Tales from the streets
Sex and drugs and ... boredom, gridlock, bad manners and, yes, sometimes a little rock 'n' roll
- Toronto Star - August 14, 2004
Has Mr. Tambourine Man played a song for you?
You're most likely to find him around Yonge and Bloor Sts., cruising the downtown core, encouraging passengers to find their inner musician. He'll find a song on the radio and pass a tambourine over to the back seat, insisting you play along.
Cabbies like Mr. Tambourine Man — who does an uncanny Bob Dylan — aren't common in Toronto. And stories of picking up bloodthirsty hitmen like Vincent in Tom Cruise's new movie Collateral are pretty unlikely.
Taxi drivers have been the muse of countless script and songwriters, but the humdrum reality is a thankless job long on hours, crippled by gridlock and bad manners.
And when drivers talk about some of the perils that come with the job, they shrug them off as little more than a hard day's work. They're cavalier when recounting tales of being held at knifepoint. They chuckle when they talk about the time a passenger propositioned them in exchange for a free ride. For some drivers, their experiences harden them, for others, they become character builders.
At Maple Leaf Taxi's call centre, Raymond Therien, otherwise known as "Grandpa," is sending out the orders that flash on his screen. He's the lifeline for drivers, and was once a cabbie himself.
He's dressed in a pressed denim shirt and jeans, and has a no-nonsense kind of seriousness. He's slouched comfortably in his chair and dispatches with the efficiency of an auctioneer, awarding fares to drivers who are parked closest to the pickup location
Grandpa remembers a time when he knew most of the drivers by face. That was when he first started in the business 32 years ago. But a surge in city-issued plates has changed the dynamic between dispatchers and drivers, reducing faces to a series of numbers. There are now 8,317 drivers in the city, more than 4,000 cars on the roads and 36 cab companies in Toronto. According to the city's licensing department, taxis make 7 million runs a year, which generate half a billion dollars.
"Car 375, what are you doing, car 375?" he asks into his headset.
"You're back in the hack jack there? Thanks."
"I'm moving to New York," says a crackly voice over the radio.
"Thanks for the warning," Grandpa replies without hesitation.
Grandpa's been around long enough to use old dispatcher lingo, equivalent to diner speak. "Back in the hack jack," he says, means the driver's back in the car after a coffee stop or temporary break in service. "Moving to New York" is Maple Leaf-speak meaning the driver will be moving to the downtown York St. post.
Downtown driving is also fodder for taxi tales. Malak Farid Ahmed remembers when he picked up a woman from the Don Jail.
She was exuberant, having just been released ( he didn't want to ask what for) and stripped to her skivvies.
Then there was the time a well-dressed couple from Forest Hill climbed into his car and couldn't contain their passion. When the man started pulling down his pants, Ahmed tried stopping him, only to be offered $50 to look away. He gave them the boot.
Being a cabbie can be a thankless job. That's why Mayor David Miller declared Aug. 11 to be City of Toronto Taxi Driver Appreciation Day, giving some of the hardest-working people on the street their due recognition.
