Author Topic: What advice would you give to new entrants?  (Read 18470 times)

john m

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #15 on: November 03, 2019, 11:27:27 am »
Remember there is no option but local knowledge .Sat Nav is only an Aid not a point to point exact routfinder .Have had a few people who commented that I knew the way and didnt follow the satnav .In Dublin the satnav does not identify if routes are taxi friendlt College Green is a total fuck up and If you followed the Satnav you would get your jaw broke sooner or later .

Offline Belker

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #16 on: November 03, 2019, 11:40:18 am »
I have always said that the day google maps can beat me across the streets of Cork city,
is the day I will retire !
 lol

Offline Shallowhal

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #17 on: November 03, 2019, 11:51:21 am »
Picked a guy up on Ballymun Rd(near met office) Fri night goin to Knocklyon(Firhouse Rd end),google maps determined to drag me back to the M50,he said he's had to say it to some taxi drivers not to take that route...after they'd started heading in the direction of M50.

Offline Belker

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #18 on: November 03, 2019, 11:55:28 am »
it's pretty self explanatory, refuse any invite to a customer or customers house, I always do, I know some who stupidly don't refuse the invite. they are usually drunk and I'm working so I'm not wasting my time coming into your house party.

Excerpt from Taxi Diaries 2;

Three is a Crowd......
 
A base job late one night/early morning 4.30am to a Cork city hotel,
I arrive and walk in to the reception, but there is no one about
so I walk in to the still crowed residents bar to see a tall man
giving an elderly lady a piggyback around the bar.
I catch the barmans eye and he nods 'Smirking' at the couple
prancing around the bar.
"TAXI" !   the barman shouts and the lady dismounts her steed,
says her goodbyes and follows me out to my cab.
She is about Sixty, still a fine fit woman and still quite pretty,
but she's Sixty.
She sits in to the back seat and starts rubbing/fondling my arm
telling me; "I'm just waiting fer da young couple, were going back
fer a Threesome".

I'm thinking; 'Yea, sure, C'mon, load up and lets be going'.

Her young stud arrives out, the same fella that was giving her
the piggyback around the residents bar and he sits in the back,
he is a tall well built man aged about Forty.
The lady asks him; "Where's Ca ?",
He slurs; "She's inside somewhere",
She hooshes him off back inside to go and bring Ca out and then she
turns to me excitedly telling me that; "She hasn't had a Threesome
since her husband left her"
. She rattles on for a few more minutes
about her ex husband before she also goes back in to the hotel
to find yerman and Ca.
 
They arrive back out, yerman and the lady carrying a very drunken
Ca between them. Ca was also about Forty, frumpy and most likely
never had or never would win any type of beauty pageant.

Ca was loaded in to the seat behind me and slumped up against
the cab door as soon as it was closed, the old lady sat in the middle
and yer man was last to sit in the back and I then drove on heading
for the high northside of Cork.

A quick peep in to the back as I was exiting the hotel to check on my
customers, I noticed Two large male hands on both of the old ladies
breasts and as I drove on I could see any amount of groping going on
in the back. Fifty yards down the road and the old lady was up on his
lap with her tongue down his throat.
A few minutes down the road and the lady pulls back from him
exclaiming out loud; "Ya bit me tongue,   ya durty bastard !"
He snigers, She laughs. Then she turns her attentions to a sleeping Ca;
"C'mon, Wake up Ca, we can't have a Threesome wiv only Two !"
Ca mumbled something drunkenly incoherent as the lady groped her and
this all continued for the next Ten minutes or so till we arrived at their home.

I was fully expecting to be invited in and I had my plan ready, otherwise it
would be a Ten minute drunken debate of why I wouldn't come in and join them.
The old lady starts; "Sure why don't ya come in and join us Mr Taximan ?"
Yer man then says; "Yea, de more de merrier, ya can have de wife !"
and adds; "Ya can give it ta her in de hole while she's asleep !".
I ask fer my Sixteen Euro fare which yerman pays with a Twenty
and a 'Keep the change'.
The old lady starts again; "Ar ya coming in so fer a birra fun ?"
I reply; "Ah go on so, let ye head in and I'll park up the car and follow ye in".

They carried Ca from the cab, I drove away and U-turned at the end of the
estate and drove back past them at speed averting my eyes from the scene
and the depressing the thoughts of what was about to take place inside.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2019, 12:08:11 pm by Belker »

Offline Belker

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #19 on: November 03, 2019, 11:59:05 am »
Picked a guy up on Ballymun Rd(near met office) Fri night goin to Knocklyon(Firhouse Rd end),google maps determined to drag me back to the M50,he said he's had to say it to some taxi drivers not to take that route...after they'd started heading in the direction of M50.
Google maps will always take you to the motorways.
It should be compulsory fer Taxi drivers to follow it !
I wish !! lol

Offline Shallowhal

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #20 on: November 03, 2019, 12:39:23 pm »
Surprised the NTA haven't made it compulsory....with a sticker indicating such.

