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May. 1st, 2008 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skyring"You used to drive Silver Service, didn't you?"
We were standing on the main Canberra rank. One in the morning. Deserted except for three cabbies. Later in the week, there will be a long line of passengers, but Tuesday night/Wednesday morning isn't a big night on the town for Canberrans.
There was a tubby fellow, wanting fifteen dollars to make three hundred, a merry Thai driver, needing six to get on budget, and me, already healthily over my usual target, due to an earlier run of good luck. They suggested that they drive each other around te block once or twice and go home. I thought this was a great idea, giving me a clear run at the next passenger on the rank.
But yes, I wasn't driving Silver Service. I'd been assigned Taxi 144, a slightly less ancient and rattly old station wagon. An Elite Cab, according to the badge on the side, and if anyone checked, I was out of uniform in my Canberra Cab blues.
Still, I was happy to be driving again. It was a great holiday, but two months away is a little too much, and I need the money to pay off the plastic. Besides, Autumn is the best time of year to be a cabbie in Canberra. No longer the hot summer, but not yet the freezing winter. Sweet and comfortable temperatures, and best of all the autumn leaves on the trees lining every street.
I've seen London and Paris, Athens and Barcelona. Canberra remains my favorite city in all the world. It's unique. A planned city that works well. It's beautiful, it's full of great buildings and cultural institutions, the population is well-educated and sophisticated. Embassy staff and tourists are everywhere, giving a touch of spice to the mix.
Sure, there's the odd traffic snarl and the local government often appears to have their heads up either their bum (or a developer's), but what city desn't have such problems? I might grumble if I spend five minutes in traffic, but other cities are far worse.
"You should see Bangkok!" said my Thai colleague.
The growing morning chill, edging down below zero for the first frost of the year, drove us in our summer uniforms back into the warmth of our cabs. Three cabs on a deserted rank for half an hour, and then in a minute or two we were busy once more. Passengers walked up to the first two taxis, and I got a radio call.
Driving again.
We were standing on the main Canberra rank. One in the morning. Deserted except for three cabbies. Later in the week, there will be a long line of passengers, but Tuesday night/Wednesday morning isn't a big night on the town for Canberrans.
There was a tubby fellow, wanting fifteen dollars to make three hundred, a merry Thai driver, needing six to get on budget, and me, already healthily over my usual target, due to an earlier run of good luck. They suggested that they drive each other around te block once or twice and go home. I thought this was a great idea, giving me a clear run at the next passenger on the rank.
But yes, I wasn't driving Silver Service. I'd been assigned Taxi 144, a slightly less ancient and rattly old station wagon. An Elite Cab, according to the badge on the side, and if anyone checked, I was out of uniform in my Canberra Cab blues.
Still, I was happy to be driving again. It was a great holiday, but two months away is a little too much, and I need the money to pay off the plastic. Besides, Autumn is the best time of year to be a cabbie in Canberra. No longer the hot summer, but not yet the freezing winter. Sweet and comfortable temperatures, and best of all the autumn leaves on the trees lining every street.
I've seen London and Paris, Athens and Barcelona. Canberra remains my favorite city in all the world. It's unique. A planned city that works well. It's beautiful, it's full of great buildings and cultural institutions, the population is well-educated and sophisticated. Embassy staff and tourists are everywhere, giving a touch of spice to the mix.
Sure, there's the odd traffic snarl and the local government often appears to have their heads up either their bum (or a developer's), but what city desn't have such problems? I might grumble if I spend five minutes in traffic, but other cities are far worse.
"You should see Bangkok!" said my Thai colleague.
The growing morning chill, edging down below zero for the first frost of the year, drove us in our summer uniforms back into the warmth of our cabs. Three cabs on a deserted rank for half an hour, and then in a minute or two we were busy once more. Passengers walked up to the first two taxis, and I got a radio call.
Driving again.
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Date: 2008-05-01 09:53 am (UTC)*hugs*