Giant Taxi Driver Honoured For Helping Aussie Tourist
September 18, 2009
Miami taxi driver Aurangzeb Khan is one of America's largest men, standing 2.49 metres tall, weighing 180kg and with size 20 feet.
He is also a top bloke with admirers as far away as Australia.
Proving his heart is as big as his enormous feet, Khan has gone above and beyond in his duty as a taxi driver during his 19 years on the road and this week was honoured as South Florida's top cabbie.
His latest good deed was helping out Aussie tourist Julie Saxon, who was holidaying in Miami.
Khan drove Saxon to her hotel, she paid her fare, and they parted ways.
Later that day the gentle giant discovered Saxon had left her handbag filled with documents, credit cards and medication in the back of the cab.
The 47-year-old native of Pakistan, who once worked in circuses as "The World's Tallest Man", drove "dozens and dozens" of kilometres back to Saxon's hotel to hand back her bag.
A grateful Saxon offered Khan a reward and money for the cost of driving back to her hotel, but he declined.
"It is actions like this that restores faith in human nature, and as a regular traveller to America, it leaves me with a great feeling about travelling in your country," Saxon told the Miami Herald newspaper.
Khan, who struggles to squeeze into his cab and can only wear custom-made $US900 ($A1,000) shoes and $US90 ($A100) shirts, says he always attempts to return items to passengers.
In 1992 he tracked down a passenger who left $US10,000 in cash in his taxi.
"I never keep something that is not mine; I do everything I can to find the person and give them their things back," Khan said.
The Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department honoured Khan with the Chauffeur of the Quarter prize and a $US500 cheque.
Source; TheAge.com.au
ALSO;
Giant Cabbie Stands Tall In Miami
Eight foot tall hack towers over the competition
Thu, Sep 17, 2009
NBCMiami.com
The next time you step into a cab at Miami International Airport, expect a lot less leg room if Aurangzeb Khan is behind the wheel.
Khan, at eight feet tall, is the tallest man in America, but it's the big guy's big heart that's setting him apart among cabbies.
"People call me gentle giant, I love it," said the 400-pound, size 20 shoe -wearing Khan. "I feel very nice."
For the second time this year, Khan was named the Chauffer of the Quarter by the Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department for his customer service.
He was given the honor thanks in part to an incident with an Australian tourist who left her purse behind in his cab. Not only did he drive to Homestead to return it, he refused any reward money from his grateful passenger.
"He did a great deed with this tourist, gave her a positive experience, a positive view of our county and chances are she'll come back," said Sonya Perez, with the Consumer Services Department.
Khan, who lives in Pembroke Pines with his wife and daughter, enjoys the idea of being a representative of South Florida and the country, and said his deed was just his way of trying to get more tourists into the U.S.
"This way they go back to their country and say good about us, so many people will come to America," Khan said.
Khan, 47, a native of Pakistan, has been a taxi driver for 19 years, and he says the 12-hour days behind the wheel are wearing him out.
And if his days behind the wheel are wearing him out, his tall stature is making him broke. Everything he wears must be custom made, from $95 pants to $900 super supportive shoes, not to mention always flying in first class, out of necessity.
Being tall is bleeding Khan dry.
"Very hard to sit in an economy class seat, they're small, I get stuck inside," Khan joked.
Before taxis, Khan worked in the circus, playing a giant king, but now this gentle giant is happy being king of the road, or at least the top cabbie in South Florida.
"I prove it, I am best!" Khan said.
Source; NBCMiami.com
AND;
Tall Cabbie Honored For Virtuous Actions
MIAMI, Sept. 16 (UPI)
An 8-foot-tall cab driver in Miami-Dade County, Fla., says he received a Chauffeur of the Quarter prize for his dedication to doing the right thing.
The Miami Herald said Wednesday that cab driver Aurangzeb Khan recently received the prize from the Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department for his decision to return a passenger's purse he found abandoned in his cab.
After finding a purse belonging to Australian tourist Julie Saxon in his cab, Khan drove dozens of miles to return the item to Saxon at her hotel in Homestead, Fla.
"I never keep something that is not mine; I do everything I can to find the person and give them their things back," Khan said.
For Saxon, who contacted the Herald via e-mail, Khan's actions improved her outlook on human nature and the United States as a whole.
"It is actions like this that restore faith in human nature, and as a regular traveler to America. It leaves me with a great feeling about traveling in your country,'' Saxon said.
The Herald said in 1992, Khan returned a bag containing $10,000 to one of his passengers after the unidentified person left it in Khan's cab.
Source; TimesOfTheInternet.com
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