I started working as taxi driver in Oct last yr just to supplement my income and to keep my head above water. Most of you know what its like when you think your gonna drown under the cost of living and all you want to do is find a way to keep your head above water. That was me in Oct. I borrowed money from parents to get myself licensed and insured (insureance isnt the normal car insurance, it costs probably 3x as much to get insured as a taxi driver) and started working weekends. On top of a normal 37 hrs a week full time job, i currently work at least 30 hrs per weekend as a taxi driver. I've given up the weekends and spending time with the kids just so I can get life back on track.
Shortly after I started fuel prices went up but fares stayed the same, which meant the margin of income went down. 2 weeks ago i picked up 4 young teenage girls, all the way to their destination they were laughing and joking amongst themselves, didn't give me any reason to think they weren't gonna pay. There journey cost £10, and when I asked for the money they casualy got out and walked away. I got out to confront them but they'd been joined by another 3-4 girls and just stood there laughing at me. So waht do you do? you can't hit them cause then your the one who gets for assault and then end up losing your taxi badge cause you've got an assault conviction or their carrying something which means your the one who ends getting done over. You call the police but know that by the time they get there, the girls have gone and theres nothing you they can do. The trurth is there is nothing you can do.
That journey took nearly 30-40 mins so i lost not just £10 but also that time that I could've spent taking someone home who would've paid.
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