00:00Yeah, if you're just tuning in, we just told a story about a cab driver who was pepper-sprayed in the face.
00:05That was the ingenious plot for the passenger not to pay the fare.
00:10Just pepper-spray the driver and run. That's it.
00:14All right, so cab driver phones up. Good morning, who's this?
00:18Good morning, it's Shannon.
00:19Hey, Shannon, so you're driving a taxi, huh?
00:21I do. I work for United Taxi in Pinellas County.
00:24Hey, how is the taxi business?
00:26You know, for years now, the ride-share apps, Lyft and Uber, et cetera, it seems like I don't see anywhere near as many United or Yellow Cabs around.
00:36Well, what it is, there's not a lot of us anymore since pandemic.
00:41All right, so a lot of—
00:41But at the same time, we also have had a crazy spring break this year.
00:47All right, so business is okay.
00:48It's been very busy.
00:49So business is okay for you.
00:50Business is doing well.
00:52A lot of Ubers and Lyfts were out on unemployment.
00:54All right, so—oh, that's true.
00:56You know what?
00:57That was true as well, that a lot of Lyft and Ubers, they weren't running as well, so cars were kind of scarce.
01:03All right, so—I'm sorry, your name again?
01:05I'm Shannon.
01:06All right, Shannon, have you ever been sprayed in the face by a customer to elude a fare?
01:12No, I have not, but it has been done, or they just bolt out of the car.
01:17Sure, but we know—if you've called in, we know your phone number.
01:20We know where you picked—we picked you up.
01:22Oh, that's true as well.
01:24Yeah, a lot of times they know the phone number.
01:26All right, now what's—
01:26Yeah, and you're also on camera here as well with us and our cabs.
01:28You're on camera.
01:29All right, so you have cameras in your cab.
01:31What's the—
01:31I do.
01:31What's the most bizarre thing that's happened to you, and hopefully keep it clean for broadcast,
01:37but what's the worst thing or the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you as a taxi driver?
01:41The weirdest thing?
01:42I picked up a gentleman at a health care facility, without being more specific, and he just talked
01:50crazy sex stuff when he got in the cab, and I said, listen here, guy.
01:55He didn't drop his pants in the car, did he?
01:57No, no, no.
02:00Taxi cab confessions.
02:01He's a kind of mean mommy, so I tell you, stop it, knock it off, this is it.
02:05I'm putting you out.
02:06We can put you out.
02:07She's a little mean mommy.
02:09I am mean mommy, I am.
02:11That only turned him on more.
02:13He was looking for that role.
02:14I'm your mean mommy.
02:15Probably.
02:16He might have.
02:18I get a ride to where I'm going and a free dominatrix.
02:21But you've actually heard of one of your drivers locally here in the Tampa Bay area
02:25getting sprayed with pepper spray and then somebody running to try to not pay the fare?
02:30Oh, they try and run without even spraying sometimes.
02:33No, but I realize that.
02:34No, listen.
02:35That's a given.
02:36I mean, people trying to run out.
02:37They have sprayed.
02:38They've threatened you.
02:39They will grab you from behind with your seatbelt.
02:41They will pull your air.
02:41Wait a second.
02:43You've had drivers that have been choked with like a seatbelt?
02:47Yes, other drivers because they can.
02:49If you're, I have a van, other people in a sedan that will reach from behind the seat
02:54and grab you with the seatbelt and choke you and then get out or try and rob you.
02:58Okay.
02:59Oh, my God.
03:01Dangerous job.
03:01Yeah, that's part of the deal here.
03:03A lot of people don't realize the whack jobs that are in the general public, the nuts that
03:09are out there.
03:11It's just, I worked retail for many years and it was 10% were crazy, 90% were good.
03:16It's like that in the cab as well.
03:18Gotcha.
03:1890% good, 10% out of their freaking minds.
03:21Yeah, not even 10%.
03:22Probably three out of 100 are a pain in the mind.
03:25So that'd be 3%.
03:26Yeah, that's it.
03:27Gotcha.
03:28All right, Shannon, thank you.
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