No longer a Happy Halloween for Cabbies. At this point, Uber and Lyft no longer tries to frighten the US Cab industry, knowing we are already buried deep in the cemetery ground, decomposing just like our business, silently disappearing into the earth.
Halloween Doggerel Poem
For taxis
Halloween once remained supreme
Business incredibly good, not a scary nightmare
But a cabbie's dream
Costumed ghouls vampires werewolves
And ghosts entering your cab late
into the spooky busy night
but no longer, no longer Halloween
no longer a taxicab driver's delight
Uber and Lyft scaring our business away
and that's the unedited story to this very upcoming
October 31st 2026
Halloween Day!
__________________________________
Holidays like Halloween, Saint Patrick's Day, New Year's Eve were incredible money-making events for the US cabbie. But all that is in the past. Where New Year's would be beyond busy, the last one I worked was pathetic, thousand of revelers walking by my cab., not caring I was vacant and ready to roll. Depressing. To be ignored is never a cabbie's wish or desire.
The Red Tesla Driver and Uber Imposters
Something really bad is going to happen because, as unexplainable as it seems, the City of Seattle appears to be powerless to pull rogue operators off the streets. Recently the head City inspector, Tim, was seen entering the red Tesla, making everyone think he was finally "toast" but no, the next day there he was, posing as a cabbie and taking fares.
Today, this being October 19th, as I write this, KIRO7 News reported that a young woman in Seattle requested an Uber, entering what she thought was her ride until realizing it wasn't. Now scared out-of-her-mind, jumped out of the car at a stoplight in Kent, WA.
Who ever this driver was, he is just one of many illegal operators out there endangering the Seattle and King County riding public. Is it going to take a rape, a murder or a fatal car accident to stop this nonsense? That seems to be the case. And of course there will be lawsuits, the City will be held liable, making a multiple million dollar settlement to the victim or the victim's survivors, all this a predictable corollary. All avoidable? Concerning the City of Seattle, I don't think so.
What Did Wilfredo Gomez, Nick-Named "Bazooka" Buy his Father with his First Price Purse?
Gomez, winner of three world boxing championships, was raised in poverty in Puerto Rico, won $15,000 in 1974 in first professional fight. His first purchase was buying his taxicab driving father his own taxi. A nice gesture. When a boxing promoter came to his door when he was 17, he was still sleeping on a dirt floor. Soon thereafter, he was winning $600,000 for bouts, probably allowing his father to retire from cabbing. Instead of their hovel, he bought his mother a house with, I am assuming a tiled or wooden floor.
How the City of San Francisco Failed their Taxi Industry
Recently I watched a 14 minute video from 2024 describing how the City of San Francisco screwed over the taxicab community on two fronts. The first, in 2010, was the selling of medallions for $250,000. While a lot of money, veteran cabbies in a prime city like San Francisco could gross over $100,000 or more yearly. But of course paying off that kind of debt meant the driver was tied to the cab 24/7, working their asses off. The City continued to sell medallions until 2014.
The second screw concerns City response to the TNC onslaught. While asking too much money for the medallions was immoral, a far worse insult was the City's embrace of Uber and Lyft in about 2012, crashing local taxi business while cutting the number of daily taxi fares by more than half. The last time I checked there were about 47,000 active TNC operators in San Francisco on any given day. The video presented active cabbies and their real stories of betrayal and lament, voicing concern that all this was killing them.
This sorry example of what the City of San Francisco did to its cabbies exposes the fallacy and myth of the so-called "Liberal City," be it San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, all cities with theoretical "progressive" governments that have pointedly shafted their local cabbies while kissing Uber on its big, fat butt. In the video it shows then Mayor Lee declaring "Lyft Day" in 2013.
All this is the sorry truth, and how and why did it all come into play, this kicking taxi down the road? Simply, as I have been pointing out and have been preaching for years, it is because the regulators have never driven a cab. They have no idea concerning the working world they regulate, and despite their protestations, do not care. The proof is in the taxi pudding, the faces of those San Francisco cabbies saying it all, no words necessary: their desperation and exhaustion clear.
