Sunday was a busy day in the City, Monday was busy enough as usual, but Tuesday early morning was dead. It was very difficult to get orders and I was afraid I would go home with less than $100 take-home — something I haven’t done in a long time. I was preparing myself for a [...]

While driving Sun-Mon (1am-12pm)

These few days were slow, slow, slow. I find it funny that I have such a hard time estimating how much I’ll make beforehand. It’s almost like gambling. The only ’sure-fire’ well-paying weekends are those with big street fairs or festivals, or huge conferences at Moscone Center.
I get a bit more stressed [...]

During my shifts this week:

I took an older lady and her daughter back from the hospital one morning. We dropped her daughter off at work first and then I took the lady to her home. When we got there she asked if she could ask a “personal question.” I said sure, no problem. She wondered [...]

Some highlights from working the past few days.

I took an older Mexican lady to see her family and grandchildren in Daly City. She was one of the chattiest passengers I’d ever had. At first, I could barely understand her. Between her strong latin accent, a speech impediment apparently related to her age, and a strong [...]

I drove late in the night on New Year’s Eve. As a recent beginner in the world of cab driving, I am a ‘day driver’, low on the taxi company totem pole. I cannot drive during the lucrative hours of 5 pm to 12 am.
As such, I was very lucky to get a cab at [...]

Another tough day.

The revelers were out full swing when I started my shift at midnight. I had constant fares until 3 am.
Unfortunately, when the well ran dry at 3 am it never filled up again. Nobody had to go to work. Everyone in town slept in until, apparently, after my shift was over.
I took a [...]

After a disappointing shift on Monday (Christmas Eve Eve?) from midnight ’till 11, I figured Christmas Day from midnight ’till 11 would be even worse.
It turns out the Christmas Eve revelers were out in full swing. Summary after the break.

I work Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. There is no such thing as paid holidays when you’re an independent contractor driving a cab. In fact, it’s more difficult to get time off during the holidays since nobody else wants to take those undesirable shifts.
So, I ended up working Sunday, Monday (Christmas Eve) and Tuesday (Christmas) as [...]

During my Sunday (day shift) and Monday (night/morning) shifts

I took a couple Mexican guys home from the Tenderloin area to the Mission Sunday night. They were in a (drunk) chatty mood, but didn’t speak much English. I tried what little Spanish I knew and we had a fun time counting up the streets on Mission. [...]

This past weekend

I worked Sunday 5am-3pm, slept from 4pm-11pm, and then worked Monday from 12am-11am.
A group of about 6 hipsters flagged my van down in the Mission around 1am:

It was a friend’s 21st birthday and they got him smashed like good friends should. I took some of them back to their West Oakland house and [...]