New Year's Eve

I tell people everyday of the year that a cab ride is cheaper than a DUI. Truer words were never spoken. In the cab business, we call this "Amateurs Night" because many people will be on the roads who are not used to driving during this hour, or driving intoxicated. I never recommend either.

On most New years Eve's I only see people getting arrested, don't see many wrecks but I am sure they occur. Have a great New Year. 2009 has got to be better than this stinky ass 2008 was!

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!

Where Did My Money Go?

Tampa, Florida - Limousine Owner Moshe Leib, who has to pay fees to the Hillsborough Public Transportation Commission in order to operate in the county, is concerned and upset about the agency's contingency fund.
The Public Transportation Commission regulates limousines, taxi cabs and tow trucks. The agency has boasted for years it has more than $800,000 in the fund, but now more than half is gone.
"Where did the money go?" Leib asks. That's a question everyone involved with the PTC is asking, because at this point the $400,000 has disappeared into thin air.
County Commissioner Kevin White, who is the chairman of the PTC, says it's amazing and it befuddles him. "I'd like to know where the money is, because it's the taxpayers' money and we take it very seriously."
Part of problem is that the agency was always evasive about the money. Former Director Greg Cox, who resigned before he was to be fired after series of 10 News investigations, could never explain the fund.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW TAMPA COUNSEL DID BUSINESS WITH A CON MAN!

SEE MY POST ON CAESAR PADILLA BELOW: It seems the only thing holding up his full time appointment is that he lacks education. Kevin White still made sure he would be paid $100,000 a year for a political favor involving a member of his campaign staff. See link below.

My money is being used for this. I pay a fee every year to the commission so I can drive and they have levied fines of $20 because I did not have a collared shirt, $30 because I had on a Tampa Bay Bucs jersey on game day, $50 for unloading in a no standing zone when the only other place to unload was on railroad tracks. They are now considering to fine us if we have a dirty cab. This really makes me angry.

A Cheap Motel, A White Tee Shirt, And a Twenty Dollar Bill

What a cab driver will do to make a living is beyond what most people can handle or comprehend. One thing we do is go into very bad areas of town and pretend it is normal. At least I still think it is normal. Like the Pakistani store owner who sells smokes, beer, lotto tickets and blunts to the people who walk in his door while all the time hoping he doesn't get shot, you begin to think this is normal. I got this call about 4 in the morning today. Things got a little weird. Not to bad, but not what I was expecting.

It was the Downtowner Motel, one of Tampa's swankier joints. Its the kind of place that has "weekly rentals" and calls them apartments; imaine what kind of crowd that will draw. The dude was on the balcony and very anxious to get going, a clear sign that someone wants to buy drugs. I guess his buzz has worn off and he needs to get more. He and some chic with sunken cheeks and a glazed stare get in the backseat. They seem to have a bunch of nervous energy.

After we bound around from one hotel to a back street this black dude on a bike with a white tee shirt does a "fly-by" of the cab; he is trying to determine if he has a customer. My fare tells me the black dude is a friend of his that he owes money. People will tell us anything, it is their boss, their cousin, whatever, he wasn't even being original. I tell him fine, but "get out and do whatever you need to do outside my cab." I tell him. He complies and after about one minute, he returns looking happy. I end taking them back, no big deal.

What bothers me about these people is they think they are slick. They are not fooling anyone; we know what is up. Eventually, they cab drivers will stop responding to the call. However, in today's climate and the need to make money, many drivers will take the call. It is amazing how desperate you can get for a twenty dollar bill.

Ghost Town

It looks like a Ghost town this place called Tampa Florida. The streets are empty after the mass exodus that happened before the Christmas holiday.

That is the real hangover. The cabbie may make a little before, than it falls off.

I was out early and even the bars where slow. Funny, All the car rental companies in town are out, and people are going out of town to get rentals. I took one couple to the Clearwater St Petersburg airport. I hope they do a better job of availability during the Super Bowl which will be here in Tampa in about 37 days!

Merry Christmas

What did one snowman say to the other? Watch this video to find out! A video of the Taxi man.

Easy Street

This guy's got it made in the shade. He hangs out around Dale mabry and Kennedy and I often see him "flying a sign" at Lois and Kennedy where the Time Saver store is. After he has made a few bucks, he goes into the Time Saver and gets a 12 pack of Natural Ice or a few quarts of Old English 800 depending on how well the take was that day.

He says the trick is to fly the sign real quick for about 10 minutes before the police can spot you. It seems you can do 10 days in jail for panhandling. I am not sure. Maybe somebody else knows more. What is wrong with a poor guy trying to make a few bucks?

I have often thought of doing that myself. Nancy would not get one dime of that money...The office called to day and said I had to make up a $50 shortage. 50 Bucks! That was going to be my Christmas money. I now have none...

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

Harpov or Karpov?

I was matched with the chess player Harpov on the gameknot.com site in a tournament I am playing. I don't know why, he has the highest rating on the site. He has even surpassed Cyrano as the top dog on Gameknot.

There is not a lot of information about this guy. He gives none on his info page other than he is from Sweden. Strange. Very strange.