But in reality, few care about cabbies and their fates. I do but I am a cabbie to my last breath. Join me please, in solidarity, embracing all of us working ,or having worked beneath the toplight. Maybe one day that ex NYC cabbie Philip Glass will write a commemorative symphony. As near as I can tell he drove cab for at least 10 years and perhaps longer. Maybe one day I will be able to ask him in person. I always say it takes at least five years to be a "real" cabbie. Glass, then is a cabbie twice over, joining a proud if not somewhat deranged fraternity. "Ya gotta be nuts drivin' a cab!"
Waymo has Ordered 5,100 Ojai AVs from People's Republic of China Car Manufacturer Zeekr, a Unit of the Automotive Giant, Geely
Some of you might have noticed a lovely pastel blue Waymo van making the rounds. I was told one was sighted in Bellevue. Yes, Waymo is planning on importing over 5000 of these AVs/EVs but there is one big problem here. Chinese EVs are banned from entry into the US market. So how is this happening? Ha Ha Ha! Stay tuned.
Dishonest South Korean Cabbies are about to be Slapped
It is a sorry statement, that over a five-year period, there have been over 6000 official complaints regarding the overcharging of foreign visitors. Maybe sometime I will address why a cabbie might think it is okay to be dishonest in a business that is so personal, with the passenger mere inches from you, making it morally repugnant. But as in many cities poor regulatory oversight led to a continuation of the practice of stealing from customers. Out of 6,481 complaints, only176 warnings were issued, along with 26 license suspensions. Only 2 operators lost their licenses altogether. Another 1,865 operators were issued what were called cautions, a kind of guidance on how to behave, as if they didn't know already.
Given this state of affairs, there has been a stronger response. One commonsense change is that now receipts will now contain payment info in both English and Korean. The second is meant to stop bad behavior altogether, a first offense resulting in a 30-day license suspension. Second offense will provide a 60-day suspension. A third offense results in permanent license revocation.
As one might notice, these kinds of regulatory actions are meaningful as opposed to what the City of Seattle does. Having been ripped off by cabbies once each in Spain and Romania, I know how frustrating it is when it happened. And I am not even counting the various poor rides I've had in Italy, Hungary and elsewhere. It happens.
A Quote from a Novel Published in 1912
This is taken from a lesser known novel by that author of all those Sherlock Holmes stories, Arthur Cohan Doyle's "The Lost World." Not a novel concerning crime but a lost world discovered in in the jungles of South America. The quote concerns making a appointment with a reputed "mad scientist" scheduled for 11 AM. Yes, a positive word concerning taxi. I also include it because I try to provide information, features and ideas found nowhere else in these modest taxi lines. From page 20, from the Pyramid Book paperback edition published July 1963. Price of the book back then? 40 cents. It is a wonderful novel, a true "page turner," based on a1884 discovery in the jungles of Venezuela. Would you like a pet pterodactyl? You could feed it Uber executives. And if in Seattle, any governmental official of your choice.
"It was nearly half-past ten before I had received my message but a taxicab took me round in good time for my appointment."
Taxi was and always will be about efficiency. One might say that's all it is about and nothing else. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, package delivery of all kinds was a large part of our business, be it legal documents, auto parts or blood. Yes, blood! For mny years at Seattle Yellow Cab, they had the Seattle Blood Bank contract, us cabbies flying all over Seattle, King County and Western Washington delivering life saving blood to regional hospitals. It was a big responsibility because sometimes the patient was literally on the operating table. I remember one instance where cab after cab picked up "stat" blood deliveries bound for University Hospital, a distance of about 4.5 miles. I did two deliveries.
So I say all this to remind everyone that when you observe a cab driving "like a bat out of hell" there might be good reason. More than once I flew to a hospital with a critically ill passenger, pulling into the ER and rushing the person inside. Yes, someone might be gravely iil and we are trying to save a life.
Another Mention about Taxi Deliveries
This is before the days of FAX machines and certainly PFD files. This excerpt is taken from the Erle Stanley Gardner novel "The Case of the Cautious Coquette," page 4:
"Have someone bring the reply down here," Drake said. "Tell my secretary to put a messenger in a taxicab and rush it down here."
Ah yes, the good old days before modernity and Uber took over. The novel is from 1948. And for fans of Perry Mason, whenever on the east side of Beacon Hill, you can find yourself on the shortcut up and down that part of Beacon Hill sharing the name of Mason's faithful secretary, (South) Della Street. I have used it thousands of times heading up to the VA Hospital.
