This is going back quite a few years, but my fiancee used to work at a supermarket in Stonestown and said that a large percentage of their customer base came from a nearby elderly housing complex. Seniors would usually take a bus to the supermarket, do their shopping for the week, and then call a cab to take them back home.

Maybe not a huge moneymaker for a cabbie, since the distances are short and the tips are minimal, but housing for the elderly would be a good customer base to develop, especially it would be mostly a daytime clientele, leaving evenings free to pick up folks going to/from restaurants and clubs downtown. Just a thought.

The cock-fighting arena in the Mission (not the one in the Castro).

and while flattering I’m not into the dudes

Uh, that’s why it’s work.

I checked CL and it looks like the bottom has dropped in the hooker biz as well…stupid economy..

there’s not too many cabs around there, yet there are tons of tourists, who are more likely to shell out for a cab than use public transportation (since after all, they are on vacation)

I don’t want to make bathtub meth

I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss this idea. Of course I’m from Modesto, and as I’ve always said “you can take the guy out of Modesto, but you can’t take Modesto out of the guy”

Let us know if you pick this guy up in the Tenderloin.

seeing as I can never find a gdamn f*$#ing cab near Union Square it’d be sweet if you set up around there :P

We could all just put your cell number in our phones and you’d always be on call for the McCoven.

Set yourself apart from other cabbies and earn repeat business by giving “limo” type service:

• Don’t drive like a maniac and riun someone’s ride because the feared for their life while getitng to their destination 30 seconds earlier.
• Keep your cab clean
• Always get out and open the door for ladies getting in and out of your cab. I’d also recommend doing it for men. It raises the experience and makes it seem much more appropriate to give a tip. Also, do a quick check to make sure they haven’t left anything in the cab, you’ll be a hero if you find their cell phone or wallet before they walk away.
• Loan and unload people’s luggage from the trunk. Don’t expect them to do it.
• Be friendly. If the person seems like they want to converse, converse. If they’re preoccupied, don’t force a conversation.
• When making conversation, don’t talk about yourself, ask about them. They’re the customer and who knows, you might meet someone who works in a field you’re interested in working in permanently.
• Give a warning as you’re approaching their destination so they can gather up their belongings.
• If you get what seems to be a well off tourist that’s going to a certain destination, offer to be their driver/guide for the day. Take them to places they want to see and wait while they get out and check out sites. The meter is always running! Know enough interesting facts to make the experience enjoyable.
• Present yourself professionally. You don’t have to dress up, but look “nice” and make a good impression.
• The goal should be to turn the “customer” into a “client”. Ask for their business and have cards made up with your phone number and email. Give your card to the fair as you open the door for them and have a quick line ready like, “I hope you’ve enjoyed your ride and it would be a pleasure to add you as one of my regular clients. Iwhen ever you have need for a driver, I hope that you think of me.” Take appointments!

didn’t that article in the chron recently talk all about how cabbies are getting their business ripped off by “limo services” that aren’t licensed? And then it mentioned how there aren’t enough taxi medallions in the city, right? Anyway, I’m just wondering…maybe it’s really hard to get a taxi medallion – have you looked into that?

outside any bart station late at night right after the station closes.

the marina – I don’t go there often but when I have I’ve taken cabs because it’s so far from Bart, and it usually takes a while to get one.

Also, try to get one of those minivans. It’s such a pain in the ass that cabs can only take 3-4 people sometimes.

But if you know anyone in the bar or restaurant business, you could leave your name and number with them. When they get anyone who needs a ride they can give you a call instead of giving a company a call.

Sure women pay for that. Ever heard of a stud farm? I sort of want to be a postmodern version of Heidi Fleiss someday, once I am old and dried up.

adding to Goof’s excellent ideas—
be enthused but not hyper. WHen there’s luggage or groceries to move, and a stairway or anything, you should be hauling it cheerfully.
Picking up at a grocery store—open the trunk immediately, load the groceries, keep the seat clear and yell loudly, “got room for one or two more”. The second customer will not mind sitting in the car while you unload the first. Charge the normal price to each for t he distance.
All-day guide? Or just a scenic trip? Out of towners, tell them for a few bucks more you can go via Twin Peaks (or other drive you like). Be clear and honest about the time and money difference. For all day, you have to charge enough compared with normal fares and tips.
Read the newspaper for museum ideas, festivals, concerts. Ballet and symphony. Hard to figure when the event ends.
Amtrak bus from the East bay, does that still drop off at the Embarcadero? Bus stations, even Bart stations.
Laptop on the seat? sounds like a crime magnet to me. If there’s music you have to offer a choice based on different ages/regions. Or silence. And when you don’t have a fare I advise no music, you have to learn the radio system, in some towns it’s essential—deliveries, runs from hotels to airports.
If somebody needs to go inside and asks you to wait but they haven’t paid you yet—better get paid first.
If you get called to an address, you knock on the door, there’s nobody there or they say they didn’t call a cab, then you get back to the cab and there’s a guy or 2 in the back seat…not a good sign. I used to walk away, with the keys, rather than sit down with my back to somebody who lured me in like that. At least if you see them walking and they ask for a ride you can check out body language.
Meeting 30 or 40 strangers a day, travelers, foreigners, people going through a change, weddings and funerals and hospital visits—I sure liked it, I still dream about the whole process, decades later.

know where stuff is. I once got in a cab in Chicago and the dude didn’t know how to get to Wrigley field. Make sure you know all the best routes to different places and where any and all attractions are.