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!    

The price on the meter....

This weekend gone I picked up 3 dumb blonde girls who must have been around 16 years of age each. The conversation in the car gave me the impression that none of them could afford to go out to a party but they felt they needed to and only had £30 between the 3 of them.

Part way into the journey one of the girls realised she had left a birthday card behind and asked me to turn round and go back so she could pick it up. No problem there but then she asked me if I could stop the meter and kept saying things like" Your not going to charge us for this extra bit of journey are you?"

I explained that the price on the meter is the price they pay and its not my fault that one of then had forgot the card. This didnt sink in and all 3 of them ended up demanding I turn the meter off and start the journey again once they have picked up the card.

It didnt wash with me and I carried on regardless and charged them the fare on the meter which came to £4.90p . They insisted that I should knock £2 off as I had to go back but as it want my fault I told them to take responsibility for their own actions and due to their incompetence it has now cost them more money and I am not knocking anything off the fare.

The fare was paid in full which caused the 3 girls to get out of the car trying to add up how much they could spend. One said that they had £25 left between the 3 of them so that makes £10 each for drinks and they would scrounge a lift home instead of a taxi.

Seems to me they need to learn how to do maths.

Forgotton goods

Picked a fare up this week from where he worked and set off to take him to his destination. About half a mile down the road he reaslised he had left his beer at work in the fridge ready for a party and asked if I could go back.

Not a problem, I turned round, went back and waited a good 5 minutes for him to come back out. The journey continued and when I asked for the fare of £3.60p he gave me £5 and told me to keep the change.

He then said to me that I couldhave the change for "Not getting angry with him for having to turn back and wait". I can't understand this bit. Why should any driver get angry with a customer who wanted to turn back because he had forgot something

We are there to provide a public service which means being polite and courteous and there really isnbt any need to get angry with a customer when they have forgot something. Its one of those things.

It just makes me think that this guy has had bad dealings with a driver in the past.

Wheres that at?

Wheres that at? Its a question that from time to time a driver will ask, especially if he is new or uncertain and theres no problem with that as its better to ask rather than the job run late due to not being able to get to it.

However, we do have a little laugh from time to time at the drivers expence, mainly due to them reading the info on the screen incorrectly.

The system works by sending the job details to the driver. The details usually include the pick up address, the customer name and the type of car required such as a 6 seater or an 8 seater, an estae car or a saloon car.

On this one occasion it was a saloon car required at the railway station so on the screen appeared the word "STATION" and the word "SALOON".

It was quite amusing when the driver contacted the office to ask if it was a new pub and wanted to know where the "STATION SALOON" was.

Figuring it out

I picked up 6 girls and took them into Barrow. They asked me if I could turn the music up on the radio and so I did. My radio display is part of the cars computer and this is what is normally displayed.


To explain it a bit it shows the time, the temperature and the radio station. (The 218 miles was how much fuel I had left)


Anyway this computerised thing in the car tells you when you have a blown bulb or if your oil or coolant level is low and also tells you if your windscreen washer fluid is low.



I was really surprised to hear the girl sat in the front seat say this and I quote.
"Is there really a radio station called "Washer Fluid Level"?"

I was so surprised by what she said that I told her that there must be if that's what it said and she went on to ask me what frequency it was on. I didnt have the heart to try and attempt to explain to this dimwit that it was warning me that my washer fluid was low.





At the end of the journey I asked for an £18 fare to which she took out her mobile phone and used the calculator on it to divide the £18 into 6 people and then blurts out to everyone that it will be £3.00 each but then asked if one of her friends could check it on their phone just in case her calculator is faulty.

I`ve said it before... Some people are only alive cos its illegal to shoot them

Confused

I was sent to pick up a fare on Walney Island when I pulled up outside the house and this elderly man from next door came out and jumped in the cab. He asked me where his lady friend was and why I hadn't picked her up first.

Scratching my head I told him that this wasn't his taxi but he insisted that it was and that he wanted to know why I hadn't picked his lady friend up. I asked him where from and it was pretty much around the corner so I thought if I`m only going to be a few minutes then I would take him round the corner.

I did this only for him to find that his lady friend wasn't at home. I knew now what had happened. He had rang a different taxi company at the same time that my fare had booked me and he thought I was for him The best thing I could do was take him back home and as luck would have it, his taxi was outside his house complete with his lady friend in the back seat.

The other taxi driver had panicked wondering where he was and thought he may have fell ill in the house. I managed to get the elderly man out of my car and re-united with his lady friend but with all this happening and not knowing how long I was going to be sorting this out I decided to contact my office and get them to send another car to my job.

