As I keep saying, until I am completely and permanently disconnected from the wonderful world that is taxi, everything that might be and is "stranger than fiction" will continue to embrace me, and a truly poisonous entwining it is, similar to a 23 foot python swallowing me whole. As I mentioned last week---a fellow cabbie both harassed and maligned by some fool for no reason whatsoever---last weekend I too had a similar experience, my big crime of the recent Century being dumb enough to check out a call at the 1410 East John Safeway.
That it turned into what I am about to describe says everything about taxi, at least the side that is odd and odder and getting stranger, it appears, by the day if not every ensuing second and minute tick, ticking away. And all I can say, repeating that appropriate commentary by the that great furry black & white philosopher, Sylvester, and his ever relevant: sufferin' succotash! I couldn't agree more.
Driving up to the most likely suspect, an older woman pushing a walker who responded, no, the cab wasn't for her, but wait a minute, the passenger who had been waiting was now standing at the bus stop at the other side of the store. Taking her lead, I made a full circle around the Safeway, coming back around on East John but not finding my passenger, if one had ever truly existed, which I doubted.
But working upon the premise that you never know, fully assuming that the lady was probably mistaken, and again turning into the Safeway driveway for a last glance, a shortish, plump gentleman sporting big black-framed glasses pointed back into the store Once again I meet the same woman, again saying that no, she was waiting for a Metro Access Van, not a cab. And give it a break already--- there wasn't anyone waiting for me at the bus stop!
During this fairly innocuous exchange, the not-so-shining knight in rumpled clothing shouted, "Stop harassing her," the guy suddenly and instantaneously violent, quickly approaching my cab all the while chanting that famous 13th Century Buddhist prayer, "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo," popularized back then by the Japanese monk Nichiren.
When I tired to explain myself, he again chanted "nam-myoho-renge-kyo" in an attempt, near as I can tell, to transform all immediate suffering he might be experiencing to some expectant bliss. Flustered with this nonsense, I finally responded that "you are out of your mind" which, while probably true, did not appear to assuage his suffering in any measurable degree. I then tried to reason with the fellow but muttering something "beneath his breath" he, thankfully, just walked away, perhaps searching for that next eternal Banyan tree around the next Safeway corner. Should I hope for something to fall on his head?
I wonder what comments Tweedy Bird would have had upon the subject, Tweedy America's resident cartoon Stoic, regarding our un-feathered world while residing in a less-than-gilded cage. As is obvious, the average cabbie can be doing nothing whatsoever yet will still be targeted simply for being a cabbie. I think somewhere therein lies a life lesson. I wonder what it could be?
No Glory
Transmission issues continue to plague my cab, what is simple isn't, and making it worse.........
Taki's Yellow Cab Shop is Closing
Yes, after nearly 20 years, Taki, Yellow Cab's mechanic supreme, is fleeing Yellow Fleet after just over a year in the new location, due, it appears, to many unresolved issues with current Yellow Fleet management Taki is mad as hell! and next week is heading back to his homeland, Vietnam, for a 3 week vacation.
That it complicates my life cannot be understated because neither he nor good Randy could figure out the seemingly electrical problem compromising 1092's overall automatic transmission function. While I hope we can limp along until his return, I will be accelerating my reach for a newer replacement car.
Uber Threatens to Leave Seattle
Uber, unhappy with the City of Seattle's progress toward an unionized Uber workforce, has said it will stop operating in Seattle if an actual union is formed. If they do go, maybe I'll start a new TNC/ride-share company, calling it Blubber, an app devoted to trimming the fat from customer's wallet's. I envision it would be very popular with the "carrot & celery" crowd. Why we would be gluten-free too!
And Speaking of TNC Companies
A rider I had the day before wanted to go to Lynnwood on Tuesday during evening rush-hour but was concerned with the cost, saying he was thinking of taking Lyft instead because they quoted him $25.00 for what could be $60.00 in the cab due to traffic. I told him to take Lyft but to be conscious of the Lyft reality, forcing the driver to an hour-long drive minus their fee and gasoline in addition to how long it will take to get back.
In January 1863 President Lincoln freed the American slaves. Most recently, Uber and Lyft, far smarter than Southern Plantation owners, have convinced millions of men and women worldwide to voluntarily enslave themselves. And to pay for their own enslavement. Wow! what a great deal! Can you believe it?
DDS?
I couldn't believe it, when I heard it, Yellow Cab and the single owners planning on bringing back a new version of the DDS dispatch computer system, this after changing over to our current system and nearly destroying the company with more confusion and mishaps that I had lost count.
Over-my-dead-taxi-body is my initial response. Some not very wise folks have suggested that we can even choose between one or the other, keeping the old system in our cabs if we want to. Huh!?
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Taxi Potpourri----Various Fragrances Sweet And Vile: Welcome To The Odoriferous Pile
Ah yes, Spring is now official---deciduous trees and blackberry vines are now budding, with forsythia and ornamental cherries presenting early blooms for our mid-March pleasure. Accompanying this seasonal greening symphony are subtle perfumes announcing to both insect and human alike that pollen and scent is in the air. Oh yes, if only, if only all fragrances were subtle or sweet, accenting the brain like Wordsworth's immortal daffodils.
If only but no, the world I share with fellow cabbies is often toxic, diesel fumes and blatant insult our accompanying atmosphere. But too there is also kindness and expressed interest mellowing out the sour, gently anointing the unexpected brief pleasure and occasion caressing hour. Such is a cabbies' life and times upon the blacktop in the darkened night and dawning day.
The Taxi Gods Wag a Finger, Warning Do Not Harm or Insult the Good Driver
Example # One:
Twice this past greater weekend Karma took my side, saying, minus all doubt, please to not injure the good cabbie, all he/she doing is making every attempt to do what we do, transporting passengers Point A to B as efficiently as possible. When the drunk woman from that venerable West Seattle Tavern, "The Pogi" became mean and controlling, not "taking" but "commandeering" the cab, using her "I am paying" as her gun, I turned around and took her back. What she is like minus too much beer I do not know but at that given moment her worst nature was on full display.
