Below are figures from the taxi regulators website (Or whatever name it is now known as)
Breakdown of Prosecutions June 2012
No vehicle licence 10
Standing for hire at a place other than an appointed stand 6
No Drivers Licence 8
Failing to comply with roof-sign requirements 2
Allowing to operate SPSV without ensuring person
had valid SPSV Driver Licence 1
Failing to comply with the requirements in relation to
the fitting & operation of the taximeter 1
Failing to comply with the requirements of an authorised
person
1
Total 29
Total of 29 offenses
Give the manpower and I will give you 2,000 illegal drivers in one month.
Plus a further 500 illegal drivers who do not hold a PSV licence.
What we must say is that the transport authorithy or the Carriage office is not fit for purpose.
I have had 5 horror stories told to me in the past week, really bad ones.
But then it's like everything, you stick in a retired guy into the job who is already on a big fat pension, he gets report written up.
Then they pick up a nice wage packet and move on to the next big scam.
How can a driver be vetted who is only a month in the country?
How can he drive without doing an Irish driving test?
How can he drive without speaking English?
How can a taxi driver be working and not know where the towns that make up Dublin are?
How can drivers who have no PSV licence be allowed to drive away once they are stopped?
If my wifes car was 3 days out of insurance the Garda are within their rights to take it and have it crushed.
But its much worse when its a taxi plying for public hire, yet nothing is done about it.
Sometimes you have to let off steam!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Wrong lady for sure
A taxi driver was telling me about a cyclist who cut across in front of him the other day.
He blew the horn and got a rude gesture in return.
Then he overtook the car in front on the outside and cut back in front of him as well.
This time when the driver blew the horn the cyclist gave the fingers, the car blew his horn again and then the cyclist spat on the front of the car.
The car was an unmarked police car which turned on its sirens and arrested him.
Sometimes you get away with things for a long time, then you get brave and do worse.
Then some day you do it to the wrong people altogether.
If you were the lady I picked up the other day in Clontarf going to Blackrock?
This is for you.
She told me that there were no holidays this summer as her daughter had been ill.
It turned out that mould and fungi which was growing in the walls of their rented house were causing the problem, her landlord won't help.
I know someone who has property to rent in the area.
So contact me and perhaps you might be sorted.
He blew the horn and got a rude gesture in return.
Then he overtook the car in front on the outside and cut back in front of him as well.
This time when the driver blew the horn the cyclist gave the fingers, the car blew his horn again and then the cyclist spat on the front of the car.
The car was an unmarked police car which turned on its sirens and arrested him.
Sometimes you get away with things for a long time, then you get brave and do worse.
Then some day you do it to the wrong people altogether.
If you were the lady I picked up the other day in Clontarf going to Blackrock?
This is for you.
She told me that there were no holidays this summer as her daughter had been ill.
It turned out that mould and fungi which was growing in the walls of their rented house were causing the problem, her landlord won't help.
I know someone who has property to rent in the area.
So contact me and perhaps you might be sorted.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Bye Bye July
The sand has arrived at Dublin Castle yard they are mixing and compacting the sand and start carving on Monday. It should be ready in a week.
Don't miss it this year!
Gotchya MICE
What a boat and with the Euromillions at €150 + million it could be yours.
Vodka clearly
A Morris Minor van. I am so old that I cn remember them as the norm.
Posative discrimination
I saw a Junkie in a highly excited state with a young 14 year old in tow,
"No he's not gone he's over here, he's got plenty of gear"
She was a very young looking kid.
If I were king bringing a minor or supplying a minor with drugs would be a crime punished by death.
There seems to be a big increase in the supply of heroin lately.
I cannot stop it, so I must let this plague pass over me and keep calm.
No matter how I look at that problem I see no future unless people can start to believe in a future and can have dreams, ambitions and goals to fulfill.
But it tragic and sad to see this disaster unfold before your eyes.
Onward and upwards.
