Christmas Workers: Kevin McEntee has driven taxis for nearly 40 years in Glasgowhttps://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/189 ... s-glasgow/
Image: Gordon Terris/Glasgow Evening TimesIF you're out and about in Glasgow you can't miss him.Kevin McEntee is one of the city's longest serving taxi drivers - and his hot pink People Make Glasgow cab makes a statement on the streets.
Kevin has been in the taxi trade since 1984 and the slogan on his vehicle couldn't ring more true to his experience of the job.
His job, he says, is serving the people of the city - and the people have been good to him in return.
After more than 35 years driving in Glasgow, Kevin has a wide range of hair raising anecdotes about his time on the road... some of them a bit too lively for a family newspaper.
But the job has served him well.
Kevin said: "Me and my brother started in the job and we thought we'd give it two or three years... but I really enjoyed it.
"It has been good to me over the years, I've brought up my kids and bought my house - and I've worked damned hard for it.
"Sometimes I've been accused of working too hard."
When Kevin joined the trade the Knowledge test - a comprehensive and tough exam that all taxi drivers have to pass - was two tiers, written and verbal.
After the written test, would-be drivers went up in front of two police officers, which Kevin calls the 'Hackney Police', for a verbal test.
He managed to get through using his knowledge of the city... and a bit of cheeky wit that's obviously stood him in good stead through the years.
This past year has been the toughest yet, with the taxi trade hit incredibly hard by the pandemic.
Kevin said: "During the pandemic has been horrendous. No pubs, the Hydro is closed, no football matches, particularly the Old Firm.
"Everybody has suffered.
"From my point of view, my taxi is paid for so I just had to cut my cloth but the drivers still paying theirs off, I can't imagine.
"A lot of guys have left the trade or are working for the likes of Hermes and Amazon."
Kevin sees the taxi drivers ageing and fewer young people signing up.
He added: "I think that things will change. Life won't be the same but I think the taxi trade will take a cull and find its own level, for me, that's how I see the future.
"We'll still be here but there won't be as many of us."
Kevin will be out this year on Christmas Day... again.
He has worked every December 25 of his career except two and says the day is a really special one to work.
He said: "I was a single guy for a long time so I would work Christmas and then go golfing for two weeks in January.
"I wasn't planning to be working this year but a couple of special requests were put in.
"Christmas used to be good back in the day.
"We had the NHS nurses out, it was a good shift because everybody was happy and the money was good.
"You could make £300 to £400 for a few hours on Christmas Day.
"Now it's not the money that takes me out, it's a kind of duty - people need you out there.
"I have let a lot of people away with fares over the years when it has been needed because Glasgow people have been very generous over the years to me.
"And that's been a humbling experience."
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