What occurred after that was instant vindication, getting a late evening airport fare, and I was off and running, even getting a last 3:45 AM airport run which made me 17 minutes late getting the cab back to my day driver. My fare from Mercer Island to the Fremont I will spotlight in a few paragraphs down. Truly amazing was this quick succession of great fares. Interestingly, when coming back from the airport the first time, I was again offered a pickup for the same "Pogi" troublemaker. I called dispatch and politely declined, not wanting to find out how another hour of drinking had improved her saturated temper.
Example # Two:
Yes, amazingly it is true, Yellow is indeed paying too much money (I believe it is $6000.00 monthly) to Amtrak for our exclusive access to King Street Station. This makes me wonder why I and all my fellow Yellow-ites are subjected to incidents like the one occurring Monday night when two well-dressed upper-middle class fools (man and woman in their early 70s) refused to move their blocking $60,000-plus car when it was self-evident that an entire line of cabs were attempting to move up and pick up passengers. They were truly out-of-their-minds, angry that I would ask them to just move forward 30 feet. The woman laughed, derision and disdain her misplaced crowning glory.
Passing them by, I picked up a gentleman going to the closest hotel possible, the Yesler Best Western, allowing me to fly back to the train for other possible customers. Arriving back there was a line of folks waiting, and, what would you know, just like the Sunday incident, I was instantly offered compensation by a fare to the Sea-Tac Marriott,a pleasant couple from Idaho flipping me a fifty dollar bill for my efforts.
Why that privileged couple felt they could and can do anything they want anytime they want is anyone's guess but I it looked like to me that, for them, they were the new American Brahmans and I was just another unwashed Dalit. If karma has any say, I have no doubt they lost a bunch of money in another Monday Wall Street panic. At least I had a kindly nod from observant gods in the know. Thanks!
Usually Only Pooches are Allowed
Something occurred that I have never allowed in my nearly 30 years plying the taxi byways: allowing a passenger to transfer from the back to the front seat, that privilege previously only granted to dogs of all persuasions. Picking her up on Mercer Island just off of East Mercer Way, we immediately began an interesting conversation, she a Sanitation engineer based in Switzerland who travels all over sub-Saharan Africa creating sanitation systems for those in the greatest need.
Heading west-bound on I-90 she started to maneuver up to the front seat because it was hard to hear me in the back. Previously only hungry dogs and either the insane or the drunk or both have tried to make it across that sacred barrier. That she is not insane prompted me to quickly pull over and let her up to the front. We talked about schizophrenia and dropping out of high school and how people are formed psychologically.
That this was a singular experience goes, I suppose, without saying. That it all ended up with a fifty dollar bill was the taxi cherry atop an interesting fare. As I always say about taxi: you never know and man! that is certainly true.
Stench!
An unpleasant odor it is when a cabbie must, first, fight Uber and others to get upon a designated cabstand, and compounding the insult, an insane person interferes. That this happened to a longtime cabbie who once owned and ran his own taxi company says that, regardless of your experience and taxi seniority, bad and stupid things can and will happen.
The situation was simple but is now more complex. When telling the two offending drivers that they must move from the Terry & Republican cabstand, some crazy person across the street began yelling and flipping the driver off, shouting that the drivers should stay where they are.
If the veteran cabbie made a mistake, it was walking over to the guy's car and taking pictures. What this resulted in a few minutes later was the fool calling dispatch and saying the cabbie had "hit and run" him. He even went as far as filing an official complaint with the City of Seattle.
While a true pain-in-the-ass dealing with this kind of nonsense, it is good that the _____ went so far to identify himself, leaving him open to various kinds of prosecutions and legal action. I have recommended that the cabbie go legally after the guy, knowing full well he will be completely absolved by the City.
Yes, this is the kind of bullshit we all must deal with daily. And making this worse is I haven't seen nary one time in my 30 years an offending motorist ticketed for sitting upon our cab stands. Yes, we will be cited by the City for all kinds of petty offenses but stopping idiots from clogging our stands they never do. Such is our world but must it be our constant fate?
I suppose we all know the answer. Too obvious to not understand that priorities, being what they are, nonsense will continue until it doesn't, but as is said, don't hold your breath, blue not a natural color.
If only but no, the world I share with fellow cabbies is often toxic, diesel fumes and blatant insult our accompanying atmosphere. But too there is also kindness and expressed interest mellowing out the sour, gently anointing the unexpected brief pleasure and occasion caressing hour. Such is a cabbies' life and times upon the blacktop in the darkened night and dawning day.
The Taxi Gods Wag a Finger, Warning Do Not Harm or Insult the Good Driver
Example # One:
Twice this past greater weekend Karma took my side, saying, minus all doubt, please to not injure the good cabbie, all he/she doing is making every attempt to do what we do, transporting passengers Point A to B as efficiently as possible. When the drunk woman from that venerable West Seattle Tavern, "The Pogi" became mean and controlling, not "taking" but "commandeering" the cab, using her "I am paying" as her gun, I turned around and took her back. What she is like minus too much beer I do not know but at that given moment her worst nature was on full display.
What occurred after that was instant vindication, getting a late evening airport fare, and I was off and running, even getting a last 3:45 AM airport run which made me 17 minutes late getting the cab back to my day driver. My fare from Mercer Island to the Fremont I will spotlight in a few paragraphs down. Truly amazing was this quick succession of great fares. Interestingly, when coming back from the airport the first time, I was again offered a pickup for the same "Pogi" troublemaker. I called dispatch and politely declined, not wanting to find out how another hour of drinking had improved her saturated temper.
