Tampa Taxi Shots

Watch video below and you will say "Fuck Uber" Watch the first video of what will be a very successful YouTube site. With my professional Canon Vixia camcorder, I will now be able to make pro grade videos for uploading on YouTube. This is the first one.

I don't like being robbed at Tampa  International Airport The real reason Joseph W. Lopano let Uber and Lyft into TPA was he projected an increase in fees collected to be 5.2 million in the next two years. He seemed to view this as a revenue generating opportunity when the taxi companies were only able to come up with about 1.2 million a year. This was more than a reason to violate existing law. Joe Lopano (head of TPA) had a long range plan to soak the public and make a GIANT BONUS for himself. I wonder why he was fired in New York and flamed out in Dallas? Just wondering. The Tampa Bay Business Journal confirmed this fact the other day on their website. I knew he was corrupt and this proves it. Lopano stated that reason he let Uber and Lyft into the airport (violating the contract he had with the taxi companies) is he wanted to provide transportation alternatives to the traveling public. That was pure Bullshit. He simply saw how they could increase revenue long term by bilk...

Thunderstorms loom over downtown Tampa I actually had a good day today and it was not because of U2 playing tonight at Raymond James Stadium or the thunderstorms building up over the bay area. It had to do with the three part approach I use to try to book like the old days. 1) I live in Clearwater, so I get out early to rack up some liquid gold. That is the increasing number of people that are going to PAR on Logisticare charges. That tends to slow down by 8'oclock. 2) I work Tampa International Airport in until the lunch hour. 3) I work the hood until late afternoon. That is where a taxi driver can still get cash fares because these people are not good enough for Uber or Lyft. They don't have bank issued debit cards and the ride share folks do not want them. You also get many Logisticare charges from the poor areas. That's about it. Adapt or perish is the rule of the jungle. Forget about getting any U2 people like we would have in years gone by. Those folks w...

Rockefeller and Kalanick - both criminals John D Rockefeller would be very proud of Uber. What Travis Kalanick has been able to do is violate established law set over a century ago. The Sherman Act and the Clayton Anti Trust Act were reasoned decisions by the Supreme Court to stop the criminal activates of the Robber Barron's. At its heart is a clearly unfair practice called "low balling." What Rockefeller did was run his railroads at a deliberate loss for a five year period. He was making so much money off of Standard Oil, that this was no problem. His competitors (who needed to make a profit) were unable to keep matching Rockefeller's price. They all eventually went out of business. Then, JD was able to charge any damn price he wanted to move product by rail. The same thing is happening today with Uber. Kalanick calls it "customer behavior modification." He is low balling the Tampa area to get all of the former taxi riders. Soon, United Cab and Yel...

I can honestly say that in the 22 years I have driven a taxi in Tampa, that I have been treated more than fairly by the company. In fact, I consider the management friends. As I have stated repeatedly on this blog, the problem is not the ownership of United Cab. The problem is the HCPTC which, in my opinion, has been compromised by the deep pockets of Uber. This is why the commission treats them with kit gloves and makes tremendous concessions that would never be made in another industry. Drivers gathering at United Cab Tampa Running a cab company is costly. That is where Uber has an absolute advantage. They have managed to shift all the cost onto the worker and Uber takes no risk. This is an anti-labor practice that has gained ground under the stagnation of the Obama administration. Fortunately, that may soon end. I read the other day that the leading employer in the United States is Wall Mart. Most of their workers make minimum wage. I also read that nationwide over one ...

Uber driver being robbed. The robber should have killed the son of a bitch Uber shit A judge in Argentina has ordered Uber out of the country. Why can't the useless HCPTC kick them out of our county. What a weak piece of shit organization. CNN REPORTS: "That judge, however, declined to jail local executives, despite a request from the local prosecutor who asked for a nationwide shutdown of the ride-sharing service. Uber told CNNTech the app continues to operate normally and an appeals court will consider a nationwide ban. The ride-hailing company was told to stop business in Buenos Aires in April. Local credit card and telecommunications companies were ordered to block Uber, but the ride-sharing service continued to operate in the city. The Silicon Valley company faces criticism from labor groups, governments and drivers around the world. Critics say Uber should provide better pay and benefits to drivers, and that it undercuts local unionized transporta...

NOTICE NO CALLS ON THE BOARD DURING THE PIRATE INVASION! This is an image of my tablet at around noon on Gasparilla day 2017. It was a clear board. In years past, there would have been 1,500,000,000 calls on the board. The business is gone. There is not anything more I can say about that. I used to blame the HCPTC for taking no action to stop a gypsy cab operation. They were compromised early in the process of negotiations, and with the billions behind Uber, is that a surprise? The only mystery now is why do so many drivers continue to work for a leasing operation. There are no real perks to that anymore. The airport will soon be open season. When that happens, you won't be able to find a taxi in this town anymore. I did pick up a couple south of Gandy who told me the reason they called United Cab was they did not want to pay 10x surge. A 10 dollar fare would now be over 100 bucks. Apparently many were willing to pay that instead of getting into a taxi. Its over fo...

Tom and I have a discussion about Uber and the problems we don't think they can avoid, such as laundry, groceries, and asshole customers. Uber drivers will soon find out that all that glitters is not gold. Vomit on the back seat with Big Mac sauce mixed with French fries is so nice. You drive all night and your cab will smell like sex and livestock. How could Uber avoid this?

