United Cab System May be A Piece Of Crap

This is what "Big Mike" had to say..

yes mr. fasano this could be great;but what you don't understand is the lack of preparation for the driver and the inadequate software that this application offers.there is no continuous update of available fares with easy access;the foolish size of the zones;the danger of using the blackberry while driving;the endless rebooting or checking to see your check in position. yes I am not the only one experiencing be kicked out of my check in position.it is a shame the cheap ass company could not use a real computer set up instead of this bogus piece of crap. your good day as mine was are experience. when the inept have a chance to figure this out you will think differently. not to be able to get your check in call in the correct order is b.s.what the stupid system does is force drivers to sit on calls and not roam for fear of being out of position since it does not dispatch in order.this is why you are seeing cab drivers schooling like a group of sharks on a school of bait. no my dear friend the yellow computer is vastly superior and if they would use their true gps capabilities ,would even be better.think about this tim :drivers avoiding calls because of this pooling affect.you don't have to be a rocket scientist to take advantage of these faults.I actually thought you could see the deficiencies but i was wrong.good luck.and by the way how many times have you had to waist time rebooting, or the credit card machine doesn't work, or you loose your bluetooth connection. i could go on endlessly.yeah tim you stepped in s--t for a short period of time.the only thing good about the system if it truly works will be putting the hood stretchers out of business. it's up to the co. to discipline ha!ha!

Working Out The Bugs

I can thank Shoe and the Blackberry for this wad of cash

Yes, there are a few bugs to work out but Ft. Lauderdale has their techs up here taking care of that. In the mean time, we have some of the best dispatchers found in the business. Shoe was at his best today as he took care of drivers problems and kept the orders flowing. It was a literal cash party today and the tires on my cab did not stop. This was like it was years ago before the recession took hold. I can't wait till tomorrow.

With this system you have perfect knowledge. You know were the calls are at when they hit the board. You do not have to sit ten minutes for a dispatcher to come back from a break, or fight against hood stretchers, or get beat by a cab that just showed up out of nowhere, or wait for six other cabs to leave a stand....you can go out and make your own way and to hell with anyone else.

Good time are here.  There is no cab company in the Tampa Bay area that can provide the service we can. If you were a fuck up and got fired by United and are now trying to make it with some sorry ass cab company because you refuse to dig ditches or clean trash cans (work you are more suited for) you are now on the short  end of the stick. Have a good life taxi losers.

An Open Letter To United Cab And Gulf Coast Transportation

The BlackBerry At Night

United Cab of Tampa has spent the last ten weeks installing a digital dispatch system. It has text, voice and credit card applications. The GPS function gives directions and identifies the closest cab to the customer. This system went live Thursday afternoon.

Since then, I have had one of the best 24 hour periods I have ever had in the cab business. In short, this system MADE ME MONEY. It was made for real ‘cab drivers.’ A real cab driver is one who wants to hustle and be alert to money making possibilities.

This system is a masterpiece. Unfortunately, there are drivers that do not appreciate what Untied Cab has done. They are trying to get the company to go back to the ‘old way.’

Please do not listen to them. Change is difficult for some people. This system is not for stand sitters. Guys who will only park their buts on a stand and wait for the call to come to them are not for the modern taxi business. That’s right, I saw guys sitting on 21 today! Why?! There is no 21. We do not have stands anymore guys. These drivers will now have to use tactics and strategy to make money, so I don’t see them surviving.

This system is a dream come true for me. It could be my way out of this recession and back to making a living. Its a slot machine rigged in my favor. Wow!

Thank you Mr. Rob searcy and Paul Hinton. You guys rock!

Tim Fasano
#597

New System Is Now LIve But The Rising Gas Prices Could Destroy Taxi Business

What I paid this morning

At 10:37 am we went live in all of the United Cab zones. There is no turning back. Everything seemed to work well. Our service will improve, and we should gain more customers and the drivers will make more money. The only thing that could derail us, is the price of gas.

People may not know this but taxi drivers pay for their own gas. It comes right off the top. I don't know what the breaking point is, but five bucks a gallon could do the trick.

This is all a shame. Just when things are finally working out with the new system. We will get through this somehow. One of the things taxi drivers hope for are tips. Customers need to understand this and throw the driver a tip. To be blunt - we have many riders who do not tip us. They don't seem to understand that is what they should do. There are cultural reasons for this but the time has come that they snap out of this or there won't be any drivers left to pick them up. Even homeless people tip. Speaking of homeless...

I knocked on a door this morning and a dog I had seem up the street ran up to me wagging his tail. I think he was homeless. He had no money, so I sent him on his way. Who would take this guy in...The dog must be on drugs....GET AWAY!

I Take My Coffee Black

The meter is running and the taxi is in park. Normally I’d be outside of a strip club or message parlor, this time it’s a book store. I’m waiting for my passenger to return.