Offline Rat Catcher

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #21 on: November 03, 2019, 04:47:41 pm »
On Android Google Maps always gives several rioute options where appropriate with the fastest route selected by default. To switch to a slower route you just tap the corresponding grey line. I think Free Now is programmed to display either the fastest route or the route selected by the client within it's implementation of the Google Maps interface? The fastest route ought to suit taxi drivers as it's is often only marginally quicker but significantly longer so maximises takings per hour. If it's an app job I guess one ought to follow the app's instruction unless the passenger requests the contrary. On a street hail I guess putting the destination into Google Maps and asking the client whether they want the fastest route or one of the other options displayed is a reasonable approach for clients who are Irish by accident of birth (97% of them will take the fastest option in my experience) and just stick with the default (fastest) options for foreigners.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2019, 04:54:31 pm by Rat Catcher »

Offline watty

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #22 on: November 03, 2019, 05:36:39 pm »
IT'S ONLY FARE Google Maps will warn you when dodgy taxi drivers take you off-route

Google Maps introduced a feature in India but it's rolling out worldwide for taxi journeys.  The passenger types in the destination on their phone and if the taxi deviates too much, it sounds an alert.

Had a FreeNow Chinese lady this morning with her phone open to google maps.  I wanted to go 'my' way but couldn't explain it to her.  So in the end we went the google way (just in case).  Was a longer journey but the computer said YES!  Probably added 20% to the job.  Ironically, she was going to a workshop about on-line learning!

Offline Shallowhal

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #23 on: November 03, 2019, 06:00:02 pm »
"No no.....M50 quicker Mr Hal!"

"No problemo dreamboat..off we go!!" lol

Offline Tony

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Mr. T-bag to you

Offline gbowden

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #25 on: November 03, 2019, 09:10:21 pm »
I'm puzzled why anyone would want to come into an industry that is already grossly over subscribed with taxis

Is it really, 20k less than 5 years ago
Haven’t been out in a while but always a nightmare to get home on the weekends, granted only a small window but I wouldn’t say grossly over subscribed


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Offline gbowden

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #26 on: November 03, 2019, 09:27:12 pm »
I'm puzzled why anyone would want to come into an industry that is already grossly over subscribed with taxis

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/taxi-driver-numbers-fall-by-400-in-2017-465438.html

10k taxis in the capital
1.4 million people live in the capital, granted all do not take taxis, but that’s 0.007 taxis per person.





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Offline Octavia1

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #27 on: November 04, 2019, 12:16:00 am »
I'm puzzled why anyone would want to come into an industry that is already grossly over subscribed with taxis

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/taxi-driver-numbers-fall-by-400-in-2017-465438.html

10k taxis in the capital
1.4 million people live in the capital, granted all do not take taxis, but that’s 0.007 taxis per person.





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Dont forget the thousands taxis that travel to dublin from all over the country to work Dublin...especially Thursday to Saturday nites and the The  freenow limos working as taxis......
.007 per person ? 
Lies ,damn lies and statistics......
Anyone working Dublin knows theres too many .....except freenow and the renters training illegal immigrants and paying them to train up....

Ide rather be a poor master than a rich servant

Offline mercenary for hire

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #28 on: November 04, 2019, 06:14:10 am »
OP technically  you don't need a Dublin PSV to work there.You can using the app come from anywhere and still be legal.You're just not allowed to rank up in Dublin.So the real numbers of taxis are much higher in the capital.

There are at least two posters on here who have D licences but addresses in other counties.I know a good few lads from around the ranks who commute from Dundalk, Wicklow and even Wexford.

Me brother knows two double jobbing army lads who returned their rentals because the time commitment was too much.

The main reason so many are leaving is you need to be fully committed or perhaps be on a pension to make it viable.We've lots of OAPs using the pension to pay for their cars.

My car will be too old for the regulations in 2021 and needs updating.I'm gonna have to find maybe 14k for a comparable replacement Prius that will only last 5 years.Considering the few hours I work and the small amount I need to live I've been thinking about leaving myself.It's only really worth it if you can put the hours in consistently.Very easy to become demotivated when you can't get the bullet.


Offline mercenary for hire

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Re: What advice would you give to new entrants?
« Reply #29 on: November 04, 2019, 08:16:42 am »
Something else that I forgot that's kinda important....during the Celtic tiger there were more taxis but insurance was cheap and there was no ten year rule for saloon taxis.

When I started in 2009 I bought a clean 2000 Primera for €1850.Got four years out of it and could have gotten more but changed in 2013 to the Prius to avail of the 15 year rule.

So although there are less of us it's a much more expensive business to be in.

 


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