Say hello to the happiest cabbie in Canberra! I've been promoted and I'm now driving the nicest cab in town. Taxi 112 is almost new, a fair dinkum limousine, and the flagship of the fleet.
I'm wearing Silver Service uniform now - a more formal set of colours, with a white shirt and tie. I'm expected to display the highest standards and to give my passengers the very best personal service.
I shall do my utmost to live up to the mark set. In such a gleaming silver limousine I feel very special indeed, as do my passengers, so if my first shift is any guide, I'll be laughing all the way.
45 000 kilometres on the dial, a very young taxi indeed. Taxi 165 was just on 300 000, and I've driven cabs with over 750 000 kilometres under their wheels. This car is a Ford Fairlane Ghia, the "big brother" of the Ford Falcons I've been driving until now. It's a little longer, mostly in the shape of rear legroom and headroom, and has a bigger boot. Even with an LPG cylinder taking up a large chunk of the room, I'll still be able to fit in a full load of luggage.
Leather seats, which means it doesn't have a set of tacky seat covers. Power windows all round, powered seats in the front. Automatic climate control - I just dial in a temperature and the car adjusts itself to meet the target.
6-disk CD player, which gives me a selection of music for all tastes. i'll have to work out an optimum load, but for my first shift I was able to chop and change a little bit. Norah Jones, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Saint Germain. All my favorites.
And didn't the passengers like it! One fellow even felt moved to present me with a cigar as a memento of the trip. I promptly passed it on to the next passenger, but it was a very nice gesture on his part.
All sorts of bells and whistles. Literally. I spent a fair amount of time reading the manual, and though I won't say that I know how to run all the bits and pieces, i think I've got a handle on the main features.
Not a mark, not a scratch, not so much as a scuff on the car. And that's the way it will stay.
At the moment, I'm sharing the driving with the owner. I got off to a late start on a slow night, but I should be able to do a lot better tonight. One big source of income is the Silver Service booking fee, from those passengers who want a guaranteed car wating at the nominated time. I only got one of those jobs on my first night, a lady who had to be collected from the airport. And yes, I had to write her surname on a card and hold it up in the airport terminal.
And loving it! 'Scuse me now while I go get some well-earned sleep, but I just had to share my excitement with my friends!
I'm wearing Silver Service uniform now - a more formal set of colours, with a white shirt and tie. I'm expected to display the highest standards and to give my passengers the very best personal service.
I shall do my utmost to live up to the mark set. In such a gleaming silver limousine I feel very special indeed, as do my passengers, so if my first shift is any guide, I'll be laughing all the way.
45 000 kilometres on the dial, a very young taxi indeed. Taxi 165 was just on 300 000, and I've driven cabs with over 750 000 kilometres under their wheels. This car is a Ford Fairlane Ghia, the "big brother" of the Ford Falcons I've been driving until now. It's a little longer, mostly in the shape of rear legroom and headroom, and has a bigger boot. Even with an LPG cylinder taking up a large chunk of the room, I'll still be able to fit in a full load of luggage.
Leather seats, which means it doesn't have a set of tacky seat covers. Power windows all round, powered seats in the front. Automatic climate control - I just dial in a temperature and the car adjusts itself to meet the target.
6-disk CD player, which gives me a selection of music for all tastes. i'll have to work out an optimum load, but for my first shift I was able to chop and change a little bit. Norah Jones, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Saint Germain. All my favorites.
And didn't the passengers like it! One fellow even felt moved to present me with a cigar as a memento of the trip. I promptly passed it on to the next passenger, but it was a very nice gesture on his part.
All sorts of bells and whistles. Literally. I spent a fair amount of time reading the manual, and though I won't say that I know how to run all the bits and pieces, i think I've got a handle on the main features.
Not a mark, not a scratch, not so much as a scuff on the car. And that's the way it will stay.
At the moment, I'm sharing the driving with the owner. I got off to a late start on a slow night, but I should be able to do a lot better tonight. One big source of income is the Silver Service booking fee, from those passengers who want a guaranteed car wating at the nominated time. I only got one of those jobs on my first night, a lady who had to be collected from the airport. And yes, I had to write her surname on a card and hold it up in the airport terminal.
And loving it! 'Scuse me now while I go get some well-earned sleep, but I just had to share my excitement with my friends!

I didn't know your smile could get BIGGER!
Date: 2007-05-09 10:27 pm (UTC)RE: "I had to write her surname on a card and hold it up in the airport terminal."
Thanks, that was my question....