The whole incident lasted about 10 minutes and I lost a job through it but I couldn't very well throw a 97 year old man out of my car onto the cold street.

At least all worked out OK for them. He found his lady friend and she was relieved that he was OK. It was just a genuine mistake on his behalf but after talking to the other driver I was told that this couple are a regular fare of theirs and he is 97 years old and gets very confused.

I`m just glad that all was sorted and I didn't mind losing a fare as the health of a 97 year old is more important

Emergency Call

Its not every day that you get an urgent call to get you to the hospital but I felt really sorry for the two young boys I picked up this week when they asked me to get them to the hospital casualty department as quick as I could.

They started telling me their story of how they were a happy family, just the two brothers and their mother when all of a sudden without any warning whatsoever that the mother suffered a stroke. Apparantly she is only 53 years old I was told and the two boys were quite upset not knowing what was going to happen. I got them to the casualty department and wished then the best of luck and hoped that things weren't too bad but I couldn't help but think afterwards how lucky we all are.

Someone once said to me that theres always someone worse off than yourself. We take everything for granted and one day it could happen to anyone of us and from that day on your life and the lives of the people around you are changed forever.

All I can say to you is enjoy life while you can as you never know whats round the corner., I felt really saddened for these two young lads as there life will now change forever, and from such a young age.

They did tell me that whatever happens that they love their mum and will do whatever they can to look after her.

If only more families were as caring for each other like this. There's too many people out there that think of only themselves and only visit family as and when they want something. Life's too short. Give someone close a hug today.. Go on.. do it right now.. Tell them that you love them. Just do it and see the smile on their face.

After all, this is life. We only get one chance at it. Its not a rehearsal, its the real thing ...

So live it........

Bread and Gutter

This week I picked up a passenger who had been to a local supermarket to buy supplies to sell in his own shop. He loaded the car with numerous goods which included about 15 loaves of cheap supermarket bread which he was to then sell in his own shop for a bigger profit.

Whilst unloading the bread at his shop, one of the loaves of bread spilt open and about 4 or 5 slices landed in the gutter. I would have expected the passenger to throw this loaf away but to my dismay he just calmly picked up the bread, put it back in the wrapper and re-sealed it ready to place on a shelf in his shop for sale.

He didn't seem to think it was wrong and didn't seem to care as all he was interested in was the taxi fare which was 20 pence higher than what it should have been because he asked me to wait whilst he went into an off licence to by alcohol for his shop.

He also pointed out to me that I shouldn't charge him for waiting as he was a regular customer but I pointed out to him that it was my living and if he wanted me to wait then he has to pay for it. He expects very cheap taxis but sells his goods at raised prices and moaned at me over the fare costing an extra 20 pence.

Fixed Fares

This week I picked a fare up from the Town Centre and took him into the nbext town and aksed him for the £6 fare. He paid it but started asking questions like.

That's extortionate, we`ve only just come up the road?
Is it a higher rate on a Sunday?
Why do you charge so much?

The fact that he said we had only just come up the road made me calculate the mileage to around just short of 4 miles. I explained this to him but he said it seemed like a few hundred yards.

The guy spoke with a broad irish accent and told me that where he came from that the same journey would cost him around 75 pence.

Is there any taxi firm out there that has a minimun rate this low?? speak up...

Inflation

Today, I picked a fare up from the local hospital. It was a lady who`s battery had gone flat on the car and had got a lift to the hospital but needed a taxi back home.

At the start of the journey she asked me how much it would cost and I estimated around £3.00p to which she exclaimed that it was too expensive and I must have got it wrong as she had never paid that amount to get home before.

I asked her what she normally pays and she said about £1.80p. This had me a little baffled as I knew that £1.80 would only get her part way to her house so I started digging a bit deeper and decided to ask her when the last time she got a taxi was.

Her reply...... "I don't normally use taxis as I have my own car but last time I got one from the hospital to home must have been about 5 years ago or maybe longer"

Did she not realise that due to inflation, the rising costs of running a car that taxi fares would have increaded in that periood of time

Seems to me she was stuck in some sort of timewarp and expected to pay 2003 prices.

Lazy Boyfriend

Picked a fare up this week, a young lady around 25 to 30 years old who had a little boy with her aged around 10 years old. He didn't say much apart from saying goodbye at the end of the journey, However, his mum was totally different....

She proceeded to tell me how her boyfriend was a "lazy lump" who didn't work and wouldn't do any work around the house. He went out drinking and when he came home he would just fall asleep.

The conversation then turned to sex as she said that she was fed up with him not performing properly and all he wanted to do was fall asleep.

