Too Broke to Retire

This from Roy at Irish Taxi an edited TV documentary about the difficulties facing taxi drivers who just cannot afford to retire.

 This tells the story of the Irish drivers but I strongly suspect that this situation is the same for drivers in the trade worldwide.

Being a Taxi Driver, A view from outside the trade.

A guest post from fellow Barrovion Matt from Ram Tracking.

Being a taxi driver

The beauty of being a taxi driver is that, to an extent, you are your own boss, you are in your own car and you get to communicate with a variety of different people. Let’s face facts, as a taxi driver you are never going to be short on stories; some nicer than others. However there are always going to be risks involved with this; personal safety being the most important; thankfully this is rare and you should feel safe in your job. There are new measures that you will have seen popping up such as the introduction of CCTV in taxis.

If being a taxi driver is your profession then one of your most valuable assets is your car. Have you ever wondered what you would do if it was stolen? Not only would you lose the main tool of your trade but think of the other things that you could lose. Satellite Navigation Systems, CD’s, Radio, money; these are all things that could be kept in your car. However, I think most taxi drivers have the intelligence to remove, or at least hide these from view, to protect their car and job. Think about it though, what if the worst did actually happen? How would you pay your bills? Think of the ‘even more’ expensive insurance premiums! What if your vehicle was tracked as part of a fleet? This means that you could instantly locate your car. Also, this would be ideal for personal safety as someone could find you if needs be in an emergency. I just think it could be something to consider. It may seem ‘Big Brother’ to some but to others it may seem like a personal insurance.

From an outsiders point of view I have the upmost respect for taxi drivers; I can only imagine the stress that people actually go through in this job. Dealing with issues such as picking up drunks, having people in your car that you do not want to be there, feeling uncomfortable in your own car with strangers, and having ‘those’ people who think it’s more than OK to fit in more people than you can legally carry.

I can see some great benefits though as no-day is ever going to be the same, you get to meet a variety of different characters in an enclosed space, the conversation will always feel fresh and hopefully you get tipped more often than not.

Taxi driving, like any job, has its up and it’s downs. There will obviously be hazards but it is good to be aware of these so you can prevent things from happening. It saddens me when those things do however they do not outweigh the positives. There will also be great times where you have excellent company in your passenger seats; someone with a great sense of humour that makes you laugh, someone who has enjoyed your company they want to part with more money than it should cost, building a reputation as a taxi driver can reap great awards for you. Overall though, just like in any career, you should always let the positive outweigh the negatives.

This is a guest post written by Matt Jones on behalf of RAM tracking. Matt writes about a variety of topics including music, marketing and the vehicle industry.