Notes From A Retired Cab Driver

I quit driving a cab in Chicago a couple months ago after nine years on the job. Do
something 12 to 14 hours a day, six or seven days a week for that length of time
and theres no way it wont shape your relationship with the world. Ive spent these
recent weeks recalibrating because I no longer wanted my life to be led from
behind the wheel. Closing that drivers-side door has been eye opening.

A cab drivers life is unlike most others. He spends hours and hours randomly
looping around the city, punctuated by the lucky short spurts when hes got a fare.
Then the meter goes on and hes operating at the passengers pace. Of course there
are drivers who subject people to their own itinerary and rhythm, but those guys
rarely last, burning out from running too hot or being asked by the city to seek
alternate employment for any number of possible transgressions from crashes to
badly-thought-out scams. The alternating aimlessness and concentrated activity
over the daily 12 hours or more makes for an often-chaotic personal life. You end
up fitting all other chores and pleasures around time in the taxi. You pay to rent
these vehicles so when they sit idle it weighs on the conscience. In a certain way it
never feels like youre truly off-duty because at any hour of day or night you can
walk out to the cab and be back on the clock.

During most of my nine years, I worked from the afternoon until late into the night.
The only time I saw the sunrise was at the end of my shift, just before my head hit
the pillow. Now I wake a little after my girlfriend has gone out to give the dog his
morning walk, typically between 7 and 8 a.m. For all those years, I was on a
diametrically opposite schedule from much of the world; now Im trying to run
along with the rest of the pack. Its novel to wake in the morning and go to sleep at
night the way most other people do.In the cab I dealt with the public all the time.
Dozens of small social interactions every day would pass without a second thought.
Now I rarely see anyone I dont know. Most of my hours are spent in the house and
when I leave its usually with my girlfriend or to visit friends. A cabdrivers city is
necessarily vast and unpredictable whereas most others is confined to their daily
routine the commute to and from work, their neighborhood and the occasional
foray to a restaurant, bar, theater or ballgame. Given the opportunity to go where
and when I want for the first time in years, Ive chosen not to go out much. What
might strike most as a mundane existence is a welcome change of pace after all
that time flitting about at others biddings.
I havent quit driving completely. My girlfriend has a car and enjoys having me
chauffeur her around, but driving a car is nothing like driving a cab. The ecosystem
of the road is made up of a variety of species: large and small, predator and prey,
strong and weak. In the cab, that blacktop was my territory to fight over, whereas
now its merely a way to get from one place to the other. I notice the attitude of
others toward me is different as well. Theres a well-earned weariness to drivers
who spot cabbies in their path. They almost expect to be cut off or otherwise
impinged upon or inconvenienced.

Knowing that others perceive him antagonistically weighs on the cabdriver and
alters his driving style. Some become over-aggressive while others lapse into
stupor-like slowness. Its all a reaction to the constant stress of the occupation. A
cabdriver has to be aware and respond to everything else that happens on the
roads he travels. Not taking this care may result in accidents and a loss of income.

Now when I get behind the wheel the stakes are much lower. Im not compelled to
go fast or hold grudges against other motorists as I used to as a cabbie. I laugh as
cabs zip in and out of lanes, tailgate and blare their horns, passing drivers like me
as if we were standing still. Ive gone from being on the track to practically sitting in
a lawn chair on the sidelines, watching the racers roar by.

Better still are the times I take the Rock Island Line train downtown and look out
the window at the standstill on the Dan Ryan. I used to have to sit in that gridlock
daily, but now its someone elses headache. Its such a luxury to have someone else
get me where I want to go for a change. Even more than whether Im driving or
being driven, its a pleasure to be going where I choose rather than getting others
where they want to go. When youre the traveler rather than just a transporter of
others you can look forward to getting to this destination or that. A cabdriver cant
do that other than waiting for his shift to be over.

When I quit many people asked me what Id do, what would I paint and write about?
Driving was always a way to pay the bills but someplace a few thousand miles in, it
began to inform my art and my thinking as well. It became a way to see the world.
Despite the weight gained and the nerves frayed, Ill always remember being a hack
with a measure of gratitude. I wont miss it though. Closing that drivers-side door
has given me my own place to go.
1. We know all of the best places to get street food
at 3 a.m. Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, you
name it.

2. In fact, if you are traveling to a new place, we

are often better tour guides than the ones you
actually hire.

3. Yes, we are listening to your phone

conversation.

4. We spend a lot of time reading the news and

listening to it on the radio, so were willing to
offer our perspective to anyone who will lend
an ear.

5. And we love gracing passengers with our

philosophical words of wisdom.

6. Black Cab taxi drivers in London know the

streets and best routes better than anybody.

8. But were not always perfect. Sometimes, we go

the slower route so we can get more money.
9. In fact, we may ask you which way you want to
go. Thats because your way is usually longer,
so we get more cash.

17. But when its all said and done, after countless
drives and conversations with people from all
walks of life, weve come to realize that the rich
and successful really arent that much happier
than the rest of us.
False Hopes & Few Perks:
A Glimpse of Ola, Uber
Drivers Plight
Bhuwan Singh has been driving with Uber for more than a year now
and after the initial bust of incentives, he feels that cab-aggregators
have left them dry.
But Bhuwan isnt the only one with this thought running through his
head. Ola and Uber drivers went on a 13-day strike in Delhi/NCR,
demanding hike in fare, better treatment of drivers, less working
hours and workable Uber Share conditions.
The strike was called off on Saturday after Ola and Uber managements
agreed to hear out their demands, but neither of them have officially
come out and confirmed those reports.
To understand the plight of the drivers, we decided to speak to them
individually as passengers, getting to the crux of the problem.
We boarded two Ola and Uber cabs each and asked the drivers about
their problems and demands to understand their point of view. After
listening to their side of the story, one would definitely sympathise
with them.
Globally, Uber has seen mass protests by drivers, and therefore, the
reasons mentioned by Bhuwan and other drivers resonate the same
feeling.
Sanjay drives for Ola, and bought the WagonR himself, paying Rs 500
per day as instalments. But like others in his community, he echoes
the reality that Ola has reduced the incentives from Rs 11,000 to Rs
7,500 per day, a few weeks back.