Example # Two:
Yes, amazingly it is true, Yellow is indeed paying too much money (I believe it is $6000.00 monthly) to Amtrak for our exclusive access to King Street Station. This makes me wonder why I and all my fellow Yellow-ites are subjected to incidents like the one occurring Monday night when two well-dressed upper-middle class fools (man and woman in their early 70s) refused to move their blocking $60,000-plus car when it was self-evident that an entire line of cabs were attempting to move up and pick up passengers. They were truly out-of-their-minds, angry that I would ask them to just move forward 30 feet. The woman laughed, derision and disdain her misplaced crowning glory.
Passing them by, I picked up a gentleman going to the closest hotel possible, the Yesler Best Western, allowing me to fly back to the train for other possible customers. Arriving back there was a line of folks waiting, and, what would you know, just like the Sunday incident, I was instantly offered compensation by a fare to the Sea-Tac Marriott,a pleasant couple from Idaho flipping me a fifty dollar bill for my efforts.
Why that privileged couple felt they could and can do anything they want anytime they want is anyone's guess but I it looked like to me that, for them, they were the new American Brahmans and I was just another unwashed Dalit. If karma has any say, I have no doubt they lost a bunch of money in another Monday Wall Street panic. At least I had a kindly nod from observant gods in the know. Thanks!
Usually Only Pooches are Allowed
Something occurred that I have never allowed in my nearly 30 years plying the taxi byways: allowing a passenger to transfer from the back to the front seat, that privilege previously only granted to dogs of all persuasions. Picking her up on Mercer Island just off of East Mercer Way, we immediately began an interesting conversation, she a Sanitation engineer based in Switzerland who travels all over sub-Saharan Africa creating sanitation systems for those in the greatest need.
Heading west-bound on I-90 she started to maneuver up to the front seat because it was hard to hear me in the back. Previously only hungry dogs and either the insane or the drunk or both have tried to make it across that sacred barrier. That she is not insane prompted me to quickly pull over and let her up to the front. We talked about schizophrenia and dropping out of high school and how people are formed psychologically.
That this was a singular experience goes, I suppose, without saying. That it all ended up with a fifty dollar bill was the taxi cherry atop an interesting fare. As I always say about taxi: you never know and man! that is certainly true.
Stench!
An unpleasant odor it is when a cabbie must, first, fight Uber and others to get upon a designated cabstand, and compounding the insult, an insane person interferes. That this happened to a longtime cabbie who once owned and ran his own taxi company says that, regardless of your experience and taxi seniority, bad and stupid things can and will happen.
The situation was simple but is now more complex. When telling the two offending drivers that they must move from the Terry & Republican cabstand, some crazy person across the street began yelling and flipping the driver off, shouting that the drivers should stay where they are.
If the veteran cabbie made a mistake, it was walking over to the guy's car and taking pictures. What this resulted in a few minutes later was the fool calling dispatch and saying the cabbie had "hit and run" him. He even went as far as filing an official complaint with the City of Seattle.
While a true pain-in-the-ass dealing with this kind of nonsense, it is good that the _____ went so far to identify himself, leaving him open to various kinds of prosecutions and legal action. I have recommended that the cabbie go legally after the guy, knowing full well he will be completely absolved by the City.
Yes, this is the kind of bullshit we all must deal with daily. And making this worse is I haven't seen nary one time in my 30 years an offending motorist ticketed for sitting upon our cab stands. Yes, we will be cited by the City for all kinds of petty offenses but stopping idiots from clogging our stands they never do. Such is our world but must it be our constant fate?
I suppose we all know the answer. Too obvious to not understand that priorities, being what they are, nonsense will continue until it doesn't, but as is said, don't hold your breath, blue not a natural color.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
The Great Unraveling---An Examination Of Current Industry Health
Introductory Note:
Since my recent experience of almost being Seattle Yellow Fleet's (Yellow's cab side) operational manager, and hence, receiving a birds-eye of their operations, I felt it time to explain, from my many years of experience, just how Yellow and the other Seattle taxi associations arrived at where they currently find themselves. To say it is a complete mystery, or solely Uber's fault, would be incorrect, given there is a traceable history taking us from when the local taxi industry was relatively health and thriving, to where we find ourselves today---commercially wounded and bleeding money.
And I also want to dispel any misunderstanding to why I backed down from a position that potentially would have affected positive change at Yellow. The answer is simple, because I realized it would have been impossible to both manage Yellow Fleet and drive enough hours to support myself. A much larger salary would have changed the equation, allowing me to fully concentrate on the job at hand. While fully sympathetic to Yellow's current financial woes, sometimes expenditures are necessary to rectify current issues. In this situation, it appears Yellow Fleet's very survival could be at stake. Hopefully the training program I plan to have up and running by the end of April will bring in enough new drivers to stem any pending closure.
Another important point pertaining to the views expressed in the following essay, is, that unlike many of my colleagues, when I am in a taxi I am a true-blue cabbie, and not just someone driving some version of "service-transportation" vehicle. Believe me, there is huge different between those of us who want to be there and those who don't. In short, I am a cab driver, which, despite all dispersions to the contrary, is a noble calling, providing essential services to all and everyone. My response to all those who fail to understand this, is to say "screw you!" having tired of dumbbell rhetoric and nonsensical opinion. Who needs it? Well, we as an collective industry certainly don't, and I am sick of being wrongfully maligned.
While certainly holding criticisms of Seattle's various taxi associations and some individuals involved, I ultimately respect what we are collectively attempting to do: transporting all of humanity from point A to B in an increasingly congested workplace environment. The following analysis then is meant not as unbridled criticism but more, I want it to be seen as an attempt to focus everyone involved in a joint effort to resolve obvious issues languishing in front of our noses.
While at times I certainly have displayed irritation and frustration, ultimately my affection for all involved remains unlimited, caring as I do for all those toiling beneath the top-light, recognizing that we are all in this together, various parts equaling one united effort. As has been said countless times over the modern centuries, divided we fall, united we win.
