Tampa Taxi Shots

She would never make it on the mean streets. She will stay with the craft beer drinkers and poor people suffer. People like the lady above is what is wrong with the rideshare concept. This women will never go into the bad part of town. Poor people in society suffer enough, now, they won't even be able to get rides. The cheery pickers have arrived. Cab driving will now be an exclusive right of passage for hipsters, on the same level of Starbucks coffee, skinny jeans, and alternative rock with craft beers, and the other sacraments of hipsterism. This has to be stopped. Jobs are at stake.  "Led by companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, ride-sharing has rocketed into the mainstream in a relatively short time frame. Uber started up in San Francisco four years ago, and has since expanded to 128 cities worldwide. The company's most recent valuation came in at an eye-popping $18 billion. Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick has publicly stated that his company is doubling

Cabs at Tampa airport. I am a 19 year United Cab of Tampa driver who likes his job. It has done me well over the years and I have been able to make an honest living. Something now threatens that livelihood - rideshare apps. The illegal Uber and Lyft operations, if successful, will drive the transportation industry to a new Gilded Age of robber barons who control everything and the public welfare is not served. Natural monopolies would develop and you would now have your 1%, with no hope of options for the consumer. It has been a disaster in California and I pray it does not spread. Let me explain. On the surface, this looks like a simple job: People call or hail for a cab, I pick them up, and take them where there going. However, there is more too it then that. That person is only able to get  into my cab because of the business structure and climate that has been established by regulatory agencies . Without them, it would be pure chaos. Uber and Lyft are determined to operate il

Kevin and his band getting ready to rock out at Skippers Smoke House. Come have a beer. Check out @TimFasano's Tweet: https://twitter.com/TimFasano/status/494257308667764737 posted from Bloggeroid

Some random shots of friends, camping, and a downtown Tampa cemetery. Lots of photos of good times. Tampa Taxi Shots is shooting. posted from Bloggeroid

Lou Plasencia recently trashed the Tampa taxi industry by saying he always gets into dirty cabs at the airport. That cannot be supported by any facts. Not even the photos of dirty cabs he claims to have (he will never produce them). We have a starter who loads our taxis at the point of purchase. If a driver has a dirty cab, he will suspend him untill he cleans it. That rarely happens because the standards of United Cab of Tampa are just that high. He observed shorts being worn by drivers. You do have the option to wear walking shots because this is summer in Tampa Florida. 95% of all drivers wear Dockers, polo or dress shirts, and wing tipped shoes. We are a well dressed unit. They don't take credit cards. Wrong again Lou Plasencia. Drivers use the company installed machine or they use the Square. In fact, most drivers do over $30,000 a year in credit card payments. The company promptly cashes drivers out daily on these transactions, so there is no reason to balk on this f

The new cab I have will burn ethanol. That should improve performance and safe me a couple hundred a month in fuel cost. That is money right in my pocket. I do believe I could tell the difference and the price was $2.99 a gallon. There is savings there. posted from Bloggeroid

This is what you see if you go to The Great Green Swamp of central Florida before sunrise. I met some friends of mine at 4:30 am at a remote trail head into the swamp we were the only ones there. We were hoping Bigfoot would be there. Kevin was checking his photo equipment and Nick and Robert were making final minute preparation. Most people are not willing to do this when they can just watch on tv. I live out here. What's cool is this night vision camera that let us see on total darkness. You can walk right up on someone and they won't know your there. We packed up and moved on. This is the back of Kevin while Robert and Nick take us in. We went five miles on before the sun even came up. We did some howls and off trail recon but only got video of a pig. Thats the way this goes. Just have to stay with it. It beats driving cab on a Saturday morning! posted from Bloggeroid

This is the time of year people are so happy to see any kind of football that a sled drill becomes a Twitter hit. Can't wait until bodies start slamming. Oh, it is VERY HOT man!

As Lovie Smith was holding his press conference after the Bugs first practice of training camp, this rainbow appeared over Tampa Bay. There was rain in the area and I believe it was a sign. Remember, you heard it here first. posted from Bloggeroid

I took delivery of a new taxi cab with only 70,000 miles. Its a former police car, and only three years old. It is the newest cab I've ever had in nineteen years of driving. I have been in some real junk before. My understanding is the company is going to all late model vehicles. That would cut down on maintenance cost. Just another sign things are looking up. This was taken from the front seat when I got in for the first time. I am cab number 474. If you are down on vacation, don't call Lyft. Call Tim Fasano in his new, clean cab. The trend in the industry is to get away from clunkers. I ran into Rob Searcy and he asked me how I liked it. I shook his hand and thanked him. I need to get Joe to clean it every Friday. Joe does a good job. posted from Bloggeroid

I am entering a new phase of my life. The economy is getting better and things are finally beginning to improve. I should soon have a new computer, and finally get back to serious posting.  Viewers from years ago expected it. Time is marching on; Tim is marching on... hence the metaphor of the taxi meter running. I started blogging in 2005 during the heady days of the Tampa blog scene explosion. It was new and fun and I could not wait to get home and blog about the daily trips I had. Something changed along the way, however. The United States economy fell apart like a three dollar watch, killing hope and breaking the spirit of many. Most of the local bloggers just went away. Their dormant blogs left abandoned years ago, a testament to a vital community killed off by fast change and greed. Many Tampa blogs  still show the last post from way back. During this time, FaceBook was taking off and it seems to be where most people are at. The blogging scene just a faded memory for me. Ho

