What will always be true concerning taxi is its natural creation and never ending availability of crazy and spontaneous situations occurring minus control and intention. Now while many things happen which I would rather avoid it is hard to protest when a mundane Ballard QFC grocery run blows up into a miniature carnival---a staggering drunk carrying a Christmas tree and along with a very insistent Staffordshire terrier/bulldog mix Abigail taking full advantage of the chaos by repeatedly moving to the taxi driver's seat. When this type of entertainment occurs I can only "throw up my hands" and appreciate the absolute madness of a derangement that is uniquely, and can only be, taxi. Why worry if Abigail's muddy paws might soil the interior? Instead of caring I should enjoy a recalcitrant pooch doing whatever it wants regardless of human concerns and commands. Hurrah for Abigail for telling me and everyone else to go to canine hell, I'm driving this taxi to the nearest fire hydrant, and just try stopping me! Grrr Grrr Grrr!
David Plouffe: Barking Doggerel
David Plouffe, Obama's gift to Uber,
last week came to town,
to announce that 14,000 thousand Uber cars
now dominate the Puget Sound,
Mister Plouffe crowing, after getting a a big raise,
having recently departed the presidential lounge;
But while he might be lacking personal ethics
you gotta say the former advisor knows how to get around,
And while he's no Donald Trump,
he's still another version of the
"I'll go anywhere if you pay me enough"
political clown
doing anyone's dirty business
minus a frown
smiling with the mayor,
making sure to remind Murray
that Uber hadn't forgotten Mister Ed's intervention
and big favor!
and Plouffes' here
just to remind there
just might be future opportunities ahead
to savor!
so remain brave and never waver,
Uber never forgetting
its favorite Seattle
Savior!
Uber Union
Our friends at the Seattle City Council, maybe needing a last hurrah before fading into political obscurity, and somehow, some way feeling it necessary to bandage the open wound that was their freeing of Uber from regulatory bondage, voted yesterday to allow all local transportation independent contractors (like me) to be free to form and join in collective bargaining agreements. Council hero Tom Rassmussen, he, as reported by a colleague, of an Uber X sign in his office when such operators were still operating illegally; spoke eloquently about labor rights and how we should respect the worker's toil and sweat and blood by giving them democracy and choice, demanding liberty and elemental justice for all human kind. Mayor Murray is not pleased and Uber has promised that the whole issue to headed to court. But with a valuation of over 61 billion dollars, does anyone really think that Uber will lose out over this argument? Maybe by the year 2051 the case will reach the United States Supreme Court and Justices Rassmussen and Murray will decide what is ultimately right and wrong. If you think this is a fairy tale then consult the Brothers Grimm and get back to me. In this fairy tale the dragon, instead of being slayed, eats the good knight, and come midnight, snacks on local cabbies.
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water
but Jill drowned Jack
while simultaneously
stabbing him in the back
then drove back to San Francisco
in a new Cadillac
(or was it a Toyota?)
A Birthday Tradition
Friday is my birthday. "She who can't be named" always sends me a hand-made card which includes a newly composed inscription. I do the same for her in January but she is surely the superior poet. This year's poem says it all and then some. Enjoy, like I have, the sweet sentiments.
"Joe is 62
Don't you know
that it's not all for show
the pain is real
but he's no heel
He weathers the Madness!
and smiles to boot
He's sure one crazy koot
and I wish to heaven
and I wish to tell
that he escapes the
!! TAXI HELL!!"
_____________________________________
Thanks, Hound! How can I disagree? Yes I am certainly ready to be
FREE!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Three Hours Listening To The Port Of Seattle Commission Meeting---A Seat At The Table Is Required
Yesterday, Tuesday December 8th, I sat through my first Port commission meeting. Forsaking both sleep and writing time I battled a steady rain all the way from Tacoma to Seattle, just making the 2:00 PM start time. Thankfully I arrived just in time to to make my public commentary, a colleague having signed me in, allowing for one solitary taxi driver voice to be heard. Yes, amazingly I was the sole non-owner to stand up and speak, again advocating for an industry utterly devoid of self-interested parties, most cabbies concentrating upon their own navel. It is a sorry situation, our nearly complete lack of viable representation, something requiring immediate repair, a two minute podium not enough time for addressing decades of association mismanagement and regulatory failure. Again, the entire Yellow taxi Sea-Tac contract might soon implode and, as usual, there I was, the driver's sole spokesman. To their credit, others did voice concern about major changes looming at the Port but these complainants either single owners or paid lobbyists; the taxi foot soldier, as I said, conspicuously absent.
What became clear beyond any doubt is our (the lease-drivers) need for an organization defending our goals and civil rights.. While the thought is simple, the solution is complex, creating a union or driver trade association out of thin air. Still, once my book is publication ready, I will start the process. Looking at my current progress, it probably won't be before mid-February at the earliest, once I am back from Mexico. This trip I guarantee I will have my book with me on a known laptop. I will get the work done, and then, and only then will I begin the attempt to bring everyone together in a coherent and legal organization. If having a bureaucratic gun to your head isn't enough to convince folks to join up, I will finally surrender to the non-negotiable reality that Seattle's taxi industry is beyond redemption. It very well may be the case but you never know, don't miracles happen everyday? Just ask the current Pope. He'll tell you all about it!. And all you Roman Catholics should start saying a few Hail Marys. Prayers are definitely called for. Light a candle or two while you are at it, never knowing what will grab the taxi God's attention.
Two ominous notes from yesterday's meeting concerned TNC concessions at Sea-Tac and Yellow's contractual future. Uber obviously has been lobbying the Port, making potential inroads toward obtaining curb space with the taxis on the third floor. The port employee making his report to the commission mentioned "very quickly" Yellow's billing issues. His short sentence should scare the hell out of the Sea-Tac taxi drivers. Listen between the lines and you will be alarmed. This could be the proverbial "tip of the regulatory iceberg" sinking good Ship Yellow Cab's continued presence at Sea-Tac. The situation is dire. Is anyone paying attention?
Canlis
One potential mistake the good people at the Port of Seattle might be making is thinking, erroneously, that providing taxi and taxi-like services, is easy, something anyone can do. Opening up Sea-Tac to TNC "amateur hour" could be a huge mistake. An example from Yellow this past weekend shows yet again that too many independent operators are not up to the taxi task.
To say that Seattle was rainy Friday, Saturday and Sunday is understating how much moisture fell from the skies. Rivers are flooding and hillsides are sliding upon railway tracks and roads, our past summer-long drought a distant memory. It was during these water-laden weather conditions that a rookie Yellow taxi driver stopped on the west side of Aurora Ave North (State Highway 99), telling his well-dressed passengers they were going to somehow have to cross over the highway to that famous eatery of Seattle's millionaire-class, Canlis, on their own, that he wasn't going to take them any further.
That these customers had no idea how to do the impossible is understandable. Obviously this is a very bad story, with the ultimate consequences yet to be written but like the driver who last week took his passengers to the wrong Boeing Field, who truly is to blame? Who was it that licensed and certified these individuals taxi ready? Of course none other than the City of Seattle and King County. Will the bureaucrats there be held responsible? No, of course not. And will the driver be fired? Unbelievably that also might not happen. Amazing, isn't it?
And this should be fair warning to the Port of Seattle commissioners. You might want to reconsider flooding the airport with transportation neophytes. All hell could break loose and then who will be taking responsibility for the mess and accompanying scandal? If anyone thinks Uber will, you are naive. Or worse!
What became clear beyond any doubt is our (the lease-drivers) need for an organization defending our goals and civil rights.. While the thought is simple, the solution is complex, creating a union or driver trade association out of thin air. Still, once my book is publication ready, I will start the process. Looking at my current progress, it probably won't be before mid-February at the earliest, once I am back from Mexico. This trip I guarantee I will have my book with me on a known laptop. I will get the work done, and then, and only then will I begin the attempt to bring everyone together in a coherent and legal organization. If having a bureaucratic gun to your head isn't enough to convince folks to join up, I will finally surrender to the non-negotiable reality that Seattle's taxi industry is beyond redemption. It very well may be the case but you never know, don't miracles happen everyday? Just ask the current Pope. He'll tell you all about it!. And all you Roman Catholics should start saying a few Hail Marys. Prayers are definitely called for. Light a candle or two while you are at it, never knowing what will grab the taxi God's attention.
