Taxi Driver Online

an article about the black country in the Nottinghamshire post Eh ?

From fare-dodging customers to passengers urinating and vomiting on seats - life as a taxi driver is never an easy ride.

The constant disrespect shown to the drivers, who are just trying to make a living, has some of them at breaking point as they are losing out on money and having to dip into their own pockets to make repairs after their cars are damaged.

But despite the risks, thousands are employed in the taxi trade, spending their days and nights ferrying people to their destinations while battling the public's bad and sometimes violent behaviour.

BirminghamLive spoke to a man, in his 50s, who has worked as a private hire driver around the Black Country area for more than 20 years.

Here he shares his insight into an industry where he works long hours and never quite knows who will climb into the back of his car.

He said: “When I did nights, I used to start at 6pm and finish at 1am on weekdays. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, I would start at 4pm and finish at 2am.

“At night, you get a different customer than the day time.

“On day shifts, you’ve got older people, people going to work, the school-run, shopping trips and the majority of airport transfers.

"Whereas on the night shift, you will get people coming back from work and the pub or club trade - a few undesirable characters.

“On Fridays and Saturdays, there was a lot of trouble, without fail - anything could happen.

“I remember, on my third or fourth week into the job, I picked up this guy. I was new to Halesowen.

“I did a three-point turn, not realising it was a one-way street, and the police spotted me.

“The blue lights came on behind me and as I was slowing down the passenger pulled out a machete and said: ‘Do you mind if I hide this somewhere?’

“I said: ‘No’ because I was shocked, out of fear and he put it under his seat.

"I got out and the officer gave me three points. I continued with my journey with the passenger - my heart was beating like mad.”

The driver also revealed the true cost of passengers being sick in the back of a private hire car for the driver left cleaning it up.

He explained: “If someone is sick in your car, it is the end of your shift.

"You can’t carry on because the vehicle needs professional valeting and it’s not fair to pick someone else up.

“You could end up paying £70 in valeting, which takes 24 hours, plus you could lose up to £100 in earnings.

“I feel sorry for whoever it happens to and it is usually at night.”

The driver now works day shifts - but said danger was still never far away.

He said: “My day shift starts at 5am and finishes at 6pm. My favourite passengers are OAPs.

“Sometimes, I am the first person they’ve spoken to in the day. I make an extra effort with them.

"I help them with their shopping, go to their doorstep, help them into the car.

'Why don't you phone the police?'

“I picked this lady up a few times and I noticed bruises on her arms and wrists, but I kept quiet.

“One day, I picked her up and she had a cast on her arm. I asked her what was going on and she broke down and told me her husband was beating her up.

“I said to her: 'Why don't you phone the police?'

"She said she had no financial security and nowhere to go.

“I like families because, as soon as someone comes in with their children, you know it is going to be a trouble-free journey.

“Single passengers are OK but when three to four passengers get in, there’s always one clown.

"On a couple of occasions, racist comments have been made and I've spoken out against it and the guys' friends have sided with me.

“We have had passengers who don’t tell us where they are going. They just say drive ‘left’ or ‘right’, they won’t tell you the destination - I don’t know why."

And he said there were a few places which put him on edge.

He said: “Chelmsley Wood, because of the layout. There’s lots of dead ends, cul-de-sacs, where if you drive down, you can’t get out.

"Drivers have been robbed there.

“Two to three drivers have had their cars stolen at gunpoint in Dudley town centre.

“The traffic is really bad in Birmingham city centre, in Hagley Road, Bristol Road, and Stourbridge Road is always very busy. The motorways are gridlocked.”

The driver has kitted his car out with a dashcam and CCTV, so it gives him and passengers “total peace of mind and security” during their journey.

Fare dodgers

He said: “Taxi drivers in the UK are not required by law to wear a seatbelt while they are carrying passengers because of safety.

“I wear mine because I don’t want to go through the windscreen."

Fare dodgers can also hit drivers hard.

“In 22 years, I’ve had about four occasions where people have run off without paying.

“Once I was in Alum Rock and this guy said he was really sorry, he had no money. He invited me to his flat to take his personal belongings - I declined."

He added: “It’s a hard job and the hours are long. A taxi driver in his 20s will pay about £3k to £4k in insurance.

“Your back and the foot you use to change the clutch hurts.

“You will never know where you could end up in the day, you are not confined to one area.

“But I like driving and I like meeting people and there are a few tippers.

"It's better than being on benefits."

I'm sure we can all relate to some or all of this

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

All of it in my view.

