to undercut us".
The starting date kept getting put back a month at a time; The car he bought "for me" got plated as a minicab, "so it could earn its keep for a few weeks before the contract began"; At least one other driver I spoke to had been offered virtually the same job by this guy and had been promised an identical car.
Because this well-paying job (GBP800/wk) was seemingly about to start, I misguidedly slackened off from my 110-hour working weeks by about 40%, with a consequent 40% drop in income. This obviously left me somewhat in the mire when the job didn't come off, and as outlined in my post above the posterior had fallen out of the taxi market by the time I tried to recoup my losses.
A change in family commitments meant I had to give up cab driving a year or so afterwards as I could no longer realistically spend 17 hours at work every day, so I went back to delivery driving in a 7.5 tonne lorry. We moved away in 2007 and although I occasionally exchange a few texts with a couple of former taxi colleagues I haven't spoken to the Glasgow chap since.
Dave TD.
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I misguidedly slackened off frommy 110-hour working weeks>> A change in family commitments meant I had to give up cab driving a year I could no longer realistically spend 17 hours at work every day
These sorts of comments really worry me when it comes to taxi/minicab drivers - there should be much stricter control over hours these guys are allowed to work, there is no way that anyone would be fit enough to drive a car properly doing those sorts of hours, I feel really strongly that this sort of working should be stopped...
As an aside I remember one of our drivers actually telling the private hire guy to stop on the hard shoulder and insisted that they got a new car with a driver which was actually awake to take him the rest of the way... that firm was dropped shortly after from the contract...
Dave, its nothing personal against you, or any other taxi drivers on here, but there should be far stricter control than there is at the moment, after all they are taking money to get us safely to our destination, the least we could expect is that they are in a fit state to drive the vehicle.
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I`ve been punched twice - had two death threats (separate incidents) - gone into situations involving severe risk on a daily basis. Just about every night worrying whether someone (sometimes several clients) would harm themselves - or someone else. The responsibility resting entirely with me having just done an assessment.
HIV/hepatitus infections - people with such spitting in your face. TB and refusal to follow treatment - coughing in my face - long term cases.
Cockroaches running over people in bed and bringing one home - either in a shoe - or trouser turn up - bed bugs all over the interior of homes.
Super fit clients with knife and sword collections becoming psychotic (largely due to street drugs) babies left alone, one with maggots in a nappy (first contact)
People found laying on furniture and floors becoming literally `embedded `in waste and defecating there. Houses where you enter through `tunnels` of waste amongst which rats have made their home
Massive work overload often handling 40 or so cases individually requiring much time - and being `case accountable` in other words - the buck rest entirely with you. Night, day, weekend - and at night in the early hours when you can`t sleep and look at the clock in the bedroom - at 2am - then 3 and 4 and you turn into work with only 3 hours sleep.
Totally wasted after years of this - you are on duty rota ( coordinating assessments under the Mental Heath act) one comes in at 4pm and you work another 6 hours on average and much longer than that if the admission bed on a psychiatric ward is over in Manchester - or up in Newcastle - because you need to be there for the admission.
Then there are the days when you walk into the office at finishing time (or get a call) because you are the only qualified worker (under the act) they can find. Or are given an assessment first thing in the morning and a whole day of of work, with people posing risk and others suffering depression and misery -(your own Clients) - has to be cancelled.
That just touches the very upper surface of 30 years as a Social worker and not at all on later being a Team Manager.
No one died or harmed anyone on my watch - but there`s been a price to pay for the effort and actions necessary to to achieve that.
I`m still recovering from it three years later - there is of course that `gold linked pension` that`s so often talked about (and paid into by me) - I`m surprised more don`t go for it. ;-)
Incidentally - almost everyone we knew travelled by taxi....
Edited by oilrag on 03/01/2009 at 09:39
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or trouser turn up
When I "did" youth courts - a Social Worker, I had a long friendship with always wore £3.00 jeans from Tesco - and probably still does - so that they were disposable at the end of a bad day.
I met some remarkable people in those days as Oilrag says that had copper bottomed pensions - but boy did they earn them.
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"youth courts"
Well into my thirties I could still run lads down if they ran off. I did lose one though when my back was turned for a second. Embarrassing that - having to go into the Magistrates empty handed ...
We tended to wear trousers jackets and ties. I went into one house where a client had sat on the toilet - but deposited over the edge - a big pile on the bathroom floor.
I just met the Home Care Worker exiting the house - "we only prompt" taking her rubber gloves and plastic aprons with her as she scurried off. (always makes SWMBO squirm with embarrassment telling this)
Anyway, I found a small shovel - but my tie came out of my shirt (where tucked) and dangled down the toilet hitting the shovel as it too entered.
I left a lad in the car for a minute - he carved his initials in the gear knob.
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His name didn't happen to be 12345R did it
Edit:- If so he did mine as well !
Edited by Pugugly on 03/01/2009 at 13:13
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Morning all, I am as you probably realised new to this site, I have however in my capacity as a nosy parker been following all your antics for a long time! so thought it about time I signed up and instead of staring in disbelief at some of the things I've read.. I should start contributing my 2 penny worth!