Uber is violating the privacy of its customers. We know that many creepy stalkers drive Uber to get close to hot women (something they could never do in their daily life) but Uber itself is spying on its customers. Several former executives have come forward as whistle blowers and what they reveal is stunning. Every American should be outraged at the wanton abuse by this company which is involved in providing meta-data to NSA spying operations. They are Big Brother.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak worries about Uber 'becoming a monopoly' https://t.co/bCSaOWrgaw via @smh — The Howling Hack (@CigarCityCabbie) December 9, 2016

Most of Uber's money went to little Marco I have had this conversation many times with people in my taxi. The profile on the customer is a hipster, progressive, and a once supporter of Hillary Clinton. I try to explain that no matter how tight your jeans are; no matter how groomed your beard is: Uber does not support your politics. Uber was a major contributor to the Marco Rubio (extreme conservative) Presidential campaign. Believe me, your politics are yours but Uber does not care about your hipster lifestyle. All they care about is that you use their service at the detriment of the regulated companies that follow the law. In reality, you are a conservative but you just don't know it. How can I say that...look at this image and ask yourself if you believe in what Marco represents.

Albert is a cab driver that follows the rules and pays his insurance, license, and operation fees Guest post by Albert Zee: Uber problem in Tampa Bay.....Taxi industry has been under siege since 2007-2008 due to economical collapse of 2008, then surge in new taxi cab start ups between 2010-204 which were still mostly operating according to all the rules and regulations prolonged recovery. Then uber came around with "great solution" to our transportation problems and said, what regulations, what commercial insurance, what background checks and what cars (we don't need to own any and our drivers don't need to be regulated because we are "rideshare" company), we will invade and steal the market by offering rides at half a price, we will put all those law obeying "taxi cartels" out of business by creating bogus press releases about advantages of uber, by lying to public, drivers and politicians, they don't know any better any ways. Curren...

Taxi companies are dying nationwide The oldest and one of the largest cab companies in America is up for sale. They were headed for bankruptcy as Uber and Lyft have taken all of the street business and the drivers have defected because they cannot make money. The politicians, that claim to be Democrats, have no courage and will not do what is right to protect the public, and a regulated industry.

We are entering a Neolithic age of capitalism. Oh, that is a Cuban cigar from Havana - against federal law to have one - Screw 'em ( Check my Twitter bar to view videos of my opinion on this ) The Tampa Airport Directors of Operations are screwing the local cab drivers up the ass. The local taxi companies have an exclusive contract on "transportation for hire" at the airport. The taxi companies pay $250,000 a year for the right to pick up. (You have to pay to play when it comes to the airport...unless you are Uber or Lyft). Uber pays ZERO $$$. Do you know that?  And they are allowed to pick up in the tunnel where we are banned from. In fact, an ADO told me that for every 1 fare we pick up, Uber picks up 11. That is an outrage. It is time that the drivers protect their own rights and the taxi companies need to support us in this. Let me explain: The taxi business is not going well in Tampa. It is worse than what is commonly known. If it were not for the Logistica...

Dana Young swore the safest form of transportation for women was Uber. It seems many women are not so sure of that. In fact, many Uber women riders are now requesting female only drivers . Uber said they will look into that. Unfortunately, for Uber, that would be no different than wanting a white only driver. Sorry folks, you cannot have it any way you want it.

A very bad person with no honor or integrity I attended a meeting at the hockey arena downtown which was attended by all the Tampa Bay area state senators and representatives. In attendance was one Dana Young (R). When it was her time to speak, so told a story about a young women that was being raped. While the college student was being sexually assaulted, the student hit the Uber app on her phone and the police now knew the GPS coordinates of her location. What MS. Young did not disclose was that it happened on the UCLA campus and that it was an UBER DRIVER THAT WAS RAPING HER! "As students prepare to return to college, one thing female students cannot go without is caution. Assaults, especially sexual assaults, are a haunting part of daily life for so many students. Uber has made that nightmare even more of a reality . We tell our students that getting a driver when they’ve had too much to drink is the responsible course of action — it’...

Uber will be shut down soon. They will not be able to thumb their nose at all laws.

The taxi drivers in Tampa are pissed. The reason is because HCPTC has dragged this out long enough. Their delays in negotiating with Uber and Lyft has only allowed them to get a foothold in the Tampa community. Now the people are used to their low ball service and it just may be curtains for the taxi industry. Then, the choices the consumer has in this market will be limited to just Uber. Isn't that what they want anyway. One of the useless meetings I attended. I have since stopped going. It is only a morbid reminder of what once was

On my front porch I've never planted a damn thing in my life. Since Uber will become a legal operation on Wednesday, I thought I would do something to memorialize what I've done for the last 20 years. I put some seeds in the potting soil to make it grow. The plants have flowers and are called Cosmos. They are supposed to grow to about 4 feet tall and the flowers are multi colored. I hope they look sort of like the wild flowers of Texas. Perhaps after the backyard becomes full of them. Its nice to have a front porch and a backyard. That is something I have been reaching for all along. Only in a metaphorical way. Like dreams that will never come true. Maybe. Keep in mind, Uber/Lyft may become legal but they will not be regulated. The fact that we will have to charge a higher price mandated by law gives them an unfair competitive advantage. This is something our Idiot politicians are unable to see. No wonder I voted for Donald Trump. He was right when he said politicians ...

There is only one reason Uber will not agree to level 2 background checks. They want as many drivers as possible and do not care that a Ted Bundy would be driving them. If you are a women, does this make you feel safe?  Keep in mind that Bundy always used a vehicle to pull his victims into. Ride Share would have been a perfect opportunity for him. I would have passed Uber's background check