These cats got it made. They are well fed by the mechanics and drivers. Come by at sunrise and you will ser JD pull up. He has been feeding these guys for ten years every morning The black one is not as feral as he was but he must really know you to pet him. I sort of wish someone would have made pets out of these guys. "Flat Top"even rolled over for me. What a nice kitty. posted from Bloggeroid

I did not know my hair had gotten this gray. The stress from social media and seven years of recession has taken its toll. posted from Bloggeroid

United Cab got a toll violation from the State of Florida. Their cameras took a photo of the tag of a taxi not paying the toll, and sent it to the company. The low resolution image made it difficult to read the cab number and they thought it was me. Impossible. I never use the toll roads. We are only talking $3.50. I went in to contest it, and sure enough, the tag number did not match mine. I am 378 and it was 338. I was off the hook. How bout that! United Cab does not like getting these things from irresponsible drivers and charge a $25 handling fee. They are in the cab business, not the toll business. I was ready to pay. (Note money order.) I was very glad it was not me. Just an oversight. I want to state for the record United Cab has been very good to me over the years. Everyone from the owners to the back office has been beyond great. That is why I have stayed all these years. posted from Bloggeroid

I took this photo last September on Lake Hudson in the BWCA. It is on the Canadian/Minnesota border far away from any semblance of civilization. On this morning the ducks were stirring; the loons were calling; the frogs sang in a cocofony of delight. The growing embers of my campfire, combined with lake water, turned instant coffee in high-brow brew. This wilderness is wonderful. I cannot tell you how beautiful and peaceful it was. Unfortunately, I was not really there. This image was taken behind the dumpster in the back lot of Publix supermarket in New Tampa this morning. No frogs; no loons; But the silence was puncuated with the sound of hundreds of cars just off my left going to work. What a drag. TIMMY PHOTO TIP: you don't have to travel to exotic locals to get good image's. However, I really wish I had been in northern Minnesota posted from Bloggeroid

The crowds are thick and there are signs of expansion. Many of the mom and pop properties were torn down to make way for condos. This happened in 2006, just before the economic collapse. Well shazam. That kind of sucked In Clearwater today you could see tower cranes in the distance. That is something I have not seen in years. Must mean the economic is recovering. posted from Bloggeroid

Trying to develop regular exercise habits is difficult. My favorite exercise of long distance hiking is sort of hard in the summer heat and humidity. The pool now seems like the place to be. As Arnold said, you wear a spedo, get a tan, and everyone is almost naked. Sounds like fun posted from Bloggeroid

This is really sad. I have seen this lady for years pushing this cart down the street, loaded with stuff. She is obviously mentally ill. You would think someone could help her. Maybe the cops could Baker act her, and get her help. On this issue, they say its a liberty issue and she can do what she wants. Funny, on other issues the cops are all up in our business. Sad. Very sad. posted from Bloggeroid

I had a run way out to the Turkey Creek area. Instead of dead heading back, I went to a nice park for a couple hours. As Tony Soprano said "sometimes you just got to smell the gorilla shit." This boardwalk is next to a camping area, and goes our to a wilderness preserve. There is an observation tower which gives a spectacular view of the former phosphate mine. Unfortunately, the lakes out here are man made. There was a storm brewing in the distance and I could hear thunder. So I cut the trip short. I got back to the car in the nick of time as the bottom of the bucket opened up. It has been raining so much in central Florida that we have already reached the annual average for rainfall and we ate not even in the rainy season yet. Wait until a hurricane comes around. Yikes! posted from Bloggeroid

Dave is moving the operations to Tuscan away from the more vista areas around phoenix. The nudist camp in the south allows more privacy, and scenes that ate not like Florida. For the first time since 2007 I am planning for the November event. My life may finally be back online. Now, that would be cool. posted from Bloggeroid

Xzanthia I found this on an old TBT. If you remember back in 2007, I had the honor of shooting Xzanthia in an art nude shoot. The recession hit and I could not keep up my craft. She was a fantastic model and artist and held events at her fathers nudist resort. I now know now she has moved onto other things. I wish her well. Her and her father were top notch. "Through festivals, parties and an artists’-colony sense of camaraderie, the Pasco County performance artist created an enclave of creativity and diversity in Tampa Bay at the  Riverboat Nudist Colony  in Land O’Lakes. Her work with the band  Impotent Sea Snakes , her XBash Music Festival  and her legendary  foam parties have made her a fixture of Tampa Bay’s underground art scene. But after years spent working to connect and create a community, she has decided to leave. Citing a desire to de-complicate her life and focus on her art, XZanthia is moving away. She remains positive about the Tampa Bay artistic community,

I have the URL Tampa Taxi Shots and I have shifted resources there. To promote my brand Tim Fasano, that domain is attached here. My Sasquatch Evidence blog is taking off and almost 1,000 views a day. The internet has been the most successful thing I have ever done. Check out my sites. posted from Bloggeroid

I am home watching Les Stroud and Tod Standing searching for Bigfoot. Stroud would make an awesome footer and it seems they have gone to lengths to make sure Standing does not upstage the star. I like this episode and has more pace then the Finding Bigfoot show. Todd seems like a cool dude. posted from Bloggeroid

I shot this video a couple years ago when my computer was functional. I really need to get a new one. Anyway, I hope you like this. I did put some work into it.