I had a young girl in the taxi last week and when I took the money and gave her the change back she didn't budge. When I told here that we were HERE she said. "You never finished the story you were telling me". So I pulled in and finished it off.
A happy story.
She thanked me and said that she never felt better going to work in her life.
I suppose that is what life is about if you are giving a service.
Just try to give that extra bit of joy and value.
Dublin Port is busy at present. You know with air fares sky high for travel in a moments notice the ship is the way to go.
The cruise ship the Queen Elisabeth is coming in on the 8th I believe.
There is little work for taxis on those cruisers but they do bring thousands of sightseers to the city.
Mice are coming into loads of houses where I live, it must be the damp weather driving them from the gardens. My Sons cat is killing loads of them all the time, you see him strolling past with a mouses tail sticking out of his mouth, off to have a snack!
I would safely say that HailO the black cab app is saving my bacon at present.
Not that I am getting loads of jobs from the system, I am however getting credit card jobs.
There has to be more taxis on the system so that when the public call for a taxi one will be there. If there is low cover then the public will not use it.
A radio company will charge you between €90 to €120 per week for the privilege of using their system. Then they will demand that you give between 20% to 30% discount to customers.
Add to that you will be waiting 2 or 3 weeks for payment.
Getting HailO is a no brainer.
No weekly fee, they take 10% of every job they send you Plus 4% off credit card transactions.
Other companies take 10% for the credit card plus a monthly charge for the credit card machine.
A poor unfortunate Russian guy got into the taxi going to College Green to a solicitor number 16 I think. He was a big lad with a fold up bicycle. When we got to his destination we could not find the office, he added to our difficulties in 2 ways, one he wouldn't give me the firms name so I could call DQ and speak to them and he also refused to walk up the road and look for the number.
In the end I had to go, I still don't know why he wouldn't show me a letter which he must have had in his pocket.
But he had NO English and I had no Russian either.
For those of you who have ever put petrol in your diesel car.
Commercial break.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A chance to do some good
From an email I received.
I don't know who wrote it, but it is worth passing on.
The Cab Ride.
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. after waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked..
'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened.
A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.
The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.. 'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said.
I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?' 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.. 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.'
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up.
They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door.
The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. 'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse. 'Nothing,' I said 'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said 'Thank you.' I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim evening light.. Behind me, a door shut.
It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought.
For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL
You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on and reminding us that often it is the random acts of kindness that most benefit all of us.
Thank you, my friend... Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
So every morning when I head out the door for work I say a prayer to my God.
"Please send me the oppertunity to do some good today and the wisdom not to miss that chance".
She often obliges and we both keep smiling.(Why not a female God?)
Tango dancing starts here
I don't know who wrote it, but it is worth passing on.
The Cab Ride.
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. after waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked..
'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened.
A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.
The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.. 'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said.
I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?' 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.. 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.'
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up.
They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door.
The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. 'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse. 'Nothing,' I said 'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said 'Thank you.' I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim evening light.. Behind me, a door shut.
It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought.
For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL
You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on and reminding us that often it is the random acts of kindness that most benefit all of us.
Thank you, my friend... Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
So every morning when I head out the door for work I say a prayer to my God.
"Please send me the oppertunity to do some good today and the wisdom not to miss that chance".
She often obliges and we both keep smiling.(Why not a female God?)
Tango dancing starts here
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Madonna is in town
Wow this is the pair of shoes I found in the car.
I got in touch with the HailO people and re united them with their owner.
Some photos from the St.Annes Rose festival over the weekend.
The schools are out and people are taking holidays, the traffic is lighter and the rhythm of the business has changed. People are in slightly better mood as the serious fraud office have started rounding up the officials of Anglo Irish Bank, the bank that brought the country to its knees.
It is a bit of a sham as we all know that most of the government officials were taking backhanders as well.
I met a few really great people recently and I know that with such clever positive people living here we will survive and we will rise up again to a beautiful dawn.
So I will not worry about something which I had no hand in.
I committed no crimes of greed of fraud.
So look to tomorrow, it may stop raining and hopefully you have your health.
