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skyringThe GPS is a conversation piece. It sits fair and square on the centre of the dasboard, held in place by a suction cap and flexible arm arrangement on the windscreen. The display is small, but colorful and ever-changing as we move along.
Some passengers are fascinated by it - as indeed I was at first glance. I had a gentleman from Darwin the other night who couldn't take his eyes off it. "I've got a GPS on my boat, but this is just totally different," he confessed. He gave me a tip, saying, "No, keep the change, it's been fantastic just watching that thing!"
And I must admit it is a grand handie. Quite apart from giving me directions to an address, it gives me a view beyond what I can see from the cab, especially at night. If a passenger says "Go right to the end of the street", I can glance at the display and see if it's 50 metres or 500. I see the names of streets around me and I can even scroll the display by moving my finger over the touch screen.
"I'd be lost without it!" I tell my passengers. That's one of the benefits of having an ever-changing stream of customers - I can re-use the same material and get a smile every time.
The nights are all different too. I never know what a shift is going to bring me. On the surface, the past two shifts have been indistinguishable. Both have been parliamentary sitting nights, Senate Estimates Committees going full steam, staffers, lobbyists, media and senior public servants all needing rides. Tuesday was a night where I had several long fares, one down to the very southern edge of Canberra, another going up the Federal Highway over the border. But Wednesday, I barely went outside the central area. Apart from one ride into the near fringe of Belconnen, it was all North and South Canberra work.
I picked up one gentleman from Civic who wanted a ride home to a nearby suburb. He painfully eased himself into the front seat, saying "There's a few things wrong with me."
He gave me the address and then didn't say a word as I navigated us to his house. But when we pulled up, he told me that I'd gone off track a couple of times. "Blue Street is shorter - got a better angle to it - but Green Street is quicker because you miss two sets of traffic lights. I'd mark you as a fail."
Cheek of him! I immediately asked him what the lowest fare was, and charged him that instead of what was on the meter, which was a dollar or so higher. He struggled out of the seat, and went into his house, while I pulled out my street directory and checked both the routes he'd mentioned. He was spot on. He may have had a few aches and pains in his body, but there was nothing wrong with his mind!
I was grateful for the expert advice, and counted myself lucky to have only paid a dollar for such guidance. It will be a long time (if ever) before I learn every one of the ten thousand streets in Canberra, let alone the best ways of navigating between any given two, but I'm doing my best. I can feel myself improving in skill and confidence with each passing shift.
Some passengers are fascinated by it - as indeed I was at first glance. I had a gentleman from Darwin the other night who couldn't take his eyes off it. "I've got a GPS on my boat, but this is just totally different," he confessed. He gave me a tip, saying, "No, keep the change, it's been fantastic just watching that thing!"
And I must admit it is a grand handie. Quite apart from giving me directions to an address, it gives me a view beyond what I can see from the cab, especially at night. If a passenger says "Go right to the end of the street", I can glance at the display and see if it's 50 metres or 500. I see the names of streets around me and I can even scroll the display by moving my finger over the touch screen.
"I'd be lost without it!" I tell my passengers. That's one of the benefits of having an ever-changing stream of customers - I can re-use the same material and get a smile every time.
The nights are all different too. I never know what a shift is going to bring me. On the surface, the past two shifts have been indistinguishable. Both have been parliamentary sitting nights, Senate Estimates Committees going full steam, staffers, lobbyists, media and senior public servants all needing rides. Tuesday was a night where I had several long fares, one down to the very southern edge of Canberra, another going up the Federal Highway over the border. But Wednesday, I barely went outside the central area. Apart from one ride into the near fringe of Belconnen, it was all North and South Canberra work.
I picked up one gentleman from Civic who wanted a ride home to a nearby suburb. He painfully eased himself into the front seat, saying "There's a few things wrong with me."
He gave me the address and then didn't say a word as I navigated us to his house. But when we pulled up, he told me that I'd gone off track a couple of times. "Blue Street is shorter - got a better angle to it - but Green Street is quicker because you miss two sets of traffic lights. I'd mark you as a fail."
Cheek of him! I immediately asked him what the lowest fare was, and charged him that instead of what was on the meter, which was a dollar or so higher. He struggled out of the seat, and went into his house, while I pulled out my street directory and checked both the routes he'd mentioned. He was spot on. He may have had a few aches and pains in his body, but there was nothing wrong with his mind!
I was grateful for the expert advice, and counted myself lucky to have only paid a dollar for such guidance. It will be a long time (if ever) before I learn every one of the ten thousand streets in Canberra, let alone the best ways of navigating between any given two, but I'm doing my best. I can feel myself improving in skill and confidence with each passing shift.
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Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-02 03:23 am (UTC)KIDDING. I'm just KIDDING. Really. Honest. Juuuuuuuuuuust kidding.
*whimper, drool...*
Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-02 03:39 am (UTC)Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-03 02:41 am (UTC)Dunno about the cheese whiz idea - food in a 'spray' can just doesn't seem quite right to me (and yes, that includes that aerosol cream stuff that makes my husband giggle every time we pass the dairy case at the supermarket... men are weird).
Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-03 02:48 am (UTC)Youare correct there is somthing wrong with spray canned food :)
Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-03 08:34 pm (UTC)Anyway, thank you for the offer but I'm really quite enamored of the double chocolate tim tams! *swoon*
And as Pete will attest, I have done my bit for breast cancer, in many many ways. Were you at the Racks for Research?
Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-03 10:22 pm (UTC)Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-03 11:22 pm (UTC)Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-04 12:37 am (UTC)Re: timtams?
Date: 2006-11-04 12:40 am (UTC)