The large poster declaring 20% - 40% off looms over my cab parked outside of Borders Books on N Dale Mabry. This well publicized sale has brought customers to this store in record amounts. The idling of my engine cuts through the conversations of happy patrons leaving with newly prized possessions.

It’s just after sunset. I’d normally be home drinking beer at this hour - a well ingrained habit since the economy fell apart like a two dollar watch.  Habits are hard to change as you get older.

I turn the radio down as a motorist asks if I can move up a bit. In over fifteen years of coming to this store I’ve never seen it this busy. I guess I’m not the only one that read the newspaper article about the store closing. Then it hits me - Why does Tampa (whose economy is supposedly tied to tourism) have so many people that read books. We are not supposed to be Boston?

I think back over the last decade or so. I have spent a lot of time in Borders. Coffee, reading, chess, browsing, music, liberal lap toppers, this place had it all, a great way to kill a Sunday afternoon and relax. You could have a bit of a repose from the ‘real world’ as books took you to other places and experiences that you one day planed to get around too, one of these days.

The Seattle’s Best Café. Yes, that was the first thing you saw as you walked in the door. Get your espresso and stare at twenty thousand square feet of wonder, knowledge and entertainment. In the next couple of hours, you would walk out smarter and more at peace with yourself then when you walked in. All of this augmented by a fresh cup of Joe (I take my mine black).

Coffee in a book store is Popcorn at the movies. Would it not be a shame if one day all things are by Amazon or Kindle? To me it would be like going to a prostitute for love or eating steak with a balloon on your tongue. You would still get the same knowledge and nutrition - so what’s your problem?

I do think it is a problem.

In the future they say you will just take a pill for everything you need or pick you kids out of a test tube (I prefer the old fashion way).

I once met Jack Harris at a book signing here. I once saw happy kids at Harry Potter night with expressions on their faces not seen since the family trip to Disney World. Do we really want all this to just go away?  It is just all about the discount? What ever happened to smelling the roses?

Anyway, my fare comes back to the taxi and tells me there were at least eighty people in line with all the cash registers ringing. You hear that Borders….You finally figured out how to get Amazons money.  Perhaps there is hope for Western Civilization.

Gas Prices Are Rising

Gas is going to rise to an historical high mark in the next few months. With the unrest in the Arab countries, and an American administration incapable of taking action that protects Americans interest, we are going to suffer as if we were put on a medieval rack. I could not emphasize this enough. Americans are being killed throughout the world and nobody fears us anymore. Is Obama up to this job? They use to blame George Bush for high gas prices. The News video below profiles a United Cab airport driver and how he is trying to make money during these tough times.

Get In - Get Confident!

I went to SUPERCUTS in Tampa today. The commercial shows guys getting a new look and then going out and kicking some serious ass at MMF, a casino and extreme sports. I can't wait. You can see the before and after below.

AFTER

THE WILDMAN

A South Tampa Speed Trap

What is the correct speed on Henderson Ave Tampa?

The correct speed to travel on Henderson Blvd is not clear.  There are seven speed signs between Kennedy and Manhattan that post 40 MPH as the speed limit.  There is, however, a sign facing southbound traffic at Church and Henderson that says 35 MPH. The sign facing the opposite direction says 40 MPH. The Tampa police are very much aware of that. That is why they set up radar on Saturday and Sunday mornings at Church and Henderson because they know people are confused about the actual speed. This is a real shame.

It seems the Tampa police have simply found a way to screw with people and raise revenue for the city. This kind of shit never happened when Dick Greco was Mayor. Hopefully, we will return to law abiding citizens not being shaken down by punk cops trying to raise their quota. MPO Tim McGinnes fits that description

South bound traffic at Henderson and Church see this sign

Tampa Mayor's Race: Tom Scott Insults Taxi Drivers

I was taught by my parents the dignity of work. There is no job that is demeaning to any man. I wish the Tampa Mayor Candidate Tom Scott felt the same way. In his mind, there is work that is beneath him. I am a driver. I am proud to be a taxi driver. He seems to believe that only racist drive cabs, or something like that. The Tampa Tribune played into the comment Dick Greco made in Thursdays debate. I wonder what Scott thinks about dishwashers, bricklayers, construction workers, dog catchers, ditch diggers, electricians, garbage collectors and so forth. This attitude makes him unfit for office. I am a PROUD DRIVER for United Cab.

United Cab Of Tampa Computer Dispatch System Is Live

We finally went live today. It has been a rough ten weeks, but things are shaping up fast. Around Noon today the new system was live in a few of  the outer zones, and the new zones became effective immediately. I took to this new system like a fish being thrown into a lake. Wow! I think I am really going to score big with this.  It will eliminate all of the bullshit from drivers, such as holding the mic and hood stretching, and dispatchers wasting time with problem drivers. The good drivers can now concentrate on just making money. coming out of a recession, that will be a welcome experience.