A little too much information was spoken from her mouth and from a taxi drivers point of view, we do get to hear all sorts of stuff but to talk about this in detail in front of her child.... well, no wonder he was quiet and going a deep shade of red. I asked her if she always discussed matters like this in front of him and her response.... "Well he`s got to learn sometime"

I was glad when the journey ended as I could see that poor boy going red and felt really sorry for him

Tea for Two

Picked an elderly lady up on her own this Sunday just gone and she asked me to take her to a place in town that served meals as she wasn't cooking for one and she normally goes out for a meal with her friend every Sunday but her friend couldn't make it so she went on her own.

When we got to the destination she realised that she had left her money at home and couldn't pay the taxi fare but she did have her credit card with her. She was panicking about how she could pay for her meal and the taxi as she had no cash and I suggested she used her card to pay for the meal but she couldn't pay the taxi with a card as we are not yet geared up for it.

She was a regular fare and she felt awkward that she couldnt pay me at the time but I wasnt too bothered as I know I could knock on her door at a later date and collect the fare but she felt bad about it and suggested that I go and have a meal with her and she will pay for it instead of the taxi fare.

I was feeling a little hungry and thought about this and succumbed to temptation. It meant 30 minutes off work but I got a free carvery out of it and the elderly lady shared my company and it really made her day.

After we had eaten she asked me to drop her off home where she would pay me the fare for the journey home. I took her home and she went in the house to get her money and came out with a £10 note and told me to keep the change as I had been very understanding to her and she didn't have to eat on her own and she didnt want me losing out.

A good day all around, a £10 fare including a tip and a carvery. Cant go wroing with that one.

In The Air Tonight

As in the Phil Collins song "Can you feel it coming in the air tonight".

There I was with 4 passengers on board driving into town when one of them farted and it really stunk so down come the windows and no one would admit to it so at the end of the journey the fare was £3.80p on the meter and so I asked for £4.80p.

Obviously they asked me why I wanted £4.80p to which I replied that the extra pound is for an air freshener.

I expected them to not pay it and personally I wants bothered if they didn't as I was just having a laugh with them but they took me seriously and paid me the extra pound and apologised.

This got me thinking,. Maybe if I could fine everyone who didnt behave in the cab then I could be rich within a week.

Incapable

I got a call to pick up a fare from a flat in Ormsgill only to find when I got there that the woman was so drunk that she could hardly stand up. I dont think there was a risk of her being sick but I did think that I would struggle to get her out the car at the other end and get the fare.

Her mate that was with her was more sober and so I explained to her that I could not take her friend as a matter of health and safety as we do have a policy of reserving the right to refuse to take any passenger who is at risk of causing a hazard to the vehicle whilst being driven. Her mate explained that she had to get her home and so I got to thinking....

Hmmm..... If I take her and I cant get her out at the other end then I will need help. This takes time. I may not get the fare and so the police maybe involved so I said to the more sober one that I would take her if she travelled in the back with her and I would bring her back home.

She said she couldn't afford the fare back so thinking that more time would be wasted getting the police or any other help I decided to take the two women, bring one back and only charge the fare that it would have been to her house.

In a way I lost out by about £1.20 but at the same time it saved the hassle and saved more time if I did have problems at the other end.

I do recall reading somewhere and it may not be Barrow Councils rules. It may have been in a taxi magazine but there is a law somewhere to protect drivers along the lines of

• "The driver reserves the right to refuse to take any passenger who in his or her opinion may cause a danger to the vehicle, the motion of the vehicle or other passengers".

Not sure of the exact wording but its a catch 22. If we refused to take any drunken person then we wouldn't make any money but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Red Lights mean I`m home

This weekend I picked up a rather drunken young man who fell into the taxi and told me that he wanted to go to Hawcoat Village. He even paid me £10 up front and we agreed he can have the change from what's on the meter when we get there so off we go. Nice easy fare me thinks as I`ve been paid up front.

Alls well til we get to the first set of traffic lights which were on red. As soon as the car stopped he opened the door and tried to get out. Realising he wasn't at home he apologised and shut the door.

The next two sets of lights were on green but the next set was red and the exact same thing happened again. Unfortunately there were 3 more sets of lights to go through and they were all on red.

You guessed it, at each one when the car stopped, he opened the door, tried to get out and got back in. When I did get him to his destination and I stopped the car, he got out, told me to keep the change and staggered into his house.

No explanation for why he kept trying to get out when I stopped at red lights and yet although drunk, he was sober enough to apologise and made his way into his house ok.

Drunk and in love

Picked a fare up from the rank this weekend and took her and a mate of hers to two seperate addresses in the same area. The first person (30ish years old) who wanted dropping off was reasonably sober but the second one (about 18 years old) was well drunk.She was talking gibberish and saying that she didn't weant to go home as her boyfriend would beat her up.

