A driver got sick at the airport

I was rolling onto the deck after being called up from holding and I saw police and an ambulance loading one of our drivers. I was told he was a diabetic and was going into shock.

Between Obamacare and the United Cab insurance plan, I am sure he will be alright. People don't know but taxi drivers get no insurance. That is just wrong. That is why only Africans want to do this anymore.

Mohamed Atta Had A Hack License From United Cab OF Tampa And A Commercial Pilots License

Mohamed Atta once had a hack license issued by the Hillsborough County Transportation Commission. Atta never came back to pick it up. He had applied to work at United Cab of Tampa, but never showed up for work either.

My research shows he was living in the Tampa area for some time while taking flying lessons in Venice Florida and Jones aviation in Sarasota.

Most people were told that he only had a few hours on a simulator and was not interested in knowing how to land. This is not true.

The owner of Huffman Aviation in Venice said Mohamed Atta and a friend walked in the front door one day in late 2000 and wanted to know about getting pilots license and how much that would cast. They were told the cost was $18,000 with $1,000 down and $1.000 a week for the entire 18 week course. They paid with a check drawn on First Union Bank.

All did not go smooth as their first instructor found them arrogant and hard to teach. They switched instructors and were able to finish the course and Atta earned his "Temporary Airman's  license" with a score of 90 of a 122 possible points during a five hour exam.. This allowed him to rent out planes on his own which he did on many occasions.

Proof Mohamed Atta Know how to land and take off in an airplane

Atta did not stop at this, he went on December 21, 2000 he earned a full instrument ratting and a COMMERCIAL PILOTS LICENSE. ("airplane multiengine land/ instrument airplane/ private pilot privileges/ airplane single engine land"). (Source) He earned these credentials in a rather short period of time. 

I believe he was running out of money and It was during this period that he applied for a hack license in Tampa. The TPC still has his license on file. It is unknown what his intentions were about driving a cab, considering he had goals of altering world history for ever. He flew planes to Miami from Venice and from Jones aviation to Tampa. He knew how to take off and land. Skills that he really would not put to much use.

It was from Tampa where he flew American Airlines to Spain to meet with representatives from Iraq.

Taxi Repair Job

The taxi I am driving has over 300,000 miles on it. The shop changes the oil every month as specified by the the owners manual. These cars will run for almost eternity. They do, however, start to use oil. That is what is happening with my cab.

The fare I picked up said they could smell oil burning. After I dropped them off, I checked the oil and I could see I needed at least one quart. Considering the oil had been changed last week, that meant I was burning oil. In the sixteen years I have been with United Cab of Tampa, I have never had a new car.

I see other drivers get a new car every year and I wonder why they treat me any kind of way. I need to ask Paul Hinton That. I would like to have a new taxi by the Fall time of the year.

You can see a taxi with its hood up at an Advance Auto Parts store on Dale Mabry is not good advertising for the cab company. We need to build up riders who have confidence in the ability of us to get them to where they are going.

A New Taxi Driver

I pulled up along this new driver today. He was reading a readers digest and waiting for a call. I don't know about this guy. He had some strange ides about working the same hours every day and having a plan, or system, and sticking with it. I don't know about that.

He will learn soon that you can't work this like a business. You have to work the bars at night and sleep in your cab or you have no chance of making money. Larry thinks you can have a better plan.

Anyway, I hope Larry has good luck along the way. He just might last a couple of days or so.

"Life Is A Highway" Tammy's Birthday Party

Life is a highway and Tammy has enjoyed her tenure in the Tampa Bay area as a veteran taxi driver. She had her 50th birthday party at Hillsborough River State Park and it was quite an event. There was a DJ, a sit down dinner, door prizes, and lots of her friends from over the years to add to the festivities. The A/C was not working well in the pavilion she had rented, other then that, it was a good evening. I thought I had the 'guess how many pennies in the jar' contest won but someone else was dead on. I still think it was rigged..LOL. When the party was over, we went over to the campsites and settled in for an all night party with a keg and more contest. Its too bad that I was the only taxi driver that showed up. I have always believed most cab drivers have no social life; I think I am right.

The Dance Floor

Tammy with the DJ at the party

If you missed the party, then you missed "Tammy Trivia" and all the door prizes and some wonderful southern cooking. I liked the event and was glad she invited me. I brought my tent and sleeping bag and set up home on the River Edge campsite. It was a little warm, but the bugs were ok and it was not too bad.

A photo of Tammy and Jack that was on display

Its hard to get cab drivers to take a day off. They should try it more often; they just might like it. See the campfire party below.

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

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.

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.

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!

New Hot Rod Cabs?

Check this out! What a paint job! Are these cabs for the drivers? No...It seems Gulf Coast Transportation inc. who owns United Cab of Tampa was using this car for an owners convention they had in Tampa a few weeks ago.
Nice of those owners to use mini-bus transport and not once using the cabs in this town. I guess they know the meters are to damn expensive.
Anyway, after spending thousands on this detail and paint job they are going to convert it back to a normal cab. I guess they need to keep the lease money rolling in.
It is bad out here folks for us cab drivers. I am starving and the bills are piling up.

Taxi Taxi Public Acess TV

I found this on You Tube. It seems there is a Public access TV show called TAXI TAXI and one of the stars is Yellow cab driver Nana. In this video he tells why he is a cab driver because the only job he can get in America is dishwasher and driving a taxi gives him a sense of accomplishment.