Taxi Driver Finds Elderly Women Most Considerate

Chronicle (Levin), 5 January 1949, Page 4

Taxi Driver Finds Elderly Women Most Considerate

Ifi there is a job which eglls for diplomacy, courtesy and discretion it is that of a taxi driver. ,He meets all types of persons under all types #of conditions — he s^es all, hears all and says nothing, The dwner of a taxi company.in Levin gave some of his impressions to a "Chronicle" reporter who called on him recently. He said that of all customers the drivers preferred elderly women, for they were the most considerate and never kept a taxi waiting.

His drivers were on call 24 hours a day, often having to .go out during the night for maternity and urgent" hospital cases. Not so ap-; preciated, however, were early morning ealls to take someone from Weraroa' to the Post Office. This sometimes happened. There were eight taxis altogether in Levin, his company having three with' one spare. All were in constant demand in Levin and at Christmas time at least 20 could be utilised if they were available. There were three types of passengers, the grateful, the abusive and the drunks. So far they had managed to subdue the latter two classes and had never had to call on poiice assis'tance. The cars were cheCked by the drivers" each night for petrol and !engine trouble, and in the morning the tyres were checked and. the cars cleaned and sprayed with a disinfectant, as were the taxis of other owners in Levin. It cost him, he said, 30s a month for disinfectant alone. Preuarine for Weddines

Two hburs work went into the preparation of a car for weddings, because a dirty car would have disastrous effects on white satin dresses. Ribbons for the bonnet were washed and ironed, and the cars washed and polished. For Weddings the. drivers' coats were laundered and hat tops starched. Much work also went into the cleaning of cars after the ceremony, and it was often a week before the whole of the confetti was located and dispensed with. It was unusual for the hirer to keep the cars right through until after the reception, as the cost was 7£1 an hbur, so the driver usually located che best man and arranged for him to call for. the cars when required. The car was then stripped of ' its adornments and used on other* jobs until required. There had been occasions when a member of the public required a car u'rgently and raised no objection to using a decorated car, "proceeding ! to the stat^on like a bride." - "Where possible, taxi companies" provided a black -cfir for f unerals ahd the drivers removed the White cover on . their caps and wore collars and ties — even in the warmest weather. Referring to the charge for waiting time on ordinary calls, the drivers said that they were so much in demand that for the sake of the others who Were waiting for cars,; atid from a financial point of view, they preferred not to be put in a position Where it was necessary to charge waiting time. On occasions

such as Christmas Eve they could make up to £1 an hour if they kept going. The public were becoming more caxi conscious, said one driver, but he could not say whether or not fchis. had come about since the American "invasion." If two people used a car it was comparatively cheap and he thought this might be the reason. Taxi drivers were consistently asked to have a drink, partieularly from- fares picked up at hotels. All such requests, however, were refused while drivers were on duty. Strictly speaking smoking was also prohibi'ted by law. One owner-driver who has been operatinp- in Levin consistently for the past five years says the strange jobs he has been called on to do would fiil a book. "Would you ple-ase pick up the weekend roast," "Call in at the chemist and buy a baby's teat," etc., are just a fewof the requests- he has fulfilled while operating his cab. Unusual Requests Some unusual requests are also often forthcoming. Relating an instance of this, a driver said that a man rang him up one morning at 2 a.m. and asked to be taken for % ride. The "ride" turned out to be 300 m'iles. On request he was taken fco Wellington, then from Wellington to the Hutt, back to Wellington through the Wairarapa and through Woodville and Palmerston North to Otaki. All he wanted to do was to buy a single "pony" beer at each hotel. The "ride" ended'at 3 p.m. and cost him £15. He paid up with a smile and threw in an extra 10s for the driver's children. Drivers today, of course, are not permitted to go on long journeys without special permission. Under regulations they can also ask for the fare before starting if the journey exceeds a certain dista'nce. Recently a driver was requested to drive a man and his" wif e to Palmerston North to catch a train missed in Levin. The driver arrived at Palmerston North, bpt just U few' seconds late. Catching the train up as it was passing through the Square, the driver jumped out and, holding his passengers' train tickets in the air, drew the engine driver's attention to the situatibn. The engine -drive): grinned and obligingly slowed down to walking pace, aliowing the taxi driver time to shepherd his passengers and their luggsage on board. ' The passenger added More difficulties by tendering a £1D note. The change was hastily found and passed through a window as the train gained speed.