I wonder if this guy is Anatoly Karpov and this is just a play on words. I doubt it.

If you want you can watch the progress of this game at this link as I eventually "crush him like an ant" as Kasparov said about Deep Blue.

Christmas Shoes

All I want for Christmas is a new pair of shoes. I used to get expensive digital camera equipment and laptops and all the toys at Best Buy. No more. The economy is so bad I am walking around in a worn-out pair of shoes that I should have replaced a year ago. I have simply not had the twenty bucks to get a new pair.

The Tampa Tribune(there is a rumor that the newspaper will close it's doors after the Super Bowl in Tampa this February) is reporting that even Metropolitan Ministries and the Salvation Army food banks are in short supply. The people who used to give are now standing in line at the soup kitchens! No money for food, no money for shoes.

What really sucks is now that I have gone to a 12 hour shift instead of a weekly lease, I have to walk 5 miles to work and back everyday, in the snow, with worn-out shoes. And if I want supper at night, I have to plow the fields with my bare hands, with worn out shoes, in the snow.

A Beautiful Morning And Domestic Violence

I got this nice shot at Ballast Point in South Tampa this morning. The winter months often provide clear Sky's at sunrise. Being a cab driver, I am able to go to these places while I am working. Things can, however, change fast.

I then got a call in zone 23 near Himes and Columbus. The lady did not live there; she used the homeowners phone to call a cab after her boyfriend threw her out of his truck while they were in route to Tampa International Airport. When I pulled up, all her stuff and luggage was strewn across the yard. I helped her pick it up and proceeded to the airport and noticed the Dodge Ram truck was following us. "Is he violent?" She said "yes." What is sad is that what they were going thru, I have been there and done that. Emotions are running high and people are not thinking rational. When you get my age, you have done everything. I decided to take action and help this lady out.

There is a police precinct at Tampa Bay and Dale Mabry. I went there instead and the truck followed me into the parking lot. This guy was so hot he did not even know where he was at. Surprise buddy.

I pulled up to a police officer getting out of his car and got him to help. They detained the guy so I could take her safely to her destination. I did and she gave me $30.

There is nothing boring about be a taxi driver in Tampa.

Bush Shoe Throw Is Not Funny

Throwing a shoe at the President is not funny. In 1990 Ronald Reagan was attacked by a protester in Las Vegas who had a bitch with the former President. Watch the video. What was strange was the Secret Service let the asshole get that close. We cannot let people get to the president with shoes or guns. This is not funny.

What would have happened if the Iraqi journalist had thrown a shoe at Saddam Hussein when he was in power? You know the answer. When people are FREE they can heave shoes. The journalist said it was for all the widows and children dead. Was he referring to the millions killed by the former Iraqi leader? I wonder.

I have always thought it was a bad idea to try to ram democracy down the throat of PRIMITIVE people. It is like teaching pigs to sing. I am sorry. I meant no slight to the pork eating people of Islam. As Hollands rising political star Geert Wilders(their Obama) says he has got nothing against Muslims. He just hates Islam. ‘Islam is not a religion, it’s an ideology,’ says Wilders, a lanky Roman Catholic right-winger, ‘the ideology of a retarded culture.’

I hope the Secret Service beat the shit out of this guy and dumped him in an ally with brain damage.

Is Cesar Padilla Corrupt?

I came across this info recently. It seems one of the Hillsborough county Commissioners Kevin White was attempting to bribe Hillsborough County Transportation Interim Commissioner Cesar Padilla for a political payoff.White has been pushing the TPC to double Padilla's salary to $100,000. Why? White had a campaign advisor named Victor DiMaio who Padilla subsequently hired as a lobbyist for $5,000 a month. Some things never change.Does Padilla know how little money the taxi drivers are making at this time because of the climate created by his agency. What makes him worth this much money paid for by fines to cab drivers for not wearing collared shirts and having dirty cabs. This agency needs reform...not more graft. After John Cox, I really thought that would happen.

Read this by By JANET ZINK, Times Staff Writer

At the last Public Transportation Commission meeting, board chairman Kevin White suggested hiring a lobbyist to handle legislative matters.Now, a little more than two weeks later, the agency has a lobbyist: Victor DiMaio, who was a consultant on White's winning campaign for the Hillsborough County Commission last year.White said he had nothing to do with hiring DiMaio.He simply told Cesar Padilla, interim executive director of the PTC, to find someone familiar with the commission, which licenses taxis, limousines and tow trucks.Padilla said he settled on DiMaio."He's been affiliated with the industry for a number of years," Padilla said. "He knows our laws and our rules. It was a short period of time. He fit the profile."He said White, who last month pushed for the PTC to more than double Padilla's salary to $100,000 when he made the leap from chief inspector to interim executive director, never mentioned DiMaio to him.

Getting Lost

"When will this airport road project be done?' is a common question my fares ask me as I take them to Tampa International Airport. I really don't know. My thought is they want it done before the Super Bowl on February 1, 2009. After, all they don't want all those DALLAS COWBOY FANS to see such a mess...LOL!

This photo is how the road used to look. Simple. Go right to the airport or straight to the stadium where the game will be played. Not so simple anymore. It is, however, much better, if not awesome in design.