And that is my ultimate desire, a taxi industry beneficial for everyone concerned, rising from the dust and ruin to new unencumbered roads. Again, all I ask, is for everyone to join me in this effort, and make some money in the process which of course must be our individual goal.
The Great Unraveling
From a historical perspective, my story might begin from very origins of early 20th Century motorized taxi services, when motorized cars replaced replaced horse-drawn hackney carriages and hansom cabs. Many large companies, including the Checker Car Corporation located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in an era where private car ownership was exceedingly rare, began running large fleets of taxicabs in America's larger cities like New York and Chicago, providing a kind of speedy and personal transportation never before seen.
If there was a problem associated with this arrangement, and there was, it was that the companies wanted to make money, money being their foremost prime objective, the transporting of people being secondary. And taking us up to now, that primacy, the making of money over any and all other considerations, is where we remain.
Recognizing that, in 1975 the City of Seattle and King County decided that the best way to balance out the situation was to deregulate the taxi industry locally, hoping beyond hope that right-minded individuals would lead taxi to equable compromise. What happened instead was complete anarchy, which is why I begin my story from that period, when Seattle's great taxi experiment blew up in its face, setting the tone of what we are today---a cannibalistic industry consuming itself. If Seattle's cab industry wasn't in an unraveled state before deregulation, it certainly was thereafter, with all of us grasping for threads. As the present situation shows, it is not the most effective way to operate.
What deregulation exposed, beyond any doubt, is that the tradition established earlier in the century remained intact, embraced by newer generations of cabbies---greed, or the making of money past all other priorities---having become the industry's calling card. And it certainly wasn't a phenomenon isolated to Seattle, New York City's egregious medallion system inflating their taxi license plates to over one million dollars each, an incredible sum for the privilege of operating a cab in NYC. What this showed was an overarching philosophy, saying that commonsense be damned, money, the grabbing of as much money as you can, is always justified regardless of consequences, everything else secondary---customer service, safety, anything other than making money the very bottom of the taxi totem pole.
Beginning my entry in the business back in the fall of 1987, I soon saw what I have just expressed to be completely true, having cut my finger on the exposed steel belting of my cab's left front tire telling me everything I needed to know about the efficacy of typical taxi operations. Later, when driving for Farwest Taxi, this same notion was further verified when, upon returning a cab back to the lot due to safety issues, a mere hour later I saw that very same cab back out on the street once again, Farwest shouting out that it didn't care one iota about its passenger's well-being, money, the making of money its sole priority.
Further industry unraveling has been the clear withdrawal of support from municipal, county and state regulators. What so many cabbies in Seattle and NYC and everywhere in the USA failed to understand is that their shenanigans were in full view of shocked industry regulators and administrators, the taxi industry as a whole operating as if they held some unwritten permission to do whatever they wanted, never fearing overt consequences.
That they were wrong in this unfounded belief is displayed locally with decisions to 1, force all single owners to join or form an association; 2, create the flat-rate for-hire industry; 3, overturn the Seattle City Council's law to cap Uber and lyft; and finally, 4, lose the Sea-Tac contract to Eastside Flat-rate For-Hire. The Port of Seattle was furious that they potentially lost up to five million dollars due to alleged Yellow Cab improprieties. Again, didn't those operating PSD at that time realize that what they were doing was in plain view, open to examination and criticism? Evidently not can be the only answer.
I could list more specifics but I don't want to malign many whom I consider friends and fellow colleagues. If Yellow and other associations cannot be called criminal, they certainly can be called both self-serving and sloppy, operating as if their eyes are closed. During the past year, Yellow Fleet and Puget Sound Dispatch have been downsizing essential personnel, making it even more difficult to both serve our customers and address daily issues that are a constant at the taxi door. And when problems are pointed out, denial and obfuscation is the usual response, our unraveled industry a mess of uncoiled twine upon the taxi floor.
And when will all the loose ends be tied back together in some kind of cohesive ball? Only when priorities are changed, understanding that investment must be put back into the business, both monetarily and personnel-wise, rebuilding what is broken down. For too many years, associations have used the taxi industry as their personal ATMs, funding their lifestyles upon both the sweat and blood of ordinary cabbies and the good faith of our customers. With the transfer of both drivers and customers to Uber, new approaches must be taken. What was done in the past has failed. There can be no argument. Our industry is grasping for breath. Who will provide the needed oxygen? Just who will do what is necessary is the great question facing us. What about you? Do you have any answers?
Why Is Gasoline Costing More?
Locally gasoline prices are now on the rise. Why is the question, when per barrel costs yesterday 03/16/2017 were listed as $47.72, down a full $6.00 from a week ago. The issue is the old one, an oversupply upon the world oil market. In other words, worldwide we are experiencing an oil glut, with too many producers and not enough customers. Then why are we currently paying more than necessary? Greed? Stupidity? Asshole-ism?
Since my recent experience of almost being Seattle Yellow Fleet's (Yellow's cab side) operational manager, and hence, receiving a birds-eye of their operations, I felt it time to explain, from my many years of experience, just how Yellow and the other Seattle taxi associations arrived at where they currently find themselves. To say it is a complete mystery, or solely Uber's fault, would be incorrect, given there is a traceable history taking us from when the local taxi industry was relatively health and thriving, to where we find ourselves today---commercially wounded and bleeding money.
And I also want to dispel any misunderstanding to why I backed down from a position that potentially would have affected positive change at Yellow. The answer is simple, because I realized it would have been impossible to both manage Yellow Fleet and drive enough hours to support myself. A much larger salary would have changed the equation, allowing me to fully concentrate on the job at hand. While fully sympathetic to Yellow's current financial woes, sometimes expenditures are necessary to rectify current issues. In this situation, it appears Yellow Fleet's very survival could be at stake. Hopefully the training program I plan to have up and running by the end of April will bring in enough new drivers to stem any pending closure.
