On a miserable day where the animals are wandering around two by two in the deluge it can help to sit back and think about the benefits of being a driver. Again being Dublin based this may not apply to everyone. Feel free to disagree or add your own.
Road Tax. Its a small win but really enjoyable when a smug nissan note driver spouts about how little road tax she pays. Even more pleasant is when comparing to a 4 year old range rover. Yes we get nailed on insurance, repairs, NCT and tyres but low road tax cheers me up.
Bus Lanes. Gone are the days when you could sail down a quality bus corridor. These days too many electric scooters, Deliveroo lads and wobbly ladies on bikes to contend with. Still even at 18km/h the bus lanes are preferable to grinding your teeth in bumper to bumper.
Bread & Milk. I heard an old timer on a rank say there are few careers where your missus can tell you to go to the shops for essentials. you grab the keys, drive down the road and make a quick €10 on the way to the shops. Nice way to look at it.
View from the office window. Having done my time with a commanding view of a photocopier its very pleasant to have a different vista from this mobile office. Especially when admiring the beauties of nature on a nice sunny day. All I’m missing is a potted plant on the dashboard.
Meetings. No meetings. Unless you have served your time in an office this wont mean a huge amount but for those who have, the absence of meetings is a relief similar to getting a tax rebate. The mental game playing, diplomacy and chess moves required were astounding. These days if you add woke policy, gender neutral pronouns and cancel everything culture none of us would last a week.
Stress. We have it easy. I have witnessed numerous business people wound up like Swiss clocks as we hoofed along to the airport. Meeting went bad, client asking for more, deal isn’t closed, boss is emailing for update and the wife is calling to make sure they will catch the flight and be back home in time to read a bedtime story to little Annabel. All that and they can look forward to the same tomorrow and the next day. They get paid more but have bigger bills and way more stress.
Confessional. A few years back an old client told me that despite only meeting me he, was telling me things he had not told anyone. There was a sad backstory but it got me thinking. I told him taxis were like confessionals and drivers hear everyones stories, history and dreams. The main benefit being we give you a bill at the end and not four hail marys. There is something in the trust the public has in the taxi driver that allows them open up. We should be proud.
Random acts of kindness. We can spot someone in need, pull in and offer a hand without being arrested. The taxi sign on the door goes someway towards inspiring trust. Some of my more memorable were getting a middle aged woman to a second date on time. She had been late for the first date and was terrified the gent would leave. We got there on time and she had calmed down a bit. She texted next day to say date #3 was scheduled. Or the little old lady waiting in the pouring rain at a bus stop in a dublin suburb. I offered a free lift and off we went. She was on the way to visit her husband terminally ill in hospital. By all accounts he had not been a gentlemen and she had had a difficult marriage. But she had said for better or worse at the altar and she was keeping up her end. I left feeling sad for her but happy I was able to provide a lift out of the rain. I suspect taxi men all over the country do similar every day.
Knowledge. We get every manner of human existence through the door every day. Dumb, smart, funny, sad, gregarious and a few that Darwin proposed would have been bred out of the human race by now. All the conversations we have are stretching the little muscle between our ears and making us a little better informed and smarter each day. Well some of us...