Two ominous notes from yesterday's meeting concerned TNC concessions at Sea-Tac and Yellow's contractual future. Uber obviously has been lobbying the Port, making potential inroads toward obtaining curb space with the taxis on the third floor. The port employee making his report to the commission mentioned "very quickly" Yellow's billing issues. His short sentence should scare the hell out of the Sea-Tac taxi drivers. Listen between the lines and you will be alarmed. This could be the proverbial "tip of the regulatory iceberg" sinking good Ship Yellow Cab's continued presence at Sea-Tac. The situation is dire. Is anyone paying attention?
Canlis
One potential mistake the good people at the Port of Seattle might be making is thinking, erroneously, that providing taxi and taxi-like services, is easy, something anyone can do. Opening up Sea-Tac to TNC "amateur hour" could be a huge mistake. An example from Yellow this past weekend shows yet again that too many independent operators are not up to the taxi task.
To say that Seattle was rainy Friday, Saturday and Sunday is understating how much moisture fell from the skies. Rivers are flooding and hillsides are sliding upon railway tracks and roads, our past summer-long drought a distant memory. It was during these water-laden weather conditions that a rookie Yellow taxi driver stopped on the west side of Aurora Ave North (State Highway 99), telling his well-dressed passengers they were going to somehow have to cross over the highway to that famous eatery of Seattle's millionaire-class, Canlis, on their own, that he wasn't going to take them any further.
That these customers had no idea how to do the impossible is understandable. Obviously this is a very bad story, with the ultimate consequences yet to be written but like the driver who last week took his passengers to the wrong Boeing Field, who truly is to blame? Who was it that licensed and certified these individuals taxi ready? Of course none other than the City of Seattle and King County. Will the bureaucrats there be held responsible? No, of course not. And will the driver be fired? Unbelievably that also might not happen. Amazing, isn't it?
And this should be fair warning to the Port of Seattle commissioners. You might want to reconsider flooding the airport with transportation neophytes. All hell could break loose and then who will be taking responsibility for the mess and accompanying scandal? If anyone thinks Uber will, you are naive. Or worse!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Five Weeks Since I Have Returned
Because my day and night drivers requested some schedule adjustment last week, Tom especially wanting a taxi-free turkey zone, I ended up driving five consecutive days, something I haven't done in a long time. Business was certainly iffy, with "Seahawk Sunday" being the best out of the five, though Monday while barely working I still managed a 100 dollar gross over four hours. The real test will be coming in the "taxi dog day" months of January through March. That I am not looking forward to it is a complete taxi understatement but joining "she-who-can't-be-named" in Mexico during the last part of January will help alleviate the pain.
Unfortunately, soon after coming back Tom will going on his annual Hawaiian vacation so I am looking at potentially more driving than I have done in a long while. But like this past weekend I know when and not to "push it," resting and sleeping instead of eking out a few pennies from no business whatsoever.
Understanding that the elongated Thanksgiving weekend had destroyed the Saturday night, early Sunday morning "bar-break," I was asleep by 1:00 AM, figuring that later in the day could potentially translate into beneficial business, a hunch paying off with a first-fare $57.00 Sea-Tac from Ballard, an initial burst blasting me to my best overall take of the weekend. Especially when business is essentially nonexistent, a good personal strategy can win the taxi day despite the bleakest predictions. Friday morning, when I scored a $75.00 Sea-Tac run, another veteran driver told me he had one solitary seven dollar run during a similar five-hour time period. Clearly his report made my up-to-that-point overall gross of $175.00 look so much better. As any long-term driver knows, taxi can, and will be unforgiving, kicking your butt all over the street at a moment's notice.
As to being back at it for now over five weeks, I have been sick twice and in a general struggle to get anything done other than placating the taxi gods. No fun, I am not having any fun. My one and only compensation is eating Chinese food, a small pleasure amidst the madness. Beef brisket noodle soup, anyone?! My 62nd birthday arrives this upcoming December 18th. I have two writing projects I have to finish before that defining date. I'll let you know if I make it.
Easier Time at the Husky
While only a partial report, only having time for one "Apple Cup" half-time fare, the police presence was the lightest I have seen it in years. Maybe, just maybe my plea to everyone concerned with game traffic control was heard. With my night driver Raymond expecting the cab at 3:00 PM, the unusual Friday afternoon game time made me miss the post-game frolics, meaning I do not know what happened when traffic was snarled. Hoping to not be driving by this time next year, I hope I can never tell you the answer. Having had enough of all this, I have had enough to last this and any other potential future lifetimes. Taxi in my future? I hope not.
Beware of the Rabid Upper-Middle Class Woman
While sounding like a the title from a Grade-B horror flick, it was my reality when, after dropping off my brother last night, my call to a local grocery store transformed into this stupid woman physically charging at me because Yellow had failed to send her neighbor a timely taxi. Pulling up to the store I saw an elderly woman looking somewhat confused. What had happened is that she had called her next door neighbor to pick her up after waiting too long for her Yellow cab. Upon innocently pulling up to this situation, the neighbor decided that I should be punished. Thankfully she pulled up short of striking me because I would have had her arrested. Who was truly to blame? None other than a lingering full moon laughing at its earthly victims. In addition to the avenging neighbor, I was twice nearly struck by cars speeding through red lights and two incidents with oncoming wrong-way drivers. Nuts is all I can say!
Single Owner Seeking Day-shift Driver January 1st-March 5th 2016
If interested call Alci at 253-245-8839. It is YC 670. Car is a Crown Vic with only 140,000 miles.
Wrong Boeing!
Saturday, from the Museum of Flight, I picked up 4 Canadians from Calgary, Alberta in for Sunday's football game. Everything was normal until they told me that the Yellow cab they had flagged in Pioneer Square had taken them to the wrong Boeing Field. For those of you unfamiliar with the greater Seattle area, there are three Boeing sites containing airfields, south Seattle, Renton and Everett's Payne Field. Instead of Boeing Field (King County International Airport), their intended destination was Everett and a tour of its Boeing facilities, a long time favorite with tourists. Given its popularity, everyone is required to make pre-paid reservations, in the Canadians' case being $250.00. Not understanding that the dumbbell cabbie had taken them south, not north, they got out at the incorrect location. Why the Canadians, once understanding the error, didn't go up to Everett I can't tell you. But the idiot cabbie cost both himself and the Canadians money, the fare up to Payne Field about $75.00. And usually you can arrange to take your passengers back to Seattle.
Making matters worse was the Canadians mistake by not remembering the cab number thus preventing Yellow from figuring out who the culprit was. That the passengers held some blame is obvious but how do you take someone, anyone in the complete opposite direction from where they need to be? When you have no idea what you are doing is the the simple answer. And who is ultimately responsible? The City of Seattle and King County of course. Do they care? Why don't you ask them and see what kind of answer you receive. Ha Ha Ha!
Unfortunately, soon after coming back Tom will going on his annual Hawaiian vacation so I am looking at potentially more driving than I have done in a long while. But like this past weekend I know when and not to "push it," resting and sleeping instead of eking out a few pennies from no business whatsoever.
Understanding that the elongated Thanksgiving weekend had destroyed the Saturday night, early Sunday morning "bar-break," I was asleep by 1:00 AM, figuring that later in the day could potentially translate into beneficial business, a hunch paying off with a first-fare $57.00 Sea-Tac from Ballard, an initial burst blasting me to my best overall take of the weekend. Especially when business is essentially nonexistent, a good personal strategy can win the taxi day despite the bleakest predictions. Friday morning, when I scored a $75.00 Sea-Tac run, another veteran driver told me he had one solitary seven dollar run during a similar five-hour time period. Clearly his report made my up-to-that-point overall gross of $175.00 look so much better. As any long-term driver knows, taxi can, and will be unforgiving, kicking your butt all over the street at a moment's notice.