Another important point pertaining to the views expressed in the following essay, is, that unlike many of my colleagues, when I am in a taxi I am a true-blue cabbie, and not just someone driving some version of "service-transportation" vehicle. Believe me, there is huge different between those of us who want to be there and those who don't. In short, I am a cab driver, which, despite all dispersions to the contrary, is a noble calling, providing essential services to all and everyone. My response to all those who fail to understand this, is to say "screw you!" having tired of dumbbell rhetoric and nonsensical opinion. Who needs it? Well, we as an collective industry certainly don't, and I am sick of being wrongfully maligned.
While certainly holding criticisms of Seattle's various taxi associations and some individuals involved, I ultimately respect what we are collectively attempting to do: transporting all of humanity from point A to B in an increasingly congested workplace environment. The following analysis then is meant not as unbridled criticism but more, I want it to be seen as an attempt to focus everyone involved in a joint effort to resolve obvious issues languishing in front of our noses.
While at times I certainly have displayed irritation and frustration, ultimately my affection for all involved remains unlimited, caring as I do for all those toiling beneath the top-light, recognizing that we are all in this together, various parts equaling one united effort. As has been said countless times over the modern centuries, divided we fall, united we win.
And that is my ultimate desire, a taxi industry beneficial for everyone concerned, rising from the dust and ruin to new unencumbered roads. Again, all I ask, is for everyone to join me in this effort, and make some money in the process which of course must be our individual goal.
The Great Unraveling
From a historical perspective, my story might begin from very origins of early 20th Century motorized taxi services, when motorized cars replaced replaced horse-drawn hackney carriages and hansom cabs. Many large companies, including the Checker Car Corporation located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in an era where private car ownership was exceedingly rare, began running large fleets of taxicabs in America's larger cities like New York and Chicago, providing a kind of speedy and personal transportation never before seen.
If there was a problem associated with this arrangement, and there was, it was that the companies wanted to make money, money being their foremost prime objective, the transporting of people being secondary. And taking us up to now, that primacy, the making of money over any and all other considerations, is where we remain.
Recognizing that, in 1975 the City of Seattle and King County decided that the best way to balance out the situation was to deregulate the taxi industry locally, hoping beyond hope that right-minded individuals would lead taxi to equable compromise. What happened instead was complete anarchy, which is why I begin my story from that period, when Seattle's great taxi experiment blew up in its face, setting the tone of what we are today---a cannibalistic industry consuming itself. If Seattle's cab industry wasn't in an unraveled state before deregulation, it certainly was thereafter, with all of us grasping for threads. As the present situation shows, it is not the most effective way to operate.
What deregulation exposed, beyond any doubt, is that the tradition established earlier in the century remained intact, embraced by newer generations of cabbies---greed, or the making of money past all other priorities---having become the industry's calling card. And it certainly wasn't a phenomenon isolated to Seattle, New York City's egregious medallion system inflating their taxi license plates to over one million dollars each, an incredible sum for the privilege of operating a cab in NYC. What this showed was an overarching philosophy, saying that commonsense be damned, money, the grabbing of as much money as you can, is always justified regardless of consequences, everything else secondary---customer service, safety, anything other than making money the very bottom of the taxi totem pole.
Beginning my entry in the business back in the fall of 1987, I soon saw what I have just expressed to be completely true, having cut my finger on the exposed steel belting of my cab's left front tire telling me everything I needed to know about the efficacy of typical taxi operations. Later, when driving for Farwest Taxi, this same notion was further verified when, upon returning a cab back to the lot due to safety issues, a mere hour later I saw that very same cab back out on the street once again, Farwest shouting out that it didn't care one iota about its passenger's well-being, money, the making of money its sole priority.
Further industry unraveling has been the clear withdrawal of support from municipal, county and state regulators. What so many cabbies in Seattle and NYC and everywhere in the USA failed to understand is that their shenanigans were in full view of shocked industry regulators and administrators, the taxi industry as a whole operating as if they held some unwritten permission to do whatever they wanted, never fearing overt consequences.
That they were wrong in this unfounded belief is displayed locally with decisions to 1, force all single owners to join or form an association; 2, create the flat-rate for-hire industry; 3, overturn the Seattle City Council's law to cap Uber and lyft; and finally, 4, lose the Sea-Tac contract to Eastside Flat-rate For-Hire. The Port of Seattle was furious that they potentially lost up to five million dollars due to alleged Yellow Cab improprieties. Again, didn't those operating PSD at that time realize that what they were doing was in plain view, open to examination and criticism? Evidently not can be the only answer.
I could list more specifics but I don't want to malign many whom I consider friends and fellow colleagues. If Yellow and other associations cannot be called criminal, they certainly can be called both self-serving and sloppy, operating as if their eyes are closed. During the past year, Yellow Fleet and Puget Sound Dispatch have been downsizing essential personnel, making it even more difficult to both serve our customers and address daily issues that are a constant at the taxi door. And when problems are pointed out, denial and obfuscation is the usual response, our unraveled industry a mess of uncoiled twine upon the taxi floor.
And when will all the loose ends be tied back together in some kind of cohesive ball? Only when priorities are changed, understanding that investment must be put back into the business, both monetarily and personnel-wise, rebuilding what is broken down. For too many years, associations have used the taxi industry as their personal ATMs, funding their lifestyles upon both the sweat and blood of ordinary cabbies and the good faith of our customers. With the transfer of both drivers and customers to Uber, new approaches must be taken. What was done in the past has failed. There can be no argument. Our industry is grasping for breath. Who will provide the needed oxygen? Just who will do what is necessary is the great question facing us. What about you? Do you have any answers?
Why Is Gasoline Costing More?
