Tropical rains in Tampa

This photo was taken on Kennedy Blvd in Tampa Florida. I was raining so hard the road flooded in a matter of minutes. That is what happens this time of year. The problem is if you flood out the engine, you just bought it. Nor worth the risk to go thru deep water. "Turn around; don't drown."

Just fix my taxi please

There are some problems going on that I think you should know about. First, things aren't working out so good with my new tablet. After the tablet was installed, it was working fine, but not now. What you see below is the interface, and what it is currently doing. The display is laying on its side! How am I supposed to read that? I can't even log in and get a call most of the time.

At the airport, Anthony helped me get it going but that did not last long (are drivers supposed to be trouble shooting and fixing anything? I got a better idea - have the shop put something in my cab that works).
Paul Hinton was very helpful yesterday and he gave me compensation for the down time. The next day it was working correctly, then it began to tip over like above and the ENTIRE GPS system is malfunctioning. Every time I called the office I was told to "bring it in and see Eddie." That turned out to be a mistake.
I could not even get to the home screen so I could not take any calls and that is costing me money. So, I brought it in. Eddie was busy with another driver that was having similar problems and he seemed agitated. When he came to my cab, all he could talk about was how he was missing lunch. It seems he had ordered food and wanted to go get it so he worked on my car in a flash. It was obvious he wanted to leave. He would not even tell me what he was doing. He said it was now fine and he was on his way to go get his food.
I restarted the cab and guess what...it was not working. I had Eddies assistant look at it and he could not figure it out. I then waited in Paul's office waiting for Eddie to come back.
Eddie came in with his food and went upstairs and Paul called him to see what he was going to do. Eddie said into the phone "I know Tim is listening, its on speaker right Paul?" He then made up some lie and embarrassed me in front of Paul and two other drivers. He said he told me to shop it. He did not. He told me HE WAS HUNGRY AND WANTED HIS LUNCH. That is unacceptable. You've got a job to do and you need to develop a sense of urgency about this business. He was more concerned about his God Damn lunch then he was getting me on the road! That's not how to run any business.
Eddie seems to do what ever he wants. He goes on two hour lunches, and if Paul leaves early,he will split. He seems annoyed at anyone that comes to him with a tech problem, as if you were some schmuck for having a need (I pay $92 a day for this?). He is never around and if you need a battery, he will say shop the cab and look at you sideways
I left the office feeling humiliated and that should not happen. I will wake up in the morning and struggle to get calls. The GPS is useless and this kid needs to apologize to me. Then, I've got a great idea Eddie. FIX MY TAXI CAB!!!!!!! That would be a novel idea. By the way Eddie, I eat most my meals driving to calls. I suggest you adopt that type of approach.

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The tablets are working fine

The tablets that are being installed in all United Cabs are working great. They are mounted up front and have three clear advantages over the BlackBerry. You can see the damn things; they update automatically and the GPS navigation will guide you on all calls. This should remarkably increase our efficiency.

Do you believe in angels?

I had enough of the day and decided to go home early. I grabbed some beer at the Indian store and as I was checking out a young guy ask if I'm the cab driver. He said he needed to go to Ybor City. Cool. Not a bad ride. Its moments like that when you are losing faith that something unexpected happens. My confidence and energy levels were rising. Plus, he gave me a pep talk on the way and was inspiring. Compare this to the many dicks I pick up. I took him where he was going and he gave me twenty bucks. That doubled my take for the day. The right person at the right time. It makes me wonder.

I almost ran over a skater

I was pulling out of a motel parking lot about four this morning. I look to the left and wait for car to pass. I look to the left...I then start to pull out. There are no cars coming. This is one of the few times on Kennedy blvd that there are not tons of cars and you wait twenty minutes to just make a right. I take my foot off the brake and begin to press the gas. I am now turning my head to the right and there are no cars coming in any direction. All of a sudden my headlights catch the image of a girl on skates streaking in a diagonal directly in front of me...impact is in seconds! No way out of this. I am going to ground this chick into hamburger! I yank the wheel to the left almost flipping the van. I was not going fast. I had just got started but enough to fuck this girls day all to hell.
She just Misses the van and flips me the bird as she goes by. WTF! She is on skates in the middle of the night and crossing like a man person against night traffic and she flips me the bird. She's lucky they did not have to get out the scraper to peal her off the road. THAT would have fucked my day up and perhaps my life. I don't need that, today, or any day. Damn. My heart was racing.
She was gone. I stoppedthe van. Looked around and she was gone. Just like that it was quit and I was wondering if it really happened. I mean, I did not have my morning coffee yet. Perhaps it was a mirage. Yes, that's what it was. I thought I saw something.
I am not out here to kill people. In all the years I have been doing this, I have never even been in a fender bender. OK, one little one years ago a bump-bump in a parking lot. But man I was scared today. The bird? She gave me the bird. Man.

Are cabs in Tampa making money?

The drivers in Tampa that are making money are the ones that have changed their game. You have to work many hours, weekends, holidays and basicly live in the cab. Forget about having any kind of social life. I have always felt that if I failed at this it would be because I tried to a life outside the taxi cab.

A big deal

Since I have been here there has been a super bowl and a RNC. Both of these events were big deals and stimulated the local economy. Unfortunately, things are still bad in Florida.

Back On Typepad.com

Hay people. I have been able to get my old Tampa Taxi Shots blog up and running at Typepad again. How cool is that! check it out again for the first time at Tampa Taxi Shots by Tim Fasano

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.