In December of 2011, the city of Portland had to rescind a ban on allowing tax drivers to renew their taxi permits using power of attorney.  The city was sued by 11 taxi drivers and owners who felt the policy was unfair and was a thinly veiled attempt to “squeeze out” airport taxi drivers.

The taxi drivers and owners involved in the litigation stated that they sometimes have to return to their home country of Somalia for long periods of time, during which their taxi license may come up for renewal.  They use a power of attorney to allow someone else to renew their license on their behalf.  The ban had made this impossible to do because it required them to renew their license in person.  One of the drivers in the case returned to the U.S. during the ban and found that his permit had expired and he was unable to continue employment as a driver in the city.  State law requires that power of attorneys be accepted, so the now defunct Portland law violated that.

It was way back in 1987 when New Yorks cab drivers won the right to insist their customers refrained from smoking cigarettes while making use of the iconic yellow vehicle as they were escorted to their chosen destination.

This change in the law was a huge win for health conscious drivers fed up inhaling the deadly fumes given off by the burning of tobacco, but it meant nicotine addicts had one less place where they could get their fix. These days of course things are even worse for smokers with just about every public place in the Big Apple being out of bounds when using tobacco products.

Over the last few years a product has come onto the market which is once again allowing smokers and cab drivers to live in harmony. The new electronic cigarette is a device which allows users to get nicotine without giving off any smoke, and it gaining in popularity with people fed up standing on the sidewalk to get their drug of choice. Even Katherine Heigl who is a keen advocate of this device has been photographed puffing on a custom e cig in the back seat of a Miami taxi cab.

One of the downsides of the e cigarette is that it looks a lot like the real thing so many cab drivers are going to be a bit apprehensive about letting their customers use it. There really is no need for this however as the only thing being emitted when the user exhales is a harmless water vapor.

If you get a fare who would like to use their electronic smoking device while you drive them around the city, our advice to encourage them. Not only will your customer be less likely to have a fit of nicotine deprived grumpiness, but it’s also far more likely you will get a sizable tip for your kindness.

As a resident in the UK and someone who lived in London for many years, I can confirm that London taxis can all carry a wheelchair, and that the drivers are happy to help anyone who has to use a wheelchair. This is, as the website points out, in direct contrast to New York where cabs that can transport a wheelchair are rarer than hens’ teeth.

My elder sister and her husband visited New York last year. The trip was a golden wedding anniversary gift from their kids to celebrate 50 years of marriage and the holiday should have been an enjoyable experience, but my brother in law has to use a wheelchair to get about and the couple spent a frustrating week mostly confined to their hotel.

The hotel staff were sympathetic and not a little embarrassed at the shortcomings of their city’s taxi services, and eventually a taxi was found that could cope with the wheelchair, but by then most of the holiday was over and what should have been an inspired gift for a golden wedding turned out to be more like a spell in prison, albeit in a very comfortable cell.

Being stick in Manhattantraffic is one of the most irritating experiences. It is even more irritating when you are stuck with an annoying customer that complains about it; like I enjoy being stuck in traffic. Then the annoying questions & manners hinting that they don’t want to pay for the meter that charges for time, I mean, cmon, cabbies have bills than need to be paid. If you don’t like it drive yourself or alternatively you can walk or take the subway to wherever the hell you’re going. Sometimes you get nutjobs that totally are out of control with emotional breakdowns & stuff like that, totally psychotic, psychologically unstable, that you’re thinking like, “Lady, you need to take a borderline personality disorder test or something!”. There are times I’m not even sure if they are for real or it’s just acting to get out of paying their fare. Probably the only thing more irritating than this are the drunk morons. They think cabbies make a lot of money, I wonder if any of them would like to spend one day doing this God forsaken job. People should pass a psychological preparedness test before sitting behind the wheel, you have to be rock solid mentally to deal with psycho customers.

Taxi drivers are really entrepreneurs.  In most parts of the world they are self employed and even own their own cabs. You can easily see which ones take pride in their craft and which ones don’t just by looking at how well kept their taxi’s are.

Even though they are their own bosses and technically work for themselves, they do usually have to pass state or country regulations. It is an industry that is regulated and all taxi drivers must stay within the rules. Additionally, most of them are hooked up to some dispatch service that helps them get business and they have to pay for that.

In many parts of the world, taxi drivers are not viewed with the highest esteem. It is a job that is often taken by immigrants and people who don’t have a higher education. Your ability to drive (and some cab drivers have this ability in questionable amounts) is all that is really needed and so it attracts people who might not be able to get other kinds of traditional jobs. However, even if it is not the most desirable job, it is surely much better than having to file for unemployment.

Being a friendly cab driver and taking pride in your customer service would help anyone who wants to get into this industry. While repeat customers are rare, they do exist as some people need a cab on a regular basis. The better you are at making your customers feel at ease (and the better your driving), the more apt you will be to develop clients that request your services regularly.

Having a taxi that is equipped with wheelchair capabilities would give you even a greater chance of getting business. While more expensive and harder to do, catering to all types of clients including the disabled might be a good business decision.

My story is very personal and to be honest, I have trouble talking about it.  That is why I have chosen to share my experience here in the safety of this blog.