As to being back at it for now over five weeks, I have been sick twice and in a general struggle to get anything done other than placating the taxi gods. No fun, I am not having any fun. My one and only compensation is eating Chinese food, a small pleasure amidst the madness. Beef brisket noodle soup, anyone?! My 62nd birthday arrives this upcoming December 18th. I have two writing projects I have to finish before that defining date. I'll let you know if I make it.
Easier Time at the Husky
While only a partial report, only having time for one "Apple Cup" half-time fare, the police presence was the lightest I have seen it in years. Maybe, just maybe my plea to everyone concerned with game traffic control was heard. With my night driver Raymond expecting the cab at 3:00 PM, the unusual Friday afternoon game time made me miss the post-game frolics, meaning I do not know what happened when traffic was snarled. Hoping to not be driving by this time next year, I hope I can never tell you the answer. Having had enough of all this, I have had enough to last this and any other potential future lifetimes. Taxi in my future? I hope not.
Beware of the Rabid Upper-Middle Class Woman
While sounding like a the title from a Grade-B horror flick, it was my reality when, after dropping off my brother last night, my call to a local grocery store transformed into this stupid woman physically charging at me because Yellow had failed to send her neighbor a timely taxi. Pulling up to the store I saw an elderly woman looking somewhat confused. What had happened is that she had called her next door neighbor to pick her up after waiting too long for her Yellow cab. Upon innocently pulling up to this situation, the neighbor decided that I should be punished. Thankfully she pulled up short of striking me because I would have had her arrested. Who was truly to blame? None other than a lingering full moon laughing at its earthly victims. In addition to the avenging neighbor, I was twice nearly struck by cars speeding through red lights and two incidents with oncoming wrong-way drivers. Nuts is all I can say!
Single Owner Seeking Day-shift Driver January 1st-March 5th 2016
If interested call Alci at 253-245-8839. It is YC 670. Car is a Crown Vic with only 140,000 miles.
Wrong Boeing!
Saturday, from the Museum of Flight, I picked up 4 Canadians from Calgary, Alberta in for Sunday's football game. Everything was normal until they told me that the Yellow cab they had flagged in Pioneer Square had taken them to the wrong Boeing Field. For those of you unfamiliar with the greater Seattle area, there are three Boeing sites containing airfields, south Seattle, Renton and Everett's Payne Field. Instead of Boeing Field (King County International Airport), their intended destination was Everett and a tour of its Boeing facilities, a long time favorite with tourists. Given its popularity, everyone is required to make pre-paid reservations, in the Canadians' case being $250.00. Not understanding that the dumbbell cabbie had taken them south, not north, they got out at the incorrect location. Why the Canadians, once understanding the error, didn't go up to Everett I can't tell you. But the idiot cabbie cost both himself and the Canadians money, the fare up to Payne Field about $75.00. And usually you can arrange to take your passengers back to Seattle.
Making matters worse was the Canadians mistake by not remembering the cab number thus preventing Yellow from figuring out who the culprit was. That the passengers held some blame is obvious but how do you take someone, anyone in the complete opposite direction from where they need to be? When you have no idea what you are doing is the the simple answer. And who is ultimately responsible? The City of Seattle and King County of course. Do they care? Why don't you ask them and see what kind of answer you receive. Ha Ha Ha!
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Coyote Running At 120th and Lake City Way NE
As any cabbie knows, there are all kinds of wildlife in the city, some human, some not. I certainly prefer the non-human type as exemplified by the somewhat bewildered looking coyote running from east to west across usually impassable Lake City Way NE but if you have to cross, 1:30 AM on an early Monday morning is probably the correct time. I was on my way to my last fare of the weekend, the strip club Deja Vu, a venue where the least cultivated human animals go. If needing any further evidence, it was my attempted talking to the young woman who was sitting outside the door waiting for her ride home. She relented to tall me my passenger would be coming out soon but clearly she felt she had to be "on the defensive" because of her status as what I am not sure. She was just a very ordinary example of young American woman, proving to the world that strip clubs will take anyone who is willing to pay their rent and take off their clothes. Thankfully my fare was considerably brighter, and tipped me five on top of five. Strip clubs appear to be miserable places, a societal lowest common denominator. I doubt if any self-respecting coyote, raccoon, opossum, crow etc. would enter those doors. While naked is their reality they do nothing to flaunt or celebrate it. They are natural, in their naturally wild state, not brooking any false arguments to the contrary, not interested in what us humans call civilisation, we, not they, the intruders.
Sea-Tac Contract Review
Port of Seattle will be announcing its decision the Yellow's contract renewal on-line December 3rd, 2015, and more formally, during a commission meeting December 8th, 2015. The Yellow Sea-Tac drivers I believe should brace themselves for the worst outcome. At best I think you will see a much reduced role for taxis. I hope I am wrong but I doubt it. We, my taxi friends, are a somnolent industry. What wakes us up? Nothing, forever remaining asleep. If you don't agree then why have you ignored the screaming alarm clock? You can't tell me you haven't heard its shrill bells. I know you have. The problem is that you don't know how to care. You really don't, your empathy and awareness of self and others miserably lacking. After 28 years of watching everyone operate, that is my damning assessment. And I know you won't prove me wrong. I know you. I know all of you too well, it being a sad and sorry story, a tale of you own writing. Many know that I have tired to edit the narrative but I have been ignored. Now you get what you get. At least you can't say you hadn't ever been warned. I know I sound disgusted. Without any doubt I am, repetition boring, so utterly boring.
Sea-Tac Contract Review
Port of Seattle will be announcing its decision the Yellow's contract renewal on-line December 3rd, 2015, and more formally, during a commission meeting December 8th, 2015. The Yellow Sea-Tac drivers I believe should brace themselves for the worst outcome. At best I think you will see a much reduced role for taxis. I hope I am wrong but I doubt it. We, my taxi friends, are a somnolent industry. What wakes us up? Nothing, forever remaining asleep. If you don't agree then why have you ignored the screaming alarm clock? You can't tell me you haven't heard its shrill bells. I know you have. The problem is that you don't know how to care. You really don't, your empathy and awareness of self and others miserably lacking. After 28 years of watching everyone operate, that is my damning assessment. And I know you won't prove me wrong. I know you. I know all of you too well, it being a sad and sorry story, a tale of you own writing. Many know that I have tired to edit the narrative but I have been ignored. Now you get what you get. At least you can't say you hadn't ever been warned. I know I sound disgusted. Without any doubt I am, repetition boring, so utterly boring.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Sad---How Can The Local Hospitals Be Stopped From Giving Taxi Their Unwanted Problems?
The question, while simple, contains a complex answer. Why do hospitals in Seattle and in the rest of the United States continue to both discharge and refuse service to patients in need? While some might say that it is due to well-known medical insurance issues, I instead see it as more concerning institutional policy, literally the rules dictating admissions and tolerance toward difficult individuals. What I will never believe is that what I witnessed Saturday night at the University of Washington Medical Center was somehow accidental, an anecdotal incident unrelated to administrational procedure.
How can it be naive to say that a medical institution's first public imperative is to serve the ill regardless of malady, be it physical or mental? Too often, like this past Saturday night, I have seen area hospitals act in a manner less that helpful to the problem presented. One very notable exception is Harborview Medical Center, the four-state (Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana) regional trauma center. Even when faced with the craziest individual, hospital staff make every attempt to treat the patient. It is impressive, something that should be emulated everywhere. And given that the two hospitals are associated, there is truly no excuse.
Saturday night I was belled into the UWMC Emergency Room only to come upon Jeff, a man in his early 60s who was standing outside the entrance surrounded by bags and a guitar case. Understanding that this was my customer, I was puzzled why he was outside, and not inside the hospital filling out some kind of form, as he was clearly doing. A few words from the gentleman quickly told me what I was now dealing with.
Jeff, clearly a (thankfully) good-humored manic-depressive (bi-polar or borderline), was intentionally locked out of the ER, probably after causing some kind of ruckus. Staring at the assembled security staff staring back at me it was clear that they had no further interest in dealing with the disruptive Jeff, impatiently waiting for me to take their trouble away. Any further evidence to this was demonstrated by the hovering arrival of two officers anxious to dispose of yet another annoying disturbance, their arrival hastening my efforts to get Jeff into the cab.
