TAXI DRIVING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 170, 20 July 1935, Page 11

TAXI DRIVING.

HOURS TOO LONG ?

NO COMPLAINT FORTHCOMING.

MOST DRIVERS FREE AGENTS

The assertion of a correspondent that Auckland taxi drivers work unreasonably long hours was not supported by those of whom inquiries were made by a representative of the "Auckland .Star." It would appear that the majority of the drivers either own their cars or work on commission and are their own masters. The longer they work the more they earn, but at any time they are free to go home.

The manager of one of the big companies said this morning that there was no compulsion upon drivers to work any set hours. Even in rush times, when there were insufficient cabs to answer calls, the company had no power to compel drivers to work longer than they wished to. They were entirely free agents and the company merely acted as a means of finding work for those who wanted it. The hours worked by most of the men in the company averaged a little over nine a day. All the ears were owned by the drivers, some of whom employed an extra man, on commission, to work the car a double shift. "I own this car," said a driver of another of the large companies, "and I work just as long as it pleases me. In slack periods I may work _ only a few hours a day and then get sick of it and go home. Others times when business is brisk I may work as long as 14 hours a day. But who minds working when the money is coming in? "Fourteen hours' work a day may seem a lot," continued the driver, "but with taxi work it seems to go very quickly. When you are not driving on a iob you are sitting in your car resting and the day soon passes. I should imagine that your correspondent had his leg pulled by a driver who had an eye for a tip."

Private Drivers' Position. With the private taxis, charging the full City Council fare, the position is somewhat different. They get no passengers from telephone calls and have to rely on "pick-ups" at the railway station, wharves, theatres and dance halls. Thus they may begin work at 9.30 in the morning to meet the Limited express and finish some time after midnight when the dance halls close. A private taxi owner said this morning that although it would appear thai they worked about 15 hours a day they took time off during the day, and actually worked about 10 a day. *;We do less work than members of the big companies," he said, "but as our fares are higher it works out about the same, and we have lower repair and maintenance costs to meet. I have never, heard oi any private owner-drivers complaining of working too long, altnough a uniform scale of fares charsred by all cabs_ in Auckland would improve our position. But fewer people would travel by taxis, and that would affect the big companies."