A different vantage point to shoot downtown Tampa. This is on Harbor Island on a beautiful morning. The next photo has the taxi in it. I kind of like this one. It shows taxi cabs get all over town. posted from Bloggeroid

I found out that I can post directly from Twitter onto the blog. That sounds like a cool function that I would like to try: here goes nothing! My taxi on Clearwater Beach. A beautiful day. pic.twitter.com/jQY975e0XL — Tim Fasano (@TimFasano) May 31, 2014 The cell phone girl in the black bikini. pic.twitter.com/1wRJCq6hmF — Tim Fasano (@TimFasano) January 11, 2014 The URL is now TampaTaxiShots.net ...a herbal viagra site has the dot com..WTF.

When I started the first generation of Tampa Taxi Shots, this was the photo I used in my first post in 2005. Its been a while. Yes, I was drinking a beer. I am over 21 and have wandered why my haters use this image against me. This was taken during a good time in my life. An episode I am trying to get back too. I am trying hard. posted from Bloggeroid

Being homeless must be rough. Trying to get food and water and a place to sleep is primary on your mind. Florida is extra tough because of the summer heat and humidity. However, they do have a beautiful view of the waterfront and the University of Tampa. Note the kids playing in the water. posted from Bloggeroid

I picked up a guy today from the airport that looked like Elvis. There is a reason for that - he is an Elvis impersonator. How cool is that. He performs at local clubs, and is trying to break into Las Vegas. Like me, he has his goals. I include one of his videos here. Unlike some Elvis wanna bees, this guy is good. He also gave me a good ride and I made money of him. He was no "hound dog." posted from Bloggeroid

I found this article on the Daily Press website. It will mean nothing to anyone but it means a lot to me. This article wad written in 1993 when the possibility of closing Ivy Farms pool was real. I hear in 2010 it was demolished by the city. Just another nail in my coffin. I always wanted to get up there and swim one more lap. That will never happen July 22, 1993|By VIRGINIA BIGGINS Daily Press NEWPORT NEWS — Three decades ago when the Ivy Farms swimming pool was new, people of all ages came early and stayed late to swim, sunbathe and chat with friends. DAILY PRESS: Neighborhood kids campaigned to get their families to become members of the pool, which they saw as the only place to be on a hot summer day. Many joined the Ivy Farms swim team. posted from Bloggeroid Now the pool, one of the oldest in the city, may have to close because its membership has dropped from an all-time high of 300 families in the 1960s to 50 families today. A combination of economics, shifting popu

This is a fresco on the side of a building downtown. It incorporates some of the iconic images of Tampa's history. I'm amazed at all the newcomers who know little about the areas history. Did you know that Plant Hall was the logistics and command center for the Spanish American War. Teddy Roosevelt was in command. As a result, the Rough Rider Krewe is still important to Tampa culture Its hot in July, and so is the taxi business right now. The airport is off the chain, with little wait time. The streets are full of calls, many being great charges. It has not been like this since 2007. Knock on wood. If I make it through this summer, I should be in the clear and finally get my life back. posted from Bloggeroid

Just to let you know what we were doing the day after July 4th. We were at Blackwater Creek. We got there before sunrise and had an awesome day. This is us in the creek looking for the Swamp beast. Rob has been featured on "Monsters in America" on the History Channel. It was an honor to work with him and Kevin this late in the summer. posted from Bloggeroid

Eat, drink (heavely), and be merry. The price for freedom was in human lives. Liberty has rarely existed on earth. It should not be taken for granted. posted from Bloggeroid

I am $4.63 over after pulling down twenty bucks in pay. Its taken seven years to get here. Now, time to move forward. I really need a computer. posted from Bloggeroid

Tim Fasano publisher of Tampa Taxi Shots I started this blog last year because I was bored. My original Tampa Taxi Shots was gone. I still had many of the images and the stories were still in my head. However, my ten year old laptop took a shit. Since then, I have been going to the library, but mostly loading with an android phone. That is a piss poor way of doing it. But its all I got. Today was the first time since 2007 that I did not owe United Cab money. I paid off the balance today, and actually got money back!!! At this pace, I should be able to buy a new laptop soon and be able to do some serious writing from the comfort of my home, instead of trying to write in a crowded computer lab with the guy in the green shirt (the same shirt he has had on for weeks) sitting across from you and chewing his tongue,  while making funny noises. The traffic on this site is growing and I know if I put myself 100% into it, I can make it big. July 4th is a good benchmark, and time to look