Did I want to take him any where? No, of course not but I also saw that he was about to be tossed about and handcuffed, but being the misguided humanitarian I unfortunately am I decided to take on this walking question mark regardless of the ultimate consequences. I understood that it would both be painful and confusing but again, what could I do when the decision was already made for me?
Very suddenly I was designated a human rubbish collector, emptying the hospital's human refuse bin. At the very least they could have given me a charge slip ensuring I would receive something however minimal for my pain and suffering. But no, Jeff was a "self-pay," which was no problem according to him since he had eight-thousand dollars sitting in his bank account. Jeff, while being totally out-of-his-mind, was completely accommodating, saying I was getting a one hundred dollar tip. That was a nice thought, Jeff, it really was but functional reality overtaking your gesture, which was too bad but there is nothing to be done when madness replaces normal cognition.You needed to be in their care, not mine.
Making a long tale into something manageable, I will condense into brevity and abbreviation, cutting short what, like my ride with Jeff, seemingly could have extended into eternity, because, more than anything else, Jeff desired uninterrupted attention focused solely upon himself. As I have found out over the years, mental illness, if nothing else, is a deranged selfishness sanctioning no other reality than its distorted version of what life is at that given moment. And being distorted, that version can and will change sometimes in a split second, completely negating what was being said a moment before. While certainly not condoning the decision to toss Jeff back to the streets, I can understand the frustration generated and acted upon. Usually these kinds of decisions hold little consequence, no one save the affected individual aware of an injustice afflicted upon the helpless. That evening the hospital made me an accidental witness to callous decision making.
After many attempts on various cards resulted in no money, it became self-evident that Jeff would soon be out of my cab other than for his two remaining twenty dollar bills that kept this saga going. Finally deciding he would pawn the valuable Gibson guitar he had along, we tried two Pawn shops but both were closed. Along the way, Jeff kept asking me what were some of my favorite bands and songs, singing to me Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" and the Doors "People are Strange." Jeff was amazing and I really liked him but it became abundantly clear no resolution would be reached this particular night, providing me no other option than the one the hospital decided upon. Jeff would have to leave because everything he suggested, pawning the guitar or dropping him off at various addresses, never happened.
The final straw, when stopping at a Starbucks so he could "look something up," was his rushing at me, shouting, "you are not going to leave me!" which I did once he was inside the store. I had offered to give him back $10.00 so he could have some coffee but responding "No, no, I will burn it!"
Anyway, nice guy or not, Jeff was impossible for me to deal with, which is why he became yet again someone else's problem. I can only assume that the police were called, and maybe, just maybe he received the 72 hour involuntary commitment that was required. I might have said before that twice I have been hired as a MHP (Mental Health Professional), that is, someone who can make an official committal recommendation. Intervention was certainly required but not by Yellow cab. How can it be moral to abandon someone seeking assistance? The answer is more than obvious, and lack of necessary funds is no excuse. Jeff required professional intervention. He didn't get it. Until he does, the cycle will continue or until he unintentionally injures or kills someone. Then there will be intervention, and perhaps not until then. Nice story, isn't it? Again, yet again, welcome to taxi as I know and hate it, human stupidity beneath the shining top-light.
Hamster for President?
Two entertaining passengers described aspiring GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a "giant hamster wearing a toupee." While that isn't the most flattering description, far worst is the five year and running lawsuit against Trump and his "Trump University" get rich selling real-estate scheme. It is claimed that 7000 peopled were defrauded up to 40 million dollars by folks utilizing his fame and celebrity to sell useless seminars and information. Some of the claimants lost up to $34,000 dollars. In at least two of the cases, Trump has been charged under the RICO racketeering act. Mobster for president? God who knows!?
Itchy toes
All of a sudden this past weekend my right foot had a sudden "fungus" attack, creating more discomfort than I have had in a long time. I mention it only to display the sometimes unknown misery associated with taxi driving. Years ago, back in 1984, when first noticing a problem, I went to my "Group Health" clinic and, instead of being taken seriously, I was given a tube of Desenex . As I can report, the "treatment" wasn't effective.
Note on Paris and Travel Security
The terrorist attacks of last Friday in Paris have me reflecting on my recent three pleasant days there. My last morning walking around the "Gare du Nord" were my favorite moments in Paris, watching that great city awaken, the cafes opening and everyone having their early coffee and pastry. It is unfortunate of course that madness overtook the city but when mythology overtakes functional reality, you appear to get this kind of situation. During those three days I did see many armed soldiers walking the streets but clearly that wasn't enough to prevent what happened from occurring.
One security lapse that did get my attention was in Krakow when I was boarding my flight to Paris. Twice I was not asked for my ID identifying me as the ticketed passenger. By neglecting that simple procedure with me and others, anyone could have boarded that flight. Hopefully Easyjet is now more thorough. It only makes sense given what has occurred.
Postscripts 11/19/2015
A flurry of incoming news has inundated this taxi reporter so I am adding to yesterday's posting instead of creating an entirely new report. Just think if I was being paid for doing this? I then could be truly organized and up-to-date and accorded the respect given to a working journalist . What do I get now? Don't ask!
No, No,this can't be true: Cheap TNC permits vs Traditional for-hire licenses
Hopefully by next week I will have confirmation one way or the other but today I was told this astounding information. If you apply for your standard for-hire license (for taxis and flat-rates) you will pay $280.00. Apply for a TNC (Uber, Lyft) driving permit, which I am told allows you to drive TNC, taxi and flat-rate and you only pay a nominal sum. What that is I don't know but I will find out. Can this insanity be true? Stay tuned. What do you think? Could the City of Seattle and King County be this disorganized?
Have the WAT charges gone the way of the dodo?
Rumor has it that we in the local taxi industry no longer have to pay the WAT welfare payments forced upon us by the City and County. Is that wonderful news actually true? Again, stay tuned to this taxi channel.
Past Due TNC report
City/County TNC annual report was due end of October 2015. It is the middle of November and we are still waiting.
UW Post-game closure update
Pleased to report that the mystery surrounding the unexpected closure of the Husky Football stadium has been solved by the office of City Council-member Tim Burgress. Nate, his legislative aide emailed to tell me that they had contacted UW/SPD traffic and were told a stalled metro bus caused the change in post-game access. A plus to my question is that a discussion has begun about how to best address situations like this in the future. Part of the response also stated that if taxi drivers had said they were going in for a fare they would have been allowed access but from my experience that night I was never given the opportunity to talk to the frantic officers directing a traffic tsunami. If you have ever been down there after a game you know exactly what I mean.
That I am appreciative of their efforts should go without saying. Thank you Mister Burgress!
Debit Card Update
I have been able to access my money at my bank minus any charges. In reality it is an efficient system. I could apologize for my bad attitude but my long experience dealing with taxi in general has left me jaundiced which I suppose is appropriate for a YELLOW cab driver!
Still a taxi pulse
Tom, 478's day driver reported that on Monday he had 6 airport runs plus two 20 plus fares. Just a few minutes ago, night driver Raymond first fare on a Thursday afternoon was an airport run from the Queen Anne. And I can report that on Sunday my last fare was $89.00 including tip from the SPD East Precinct to Maple Valley. Then, not really working on Monday, driving over to the train station, my one and only fare took me to the Southcenter Doubletree and $50.00. Some business remains. That is obvious.
How can it be naive to say that a medical institution's first public imperative is to serve the ill regardless of malady, be it physical or mental? Too often, like this past Saturday night, I have seen area hospitals act in a manner less that helpful to the problem presented. One very notable exception is Harborview Medical Center, the four-state (Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana) regional trauma center. Even when faced with the craziest individual, hospital staff make every attempt to treat the patient. It is impressive, something that should be emulated everywhere. And given that the two hospitals are associated, there is truly no excuse.
Saturday night I was belled into the UWMC Emergency Room only to come upon Jeff, a man in his early 60s who was standing outside the entrance surrounded by bags and a guitar case. Understanding that this was my customer, I was puzzled why he was outside, and not inside the hospital filling out some kind of form, as he was clearly doing. A few words from the gentleman quickly told me what I was now dealing with.
