Like my other diary, I took this word for word from my FB rants today. I drive a taxi in the New Orleans area.
Two bones to pick today. I shall do these in two posts to do them proper justice.
Bone number 1)
Some of you may know I am currently driving a taxi. Taxi drivers work LONG hours just to scrape up a living. 70-80 hours a week minimum just to scratch out a meager living. My expenses just for driving the taxi amount to $350 a week for dues and all the gas, tolls, and extra expenses are all my responsibility. After all that is paid, I must get to paying my bills... No health insurance options. No workman's comp. No real safety protections other than being able to carry a gun if I choose(unless you count the seatbelt and fire extinguisher). I face real risk of being robbed constantly. Most folks freak out over having to drive to and from work daily and maybe having to run to the store and/or pick up the kids. Taxi drivers deal with endless stupidity of other drivers for at least 10 hours per day. This means I have nearly double the risk of most jobs that are considered dangerous. Believe me, I avoid multiple accidents EVERY DAY!
In addition to the above, I have to tolerate stupid drunks getting belligerent in the cab, people always bitching about the cost of the cab, people trying to short me on the fare, people running from the cab and losing my entire fare, drunks or others getting sick in the cab, random people kids climbing all around in the cab, screaming and yelling, dropping trash in the cab, spilled drinks in the cab, vomit in the cab (this bears mentioning twice), VERY stinky humans and sometimes dogs that leave their smells after they leave my cab, and I could go on a little further but I shall leave the list as is.
Do you know that over 50% of cash riders and credit card users NEVER tip? Many of these non-tippers ride in the taxi every day, multiple times a day. Even worse, for credit card users, I don't even get paid full fare due to fees to redeem the charge. So, unless your taxi driver does something stupid, has a stinky ass cab, drives like a maniac, or other truly offensive things...
DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COST OF YOUR CAB RIDE! AND HOW ABOUT A TIP FOR A SAFE EFFICIENT RIDE YOU CHEAP BASTARDS !