Starting the shift
With any luck, this should be the permanent home for my taxi blog. Canberracabbie, One More Fare to Make My Night, Car 58, Where Are You? is now One More Fare.
I’m on Gmail as OneMoreFare, Facebook as Onemore Fare, and Twitter as OneMoreFare.
I’m reactivating my blogroll and will link with my brother cabbies around the world.
And I will blog consistently. Honest!
Darkseeing
I was munching on a carrot in my cab, number two on the Manuka rank. Reading Further Tales of the City and just chilling. So I was surprised when a passenger opened the door and got in. “What about him?” I asked, indicating the cab ahead. “I didn’t want to wake him up,” she said, [...]
Turning eighteen
Last night was a fresh start and a storm. I’ve driven TX58 for the last time. A short shift, because I was so very tired. I collected my wife from the airport – it’s been a long day, she warned me, I need some TLC! – and instead of taking her the short drive home, [...]
Girl in a blanket
She was waiting for me outside Accident and Emergency. A cold night and she had a hospital blanket draped over her shoulders. I cranked up the heat as she got in, but she said, “No, I’m warm as toast. These things are great!” I had Chet Baker blowing a golden trumpet on the CD. Mournful [...]
Wait and return
Words to gladden the saddest of cabbie hearts. Wait and return means to collect a passenger, take them to a destination, wait with the meter running for them to pick up a package or complete an errand, and then take them back to the pickup point. Easy money. I first met this particular regular passenger [...]
Why I love this job!
Just a quickie. I was waiting on Manuka rank on a slow evening, logged into the Manuka zone, and I got a radio booking. Collect a passenger at 2030 and take them to the airport for a late flight. Nice job, and I’d likely get a fare from the airport. Pickup address is only a [...]
Assault update
First, I’d like to thank everyone who responded with messages of support and sympathy. Having such friends around the world is one of the joys of my life, and each message made my sun shine just that bit brighter. I’ll be around to collect some of those hugs in person! The security camera footage was [...]
Four dickhead night
Continuing on from my fare-evading punch drunk, I got back in my taxi and contemplated what to do with the rest of the night. Realistically, after a stressful event, I’d be best served by going home and taking an early mark. But sitting down with the police sergeant and filling out a statement had calmed [...]
Punch drunk
Two things before I begin. If and when this bloke gets charged, and it becomes sub judice, then I’ll pull this, or at least make it restricted. Second, this isn’t “alleged”. This is my story, and this is how it happened. I’m a firm believer in the “three dickhead rule”. If I get stuffed around [...]
West Waiting
I’ve been watching West Wing on the iPhone between passengers. Sometimes the waits get pretty bloody long, especially around one in the morning. When the series was broadcast in Australia, it was usually late at night, often pulled for a sports broadcast, had huge gaps in transmission, switched channels and eventually just killed off. I [...]
