A-1 . . .A good thing!

So today I did my ride along with George in A-1 Taxi. This place is SOOOOOO much better than the last company I drove for. They are organized and have a lot of business! George is quite the interesting character too. He is enough of a character to justify an entire post later; for now I will just tell you that he has his masters in classical piano.

So here were the fares!

1. $47.40 + $4 tip - She went from her home (a trailer) to a hospital for some post surgery follow up. A pretty uneventful ride. She tried to wiggle out of the fare at the end of the ride saying that her insurance would cover it - - Sorry lady no luck.

2. $42.50 + $17.50 tip - a gentleman just flew in from Oklahoma. He wanted to go to the Fleetwood RV factory in Decatur. He was driving a $500,000 RV from Fort Wayne to Cedar Rapids, IA. The person that bought the RV paid for his flight, cab, gas, food and another $5000 to bring it back. WOW! I guess when you are buying a half a million dollar RV you can afford to pay someone to go get it. LOL He was an awesome guy and left a great tip!

3. $18.70 + $0.00 tip - This guy went from the airport to Swiss Re, a local insurance company. His destination gets invoiced for the fare and the passenger is just responsible for the tip. Unfortunantly he was dead silent the whole ride and then decided no tip would be needed!

LUNCH!!! As George was finishing up his Pumpkin Pie; Deb, the dispatcher, called for us to go pick up at the Brass Rail (a bar)

4. $8.70 + $10 tip - This kid was drinking at 2:30 in the afternoon alone in a bar. Hmmm :( Come to find out he just got home from Iraq and is having a bit of a problem adjusting to being back. He has family and friends that he is seeing but he says he is itching to get his 13 days of leave over with. He was a really nice, smart, level headed kid. Come to find out he is really into Hockey, I was sure to let him know that the Komets (Local minor league team) season opener was while he was in town. He seemed excited and said that was a good idea! We dropped him off at another bar, one that was in walking distance to his house, and said out goodbyes!

So, all that happened between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm
Total Fare : $117.30
45% take home : $52.78
Tips : $31.50

Total made : $84.28
minus gas : $20.00

Take home : $64.28 or $9.18 / hour

So that may not seem like much. But that is actually awesome for me. I only do it two days a week and I REALLY enjoy it. So for some extra spending cash, I would say A1 and I will be a perfect fit!