Notice the road going into the airport is just one little lane and that used to accommodate all the Eastbound traffic from Pinellas and Pasco counties. Now they have this Hugh skyward bridge that rises into the sky with 3 lanes and an elevated view of the area. Now that is good planning. the city gets to showcase itself every time people go to the airport.

While it is being built people are getting a little lost, even some cab drivers. That is because they have created some temporary bypass roads that they put up over night and the first time you know about it is when you miss your exit! That will not last much longer and it will really be appreciated by Tampa Bay residents.

The new road system should accommodate the expected growth of the Tampa Bay region for the next half century.

Taxi Buddies

One of the things about cab driving, is that your co-workers end up becoming your best friends. Unfortunately, most cab drivers spend so much time in their cabs, that any social life seems to disappear after a few years and what is left is your cab buddies.

This is Johnny G. He is a Italian from New York City. He drives a cab but lives in a 1.2 million dollar beach house. How do you say "Witness Protection Program." Gee, I hope this posting doesn't get him killed! LOL

He actually made a mint with a beverage distributorship in the city and retired to Florida like many do in search of the good life. And of course, after a period of time, he was bored and looking for something to do. John is actually someone that I turn to for advice. We have been close for many years and he is like a father figure to me. My father passed away many years ago.

During the slow season, cab drivers in Tampa go to what we call stands. That is were you sit and wait your turn for a call. The city is divided into zones and each zone has a stand. This photo was taken on stand 21 the Hyde Park or So Ho area of South Tampa. Hyde Park is where the snooty stuck up pretenders to wealth live. People who really have don't live like they do. Everything in this area is about money and the showy display of youth, beauty and the means of life.

Obama In Transition

I did not vote for Obama, now I wish I had. Since he has been elected his active work in forming his team of advisers and cabinet members has been superb. From his office he holds daily briefings and frequent press conferences. He is communicating with the press and the American people, and after the last 8 years, this is refreshing.

It was not B.S. when he said he would "reach across the aisle." Gen Jones as National security advisor! Robert Gates as Secretary of defense! Paul Volcer as an economic advisor!

What could Rush Linbaugh complain about now. Reagen could not of done better. These guys are the right stuff!

I give Obama an approval rating of 100% and he has not even been sworn in.

Keep up the good work.

Harvest Of Shame

The taxi business in Tampa Florida is way down. All service business are hurting. There is, however, something unique to what is going on with transportation.

The men are working for nothing. I mean NOTHING. At no time in my life have I ever seen so many settle for so little. The drivers work a shift or lease the cab daily or weekly. What is left over after lease and gas is the profit. There is little if any profit now. That is what is so weird.

I mean in any other line of work, the guys would quit or move on. For some reason these guys will complain that they are making nothing and continue to show up the next day!

Remember "Joe the Plumber" of election coverage fame? He worked for a company where he GOT PAID. If they stoped paying him, he would quit and find another job. For some reason cab drivers do not. That is what I was counting on.

I mean, if most of them quit who had families to support and such, then I would be able to make a living. The companies have found an angle in that they have become "Haitian" cab companies. The local government supports this in that the Hillsborough County Transportation Commission has allowed more permits and medallions to go out and increase the number of cabs on the streets. In the last year United Cab of Tampa has added at least 50 more cabs. This week they added another 30 and with the drivers coming over from other cities because they hear rumors about how much we are making they plan to expand with 20 more and really swell the ranks.

With the economy in the tank they are going on a massive expansion program to raise record revenue for them. They do not care that their men are STARVING! They will just put on more cabs. Hundreds and hundreds. We used to have a call count of over 2,000-3,000 daily, that is down to about 400-500. They will just keep adding more and more cabs.

This is a form of modern day indentured servitude and exploitation similar to what used to happen with the migrant Mexican farm workers until they were exposed by the media beginning with the documentary "Harvest of Shame" by Edward R. Murrow.

I wish the media would get a hold of this and show that the companies have created an environment where men are forced to work 16 hour days, 7 days a week to make Slave wages, or still OWE the company!

Tampa Taxi Shots

For those that have been looking for Tampa Taxi Shots by Tim Fasano, that seems to be no more. Unfortunately, I have hit upon hard times (I have never been shy about sharing personal with people) and have been trying to get my life back together.

The economic downturn in the Tampa Bay area is especially hard on people in the service industry, even more than the national average.

My business is down, way down. For the last seven months I have hardly made any money at all and have tried to just hold on. I have been evicted from my apartment and am now living in a motel. My phone is gone, my cell phone is disconnected, my web sites, blogs and Internet service is a thing of the past.

Never would or could I have imagined that this would happen. It is easy I guess to blame others, but that is what losers do. Its not just Wall Street, but the idiots that refinanced their inflated valued homes with ARM's and thought there was no tomorrow that are the cause of this.

The values of my parents generation of frugality and saving money and living within ones means, seem to have no value at all today, or are they even taught. Greed and averace, that were once considered "sin" are now scoffed at.

There are consequences for behavior and we are feeling it now.

I hope to be back and make this "FREE" blog work like the Typepad.com blog that I had to pay for but could no longer keep it up.