Jeff, clearly a (thankfully) good-humored manic-depressive (bi-polar or borderline), was intentionally locked out of the ER, probably after causing some kind of ruckus. Staring at the assembled security staff staring back at me it was clear that they had no further interest in dealing with the disruptive Jeff, impatiently waiting for me to take their trouble away. Any further evidence to this was demonstrated by the hovering arrival of two officers anxious to dispose of yet another annoying disturbance, their arrival hastening my efforts to get Jeff into the cab.
Did I want to take him any where? No, of course not but I also saw that he was about to be tossed about and handcuffed, but being the misguided humanitarian I unfortunately am I decided to take on this walking question mark regardless of the ultimate consequences. I understood that it would both be painful and confusing but again, what could I do when the decision was already made for me?
Very suddenly I was designated a human rubbish collector, emptying the hospital's human refuse bin. At the very least they could have given me a charge slip ensuring I would receive something however minimal for my pain and suffering. But no, Jeff was a "self-pay," which was no problem according to him since he had eight-thousand dollars sitting in his bank account. Jeff, while being totally out-of-his-mind, was completely accommodating, saying I was getting a one hundred dollar tip. That was a nice thought, Jeff, it really was but functional reality overtaking your gesture, which was too bad but there is nothing to be done when madness replaces normal cognition.You needed to be in their care, not mine.
Making a long tale into something manageable, I will condense into brevity and abbreviation, cutting short what, like my ride with Jeff, seemingly could have extended into eternity, because, more than anything else, Jeff desired uninterrupted attention focused solely upon himself. As I have found out over the years, mental illness, if nothing else, is a deranged selfishness sanctioning no other reality than its distorted version of what life is at that given moment. And being distorted, that version can and will change sometimes in a split second, completely negating what was being said a moment before. While certainly not condoning the decision to toss Jeff back to the streets, I can understand the frustration generated and acted upon. Usually these kinds of decisions hold little consequence, no one save the affected individual aware of an injustice afflicted upon the helpless. That evening the hospital made me an accidental witness to callous decision making.
After many attempts on various cards resulted in no money, it became self-evident that Jeff would soon be out of my cab other than for his two remaining twenty dollar bills that kept this saga going. Finally deciding he would pawn the valuable Gibson guitar he had along, we tried two Pawn shops but both were closed. Along the way, Jeff kept asking me what were some of my favorite bands and songs, singing to me Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" and the Doors "People are Strange." Jeff was amazing and I really liked him but it became abundantly clear no resolution would be reached this particular night, providing me no other option than the one the hospital decided upon. Jeff would have to leave because everything he suggested, pawning the guitar or dropping him off at various addresses, never happened.
The final straw, when stopping at a Starbucks so he could "look something up," was his rushing at me, shouting, "you are not going to leave me!" which I did once he was inside the store. I had offered to give him back $10.00 so he could have some coffee but responding "No, no, I will burn it!"
Anyway, nice guy or not, Jeff was impossible for me to deal with, which is why he became yet again someone else's problem. I can only assume that the police were called, and maybe, just maybe he received the 72 hour involuntary commitment that was required. I might have said before that twice I have been hired as a MHP (Mental Health Professional), that is, someone who can make an official committal recommendation. Intervention was certainly required but not by Yellow cab. How can it be moral to abandon someone seeking assistance? The answer is more than obvious, and lack of necessary funds is no excuse. Jeff required professional intervention. He didn't get it. Until he does, the cycle will continue or until he unintentionally injures or kills someone. Then there will be intervention, and perhaps not until then. Nice story, isn't it? Again, yet again, welcome to taxi as I know and hate it, human stupidity beneath the shining top-light.
Hamster for President?
Two entertaining passengers described aspiring GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a "giant hamster wearing a toupee." While that isn't the most flattering description, far worst is the five year and running lawsuit against Trump and his "Trump University" get rich selling real-estate scheme. It is claimed that 7000 peopled were defrauded up to 40 million dollars by folks utilizing his fame and celebrity to sell useless seminars and information. Some of the claimants lost up to $34,000 dollars. In at least two of the cases, Trump has been charged under the RICO racketeering act. Mobster for president? God who knows!?
Itchy toes
All of a sudden this past weekend my right foot had a sudden "fungus" attack, creating more discomfort than I have had in a long time. I mention it only to display the sometimes unknown misery associated with taxi driving. Years ago, back in 1984, when first noticing a problem, I went to my "Group Health" clinic and, instead of being taken seriously, I was given a tube of Desenex . As I can report, the "treatment" wasn't effective.
Note on Paris and Travel Security
The terrorist attacks of last Friday in Paris have me reflecting on my recent three pleasant days there. My last morning walking around the "Gare du Nord" were my favorite moments in Paris, watching that great city awaken, the cafes opening and everyone having their early coffee and pastry. It is unfortunate of course that madness overtook the city but when mythology overtakes functional reality, you appear to get this kind of situation. During those three days I did see many armed soldiers walking the streets but clearly that wasn't enough to prevent what happened from occurring.
One security lapse that did get my attention was in Krakow when I was boarding my flight to Paris. Twice I was not asked for my ID identifying me as the ticketed passenger. By neglecting that simple procedure with me and others, anyone could have boarded that flight. Hopefully Easyjet is now more thorough. It only makes sense given what has occurred.
Postscripts 11/19/2015
A flurry of incoming news has inundated this taxi reporter so I am adding to yesterday's posting instead of creating an entirely new report. Just think if I was being paid for doing this? I then could be truly organized and up-to-date and accorded the respect given to a working journalist . What do I get now? Don't ask!
No, No,this can't be true: Cheap TNC permits vs Traditional for-hire licenses
Hopefully by next week I will have confirmation one way or the other but today I was told this astounding information. If you apply for your standard for-hire license (for taxis and flat-rates) you will pay $280.00. Apply for a TNC (Uber, Lyft) driving permit, which I am told allows you to drive TNC, taxi and flat-rate and you only pay a nominal sum. What that is I don't know but I will find out. Can this insanity be true? Stay tuned. What do you think? Could the City of Seattle and King County be this disorganized?
Have the WAT charges gone the way of the dodo?
Rumor has it that we in the local taxi industry no longer have to pay the WAT welfare payments forced upon us by the City and County. Is that wonderful news actually true? Again, stay tuned to this taxi channel.
Past Due TNC report
City/County TNC annual report was due end of October 2015. It is the middle of November and we are still waiting.
UW Post-game closure update
Pleased to report that the mystery surrounding the unexpected closure of the Husky Football stadium has been solved by the office of City Council-member Tim Burgress. Nate, his legislative aide emailed to tell me that they had contacted UW/SPD traffic and were told a stalled metro bus caused the change in post-game access. A plus to my question is that a discussion has begun about how to best address situations like this in the future. Part of the response also stated that if taxi drivers had said they were going in for a fare they would have been allowed access but from my experience that night I was never given the opportunity to talk to the frantic officers directing a traffic tsunami. If you have ever been down there after a game you know exactly what I mean.
That I am appreciative of their efforts should go without saying. Thank you Mister Burgress!
Debit Card Update
I have been able to access my money at my bank minus any charges. In reality it is an efficient system. I could apologize for my bad attitude but my long experience dealing with taxi in general has left me jaundiced which I suppose is appropriate for a YELLOW cab driver!
Still a taxi pulse
Tom, 478's day driver reported that on Monday he had 6 airport runs plus two 20 plus fares. Just a few minutes ago, night driver Raymond first fare on a Thursday afternoon was an airport run from the Queen Anne. And I can report that on Sunday my last fare was $89.00 including tip from the SPD East Precinct to Maple Valley. Then, not really working on Monday, driving over to the train station, my one and only fare took me to the Southcenter Doubletree and $50.00. Some business remains. That is obvious.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Barred From Our Traditional Workplace---Questionable Decisions Saturday Game-Night By The University Of Washington And The Seattle Police Department
Anyone familiar with my taxi history knows I started driving on the weekends back in the autumn of 1987 with a three cab association, Classic Cab, a company minus any real dispatch other than special requests made by individuals interested in riding in a genuine Checker taxicab, It was an excellent introduction to "all things taxi" since not having an organized dispatch system forced me to figure all of it out "by the seat of my taxi pants." If I was going to make money, it was going to depend totally on my ability to understand where the business was at any given part of the taxi day. I would have to learn, minus formal instruction, how to fish the taxi seas, studying the "schooling patterns" of the various passenger species swimming Seattle's streets.