I have done Mini Cabbing and can assure you although it has some 'dangers' its nothing compared to Oilrags job, all you had to do was avoid undesirables where possible and get the customer to their destination!! Oilrags job must have been rewarding sometimes but I would imagine heartbreaking and nauseating more often than not!! hats off to people who do these jobs, you have to hear their stories to understand how awful it is for them and the people they have to deal with!! so give me a car and a couple of fair paying customers ANY day of the week thanks very much!!
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I've just read through those 2 very well written reports from Dave TD and Oilrag, and thankyou both for the insights into your 2 different but as per OR's final sentence strangely linked worlds.
Dave's is a most interesting report of the erosion of standards which those living in London would do well to take special notice of and IMO only use the black cabs (even though the colours may be a little more varied in some cases) where strict regulations and standards i.e. the knowledge help to keep those standards high.
There are still some decently run taxi companies in many towns
, they sometimes are a little more expensive than the run of the mill, but you pays your money etc.
As for the drivers of taxi's, i'm quite sure that Dave found a high percentage of decent normal people during his years on the job, the big change occurs when alcohol gets introduced.
Oilrag's report makes grim reading, almost an inside view of the destruction of a society that few of us would ever see, and thank goodness for that.
A massive destructive curve which according to some politicians can be cured by throwing money at, seems their answer for many ills.
My own view on this general deterioration in our society is that it will take generations to undo the damage done, this parallel society that oilrag has slipped into for more of his life than enough will breed their own next generation and on it will go, ever deeper and darker.
A truly frightening prospect, and will require very hard decisions made by leaders with true principle and conviction and decency.
Nothing will change until we have truly draconian punishments for drug dealing and supply and i mean the ultimate punishment.
The ending of drug dependency would be a start, and until that goal is reached this course to hell for many in that parallel world will continue, except of course it drags many decent folk with it, both as victims of one sort or another or as the families of similarly affected (i do speak with a little personal knowledge here).
Thanks Oilrag, you've earned your gold plated index linked golden handshake..;)
Thats meant truthfully but with a little black humour, no offence in any way, only admiration.
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I think the answer is - yes - there are FAR worse jobs than being a Taxi driver.
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A taxi driver was fatally wounded by a passenger in Bilbao a couple of years ago. The police caught up with the attacker seconds before a posse of cabbies lynched him. He got four years for manslaughter. The council pays towards plexiglass screens for those who want them, and some cabbies looked into buying an LTi cab - a San Sebastian cabbie brought his (white) black cab round to show the lads, but I don't think anything came of it.
Comments in the paper afterwards included the fact that it's one of the few jobs where you have virtually no say in choice of clients or place of work and are vulnerable a lot of the time. High likelihood of theft, robbery, injury or worse with almost no possibility of defending yourself. Possibility of your car becoming an ambulance or even getaway car against your wishes. High cost of "protective" technology - credit card machine, CCTV, GPS - which at best can track someone down after they've done you over. Your own - bought or leased - car (which can be no more than 4 years old here, and has to pass an MOT every six months) somehow has to be kept clean enough to use it as a family car on off days.
Never had a problem with a taxi driver in a small/medium town, and I generally give a tip.
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Hi Bolboman,
I agree with everything you said, the job is far more dangerous now than when I did it several years ago, I had several 'scary moments' but fortunately my driving probably scared the passengers so much they were glad to get out alive!! must admit I wouldn't fancy it now, but I STILL wouldn't do Oilrags job for all the tea in China, the worry would be enough to send you round the bend! not saying you're round the bend of course Mr Oilrag.....
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"not saying you're round the bend of course Mr Oilrag...."
Not far off ;-)
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Coincidence, we've just had the free paper delivered that also covers another local town, i usually bin the thing, but staring me on the front page is a report of a hoax call luring a taxi to somewhere, where 3 petrol bombs were hurled at the car.
2 of which hit, one shattering the screen.
Driver not hurt, but scared out of his wits i shouldn't wonder.
I ask often...what the hell is going on...
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I used to do some part-time taxi driving a few years back with a nice company based in a small Somerset town. It was an ideal way of earning a bit of money while setting up my own business and (on the whole), I enjoyed it very much.
However, having lived in London for the past 8 years previous to this, there's no way I would do the job with a company based in the city - I've seen all to often, what taxi drivers have to put up with. The two or so years I did the job, thankfully I had very few if any problems. I used to mainly do the airport runs and occasional Fri/Sat night stuff. ALL callouts were pre-booked, ie we couldn't be "flagged down" - I think this helped in the quality of clients the company handled.
Having 3 drunk youths in the back behind you though it not nice and it would have been good to have had some protection between you and them.
Dan
swearword substituted
Edited by Webmaster on 04/01/2009 at 02:05
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My own brief career as a taxi driver was spent in High Wycombe, then a fairly civilised town but on the edge of the Moneybelt to the south. Here I concluded that the worst road manners were exhibited by Jaguar drivers. An even shorter career in double glazing revealed that the rudest householders lived in the richest areas. Money is clearly bad for people. Perhaps the recession will be beneficial.
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"My own brief career as a taxi driver was spent in High Wycombe, then a fairly civilised town but on the edge of the Moneybelt to the south. "
I am a resident of High Wycombe, many of the cabbies now are wannabie racing drivers who think their Pug 406 is a Mclaren!
Many drivers I've come across from our local private hire firm are pleasent & talkative & usually tip them at the end of the journey. :-)
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