A Day In The Life Of A Taxi Driver…

What do they do all day?

It is not easy to become a taxi driver. You may have thought that all you needed to do was pass your driving test, stick some change in your glove compartment and you would be good to go. In reality there is a rigorous testing process which you have to get through before you are allowed to have a licence and drive a black cab. <br/><br/> The test involves all kinds of character assessments, back ground checks, interviews and a massive exam that tests intricate knowledge of the streets around which you will be taxiing. So once you've passed the test and got your licence, what is a typical day like? <br/><br/> Shifts <br/><br/> Most taxi drivers work shifts that can cover just a couple of hours in the evening to a whole 12 hour day shift. Basically they can pick and choose when they work as they are normally self-employed. However, taxi drivers often share cabs with other drivers in order to make the most of the vehicle, to spread the cost of its maintenance and to mutually benefit both drivers. This only really works though if both can agree on what shifts suit. <br/><br/> A day in one paragraph… <br/><br/> A common shift is the early evening until early morning shift on a Saturday night. The driver would sleep during the day and rise late afternoon to have breakfast when most people are thinking about dinner. They would then get in their cab and either choose to begin taking bookings from a central dispatch office or would head into town or towards passenger hot spots. <br/><br/> These are either taxi ranks or just streets where they know people are always looking for a taxi. Train stations are good locations, as are outside big office buildings or central shopping districts. <br/><br/> They then spend the evening going back and forth between these hot spots and people's homes in outlying areas of the town. This may continue all night with hot spots changing as the night goes on until they centre on night clubs and pubs at kicking out time. <br/><br/> Food <br/><br/> Most taxi drivers know their town very well so will have favourite or preferred places to stop for lunch and dinner as the night goes on. Some actually take packed lunch so they don't have to stop, because stopping might mean missing out on a lucrative fare. <br/><br/> Quitting Time <br/><br/> The shift ends either when all the fares dry up or when the driver gets too tired, or it is time for them to hand the cab over to the next driver for the day shift. After that it's off to bed. <br/><br/> There you have a day in the life of a taxi driver. He could have been driving a taxi in Belfast or one of the many Belfast Airport taxis. Most taxi driver's workings days will go along these lines. <br/><br/>

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