Paradise Driver: THE FLIP SIDE...

Friday, February 01, 2008

THE FLIP SIDE...

... OF THE COIN

Mike Weldon, a regular reader, sent me this:

May have to keep this in mind if things get really, really, really desperate.

Mahalo, Mike.

***

How bad was it? I have had worse and I'll admit the end was better than the beginning.

Sat until 9:15 PM before I had my first run. Thats pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. Didn't get another fare until 11:00 PM. Actually had 2 that hour. Another in the "witching" hour and 1 bar close. That right, 7 hours and 5 fares. Added 3 more during the dog-watch.

It is still cold at night, but the day reached into the lower mid-70's yesterday. The cooler temps probably kept the trouble from happening at the "Triangle" at bar close. There wasn't anybody there to cause trouble. However MPD was there in force. 20 officers, most standing at the curb of the FoodLand side of the street, across from LAB (Life's A Beach). A smaller group walking the "Triangle".

I hadn't heard of any trouble brewing but apparently they had. That one young Tongan had been badly roughed up two weeks ago and there is trouble brewing, obviously.

The only ride of salacious interest was a 3-pax. 2 gals and a guy. They had called another driver for a pick-up ("special") and he gathered in someone else, instead. So they joined me and off we went to Wailea. The girls were ripped. Not "puking" drunk but LOUD VOICE drunk. They were nice enough to call the other driver to cancel him after we started moving. I guess one of the girls had been flirting with the driver on the initial trip. She had told him that they didn't have any money, in a joking manner, and he had told her:

"No problem. You can sit on my mustache."

Which explained her cryptic comment when she boarded my cab:

"Oh! You have a full beard! Thats even better than a mustache!"

No. She didn't offer to sit on it.

A few seconds after I dropped my final fare, one of the morning drivers checked in, just around the corner. I saw hime cross in front of me as he radioed in. I pulled behind him and said:

"If you pull to the curb, we can save the company some money. I am right behind you."

Passed over the phone and reservation sheet and didn't have to go all the way back to Wailea, we were in north Kihei. Home by 4"00 AM!

Well, the official figures are finally catching up to what I've been whining about all last year (and into this one). A 4.3% drop in visitor spending in 2007, on Mau'i. Thats a pretty hefty chunk of change.

After the "Triangle" closed I passed back through and had an opportunity to chat with one of the ranking members of the night security company. Well, she had 4 stars on her collar. Must mean sumptin'.

I had noticed earlier that a cab, from an out-of-area company that likes to poach on our turf, had been parked within the property, after the chains had gone up. Something we had been told we couldn't do. She explained that they had allowed it because there were few vehicles in the lot and that our drivers could do the same thing on nights of low pedestrian traffic. We won't be allowed to do it if traffic is heavy and on nights when drunks are, literally, crawling from bar to bar. Also that they won't allow any cabs to drop or pick-up inside their property line on busy nights. A liability risk of someone walking into a cab as it is passing by in the narrow confines of the drives and parking spaces. I can accept that. I don't believe it but I can accept it.

8 fares / 70 miles / 4th quarter below $100 bracket

East of the IDL, its TGIF. West, it is Saturday. Everyone enjoy your weekend. Hope you can drop by this weekend!

Mahalo

Aloha

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