Being the "restless sort," I didn't naturally take to sitting on downtown hotel stands waiting for undetermined fate, good or bad, deciding my fortune; instead intuitively comprehending that passenger volume increases your potentiality for taxi success. I found that sporting events, like football and basketball and baseball games, especially when taxi was the only transportation option, usually translated into a reliable source for ride-seeking customers, often providing business otherwise absent. When the teams are winning, you too will score your share of taxi home runs and touch downs.
This late 1980s time period just happened to be UW Husky football coach Don James' heyday, a boon era when those "big and bad" and top-ranked football Huskies chewed up and spit out its pigskin opponents each weekend, game-day Saturdays becoming my personal taxi "gold mine," providing me business from morning to the late of night, numerous crazed fans storming the taxi gates. While not always pleasant, the frenzied "UDub" fans supplemented my Monday-Friday "Day Job," attending to a psychiatric client community too dangerous to mention, perhaps preparing me for the taxi asylum and my weekend mobile milieu. Suddenly I had more money than ever before, preventing any whining over letting my ex-wife have all of our savings, her selfishness nothing new to me. That first Christmas minus her and her family, I instead traveled to Holland, Belgium, England and northern Wales, having a great time, taxi financing the journey.
It was a good time to be a Seattle cabbie and working those Husky weekends, taxis allowed both direct access to the front of the stadium and to the University Hospital, which at that time featured a four-car stand. While not always the friendliest, UW and Seattle police were generally accommodating, knowing that it was beneficial to have all those drunks in a taxi instead of erratically careening in their own cars. Anyone clad in "purple and gold" and wearing a plastic penis nose on their face told everyone all they needed to know concerning their reliability. These folks simply were nuts, alcohol-fueled lunatics, and the faster we could transport them away from the game the better. Along with making money, it was, and is, a genuine public service.
Unfortunately, coming back to the present, that recognition has evaporated, demonstrated by actions taken Saturday night by UW and Seattle police after the University of Washington and Utah game, blocking access to Pacific Avenue, University Hospital and the stadium for over an entire hour. Not only has that once sublime era of mutual cooperation and collaboration disappeared, it has been flushed down the bureaucratic toilet, perhaps never to be seen again, marking a relational deterioration threatening our very existence. If we in the taxi industry are to succeed and prosper, we must have free access to to our work space and customers.
Suddenly, last Saturday night, that operational reality vanished, making me wonder why and how this could have happened. Too typical of course was the total lack of communication from the City of Seattle, sending a clear message to the local taxi industry that we are unworthy of consideration given to other business communities. If you think Boeing or Microsoft or Amazon would be so cavalierly treated, think again. It just wouldn't happen, the Mayor and the City Council rightfully fearing immediate legal action. The best they get from us is one obscure, solitary blogger shouting against the beadledom sky. Not very scary, I must admit. Even when impersonating a taxi driver, my fangs less than lethal, only shocking myself in the early morning mirror.
Still, regardless of the effectiveness, we have to respond, telling everyone involved that we are unhappy; and with the big game, University of Washington playing at home against their hated rivals, the Washington State Cougars, coming up soon on Friday, November 27th, we require complete and open access to our workplace all day long. Anything less is unacceptable.
Yesterday I emailed Mayor Murray and City Council president Burgess. That is just the beginning of my personal campaign to reverse what occurred on Saturday night. I urge all of you to contact everyone I have listed below, telling them it is a violation of our for-hire license agreement, and possibly far more serous, a civil rights violation. All of us drivers and owners, whether we are driving taxis or flat-rate for-hire or Uber or town-cars, all hold City of Seattle business licenses acknowledging, that just like Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, we have the legal right to operate in our recognized work place. Anything short of that is, from what I can tell, an illegal and arbitrary obstruction to our ability to make a living. It is past time that we in the taxi industry sit down with the City of Seattle and examine their treatment and attitude toward a business community that is older and pre-dates Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon. Before there where 747s and computers, there were taxis. We must demand the respect we deserve, and of course, not taking the blame for dysfunctional taxi associations. It is not my fault nor yours that local associations have operated inefficiently. We are independent operators and business owners. We must demand the legal recognition that we deserve. There is, and can be, no other option. We are equal to all other businesses in Seattle and King County. It is time, minus all exceptions, that this basic fact is acknowledged 24 hours a day and 365 days a years. It is basic. It is simple. It is our reality!
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray
206-684-4000
Email----go to seattle.gov website and access "contact the mayor."
Seattle Police Department
Non-emergency number---206-625-5011
Traffic Division---206-684-8757
Go to SPD website and submit a general inquiry.
University of Washington
Ana Mari Cause, University President
206-543-5010 pres@uw.edu
Her Chief of Staff---Rolf Johnson
rolfbj@uw.edu
UW Police
206-543-0507 uwpolice@uw.edu
City of Seattle Customer Service
206-684-2489
This should get you started and occupy your time for an hour or so.
New PSD Location
2901 South 128th Street. Easy to find. Just off Military Road South. The shop is rumored to be closing December 15th. Dispatch will be moving end of February.
Taxi Medallion Lottery Result---I didn't win
My unlucky number was 757 or something like that. Middle of the pack out of over 1200 entries.
Election Results
It looks like all the Seattle City Council incumbents won except that today it was reported Bruce Harrell is up by only 2 percent, so there remains a small chance he might be ousted. The good times is that some good people have been elected, meaning we might have an opportunity to influence future policy. Maybe!
Sally Clark---Something wrong with this story
Was I hallucinating or was that ex-City Council President Sally Clark walking by my taxi at King Street station on a rainy Monday night? If it was Sally, she looked directly at me without any howdy-do, though how can I blame her, given my at times combative attitude toward her and her former fellow City Council mates? Did I tell you that she resigned from the council to take a high paying position at the University of Washington? I could match her salary but it would take working 18 months straight which I ain't gonna do.
Yesterday, talking to a colleague on the phone he related a story how Sally Clark was tossed out of a Yellow Cab because she told the idiot driver she was only going 6 blocks and the fool didn't realize he had the Chief Arbitrator of his fate in his taxi. She related this story to my friend as the final straw for not helping the dumbbell taxi industry.
I find two things wrong with this story. One is that she told it to someone who has never driven a taxi for a solitary second. Why not instead call someone like me who could have done something about it?
And two, if she was so outraged with this kind of stupid behavior, why then did she insist of dropping a complete day from the City of Seattle for-hire license training? Why make a bad situation worse? The truth is that for at least the past five years I have been lobbying and begging the City of Seattle and King County to create a comprehensive taxi driver training program, along with requiring that new applicants have held a Washington State drivers license for a minimum of five years. What the hell do I know? Well, when it comes to taxi, quite a lot, more than I want to. Why listen to this taxi Bozo? Clearly the City and County have found good reason not to.
Frustration
I got a call from a driver colleague telling me about how he and others are considering starting an independent company that will service HopeLink and Seattle School Accounts minus Yellow dispatch involvement. Sitting for hours without a call makes you crazy. Finally drivers are understanding that the situation is serious. What took them so long to understand the obvious?
Taxi Commission Killed
Did I mention it already? The stumbling, bumbling Seattle & King County Taxi Advisory is now defunct. While the official word is that the death is temporary, I do not see anyone "rolling away the stone." The taxi corpse is cold, prone, just like our business. Oh well!
At least.......
With the move to the new building, BYG/PSD have changed how everyone is "cashed out" after turning in all of our credit, debit and account paper. All of us "Yellowites" have been issued debit cards which is where all of our money is now going. I have already told them I am not sure that they can do this but for the moment it is what we will be dealing with. Everyone has been given an envelope with the card and accompanying paperwork. That this isn't a popular development is a huge understatement. Talking to the woman in charge of all this, she said something I found extremely funny. Telling me that scores of drivers have come to her office screaming and shouting, she said, "At least you have opened the envelope." Now that is just like the "taxi" I know and love. When I told "she-who-can't-be-named" about it, I said, "Isn't that funny?" And she replied, "There is nothing funny about taxi driving!" How can I disagree? It's true!
Communists taking over Gig Harbor?
Anyone driving taxi in the Seattle and Tacoma area has to deal with bridge tolling and DOT's "Good to Go" offices. They keep making mistakes but what can you do when you are dealing with private vendors under the State of Washington bureaucratic umbrella? Given that Gig Harbor is the closest Tacoma area office it has been my location of choice. The problem is their inefficiency and general lack of accountability, reminding me of past experiences in Iron Curtain Hungry and Yugoslavia, where the response was "we don't care because we don't have to." I even experienced this a bit recently in the once communist Baltic countries. When I told a worker today at the Gig Harbor office that I wanted names and numbers to address my concerns she advised that I go to the website, having no information to give me. After that I told her "I surrender, you win!" she looked stressed and unhappy, not wanting to deal with yet another crazy "Good to Go" malcontent. I keep thinking back to that bank teller in Skopje. "How dare that I wanted to change some currency," was the look she gave me. How dare that I expect the "Good to Go" folks not to screw up and cost me money? Why I must be out of my mind? How could I be so rude?! Where is Winston Churchill when you need him? Maybe Kansas but I don't think so.
New Insurance Problems Courtesy of the City of Seattle
Those nice people governing Seattle are trying to change the insurance rating requirements back to an A rating, thus making everyone pay more than what we already are paying. Because I have 3 drivers listed on 478 in addition to myself my cost is now over $6000.00 a year. Yellow is paying over $11,000 per car. And now we should pay more? And the sorry part of this is that Uber IS NOT required to up its costs. Talk about something that isn't funny! What the hell is going on? Is there a conspiracy against all of us hard working cabbies? One might think so is all I can say.
Being the "restless sort," I didn't naturally take to sitting on downtown hotel stands waiting for undetermined fate, good or bad, deciding my fortune; instead intuitively comprehending that passenger volume increases your potentiality for taxi success. I found that sporting events, like football and basketball and baseball games, especially when taxi was the only transportation option, usually translated into a reliable source for ride-seeking customers, often providing business otherwise absent. When the teams are winning, you too will score your share of taxi home runs and touch downs.
This late 1980s time period just happened to be UW Husky football coach Don James' heyday, a boon era when those "big and bad" and top-ranked football Huskies chewed up and spit out its pigskin opponents each weekend, game-day Saturdays becoming my personal taxi "gold mine," providing me business from morning to the late of night, numerous crazed fans storming the taxi gates. While not always pleasant, the frenzied "UDub" fans supplemented my Monday-Friday "Day Job," attending to a psychiatric client community too dangerous to mention, perhaps preparing me for the taxi asylum and my weekend mobile milieu. Suddenly I had more money than ever before, preventing any whining over letting my ex-wife have all of our savings, her selfishness nothing new to me. That first Christmas minus her and her family, I instead traveled to Holland, Belgium, England and northern Wales, having a great time, taxi financing the journey.
It was a good time to be a Seattle cabbie and working those Husky weekends, taxis allowed both direct access to the front of the stadium and to the University Hospital, which at that time featured a four-car stand. While not always the friendliest, UW and Seattle police were generally accommodating, knowing that it was beneficial to have all those drunks in a taxi instead of erratically careening in their own cars. Anyone clad in "purple and gold" and wearing a plastic penis nose on their face told everyone all they needed to know concerning their reliability. These folks simply were nuts, alcohol-fueled lunatics, and the faster we could transport them away from the game the better. Along with making money, it was, and is, a genuine public service.
Unfortunately, coming back to the present, that recognition has evaporated, demonstrated by actions taken Saturday night by UW and Seattle police after the University of Washington and Utah game, blocking access to Pacific Avenue, University Hospital and the stadium for over an entire hour. Not only has that once sublime era of mutual cooperation and collaboration disappeared, it has been flushed down the bureaucratic toilet, perhaps never to be seen again, marking a relational deterioration threatening our very existence. If we in the taxi industry are to succeed and prosper, we must have free access to to our work space and customers.
Suddenly, last Saturday night, that operational reality vanished, making me wonder why and how this could have happened. Too typical of course was the total lack of communication from the City of Seattle, sending a clear message to the local taxi industry that we are unworthy of consideration given to other business communities. If you think Boeing or Microsoft or Amazon would be so cavalierly treated, think again. It just wouldn't happen, the Mayor and the City Council rightfully fearing immediate legal action. The best they get from us is one obscure, solitary blogger shouting against the beadledom sky. Not very scary, I must admit. Even when impersonating a taxi driver, my fangs less than lethal, only shocking myself in the early morning mirror.
Still, regardless of the effectiveness, we have to respond, telling everyone involved that we are unhappy; and with the big game, University of Washington playing at home against their hated rivals, the Washington State Cougars, coming up soon on Friday, November 27th, we require complete and open access to our workplace all day long. Anything less is unacceptable.
Yesterday I emailed Mayor Murray and City Council president Burgess. That is just the beginning of my personal campaign to reverse what occurred on Saturday night. I urge all of you to contact everyone I have listed below, telling them it is a violation of our for-hire license agreement, and possibly far more serous, a civil rights violation. All of us drivers and owners, whether we are driving taxis or flat-rate for-hire or Uber or town-cars, all hold City of Seattle business licenses acknowledging, that just like Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, we have the legal right to operate in our recognized work place. Anything short of that is, from what I can tell, an illegal and arbitrary obstruction to our ability to make a living. It is past time that we in the taxi industry sit down with the City of Seattle and examine their treatment and attitude toward a business community that is older and pre-dates Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon. Before there where 747s and computers, there were taxis. We must demand the respect we deserve, and of course, not taking the blame for dysfunctional taxi associations. It is not my fault nor yours that local associations have operated inefficiently. We are independent operators and business owners. We must demand the legal recognition that we deserve. There is, and can be, no other option. We are equal to all other businesses in Seattle and King County. It is time, minus all exceptions, that this basic fact is acknowledged 24 hours a day and 365 days a years. It is basic. It is simple. It is our reality!
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray
206-684-4000
Email----go to seattle.gov website and access "contact the mayor."
Seattle Police Department
Non-emergency number---206-625-5011
Traffic Division---206-684-8757
Go to SPD website and submit a general inquiry.
University of Washington
Ana Mari Cause, University President
206-543-5010 pres@uw.edu
Her Chief of Staff---Rolf Johnson
rolfbj@uw.edu
UW Police
206-543-0507 uwpolice@uw.edu
City of Seattle Customer Service
206-684-2489
This should get you started and occupy your time for an hour or so.
New PSD Location
2901 South 128th Street. Easy to find. Just off Military Road South. The shop is rumored to be closing December 15th. Dispatch will be moving end of February.
Taxi Medallion Lottery Result---I didn't win
My unlucky number was 757 or something like that. Middle of the pack out of over 1200 entries.
Election Results
It looks like all the Seattle City Council incumbents won except that today it was reported Bruce Harrell is up by only 2 percent, so there remains a small chance he might be ousted. The good times is that some good people have been elected, meaning we might have an opportunity to influence future policy. Maybe!
Sally Clark---Something wrong with this story
Was I hallucinating or was that ex-City Council President Sally Clark walking by my taxi at King Street station on a rainy Monday night? If it was Sally, she looked directly at me without any howdy-do, though how can I blame her, given my at times combative attitude toward her and her former fellow City Council mates? Did I tell you that she resigned from the council to take a high paying position at the University of Washington? I could match her salary but it would take working 18 months straight which I ain't gonna do.
Yesterday, talking to a colleague on the phone he related a story how Sally Clark was tossed out of a Yellow Cab because she told the idiot driver she was only going 6 blocks and the fool didn't realize he had the Chief Arbitrator of his fate in his taxi. She related this story to my friend as the final straw for not helping the dumbbell taxi industry.
