How long have you been a cab driver? And how did you get started?
I've been driving a cab for about a year. I got laid off from my comfortable little office job, which I hated anyway, and didn't really know what to do next. I collected unemployment until it ran out, and then I really needed money. The job market wasn't great, and I didn't have any desire to go back to an office anyway, despite the fact that I had previously been making a decent amount of money.
I had always thought about driving a taxi, and what an adventure it would be, but I never had enough nerve to actually go through with it. But at that point in my life, I shifted my thinking. It was too much pressure to try to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Instead, I started to think in terms of what I wanted to do next. I started treating life itself as an adventure. So, I decided that I would take the plunge and try the taxi thing for a while until I figured out what the next thing was. It wasn't a lifetime commitment for me, and that made it a lot easier. I went to taxi school and got my hack license, and I've been driving a cab ever since.
What do you like best about the job?
It's no secret that I don't love the job. But I guess what I like best about it is the people I meet. They make it so that it's not repetitive or monotonous. There's always something new happening, and I never know what to expect when I go to work. However, this can also be a drawback sometimes.
What is the worst part of your job?
The money is not predictable and, because I'm on the road so much, accidents are more likely to happen. Also, I don't have health insurance.
Can you tell us about a typical day (or night) at work?
That's the thing: There is no typical night at work. I never know what's gonna happen or who's gonna get in the cab or where I'm gonna end up having to take them.
How many female cab drivers are there in the city? Do you know? We never see any...
I heard once that there are 400 women driving taxis in New York City. This is out of 40,000 drivers total, so we make up about one percent.
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