On The Street

I saw this strange sight today on a local  Barrow in Furness street and couldn't resist taking a photo.
 It reminded me of a tale from one particular busy Sunday a while back now.
 I had picked my fare up which was a guy who had obviously been out partying all night long. He was still very much the worse for wear but in a very good mood laughing and joking as we drove through to the nearby town of Dalton.
 The party animal was still laughing at one of his many unfunny jokes when we pulled into his street, then he suddenly stopped and the entire colour drained out of his face and he looked really shocked. 
What’s the matter I asked, his mouth was working but no words were coming out, he looked like he was going to have a seizure. But then I saw the problem outside what turned out to be his house was a pile of plastic bags with shoes clothes etc (his I guess) spilling out. 
 And to make it worse it was pouring it down with rain and there balanced on top of the sodden pile was a very expensive looking stereo. 

New Century

I wonder when some of the private hire firms here in Barrow in Furness will wake up and realise that the turn of the century took place a whole fourteen years back now.

Some are charging the same price for Dalton and Ulverston work as was charged way back then in the dim and distant past.

Are they not building up their little empires out of the pockets of the drivers who seem to want to pay 21^st century prices for fuel, insurance, repairs etc and work for 20^th century prices? 

Wake up folks, get into this century, and start charging realistic fares. A race for lower fares is a race to the bottom!    

Robot Taxi

Mmmm is this the future then?

A struggling trade.

Click the link to read the story from the New York Times.
Chicago drivers struggling and trying to organize a union.

Mirror Image

Driving down Barrow's main entrance, the lovely Abbey Rd going into town with a guy in the front. We were talking away when we both noticed at the same time something about the car in front. The driver’s side door mirror was pulled right in so that it would be impossible to see behind and as we got closer we could see that the young lady driver had also adjusted her rear view mirror towards herself. She was adjusting her hair and makeup as she drove along at forty miles an hour. 
She obviously couldn't see us behind and we were laughing away at her. This went on for about two miles and we were right behind her when she stopped at the many red lights and made even more adjustments in both mirrors.
 Eventually we were turning left so we were stopped at a red light on the inside lane right next to her, it took her a while to realise that she was being watched and laughed at and when she did she went bright red and set of before the light went green. I said to my passenger that if you could get hairdryers, hair tongs, or straighteners that plugged into the cars cigarette lighter then some of these women would actually use them.

Real Seattle Taxi: Taxi As It Is Today: A Current Assessment

Real Seattle Taxi: Taxi As It Is Today: A Current Assessment: The best I can say about the taxi industry I know and love is that it is remains in a permanent state of adolescence, which is quite the sta...