Taxi Driver Online

I was working last thursday evening, and just as I logged on I was radio'd and told it was my turn on the long job rota and that a job had come in to.. wait for it... Edinburgh! I work in the south wales area so as you can imagine I thought they were winding me up as the furthest I'd been before then was Birmingham airport about 2 years ago. I was assured it was serious and off I toddled to the pick up point.

I left at around 6pm thursday evening, 400 miles later reached sunny (or by that time dark and rainy) scotland at 12.30am (only stopping for fuel and toilet breaks).

I then made a start on the journey home and reached gretna where I had a 3 hour kip in the back of the car. 5am and a bit of food and I was off again, once again powering through and arriving home at 10am on Friday morning after an 800 mile round trip.

The fare was very lucrative! We didn't have a set price for the run so the receptionist on duty just quoted just under £1 a mile both ways as we thought they were winding us up, to our surprise they accepted. Anyway by far the longest run I've ever had, what are yours?

Just under £800 sounds about right.

But you are a bit namby pamby with all those breaks, man up.

P.S. only joking.

P.P.S. the longest I have done is 700 mile round trip, twice a year until the bugger went and bloody well died.

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IDFIMH

From Mansfield to Plymouth about 8 years ago early one Sunday morning, I quoted them £350 which back then was a bit high because I didn't want the job, they said yeah that's great can you take us now? I said in a shocked manner "yes" but it's got to be MUF. They said of course here you go, they planted £370 in my hand and off we went.

A steady 5 hours there with a few stops for toilets and fuel, on the way back I got to Bristol and couldn't drive no more, I pulled into the services and got a kip for a few hours then had some food and carried on.

I got back in Mansfield at 3pm Sunday afternoon.

I got a job from my Leicestershire base to pick up in Wolverhampton and then Solihull and take them to Newquay in Cornwall. I had to wait overnight and bring them back again. But that was not the longest job I have had. I had one a few years back that lasted 15 days. The first pick up was in Leeds then 2 pick ups in Manchester. Drive to Birmingham NEC Arena. That was day one, Next it was Glasgow then Manchester followed by Wembley. After that it was back to Manchester and Leeds before going home for a day off. Next it was back to Manchester and Leeds and on to Newcastle. Next day it was Nottingham followed by Brighton and Plymouth before 2 days in Cardiff before finally going back to Manchester and Leeds then home. The job paid £3,000 plus hotels and meals. The customer was Ian Brown of the Stone Roses with his band. They were on tour with the Manic Street Preachers.

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Grandad,

Jackpot

It was a fantastic 2 weeks. Some of the hotels were £300 a night. Mind you, not everything went quite to plan. We had a day off in Brighton so I thought I would give the car a really good clean. It was December and raining. You have to bear in mind that until this tour, I had never come into contact with any drugs what so ever and some of the band did use weed. Anyway, I just threw anything that looked like rubbish in a bin on the seafront where I was parked. Next day the band came out to a lovely clean and tidy car and Ian got in and after a minute said "Pete, have you seen my weed?" I only chucked it out with the rest of the rubbish!

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Grandad,

Heathrow to Hull for me.

When I was a same-day courier in a van, furthest I did was Slough to Aberdeen - though goods tend to travel further by road than passengers anyway (and into Europe).

8 months, she went like bloody rabbit

wore me out

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Sheffield to brighton 20 years ago, 200 quid. University lecturer needing to see her daughter who had been taken into hospital with possible meningitis.,

ooops, thought it said AFFAIR....lol

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Distance is over rated in my opinion, if I got offered a Southampton from the airport at 8pm on a Saturday night for £200, that's me finished because of the time and distance. Sometimes you can make more by just staying in London, plus saving all that derv money and time.

I have to agree there. I get about £1 a mile by staying local (including all dead mileage); airport runs from here are being done by most others for £75-£95; Gatwick 160 mile round trip, LHR 204 mile round trip. why bother? With cars costing around 45p a mile to run, why work for 50p a mile?

Longest I had was from Eyemouth (Scottish Borders) to Maidstone in Kent with 4 clients, I only got a request from a TV company about half an hour before the clients needed picked up, then Stayed their over night at a Hotel and dined with them, they done their TV programme and then we all travelled back the following day.

It's not just the money was good, it was more just driving through somewhere different and seeing some different scenery instead of the same old local rural roads I travel day in, day out..breaks the monotony of the job.

I've also had fares to Hereford, Milton Keynes and away up into Aviemore from the Borders.

The one thing all these long runs had in common is that they all came out of the blue and had a "We need to go now" urgency to them.

It's Crazy that folk will charge so little through fear or desperation.


Oddly the Airport Taxi types often charge over the odds and yet they have grown into Big business's off the back of those high prices. I charge Less than the Big Boys do but still Charge a fair but profitable price.

It seems a lottery for Clients, No matter what price fair price you offer a determined customer will can phone around and say they found cheaper, then they come back and ask if you can match that price, Often there was no cheaper price just a rouse by the punter to try and get you to offer a lower price.

They either pay my going rate or they can opt to use some less than dependable Discount desperado who so often does not roll up at the Clients address at 4.30am and leaves them stranded, at that point We get the phone call to see if we can help........Tough luck!!

[quote="bloodnock ]
They either pay my going rate or they can opt to use some less than dependable Discount desperado who so often does not roll up at the Clients address at 4.30am and leaves them stranded, at that point We get the phone call to see if we can help........Tough luck!![/quote]
My thought entirely!