I find two things wrong with this story. One is that she told it to someone who has never driven a taxi for a solitary second. Why not instead call someone like me who could have done something about it?
And two, if she was so outraged with this kind of stupid behavior, why then did she insist of dropping a complete day from the City of Seattle for-hire license training? Why make a bad situation worse? The truth is that for at least the past five years I have been lobbying and begging the City of Seattle and King County to create a comprehensive taxi driver training program, along with requiring that new applicants have held a Washington State drivers license for a minimum of five years. What the hell do I know? Well, when it comes to taxi, quite a lot, more than I want to. Why listen to this taxi Bozo? Clearly the City and County have found good reason not to.
Frustration
I got a call from a driver colleague telling me about how he and others are considering starting an independent company that will service HopeLink and Seattle School Accounts minus Yellow dispatch involvement. Sitting for hours without a call makes you crazy. Finally drivers are understanding that the situation is serious. What took them so long to understand the obvious?
Taxi Commission Killed
Did I mention it already? The stumbling, bumbling Seattle & King County Taxi Advisory is now defunct. While the official word is that the death is temporary, I do not see anyone "rolling away the stone." The taxi corpse is cold, prone, just like our business. Oh well!
At least.......
With the move to the new building, BYG/PSD have changed how everyone is "cashed out" after turning in all of our credit, debit and account paper. All of us "Yellowites" have been issued debit cards which is where all of our money is now going. I have already told them I am not sure that they can do this but for the moment it is what we will be dealing with. Everyone has been given an envelope with the card and accompanying paperwork. That this isn't a popular development is a huge understatement. Talking to the woman in charge of all this, she said something I found extremely funny. Telling me that scores of drivers have come to her office screaming and shouting, she said, "At least you have opened the envelope." Now that is just like the "taxi" I know and love. When I told "she-who-can't-be-named" about it, I said, "Isn't that funny?" And she replied, "There is nothing funny about taxi driving!" How can I disagree? It's true!
Communists taking over Gig Harbor?
Anyone driving taxi in the Seattle and Tacoma area has to deal with bridge tolling and DOT's "Good to Go" offices. They keep making mistakes but what can you do when you are dealing with private vendors under the State of Washington bureaucratic umbrella? Given that Gig Harbor is the closest Tacoma area office it has been my location of choice. The problem is their inefficiency and general lack of accountability, reminding me of past experiences in Iron Curtain Hungry and Yugoslavia, where the response was "we don't care because we don't have to." I even experienced this a bit recently in the once communist Baltic countries. When I told a worker today at the Gig Harbor office that I wanted names and numbers to address my concerns she advised that I go to the website, having no information to give me. After that I told her "I surrender, you win!" she looked stressed and unhappy, not wanting to deal with yet another crazy "Good to Go" malcontent. I keep thinking back to that bank teller in Skopje. "How dare that I wanted to change some currency," was the look she gave me. How dare that I expect the "Good to Go" folks not to screw up and cost me money? Why I must be out of my mind? How could I be so rude?! Where is Winston Churchill when you need him? Maybe Kansas but I don't think so.
New Insurance Problems Courtesy of the City of Seattle
Those nice people governing Seattle are trying to change the insurance rating requirements back to an A rating, thus making everyone pay more than what we already are paying. Because I have 3 drivers listed on 478 in addition to myself my cost is now over $6000.00 a year. Yellow is paying over $11,000 per car. And now we should pay more? And the sorry part of this is that Uber IS NOT required to up its costs. Talk about something that isn't funny! What the hell is going on? Is there a conspiracy against all of us hard working cabbies? One might think so is all I can say.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Coming Back---Immersed In Everyday Commonplace America
Instead of the familiar, the world and life I have returned to feels foreign and alien, an involuntary response shouting I would rather be elsewhere; two taxi weekends telling me, if this is life I would rather be dead. This past weekend 478 was twice hit, first on Halloween Saturday afternoon, a car striking me from behind. And Sunday, while peacefully eating a snack in the PCC co-op parking lot, someone backing into me.
While both incidents were minor, with no damage either to car or body, I found the accidents symptomatic of the disease that is life in early 21st Century America, a life (or death) style I find boring, unworthy of active participation. The young couple in the new 2015 Ford Fiesta were perfectly nice. So too was the woman shopping at the co-op.
I shook hands the first time, and reassured the errant backer at the co-op that I never saw anything occur. Why shout when it is simply too stupid, all of us joined "at the hip" in a symbiotic cultural agreement providing us confusion, anxiety and discontent.
Who needs it? I certainly don't, finding the commonplace unacceptable, clearly now, after over fifty sanity infused days traveling over Northeastern Europe, finding alternatives necessary and called for. How long can I remain whole before I again fracture into so many disassociated pieces, not wanting to again sink into irrevocable oblivion. Whatever breaths I have left, be it tonight or the next twenty years, I refuse to inhale stupidity. No thank you, I say, no thank you, madam or gentleman or Mister and Mrs Misplaced and Inane God, Devil or Mythology.
Today I drove a few morning hours after Tom, my day driver, called off to spend the day at the local Social Security office. My second fare out of three total was a school run, taking two sweet kids on a long ride from NE 110th & Lake City Way to Honeydew Elementary in the Renton Highlands, battling early morning traffic mile after tedious mile. Jason, the first-grader, related how, when "they were poor," the entire family (both parents and four children) slept in their car. "It hurt my back," he lamented. Indefatigable, he sang the "Honeydew" theme song. Sweet yet sorrowful. What a f__ked existence! I shook their hands too, for a quick moment loving them for the innocents they were as they sprinted off to school and class, their cabbie nearly a half hour late.
So here I am and, for the moment and time being, remain. What else could I be doing? Maybe growing crisp apples in the shade of the Carpathians. Or more closely to what will probably happen, residing in the rolling prairie hills in Montana's southeastern corner bordering South Dakota, watching the pronghorn running free across the grassy plains. I can salute that potential reality, watching the welcoming sun rise over the Dakotas, the morning breeze telling me that life once and for all is worth living, sharing my breath to a life I can finally and fully appreciate and comprehend.
While both incidents were minor, with no damage either to car or body, I found the accidents symptomatic of the disease that is life in early 21st Century America, a life (or death) style I find boring, unworthy of active participation. The young couple in the new 2015 Ford Fiesta were perfectly nice. So too was the woman shopping at the co-op.
I shook hands the first time, and reassured the errant backer at the co-op that I never saw anything occur. Why shout when it is simply too stupid, all of us joined "at the hip" in a symbiotic cultural agreement providing us confusion, anxiety and discontent.
Who needs it? I certainly don't, finding the commonplace unacceptable, clearly now, after over fifty sanity infused days traveling over Northeastern Europe, finding alternatives necessary and called for. How long can I remain whole before I again fracture into so many disassociated pieces, not wanting to again sink into irrevocable oblivion. Whatever breaths I have left, be it tonight or the next twenty years, I refuse to inhale stupidity. No thank you, I say, no thank you, madam or gentleman or Mister and Mrs Misplaced and Inane God, Devil or Mythology.
Today I drove a few morning hours after Tom, my day driver, called off to spend the day at the local Social Security office. My second fare out of three total was a school run, taking two sweet kids on a long ride from NE 110th & Lake City Way to Honeydew Elementary in the Renton Highlands, battling early morning traffic mile after tedious mile. Jason, the first-grader, related how, when "they were poor," the entire family (both parents and four children) slept in their car. "It hurt my back," he lamented. Indefatigable, he sang the "Honeydew" theme song. Sweet yet sorrowful. What a f__ked existence! I shook their hands too, for a quick moment loving them for the innocents they were as they sprinted off to school and class, their cabbie nearly a half hour late.
So here I am and, for the moment and time being, remain. What else could I be doing? Maybe growing crisp apples in the shade of the Carpathians. Or more closely to what will probably happen, residing in the rolling prairie hills in Montana's southeastern corner bordering South Dakota, watching the pronghorn running free across the grassy plains. I can salute that potential reality, watching the welcoming sun rise over the Dakotas, the morning breeze telling me that life once and for all is worth living, sharing my breath to a life I can finally and fully appreciate and comprehend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)