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IDFIMH

Drafted this on the rank at the weekend, a lot of it seemed a bit irrelevant and trivial even then, but more so now considering what's happened since then

But as usual, it may be of some interest to anyone who doesn't spend as much time online as me, and as usual little point in pressing the delete key once you've actually typed it all out



These 'Live' branded news sites are all part of the same publishing group (what used to be called Mirror Group), so they often share stories. The article originates from the Birmingham Live site (basically the Birmingham Mail newspaper online), and is also on the Grimsby Telegraph/Grimsby Live.

The don't all used the 'Live' branding (the Liverpool Echo, for example, just sticks to calling itself the Echo), and the national titles certainly don't (The Mirror, most obviously, and the Daily Record in Scotland).

They also share photos - that one of the black and white HCs on the Cardiff rank is used a lot, particularly by the Echo. The Nottingham rehash of this particular article uses taxi photos from the Grimsby Telegraph.

The original version of this article on the Birmingham Live website has a photo captioned 'A general image of a taxi in Walsall'. In fact it's that one of the Uber with the ladder out the window

So while some of the photos used to illustrate these articles could be a bit more representative (the Cardiff HCs used in a piece about Liverpool PHDs, say) this one is just ridiculous - I mean, there's not even a plate on display, and the ladder is a bit of a distraction

(And I'm totally ignoring the use of the t-word )


A general image of a taxi in Walsall (Image: Birmingham Mail)

Anyway, the 'Live' websites take an eternity to load on my laptop, and can be very difficult to select the text for pasting on here. Lost count of the number of times I've managed most of it, then get to the bottom of the article and spend a couple of minutes just trying to select the text, but it just won't do it, and I have to open it in another browser

In fact most of the local press websites that these articles come from are part of small number of big publishing groups. And they all use the same basic website templates, so if you're posting stuff on here from them they all have their quirks and good points, but none of them are particularly easy to work with, especially if your laptop is on its last legs like mine

Anyway, this is the headline and sub-headline (or whatever it's called...think it's called a 'strapline' in the trade)…


So the 'strapline' is interesting because to me it hardly seems a thing worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things.

Can be very annoying, though, but to be fair some people genuinely don't know where they're going - pi$$ed up people going to hotels and guest houses here, for example

Of course, some just do it to be annoying. Then there's the ones you've done a million times before, but they wait until you're 80% of the way there and start giving you directions

Again, this may be genuine, but I suspect some are just on the wind up


In 20 years I've had a few sickies, but never had a professional valet.

Probably should have had one or two, but to be fair for most incidents a professional valet would be a bit over the top in my opinion

It generally ends up on the mats, door sills or exterior of the car, so often not that difficult to clean up, and not always an end to the shift. And if it ends up on the seats, my leather isn't so difficult to clean as the standard cloth.

Of course, smells in particular can hang around for a while, but while some stink to high heaven, most are relatively odour-free.

And other traces can hang around for a while. One I had a few weeks ago (which I well remember because it was a Monday night ) this student opened the front window and puked outside, but some of it ended up on the inside of the door, and some down into the door between the window pane

Relatively easy to clean up the door (inside and out), but for ages every time I wound the window up and down it would end up smeared with, er, whatever

The student gave me a fiver or so extra and told me to "go and get it cleaned up", as if it was my fault and he was doing me a big favour

Couldn't be bothered arguing that night, so just let it go...


Really?

In fact that's one reason I work the ranks and tend to do nights. Can easily go a week or two without kids in my pristine vehicle (apart from all the puke stuff, naturally).


Indeed, and that's one reason I've stuck with a saloon rather than a bigger vehicle - four people are more than enough at times

And I'd also question his claim that 'single passengers are OK'. Er, hello?


Well I could think of a few reasons, as per earlier

Kind of thing I'd devote half a chapter to in my taxi driver's memoir, but doubt it would attract many readers


Should certainly help but 'total piece of mind'


In fact I think that's the law for PHDs. HCDs are also not required to wear a seatbelt while looking for work, basically?


Find that a bit hard to believe. In the relatively tame St Andrews/East Fife I've had a lot more than that over a similar period.

In Dundee I'd have one every few weeks, maybe every two to three weeks. Of course, they're not always 'runners' in the precise sense - the broken phone or empty handbag left as security while they pop inside for the cash, for example.


Maybe, but sadly I suspect that for many the opposite is likely to be the case now, for the next few months at least

That is a big post I take you're as quiet as we are

it'll have to last as laptops are another thing that has been panic shopped by companies trying to secure IT equipment for home working

another thing that has sold out

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Years ago that use to drive me mad, now I just chuckle to myself about how f***ing thick some folks are.

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IDFIMH