For arguments sake we shall say that my name is Dave ( maybe it is, maybe its not).  I have been working as a black taxi driver on the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland.  As a city Glasgow gets a lot of bad press for drinking violence and sectarianism crime.  To be honest it is soft as a new born puppy these days.  Well in comparison to what it was like 20 years ago anyway.  The fake dimond earing sporting, chino wearing, overly hair gelled guys today simply do not measure up to the Grade A hard men that roamed the streets back in the day.

I digress slightly.  The reason I am writting this is that I have a very big nose and it has been effecting my confidence bady for the last twenty years and is gettign worse as time goes on.  It has even got tot he point where I am considering cosmetic surgery.  I am pretty thick skinned, as you can imagine being a Glasgow taxi drive I hear a lot of abuse.  But the comments about my big nose always hurt the most.  I have been called everything from “beaky” to ” ya big snibbed freak”.  I cant lie anymore it hurts.

I feel so very self conscious as I turn round to talk to passengers and take their money.  Essentiall they are stairing straight at my massive nose in profile, perfectly framed by the talking window of my taxi.

I have almost made my mind up to do something positive about this nose situation.  In Glasgow it is not common place for men to have cosmetic surgery but I feel like I have no option.  I wouldn’t do anything daft like get surgery in Scotland.  Although it would be possible to pass of the bruising and bandages as the after effects of a pub fight or blame it on an unruly passenger. No I am considering cosmetic surgery Bristol, this is far enough away from eveyone I know and should give me time to heal.

Wow, I feel so much better already for sharing this.  It has literally blighted every day of my existence.  SO here is to 2012 the year when I will get a nice new nose.

Thailand is famous for its people as well as its beautiful beaches, great forest trekking, delicious food and year round good weather. Of course all generalizations are subject to contradiction by the specific. The good weather is not in evidence during the monsoon months, some Thai food is so spicy as to be inedible by all who have not grown up with very chilly laden food, and not all the beaches are that beautiful.

Many people have a dim view of all taxi drivers. The world over they seem to prey on people who are not aware that they are taking the ‘long route’; that their meter is running on double time. In Thailand taxi drivers are a mixed bunch. The yellow taxi drivers in Bangkok are a fascinating breed. Most of them are honest, especially those that speak hardly any English. They will go on the meter and they will go straight to their destination. Sometimes they will refuse a fare not because they are rude but because the problems posed by one way systems and rush hour traffic. I have often notede that yellow taxis in Bangkok are actually cheaper than tuk tuks and over head trains, especially if you travel in groups of 2 or 3 people. Bangkok taxi drivers are often very talkative. If they discover you understand Thai they are sometimes hard to shut up. Despite their tough working conditions they seem to be brimming over with enthusiasm.

It is thus a shock for those people who head down south from Bangkok the tropical island of Koh Samui. Don’t be deceived by the laid back feeling of the island or by the fact that the taxis have a sign saying ‘meter taxi’. It is not an exaggeration to say that down to a taxi none of them will go on the meter. Whether you want to go to a hotel in Chaweng, the airport or just around the corner Koh Samui taxi drivers will demand a fixed fare. The prices start at 250 Thai Baht and go up alarmingly quickly. For the same money in Bangkok you could travel for an hour in a taxi.

It is impossible to successfully haggle with a Koh Samui taxi driver. You might get the ‘standard price’ instead of a hugely inflated ‘tourist price’; but you will never get a bargain.

The reason for this is often said to be organized crime. the mafia have enforced a strict monopoly to keep taxi fares in Koh Samui high and thus profits high. It is beyond the remit of this website to comment on the veracity of such rumors.

Koh Tao is the smallest tourist holiday island in the Samui Archipelago that consists of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Ang Thong National Marine Park. It is also the least developed of the main islands in the region. During the 1980s and 1990s it was primarily considered as a place for divers. Now in the second decade of the Twenty-first Century Koh Tao has become more main stream. People are going to Koh Tao not just to learn to dive but also to experience some of the most unspoiled natural scenery in Thailand. One of the best places to experience this scenery is on the northern beach of Mango Bay.

Mango Bay is one of the most recent beaches to open for tourism in Koh Tao. It is in a very untouched area in the north of the island. The road to Mango Bay is very bumpy on the approach to the bay. The alternative is to catch a longtail boat from either Sairee Beach or Thong Tanote.

The scenery is spectacular at Mango Bay. On both sides forested mountains come down to the water’s edge. There are many huge granite boulders behind the white sand beach and to the side. The accommodation is built on these rocks and joined by picturesque wooden walkways. This creates a distinctive look to Mango Bay that is not found anywhere else on the island.

The main accommodation in Mango Bay is Ao Muong Resort and Diving. It has fan and air-con bungalows available. The restaurant for the resort is perched on a very big rock with a great view of the ocean.

The water at Mango Bay is very clear and teaming with marine life. It is an ideal spot to go snorkeling or learn to scuba dive because the bay is only 10 meters deep. There are coral reefs on both sides of the bay. It is possible to see barracuda, damselfish, several types of wrasse, titan trigger fish, sea moths and turtles.

Alternatively, it is great to soak up the sun on the beach. It is a very peaceful beach. There are no late night bars and no noise of traffic. Mango Bay is perfect for those who want to get away from it all and relax. It is undoubtedly one of the most pristine environments to take a holiday in Thailand. I recommend going now before more development moves into the area.