Another Novel Quote Concerning Cab
From the 1961 novel by John Le Carre, "Call for the Dead," page 27:
"He felt safe in the taxi. Safe and warm. The warmth was contraband, smuggled from his bed and hoarded against the wet January night."
That is what taxicab should always be: a however long sanctuary where the passenger not only knows but feels they are being taken care of. London's Black Cab's are like that, and the character in the novel, George Smiley, is riding in a London cab. This kind of service has been long lost in the Uber/Lyft era, amateurs driving passengers essentially clueless about what they are doing. I remember listening to NPR radio reports and interviews with Uber drivers back in the early years of TNC service. I found their opinions quite pathetic, these guys and gals having no idea of what they had gotten themselves involved. Taxi professionalism? No concern to either the drivers or the BIG MONEY Uber backers and investors, taxicab a forgotten equation wiped clean off the transportation blackboard.
A Truly Crazy Kenyan Cab Driver Turned Cult Leader
Yesterday, October 19th, former cabbie turned cult church pastor, along with his wife, was charged with the 191 murders of 190 children and one adult, all found in a mass grave containing over 400 bodies. His church, called the "Good News International Ministries" convinced people to starve both themselves and their children. If there is any irony here, the photograph of Paul MacKenzie showed a well-fed defendant. He has declared his innocence.
London Black Cab Lawsuit Against Uber Dismissed
Two lawsuits seeking 340 million (453 million US dollars) British pounds in damages from Uber for giving misleading information were dismissed on the grounds for failing to file the lawsuit on time. I don't know if the ruling will be appealed. It all has to do with Uber providing misinformation when applying to the City of London for operating licenses. Uber lie? Com' on!
City of Ottawa Ruled It Cannot Force 768 Individual Trails in an Industry Class Action Lawsuit
An Ottawa, Ontario Canada court ruled that the City of Ottawa allowed Uber to operate illegally between the years 2014-16. The court ruled that the City is liable for damaging the local taxicab industry. The cabbies are seeking 215 million dollars (Canadian) in damages. The damage stage will soon commence. What the City tried to do was have 768 separate trials. The court did not agree. The 768 complainants represented 1,188 taxi plates.
I am sure all my Seattle and King County readers remember that Uber and Lyft were allowed to operate illegally for two years, 2012-14. I think we too can win. More on this later.
It Does Matter in Seattle and the State of WA: Some Last Underlined Election Recommendations
WA ST Supreme Court District 3: Hawk over Stevens
Seattle City Council Position # 5: Nila Jenks over Julie Kang.
Both candidates have positives but I like Jenks because she has more of roots activation background vs Kang's more academic background. In reality, this is a hard choice but since this is Jenks' third try, I believe she deserves the opportunity to bring some new ideas to a moribund City Council.
WA ST 3rd Congressional District: DEM Rep Marie Glusenkemp Perez over GOP John Braun.
If anyone's needs to know anything more about this particular battle, it is the campaign visit by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, endorsing Braun. Who is Johnson? Only Trump's ultimate "rubber-stamper," backing Trump's agenda no matter how dumb, destructive or illegal.
In terms of Braun himself, some real questions have come up concerning his company's safety record, as it has currently been fined by the State of WA for safety violations. While not as bad as the Koch Brothers and their history of grave industrial accidents, Braun wants you to believe he will be something other than a typical GOP sycophant. Johnson's arrival says otherwise.
A vote for Braun is a vote for the continuation of the Trump's destructive agenda. If you like chaos, Trump is your man. Would the Oct 12th attack on the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia airport that killed 13 and injured over 300 have occurred if Iran had not been attacked? The answer is obvious.
Today as I write, Oct 22nd, two more people are now also dead in another attack upon the airport. A vote for Braun is a vote for this kind of mindless escalation from both sides of the conflict. And I know like I do you enjoy that gasoline prices has nearly doubled. Exxon, Chevron, BP thanks you for your devotion to their profiteering.
________________
O taxi O taxi!
O woe is me!
I am tied to you taxi
And I will never be free!
O woe O woe O sorrow
And woe!
What will become of
the forgotten cabbie
me
forever lost
in the teeming turbulent
urban sea!
O no O no
Forever I am
Trapped in servitude
And economic
captivity!
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