Locally gasoline prices are now on the rise. Why is the question, when per barrel costs yesterday 03/16/2017 were listed as $47.72, down a full $6.00 from a week ago. The issue is the old one, an oversupply upon the world oil market. In other words, worldwide we are experiencing an oil glut, with too many producers and not enough customers. Then why are we currently paying more than necessary? Greed? Stupidity? Asshole-ism?
Monday, March 6, 2017
Two Breakdowns In Five Days---Going Nuts But Not Nervous
Wednesday the alternator went out, meaning I had to fly back to Seattle and deal with a broken down car on a major roadway. A pain but early yesterday, meaning about 11:00 AM Sunday morning I noticed what no cab owner wants to see: a slipping automatic transmission. The only good part was that I was able to make it back to the shop in second gear, thus avoiding a tow. Wednesday night we had called for a tow but disappointingly I was actually able to beat the tow truck to the cab, allowing to me skip the tow and get the cab both started and back to our usual parking place.
Nobody should have to wait an hour, especially when you are blocking traffic near Costco on 4th Avenue South. There are more details but given a couple bad choices by Raymond, I was truly ready to kill my friend, more angry than I have been in a very long time. Yesterday I stopped by his house and shared some strong coffee. Peace again reigns supreme. He is a good guy and always pays his lease. Who can ask for anything more?
This second breakdown is more than inconvenient due to this week I am transferring 478 to my new 1092 medallion, translating to having to shift everything around an extra day. At the moment it is 10:40 AM and I am still in Tacoma. Taki (the lead mechanic and shop owner) said the used transmission should be in by sometime noon, one-o'clock. And here I am composing the blog ,which this week will be necessarily shortened.
Who has time? I have no time, on top of having to get everything changed over to # 1092 so Raymond can work Wednesday night and Tom can drive Thursday morning. I am glad they both can afford to miss a few days. Me, I have make up for the $800.00 I am paying today in addition to a bunch of smaller costs associated the the medallion change. Ah yes, as has been said perhaps billions of times, oh the joys of business ownership!
Given all this, my detailed explanation why I decided not to run the Yellow Fleet side will come next week. If only I had two simultaneous bodies! What a help that would be. And by the way, I'll tell you a secret. I hate taxi!
Nobody should have to wait an hour, especially when you are blocking traffic near Costco on 4th Avenue South. There are more details but given a couple bad choices by Raymond, I was truly ready to kill my friend, more angry than I have been in a very long time. Yesterday I stopped by his house and shared some strong coffee. Peace again reigns supreme. He is a good guy and always pays his lease. Who can ask for anything more?
This second breakdown is more than inconvenient due to this week I am transferring 478 to my new 1092 medallion, translating to having to shift everything around an extra day. At the moment it is 10:40 AM and I am still in Tacoma. Taki (the lead mechanic and shop owner) said the used transmission should be in by sometime noon, one-o'clock. And here I am composing the blog ,which this week will be necessarily shortened.
Who has time? I have no time, on top of having to get everything changed over to # 1092 so Raymond can work Wednesday night and Tom can drive Thursday morning. I am glad they both can afford to miss a few days. Me, I have make up for the $800.00 I am paying today in addition to a bunch of smaller costs associated the the medallion change. Ah yes, as has been said perhaps billions of times, oh the joys of business ownership!
Given all this, my detailed explanation why I decided not to run the Yellow Fleet side will come next week. If only I had two simultaneous bodies! What a help that would be. And by the way, I'll tell you a secret. I hate taxi!
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Three Taxi Hours----1:30 AM-4:30 AM Sunday 02/26/2017 & Back Down To One Hat---Deciding Not to Do It
The taxi roller-coaster, no, not the amusement park kind, was clearly in operation this past weekend. Ah yes, the financial spills and thrills of an up and down and up business model---ain't it just exciting--- experiencing the daily (and nightly) unknown? No, no it isn't but to provide all those who might be interested in knowing, the following is a peek into three select early Sunday morning hours, succinctly expressing the adage "God! you never know what will happen next!" which forever will be an accurate taxi truism.
And talking to folks Tuesday with Yellow's Puget Sound Dispatch side, they said "our accounts receivable are up!" which might be true but the sad and actual reality is that our off-street and hotel cab stand is down the past two months by at least 50 % or worse, meaning all of this is part and parcel of the roller-coaster. When telling M. that I will put her in a cab so she can see (and feel) the situation as it really is, she declined, she, and everyone one else I know in both in management and the taxi lobbyist world responding the same: "No, no, I can't do that!"
But I guarantee you that if they did obtain their for-hire license, plopping their buttock in a cab even once a month, they would be singing a far different taxi tune. God help them during their first traffic (police) stop, though in truth I wouldn't wish that kind of misery upon anyone. What can you do when an officer is screaming at you, scaring you have to death concerning all the dire possibilities? The answer is very little other than hoping for the best and wishing for the person to please disappear as quickly as possible.
Given my new twin position as both management and driver, I know I will have a huge advantage straddling both sides of the taxi fence, both realities smacking me in the face. And wouldn't you know that once again this weekend I had to deal with an overly aggressive drunk female passenger, someone falling in the more traditional "permanently pickled" category, conscious yes, but similarly completely out-of-control. What am I, some kind of human taxi punching bag? Well, it seems to be true, making me dismal, if not totally black and blue, and if I had a taxi lawyer, perhaps I would sue.
Anatomy of 3 Taxi Hours---1:30 AM-4:30 AM
Fare # 1---1:30 AM
Stuffed after eating my meal of the day at the Honey Court: clams in black bean sauce, I set off from Chinatown about 45 minutes before official bar-break wondering where to go and what to do when I get a call in Madison Valley for a house in an alley located at 30th & East Harrison. Calling, it should have been easy to locate them but dispatch had the info as house behind a white fence when in reality it was a white house behind a metal fence, resulting in a few minute's confusion.
