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.

Samson In Washington DC (Former United Cab Driver)

Samson was one of my best taxi buddies for about ten years. He was getting involved in video productions as a way to make money. He always encouraged me to pursue my passion for photography. He believed it was a direction that could lead away from taxi cab driving. I found this photo of Samson on his Facebook account when I accepted him as a friend. It seems things are going well for Samson. He left United Cab on September 1, 2009 and he has never come back. Good for him. He is having more fun now then sitting on stand 21 all day!

I am still pursuing my photography and now have a very successful YouTube channel with Google adds on them. I am working hard on alternative forms of income. Taxi driving now requires too many hours and pays very little.

Business Is Slow A United Cab With New System

Since United Cab installed the new digital system with GPS, it has been a disaster. In the first two weeks we lost more customers then you could count. At least the call count can...it is way down. The system loses calls, misroutes calls, sends them out late, and in the first week blocked our phone lines so we lost customers. Now we are screwed. I cannot survive on three calls in an eight hour period. There is no way I can pay the lease and have any money left for me. I am considering going to Yellow Cab Of Tampa. At least they have the customers we lost.

The BlackBerry inside the taxi cab

New Management At United Cab Tampa Doing A Great Job So Far

Paul and Rick on the 'back lot'

The new managers that Gulf Coast Transportation inc have put in place are doing a great job. One of the hallmarks of good management is to bring in and know that you have good people working for you, and not be up their ass all day.

The old shop manager Paul is back, Joe is back, Big Scott is back detailing the taxi cabs. Rick has been given more responsibility (this is Rick and Paul moving across the lot). You can tell by the overall demeanor and relaxed attitude of the employees that things are getting better.

I do not think it is a coincidence that things are turning the corner as soon as the very bad manager we had was fired.

The new team has modern ideas about everything from the new technologies to marketing. It will be great to get back to making money again. I have not been this excited about driving a cab in years. That is a fact. Life may be great again.

Urban Scare Tissue For Obama In Tampa

The Great Stimulus Plan  For Tampa

The day after the State Of the Union Address last January Barack Obama and Joe Biden came to Tampa., Obama mentioned in his speech, the night before, that a new high speed rail system was going to be built in Florida, and he wanted to come here and take the credit for this great project.  It was part of the stimulus package and the train would go from Tampa to Orlando (eventually Miami too). He said it would employ 20,000 people over 4 years, and retain 800 workers to operate it after completion.

The photo here shows the land downtown Tampa that will be the terminal. It was taken two days ago. As you can see, 20,000 people are working hard. I think the reason the President is dropping in his poll numbers is because he does not get the urgency people feel when they are out of work. They need jobs, and they need them now.

Do you really think this train will ever be built. Was the President just wrong, or is he a lying sack of shit?

Things Are Getting Better

CC Sabathia Bring it on!

Are things better off then they were two years ago?  Yes.  No doubt about it. In 2008 all hope was gone. It could not have been worse.  We had no calls, we had no riders, we had no nothing.

Now, we have conferences, meetings, business travelers, conventions, tourist and so forth. I don't know if the President is the reason. However, if you are going to blame him when it is bad, you have to give him the credit when it is good.

I know many people are without a job but you would not know it by how much activity there is now in Tampa. I am coming out of my depression and I feel like living life again. My jaded cab driver friends say I am just getting used to misery. I don't think so. If you tossed a baseball my way - I would knock it out of the park!  GO RANGERS!

MLB Playoffs Not Much Help For Taxi Drivers

Most people seem to use their cars to go to Tropicania Field to watch the ALDS between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays.  It was hard to get near the stadium and people seemed only to want to go over to Central Ave to hit a sports bar.  I guess they wanted to drown their sorrows about the Rays getting creamed by the Rangers.  If this game had been at night, it might have had a different outcome.

Hanging In There

Me

The last few months have been very slow. The summer is the off time of year for this part of Florida, but with the economy, we are down. I will admit that it is not as bad as 2008 - 2009. There are signs of life. We actually have good days now; during those two years, there were no good days. I believe things are coming back - hence the urgency of the tea party to derail Obama's efforts. I did not vote for Obama but I will if things continue to improve. At least the guy has tried to do something. I can't wait for the weather to get cooler so I can go camping. That should be in November. See ya!

Tiny Tap Bar In Tampa Once Again On Top

The TBT tabloid did a feature story on local bars. As a cab driver I always want to keep up with what the new trends are. Nothing has changed. The decades old drinking hole in south Tampa was once again the feature bar in the annual survey. They had photos of the barmaid and it was its lack of glitz in a sea of upscale restaurants and night clubs in South Tampa that keeps in front. It if for real people, not the pretentious assholes of south Tampa