I asked her Why this is likely to happen and she said that he doesnt like her going out and always beats her up everytime so I said to her "Why dont you leave him if he beats you up? and her reply.......

The classic..... "Cos I Love Him"..

For gods sake why stay in a violent relationship just because you love someone. She asked my advice and I gave it to her but she was having none of it and just wanted to go home to her man even of it meant getting a beating.



I will never understand women that stay with a violent man just because they love him or sometimes theres the other excuse, "I only stay with him cos of the kids" Anyway, she was very drunk and didnt look capable of anything and I didnt fancy dropping her off last so I told the other passenger that I would do her a deal on the fare and drop the drunk woman off first and only charge the fare to that address. It didnt bother me as I had to go past the other womans house to get back to town.

At the first woman's address it seemed to take forever whilst she got out of the car and fell into a bush in her garden. She managed to rummage up 45p for the fare.

After she got out the car I took the other woman home and asked for £7.20p which was on the meter. After rummaging through her purse she managed to come up with £6.21p and said I would have to go back for the rest tomorrow.

Not worth it for 99p so I just wrote it off and took the £6.21p ... I was just glad to have them both out the cab.

Sometimes you have to right things off otherwise you lose out more trying to fioght for your money. Its not worth the hassle... I just had horrible thoughts of dropping the drunken one off last and not getting paid at all dso £6.21p is better than nothing.

Taxi for one person

Part of the job description being a taxi driver is having to put up with the drunks and other idiots that we get in the cab but this week I just couldn't believe it when a passenger got in the cab and told me where he wanted to go. Seeing the meter start on £1.50p on tariff 4 he thought I was ripping him off and told me that the meter said I was charging him for 4 people. I did try to explain that the number 4 was the tariff number and not the amount of people in the cab.

He insisted that I turn the meter off and set it to number 1 for 1 person. (Tariff 1 is more expensive than tariff 4) but he's the customer and the customer is always right (do they still say that).

I put the meter on number 1 as he requested. It started at £2.00p and he never queried the extra 50 pence difference. He was just quite happy to see the number 1 on the meter thinking it meant one person.

At the end of the short half mile or so journey he paid the fare of £2.20p, gave me a £5 note and told me to keep the change.

You just cant understand how some peoples brains function.

Found Property

First fare of the day and I picked up a young girl and took her to an address on Walney Island. She duly paid the fare and got out of the cab and I drove off.

Shortly after, the office called me on the radio and asked if I had found anything on the back seat as the girl I had dropped off had lost something. I wasnt aware of what it was that she lost til I turned round and had a look. Maybe its just me but at a very quick glance it looked like a long haired rat and so I dived out of the car and was about to shut the door when the office radio'd to me saying it was a hair extension.

I suppose I should have looked more carefully rather than just glance but its made me more wary of what goods people carry in the cab.

Go on, laugh at my expense. looking at it, it looks nothing like a rat but at the time I thought it was something sinister and you never know if there`s teeth hiding under any hairy thing that could jump up and bite....... :)

A Trip to the beach

The weather lately has been extremely hot and today I picked up 2 American Ladies and an English Lady. The Americans were staying with her and they wanted me to take them to the beach so they could take photographs.

When I got to the beach they asked if I could leave the meter running and walk with them on the beach and take photos. What a great time. we had a walk and took some photos and spent a good 20 minutes there. The cuistomers bought me an Icecream and then off we went to another beach whjere we spent around 10 minutes before heading in the opposite direction towards Furness Abbey for even more pictures.

If only I could get customers like this all the time. I get to enjoy myself on the beach and get paid for it at the same time as well as making the most of this fantastic heatwave

Wheres That Then?

I picked 3 females up this week and the conversation in the cab between them was along the lines of a new taxi company not knowing where streets and places were and how the service is of no good.

My ears pricked up so I could try and find out which company they were on about.

One girl says that when she rang for a cab she wanted to be picked up from the Cemetery Cottages Club only to be asked by the taxi office - "Wheres That Then". Up the road from the Tally Ho was the answer. Tally Ho???? Never heard of that one. What area is that...... Our young passenger said "Near Asda". The reply from the cab compnay was "Which Asda". Our girl says "Theres only one asda, got in a stroppy mood and told them that they were all a bunch of useless $£*&$ and hung up.

So the other girl in the car asks her mate which company she rang and she said she didnt know as she had used her other mates phone and it just said TAXI on the phone.

Her other mate (the 3rd girl in the car) who had been quiet upto now started laughing. At this point I found out her mate lived in Manchester ( about 90 miles away) and was visiting our local town and so the cab company in question was a Manchester company. No wonder they were confused,