Paradise Driver: 12/06/06

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

A LONG YET

PROFITABLE NIGHT

But it sure didn't start that way.

Sat from 7p to 9p in Wailea and the only run that I was dispatched to canceled at the last minute. After a barren two hours, the dispatcher took pity on me and let me go into Kihei. Between 7p and 12m, I had three runs, none over $10.10,. From 12m to 2a I added three more runs. None of those over $10.10 neither. From 2a to 4:30a I did another three runs, the biggest $9.80

As you can see, it was a really shitty night. Then fortune smiled upon me. The Renaissance Hotel called. A Korean guest had forgotten that he need to catch a flight to Honolulu this morning. He was more than a bit disorganized. Waited 10 minutes while he kept walking away from the counter, always forgetting something. Then he had a bag that he needed to give to a friend staying at another hotel in Wailea. The problem, he couldn't remember which one it was. All the other hotels are south of the Renaissance, so we started driving to each, until he found the correct one. Wrong entrance, we had to go around to the ballroom.. He went upstairs to his friends room. Finally, at 5:15a we started for the airport. The normal $50 fare totaled out at $66. At first he gave me a $4 tip but then, as I was leaving, ran up and gave me $5 more.

While enroute to OGG, the first dayshift car checked in at 5:30am. The second one came on-board just before 5:45a. I only had two reservations for the day. One at 6a and the other at 6:15a. I thought I had everything covered but a non-scheduled pick-up, from The Grand to OGG, walked out. With that and the 6a reservation, I was out of cabs. Pulled up for the 6:15a reservation at 6:11a and the guests were waiting. Two people going to Maalaea Harbor. Gave the return pick-up to the first of the day drivers.

Those last two runs added over $100 dollars to my meter. Prior to them, I hadn't even reached $75.

Finally walked in my front door at 7:30a.

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Gas dropped 2-cents over my days off: