Another week or so and my Cab will be finally paid off .Which has had me thinking about switching to day shift.
Over all the gross average per shift would be the same,but the tip factor drops significantly.
Sober folks are not as generous with their money, as they are, when they are out on the town, drinking and partying.
I have also gotten spoiled-or just lazy-working nights.Very few grocery runs, and no seniors to help in and out of the cab.
No walkers, wheel chairs,or baby strollers to lug in and out of the trunk.
My butt rarely leaves the seat for the entire shift.That alone isn't very heart healthy,let alone all the road food (or is that road kill?) that I scarf at the drive-thru's.
Day shift does have its advantages.A calmer quieter, and more rational clientele, is a big draw.
Being able to see house numbers, and street names clearly, would be a nice change,especially out in the country.(You folks with LED house numbers,I love ya!)
Though in town,one quickly learns,that the only house on the street, sitting in complete darkness,is the one that called the cab.People can be so bloody clue-less.
The potential for violence also decreases when running day shift.I make no comparison here with my fellow cabbies who operate in large Metropolitan areas.These Men and Women are at much greater risk, then those of us in rural areas.
Though we do live in a relatively crime free area,it is still very much a red-neck town,and thus we take our share of shit.
None more so then our Indo-Canadian drivers who are often the victims of racial slurs, and hassled by local punks.
I think the allure though, of running nights,is the freedom it offers.Having the town to ourselves,no traffic,lenient coppers who turn a blind eye to us speeding.The cops would much prefer the cabbies whisk the drunks off the streets before the fights and vandalism starts."Better off going with us then the cops" I tell the ones itching for a scrap in a bar parking lot.
The coppers don't treat these guys with kid gloves,and if they want to fight,the cops are more then willing to oblige them.
After its all said and done,I think that though the day shift has its advantages,I might very well die of boredom.