Once all mystery was dispelled a couple gets in the cab going all the way to the Motel Six situated at 160th & Pacific Highway South, just about a mile north of Sea-Tac proper. Not quite believing my good luck, off we went, getting off at the Southcenter exit and heading up the hill to Pac-Highway.
Turning off the meter once we got to the highway, I got $42.00 and a big thank you from the passengers, telling the couple who happened to waiting for a cab that, "He is a great driver!"
Fare # 2---1:50 AM
What the young couple were doing standing there at the Motel Six I never asked but I assumed that they had been repeatedly passed up because they were young and black, which for many cabbies means passing them by. Me, I pick up everybody, and who cares about other cabbie's stupidity! taking them up to South 246th & Pac-Highway. The young woman asked if I was a Sagittarius, which I admitted that, yes, I was part of that good fraternity. She said she knew by my "vibe."
On the way I pointed out the Chevron Gas Station where the kidnap victim had leaped out of into the safety of my cab, a memory forever staying with me. A few blocks past the station I turned right off the highway, leaving them off on a darkened street.
No, they were not dangerous, only people wishing to get home. I got them there. And it was beginning to rain.
Fare # 3---2:10 AM
Ready for a nap, I pulled off in a parking lot, quickly dozing off. How long I slept I couldn't tell you but I was awakened by a fare offering, telling me Dave was waiting at 180000 International Boulevard (Pacific Hwy South). What that was I wasn't sure but thought it might be the Sea-Tac 13 Coins 24-hour restaurant, which turned out to be the correct guess. By this time the rain was vigorous, saying the storm was here to stay, at least there in the south end. Dave was going home to Burien, and ten minutes later, and $15.00 dollars with tip, I had him there.
Fare # 4---2:20 AM
It was now readily apparent I was the only Yellow cab in the greater Sea-Tac area as immediately I was again offered a fare, this time at Southcenter---four young drunken kids not understanding which side of the mall they were at. After some questioning, I figured out where they were, four slightly damp and silly people heading to north Renton on the east side of Lake Washington.
The ring leader of the quartet thought he was a comedian, which he wasn't, and regardless I too tired to laugh. And besides, he wasn't funny, something fully displayed by his question of why was I now going 55 MPH? Given that the rainfall was now the proverbial "cats and dogs" I said "didn't they tell you in driving education to slow down 5 MPH during hazardous driving conditions? Making it worse, the not so comical clown was sitting in the front seat, annoying me more than usual. $25.00 with tip and glad to be rid of them.
Fare #5---2:37 AM
Instantly I get another call, this time a very early airport run from the 9800 thousand block of Rainier Avenue South, a location directly across Lake Washington from where I had just vacated. Not quite knowing the exact location, and not getting a response to my calls, I peered through the murk before fairly easily finding the waterfront address. Leaping down the steps, the door opened to multiple bags and passengers on their way to Loreto, Mexico, a 5:00 AM flight explaining their early departure.
Getting them to Sea-Tac minus any delays resulted in a very pleasant ride and $40.00 total for a $26.00 fare. Viva Mexico!
Fare #6---3:30 AM
Having enough and heading back north to close out my day, I got yet another call as I nearing downtown, this time a club in the opposite direction south at 2905 1st Avenue South. Knowing that there should be, as usual, a fleet of patrolling cabs trolling for errant drunks I headed out there anyway, but lo and behold these 2 guys from NYC were actually still there, faithfully waiting for their yellow steed taking them back to the Thompson Hotel at 1st & Stewart.
We had a good conversation about NYC and cab in general, resulting in 20 dollars for a ten dollar fare. I was glad to have it, thinking it was a good way to end the night.
Fare #7---4:10 AM
Having just finished gassing up at 105th and Aurora Avenue North, the night that wouldn't end finally concluded with one last forlorn soul, having missed his final bus, taking him to 120th & Roosevelt NE for ten bucks. God! was I glad I could finally call it quits and sleep, which I did just after 5:00 AM but not before I had to pet Roxy, my sister's very insistent dachshund, Roxy my usual early morning greeter when I stay in Seattle.
Ah yes, true taxi reality and over $168.00 for three hours work. If only it was always like this, but can I please be a little more awake? That would be taxi sugar and spice and everything cabby nice!
One Hat Again
Yesterday I trained and today I quit, writing a letter of resignation even before I signed a contact. Too much, too much is the quick answer, along with the realization I would not be getting any sleep. If anyone, who is extremely experienced and willing to untangle the knots, please do apply. They need you!
Postscript 03/03/2017 9:55 AM:
With more time, I will more fully explain my reasons behind declining on what first glance looked like a wonderful opportunity to both assist, influence and shape the Yellow Fleet side of Seattle Yellow Cab in particular and the combined association as a whole. What became clear on Tuesday is that they wanted me to do the duties once done separately by my friend Abebe and the superintendent's office. On top of that I was expected to be there seven days a week. All I can say, that for me personally, already up to my neck in work and projects, it is not feasible. More next week.
And talking to folks Tuesday with Yellow's Puget Sound Dispatch side, they said "our accounts receivable are up!" which might be true but the sad and actual reality is that our off-street and hotel cab stand is down the past two months by at least 50 % or worse, meaning all of this is part and parcel of the roller-coaster. When telling M. that I will put her in a cab so she can see (and feel) the situation as it really is, she declined, she, and everyone one else I know in both in management and the taxi lobbyist world responding the same: "No, no, I can't do that!"
But I guarantee you that if they did obtain their for-hire license, plopping their buttock in a cab even once a month, they would be singing a far different taxi tune. God help them during their first traffic (police) stop, though in truth I wouldn't wish that kind of misery upon anyone. What can you do when an officer is screaming at you, scaring you have to death concerning all the dire possibilities? The answer is very little other than hoping for the best and wishing for the person to please disappear as quickly as possible.
