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Authors: Mike Heffernan
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the best way I could. I knew the instrument had some value, and I didnât want to see it go to the landfill. If that machine had been absolute garbage, I would still have taken it for parts.
A month before the inquiry was over, they called me: âDo you know about this piece of equipment?â
âVaguely.â I mean, Iâve shipped parts and equipment to six different continents.
I went down and testified. Anyway, they cut me off at the knees. In so many words, Eastern Health said my services would no longer be needed. Ninety per cent of my business was gone overnight. My options were limited, but I just happened to know the taxi industry. I know how to make a living at it; I havenât got to learn anything. Anyone who gets into this industry new does it because thereâs nothing else that they can do. For almost everybody who is over fifty or sixty, theyâre probably at it to supplement their income. You almost need to be on a pension, because sometimes you donât make minimum wage at this. I talked to a girl out in the Goulds at one of the local convenience stores. Her father is retired, and he went taxiing. About a month ago, he worked for nine hours on a Saturday and made $8. Thatâs true. Iâve done it. Not recently, but Iâve done it.
Some people have no idea. Pick a Saturday or a Sunday morning when thereâs fuck all doing. How long are you prepared to sit in that car? Twelve hours in an average shift. We got eight or nine different places where we park: Knights of Columbus, Travelerâs Inn, Stockwoodâs, the Quality Hotel, the Battery Hotel, Churchill Square, Cougar Helicopters, Stanley Steamer on Torbay Road, the trade schools. Workersâ Compensation is another. We got small law firms. Stuff like that. You go find one of the stands to park at and hope that it gets busy. At any given time there are twenty-five to thirty-five cars on the road. If it doesnât get busy, you donât make any money.
What do you think is the longest shift Iâve ever worked? Twenty-eight hours without a break. My mortgage was due, and I never had it. I went to work until I got it. Thatâs downright fucking dangerous. Thatâs shit you shouldnât be at, but there are guys who do that on a regular basis.
Here itâs quarter after seven in the evening. Iâve been up since five oâclock this morning. Someone could say to me right now, âHereâs $800. Take me to Corner Brook.â Iâd be gone in a flash. Our stand rent is $335 a week. We pay our stand rent on Wednesdays. I got to pay them $335 tomorrow for stand rent. Today, this is a bad day. Right now, Iâve probably made $100 cash, including charges. Forty-seven dollars of that comes out for my stand rent. That leaves me with $53. Iâve got to put gas in the car. Thatâs $10, or $15. That leaves me with $30. I smoke. I bought a pack of cigarettes today. You canât take sandwiches with you if youâre out twelve or fifteen hours. Itâs just not practical. If you get a bite to eat, what are you left with when you get home? Not much.
Every year we got to bring our taxis down to get them inspected. You bring them to the garage, and then you bring them down to City Hall. The taxi inspector just makes sure you got all your paper work, that you got $1 million in liability on your insurance. Heâll check out to make sure your signal lights are working. Just basic stuff. Youâve come from a garage and youâve had your car inspected by a licensed mechanic. Then you pay the taxi inspector his $100 fee that goes to City Hall for your licence for a year.
Thereâs just no end to the fees. There are fees for fucking everything. When I put this car on two-and-a-half years ago, it cost me $1,700. I had to pay it off before I put her on the road because you canât drive a taxi with a loan on it. The car company knows youâre going to run that car down to
A month before the inquiry was over, they called me: âDo you know about this piece of equipment?â
âVaguely.â I mean, Iâve shipped parts and equipment to six different continents.
I went down and testified. Anyway, they cut me off at the knees. In so many words, Eastern Health said my services would no longer be needed. Ninety per cent of my business was gone overnight. My options were limited, but I just happened to know the taxi industry. I know how to make a living at it; I havenât got to learn anything. Anyone who gets into this industry new does it because thereâs nothing else that they can do. For almost everybody who is over fifty or sixty, theyâre probably at it to supplement their income. You almost need to be on a pension, because sometimes you donât make minimum wage at this. I talked to a girl out in the Goulds at one of the local convenience stores. Her father is retired, and he went taxiing. About a month ago, he worked for nine hours on a Saturday and made $8. Thatâs true. Iâve done it. Not recently, but Iâve done it.
Some people have no idea. Pick a Saturday or a Sunday morning when thereâs fuck all doing. How long are you prepared to sit in that car? Twelve hours in an average shift. We got eight or nine different places where we park: Knights of Columbus, Travelerâs Inn, Stockwoodâs, the Quality Hotel, the Battery Hotel, Churchill Square, Cougar Helicopters, Stanley Steamer on Torbay Road, the trade schools. Workersâ Compensation is another. We got small law firms. Stuff like that. You go find one of the stands to park at and hope that it gets busy. At any given time there are twenty-five to thirty-five cars on the road. If it doesnât get busy, you donât make any money.
What do you think is the longest shift Iâve ever worked? Twenty-eight hours without a break. My mortgage was due, and I never had it. I went to work until I got it. Thatâs downright fucking dangerous. Thatâs shit you shouldnât be at, but there are guys who do that on a regular basis.
Here itâs quarter after seven in the evening. Iâve been up since five oâclock this morning. Someone could say to me right now, âHereâs $800. Take me to Corner Brook.â Iâd be gone in a flash. Our stand rent is $335 a week. We pay our stand rent on Wednesdays. I got to pay them $335 tomorrow for stand rent. Today, this is a bad day. Right now, Iâve probably made $100 cash, including charges. Forty-seven dollars of that comes out for my stand rent. That leaves me with $53. Iâve got to put gas in the car. Thatâs $10, or $15. That leaves me with $30. I smoke. I bought a pack of cigarettes today. You canât take sandwiches with you if youâre out twelve or fifteen hours. Itâs just not practical. If you get a bite to eat, what are you left with when you get home? Not much.
Every year we got to bring our taxis down to get them inspected. You bring them to the garage, and then you bring them down to City Hall. The taxi inspector just makes sure you got all your paper work, that you got $1 million in liability on your insurance. Heâll check out to make sure your signal lights are working. Just basic stuff. Youâve come from a garage and youâve had your car inspected by a licensed mechanic. Then you pay the taxi inspector his $100 fee that goes to City Hall for your licence for a year.
Thereâs just no end to the fees. There are fees for fucking everything. When I put this car on two-and-a-half years ago, it cost me $1,700. I had to pay it off before I put her on the road because you canât drive a taxi with a loan on it. The car company knows youâre going to run that car down to
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