After working for more than 20 hours a day, Sanjay and drivers alike
have lost the motivation to be on the road for long hours. They just
drive for 12-14 hours now, pick up their daily wages and head back
home.
Incentives were a big pull for drivers working with Ola and Uber,
which has become non-existent these days.

Sharing Isnt Caring

The other issue that drivers have touched upon is with regards to
sharing, where Ola serves with Ola Share and Uber offers UberPool.
These services work like car pooling, but at a lower fare than normal.
But drivers are not happy with the way Pool works out for them.
Inderjeet was vocal in his displeasure over Uber Pool, as to how the
fare of his sedan, Maruti Swift Dzire, is cheaper than an auto
rickshaws fare.

Then, you also have a situation when three people in a pool cab refuse
to let the other person be dropped first. This, as Sanjay puts across, is
a torture for the drivers where working out a solution which keeps
three of them happy is a never-going-to-happen scenario.

We Own the Cabs

The other interesting angle that we picked up while speaking to the
drivers is that Ola and Uber have created a division among its staff.
Those who lease the cars from them are prioritised over drivers who
own the cars, bought by them with their hard-earned money.

This has angered the drivers as not only have the targets become
unattainable, they have been sidelined by both the companies
something which wasnt the case initially.

Not So Short of Cabs

Surge prices on Ola and Uber have been the subject of debate between
Ola and its customers. Ola and Uber say that shortage of cabs force
them to surge the prices, but drivers have a story of their own.
Sanjay, Inderjeet and Bhuwan believe that the number of cabs on the
roads in Delhi-NCR outstrip the demand. So, why the surge?

Surge primarily kicks in during the peak hours, and it

has nothing to do with shortage of cabs. They calculate
the route with heavy traffic and add the waiting time to
the approximate fare.

The drivers have put forward their demands and Ola and Uber have to
respond to them, else face the prospect of a larger, nationwide protest
in the coming days. The High Court is expected to share its order on
28 February and Bhuwan and other drivers will definitely be keeping
an eye on how things unfold.
The long suffering plight of Uber drivers: Not making enough
money ,alleged homophobia , the fear of slipping below a 4.6-star
rating and being cast aside by the multi-billion pound company.
And then there are the passengers. There are drunk ones who ask their
driver to take them to see a prostitute . Or passengers who think it's
okay to pretend to be disabled, give the wrong address, and try to force
their driver to take them and their giant rat to the beach. That's what
happened to one San Diego-based UberX driver called Richard.
I spoke to Richard about his experiences driving for the taxi hire app.
He didn't want me to publish his surname, but was happy to talk about
his sentiments working for Uber. Since starting in July last year,
Richard has completed more than 1,500 trips in his Hyundai Elantra
and earns about $40,000 a year. That's close to the average for
someone who works about 35-50 hours each week. He's got a 4.8
rating, he said.
Richard told me that 99% of the passengers he takes are "friendly, nice
people" - but there are those deserving of the dreaded 1 star
rating.They're the customers who "leave trash, slam doors," Richard
explained. "The late 2am crowd urinating on your seats and throwing
up in cars.Mean people and bad perfume."
"The late 2am crowd urinating on your seats and throwing up in
cars.Mean people and bad perfume."
Richard added that he rarely gives bad ratings, but sometimes it's
unavoidable. His most horrible experience certainly sounds like 1 star
was fair.
Here's what happened to Richard on the worst Uber drive of
his life:
"I was called to an Uber Assist (a disabled person car request), and
went to an address on the app. I called the passengers and sat there
waiting. After about 10 minutes found out they were actually at a
different address 15 minutes away."
"As I believed he was a disabled person and his phone was dying I told
him I was on my way. When I arrived 15 minutes later there was no
disabled person but two guys that were drunk. One of them had a
giant rat cage (and rat). He tried to put it into my car and said he
wants 'to go to Pacific Beach'. Luckily the cage didn't fit and I
explained that he'd have to put the rat in a box. It was a very big rat.
I explained that he'd have to put the rat in a box. It was a very big rat.
"(When we set off) He was very combative with me, arguing with me
over the names of streets. I actually felt a couple of times that he
smelled like alcohol - and we had to stop at a liquor store. When we
got to his destination he left a bottle of booze in my car and slammed
the door. That's why he got 1 star."
Despite Richard's occasional rat/alcohol-based dramas, he mentioned
that he feels the company, at least as a model, is "amazing" and
praised Travis Kalanick for modernising taxi services. Richard enjoys
the "free enterprise" and believes it's created a new wave of
transportation that America (and elsewhere) has needed since the
1970s.
He did tell me about a couple of other gripes, though - namely the
reduction in fares the drivers take home and the fact so few passengers
tip. "In September 2014 Uber lowered my commission by 20% and in
January 2015 commissions were lowered by another 20%," he said.
"Uber says 'more rides, more fares,' but they don't take into the fact
that with more journeys there's more wear and tear on vehicles." He's
optimistic for the future.