Look at the Rausing family in the UK, once richer than the Queen of England herself.
Their son who is a drug addict was arrested for driving under the influence. When they went to his home there was a weird smell.
On investigation they found the body of his wife, dead for weeks rotting under a pile of rubbish.
So money will not bring you happiness for sure.
I was up in the builders supply store today and a young chap there trying to buy loads of wood.
His measurements were all wrong and they were trying to find out what the metric equivalent was for "CUBITS"
Only when I got out of the store into the car park and saw his van and all the animals lined up 2X2 did it dawn on me.
"Noah and family, manufacturers of Arks since 2020BC"
Was written on his van.
The rain is that bad.
Madonna is on in the Aviva stadium and it has been constant rain for the past 3 hours.
A manhole cover on my street is dancing up from the pressure of water below.
The drains below must be blocked.
So today I was heading home when I met a guy with a very small case, smaller than a laptop and bigger than a cigar box.
First question, where are you going?
Your accent, where are you from? Brazil.
Then I chanced my arm.
I bet you are a magician...Bingo !
Meet Rodrigo Furtado from Rio Brazil.
This act won first prize at FISM Blackpool2012
Really good ? So origonal too.
A wonderful clean pure magic card manipulation act.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
The boss is gone
Imagine meeting this on a tight bend on a dark night it must be 80 ft long
This Harley is from Moscow, it is on its grand European tour.
Anyone for party cakes ? Liffey Valley shopping mall.
Well its the weekend again.
Bruce Springstein has been and gone, again it worked out well for all who went to the show.
The HailO system is starting to pick up and there are now more and more passengers signing up for the app. The publicity is still aimed at getting drivers to sign up. There is no point in going ahead with the system if there are not enough taxis around to take up the work.This morning my easy rider downloaded the app there and then and instantly went
"Wow look at this? Its fantastic"
Another lady I picked through the Hailo system this morning had a slight problem.
She put in the number 74 James's St Then she rang me. The 1 had fallen off the shop front where she was standing. Problem solved back to 174 and we were off to Baggott St.
When she got out I forgot to rate my customer.
You were 5 star, if you are reading this.
If you know me you will know that I feel that most of the migrants who came into Ireland have been a huge blessing for Ireland,mostly great workers who brought their skills and enthusiasm to progress their lives and enrich our daily lives.
I talk to the girls in the supermarket, the dry cleaners, people who make the coffee and all the people who use my taxi. I learn about their lives and their hopes and dreams, mostly positive.
A lady from Latvia who has been here for around 15 years told me about a less than pleasant journey she made back into Dublin from the airport once.
She got into a taxi being driven by a really old man.
She remarked on the rain and how it never seems to stop.
"If you don't like it you have a simple solution, just get back on the plane and go back to where you came from"
Because she was homesick at the time it felt like a kick to the stomach to her.
She told him that she had a perfect right to be here, she pays tax, rent and many other charges which goes to the state and provides the services which he enjoys.
So I told her that the old driver is just attracting all kinds of negative things towards himself, he was the one who would suffer.
The Irish have traveled all over the world when times were bad, in many places we were welcomed, in other places there were signs
"No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish"
Most right thinking people do not tolerate things like that.
So times have moved on, everyone can see that you can not progress if you hold a racist point of view. But if you expect bad from strangers you will not be disappointed.
So I look for good things in everyone.
Do you ever notice how good looking the Continental girls are?
I thought it was because they had slightly different features and coloring, but no.
Europe has suffered many wars, where millions of men were killed.
When the war was over the balance between men and women was altered.
If a woman had a chance of getting married she had to make an effort, loose a few pounds, smarten up their dress sense and get the old hair dome.
Passed down through a few generations it has become second nature to look smart and look great.
Well it bit of a theory, and the work of a PHD.
There are a fair few tourists around at the moment, another cruise ship in today.
These ships can carry 2/3,000 people. They have tours laid on mostly but then the go shopping and spread a bit of cash around.
Friday, July 20, 2012
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