Given my new twin position as both management and driver, I know I will have a huge advantage straddling both sides of the taxi fence, both realities smacking me in the face. And wouldn't you know that once again this weekend I had to deal with an overly aggressive drunk female passenger, someone falling in the more traditional "permanently pickled" category, conscious yes, but similarly completely out-of-control. What am I, some kind of human taxi punching bag? Well, it seems to be true, making me dismal, if not totally black and blue, and if I had a taxi lawyer, perhaps I would sue.
Anatomy of 3 Taxi Hours---1:30 AM-4:30 AM
Fare # 1---1:30 AM
Stuffed after eating my meal of the day at the Honey Court: clams in black bean sauce, I set off from Chinatown about 45 minutes before official bar-break wondering where to go and what to do when I get a call in Madison Valley for a house in an alley located at 30th & East Harrison. Calling, it should have been easy to locate them but dispatch had the info as house behind a white fence when in reality it was a white house behind a metal fence, resulting in a few minute's confusion.
Once all mystery was dispelled a couple gets in the cab going all the way to the Motel Six situated at 160th & Pacific Highway South, just about a mile north of Sea-Tac proper. Not quite believing my good luck, off we went, getting off at the Southcenter exit and heading up the hill to Pac-Highway.
Turning off the meter once we got to the highway, I got $42.00 and a big thank you from the passengers, telling the couple who happened to waiting for a cab that, "He is a great driver!"
Fare # 2---1:50 AM
What the young couple were doing standing there at the Motel Six I never asked but I assumed that they had been repeatedly passed up because they were young and black, which for many cabbies means passing them by. Me, I pick up everybody, and who cares about other cabbie's stupidity! taking them up to South 246th & Pac-Highway. The young woman asked if I was a Sagittarius, which I admitted that, yes, I was part of that good fraternity. She said she knew by my "vibe."
On the way I pointed out the Chevron Gas Station where the kidnap victim had leaped out of into the safety of my cab, a memory forever staying with me. A few blocks past the station I turned right off the highway, leaving them off on a darkened street.
No, they were not dangerous, only people wishing to get home. I got them there. And it was beginning to rain.
Fare # 3---2:10 AM
Ready for a nap, I pulled off in a parking lot, quickly dozing off. How long I slept I couldn't tell you but I was awakened by a fare offering, telling me Dave was waiting at 180000 International Boulevard (Pacific Hwy South). What that was I wasn't sure but thought it might be the Sea-Tac 13 Coins 24-hour restaurant, which turned out to be the correct guess. By this time the rain was vigorous, saying the storm was here to stay, at least there in the south end. Dave was going home to Burien, and ten minutes later, and $15.00 dollars with tip, I had him there.
Fare # 4---2:20 AM
It was now readily apparent I was the only Yellow cab in the greater Sea-Tac area as immediately I was again offered a fare, this time at Southcenter---four young drunken kids not understanding which side of the mall they were at. After some questioning, I figured out where they were, four slightly damp and silly people heading to north Renton on the east side of Lake Washington.
The ring leader of the quartet thought he was a comedian, which he wasn't, and regardless I too tired to laugh. And besides, he wasn't funny, something fully displayed by his question of why was I now going 55 MPH? Given that the rainfall was now the proverbial "cats and dogs" I said "didn't they tell you in driving education to slow down 5 MPH during hazardous driving conditions? Making it worse, the not so comical clown was sitting in the front seat, annoying me more than usual. $25.00 with tip and glad to be rid of them.
Fare #5---2:37 AM
Instantly I get another call, this time a very early airport run from the 9800 thousand block of Rainier Avenue South, a location directly across Lake Washington from where I had just vacated. Not quite knowing the exact location, and not getting a response to my calls, I peered through the murk before fairly easily finding the waterfront address. Leaping down the steps, the door opened to multiple bags and passengers on their way to Loreto, Mexico, a 5:00 AM flight explaining their early departure.
Getting them to Sea-Tac minus any delays resulted in a very pleasant ride and $40.00 total for a $26.00 fare. Viva Mexico!
Fare #6---3:30 AM
Having enough and heading back north to close out my day, I got yet another call as I nearing downtown, this time a club in the opposite direction south at 2905 1st Avenue South. Knowing that there should be, as usual, a fleet of patrolling cabs trolling for errant drunks I headed out there anyway, but lo and behold these 2 guys from NYC were actually still there, faithfully waiting for their yellow steed taking them back to the Thompson Hotel at 1st & Stewart.
We had a good conversation about NYC and cab in general, resulting in 20 dollars for a ten dollar fare. I was glad to have it, thinking it was a good way to end the night.
Fare #7---4:10 AM
Having just finished gassing up at 105th and Aurora Avenue North, the night that wouldn't end finally concluded with one last forlorn soul, having missed his final bus, taking him to 120th & Roosevelt NE for ten bucks. God! was I glad I could finally call it quits and sleep, which I did just after 5:00 AM but not before I had to pet Roxy, my sister's very insistent dachshund, Roxy my usual early morning greeter when I stay in Seattle.
Ah yes, true taxi reality and over $168.00 for three hours work. If only it was always like this, but can I please be a little more awake? That would be taxi sugar and spice and everything cabby nice!
One Hat Again
Yesterday I trained and today I quit, writing a letter of resignation even before I signed a contact. Too much, too much is the quick answer, along with the realization I would not be getting any sleep. If anyone, who is extremely experienced and willing to untangle the knots, please do apply. They need you!
Postscript 03/03/2017 9:55 AM:
With more time, I will more fully explain my reasons behind declining on what first glance looked like a wonderful opportunity to both assist, influence and shape the Yellow Fleet side of Seattle Yellow Cab in particular and the combined association as a whole. What became clear on Tuesday is that they wanted me to do the duties once done separately by my friend Abebe and the superintendent's office. On top of that I was expected to be there seven days a week. All I can say, that for me personally, already up to my neck in work and projects, it is not feasible. More next week.
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