Taxis..... your experience.

tinofapples

celtictiger wrote: »

I'm lost for words here Your mind seems to be made up even after listening to the warnings and the horror stories based on a few friends in other parts of the country having qualifications to do something else. Maybe the fact is they can't give up their taxi as there are no other jobs out there - qualified or not and a few euros is better than none?

Please also consider that once your self employed the government will wash their hands of you.

You must not be envisioning the whole picture. Let me paint you a picture:

It's a lovely Friday evening at around 7pm and you decide to head out in your taxi to earn a few bob. You decide to hit the rank in lets say in Eyre Sq. You start off outside the Púcan trying to get on the rank with other cars blasting their horns at you as your blocking them off. You try to ignore them and stay out of their way. You get on the rank finally and - if it's a good night - in an hour and half to two hours you might be at the top of the rank. You get your first customer of the night. "The Claddagh, please". You start the meter and make your way to Claddagh. You stop the meter - €5 please. The customer hands you a fiver and heads off. You're now wondering where to head - you really don't fancy heading back up to Eyre Sq. again so you decide to head to the Bridge St. rank. Hmmmm....how do I get onto this rank without causing an obstruction? You can't, so you cause an obstruction until you get legally onto the rank. It's picking up so after and hour or so you get to the top of the rank. A customer hops in...."Cill Ard, please. I know it's not far but I'll get soaked in this rain". You pull off and drop the customer off for another €5. Wow...after three hours you realise you made €10. Seeing as your so close to Eyre Sq you might as well try and get on the rank again and not be wasting diesel driving around. Woah where did all these taxis come from you think to yourself as you see the taxi rank stretching all the way around the corner way past Rabbitts pub. You decide your gonna stick it out on the rank - only another hour and a half and I should be at the top of the rank. You reach the top of the rank in nearly two hours....another customer hops in....how are you gonna handle it when they ask you to bring them to Jurys? Fast forward to 2.30pm it's gonna pick up now. You've got €30 or €40 in your pocket now after only 7.5 hours of work. One of your customers calls you..."can you take me to Oranmore for that set fare you promised me - €12 right?" You wait ten to fifteen minutes for your customer to come out of Supermacs and off you go to Oranmore. You're halfway to Oranmore and you get another call for someone going to Oranmore. :eek: Sorry - I'll be another half hour or so....on your way back from Oranmore you realise you need diesel - crap there goes half my earnings. You finally get back to town and you give the customer a ring...."Sorry I couldn't wait any longer" You drive around and notice that the town is practically empty. All those taxis make short work of getting everyone home. Might as well head home now....lets do a count of the nights takings.....what the...€60??? On a Friday night? Jaysus I still have to make €40 more to cover the rent for my taxi. Hmmm - how am I supposed to pay my ESB bill? My mortgage, my gas/oil bill. What happens if my car breaks down......I better stay on for a few hours more - rank still has plenty of cars on it. Wow there sure are alot of African taxi drivers. If they would only go home I'd be at the top of the rank....

Does this sound like a work of fiction.....do you think this isn't the norm?
If you don't think this is what your in for you are mistaken. I hope I've put you off...for your own good.

Pretty accurate and them short runs after waiting in the rank quite awhile are common