Myself, Studies, Cabs and Caffeine

sukrit7 · 19th February 2009, 21:10

Hey. Awesome stuff yaar; was a pleasure reading your thread. If there's anymore please do post, i'll b waiting.

wmax · 20th February 2009, 13:43

Hey Taz, Cool excting Stories. Superb Narration. Enjoyed every bit of it.
Thanks for sharing. All the best.

tazmaan · 25th February 2009, 14:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Wow, nice thread. Great experiences down under. Stumbled upon it late though.

@Tazmaan, is your tbhp-nick a play on the 'Tazmanian Devil' of Australia ?

Me and a couple of friends came upon this bright idea of driving auto-rickshaws at night in Tamilnadu during our Engineering days for making up the huge budget-deficit caused by the excessive consumption of the "fermented golden-coloured malted-barley" beverage.
Phew!!! All this for a word that is just 4 letters long.

Ofcourse India being India, I am glad we did not put it into action.

P.S. : BTW, this is an auto-forum and I am sure there are atleast a few nuts among us who talk to their cars/bikes and even plant an occasional kiss on them. Compared to that, kissing a woman is pretty normal behaviour. So if you did kiss her, its OK.

Yes my user name is based on the Tasmanian Devil, I am fascinated with that creature. Also I didnt kiss the girl it was too big of a risk, me being Indian Taxi Driver and she being an Aussie, I didnt want be all over the news paper next day

Its good you didnt take on auto rickshaws, laws, working conditions are not very good here and also not a lot of money unless you buy one. I have done a lot of research in Mumbai on autos as I wanted to start an Auto depot as a part time business.

Everyone Thanks a lot!! I did what I had to do. I knew I had to do a part time job because I didn't want to borrow money from home. Also there were many jobs but all blue collar jobs like taxi driving. The highest paying amongst this was taxi driving. At the same time it required a lot of time and money to get the taxi license. It was a chance I took (not many take) and luckily for me it paid off.

anekho · 26th February 2009, 16:28

tazmaan, excellent read! thank you!
What car was the cab, I don't think you've mentioned...?

evo · 27th February 2009, 12:04

brilliant read!

Enjoyed every bit of it! The direct way you have written makes for easy reading too!

@anekho, it was Ford Falcon, I think, its there in the first post

Dippy · 17th September 2009, 15:02

Wonderful narration. Those are some experiences you had in Austraila. Thanks for sharing these episodes of your life with us. Its such experiences that make us better human beings.

yzfrj · 17th September 2009, 15:40

@tazmaan

Excellent stuff, really enjoyed reading it.
Is't there a pic of the cab ?

G-BoleroBoy · 17th September 2009, 17:03

Nice stuff man. I for once recalled all my taxi experience as a passenger in Aus, few months in Melbourne as well.. I was once dropped off at wantirna by a young Indian driver who was quite friendly too and was new to melbourne in 2003. Wonder if it was you? Or may be a similar guy..

yzfrj · 18th September 2009, 17:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-BoleroBoy

Nice stuff man. I for once recalled all my taxi experience as a passenger in Aus, few months in Melbourne as well.. I was once dropped off at wantirna by a young Indian driver who was quite friendly too and was new to melbourne in 2003. Wonder if it was you? Or may be a similar guy..

Did you get the flat 50% discount ?
If so tazmaan might have been your cabbie

GTO · 17th January 2012, 09:59

Tazmaan,

I don't know how I missed this thread, but let me tell you that you are one heck of a story teller! Awesome read, thanks for sharing your experiences. I was an international student once too, and had quite a fun job (responsibilities included managing food, music, lights & security for under-grad parties

). But boy, it pales in comparison to your experience. I had no clue Aussie cabbies make such good money.

nitin.rai · 17th January 2012, 11:02

One more thread which reminds me of vagaries of life & how positive things can set you up for a hopefully great day ahead!
Thanks!

tazmaan · 17th January 2012, 11:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Tazmaan,

I don't know how I missed this thread, but let me tell you that you are one heck of a story teller! Awesome read, thanks for sharing your experiences. I was an international student once too, and had quite a fun job (responsibilities included managing food, music, lights & security for under-grad parties

). But boy, it pales in comparison to your experience. I had no clue Aussie cabbies make such good money.

Wow blast from the past!! It indeed was the best phase of my life! It felt like everything was in my control, everything was so planned unlike youth!!

And look what if found in my office drawer!!

moralfibre · 17th January 2012, 11:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Tazmaan,
I don't know how I missed this thread, but let me tell you that you are one heck of a story teller!

I don't know how I missed it either. What a fabulously narrated account Tazmaan!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazmaan

Wow blast from the past!! It indeed was the best phase of my life! It felt like everything was in my control, everything was so planned unlike youth!!
And look what if found in my office drawer!!

That makes you eligible to drive a taxi for another month in Australia. Go for it.

suhaas307 · 22nd January 2012, 01:09

One word: Brilliant!

This is what life is all about. Going out there, experiencing the unknown. It's a wonderful feeling.

I'd love to be a part of this.

One of my really close friends is currently studying in New Zealand, and he keeps falling woefully short on cash, so I'm going to suggest this to him. I'm sure he'd be up for it. He's quite the 'driver' too.

I hope India reaches the same level of sophistication soon. We need cops catching these taxi-drivers and ensuring that the cars are fit to be driven.

Oh, and don't even for a second doubt your writing skills, Sir. You've got what it takes to bring the whole Forum to this one thread. I'm going to share this with a whole lot of my friends now.

I'm telling you mate, I can't get enough of your anecdotes. I'd like to read more!

And one more thing. I'm going to look at cabbies differently now. I'm not going to be as judgmental as I generally am. I'm going to give them the right of way, when I'm supposed to. And I'm going to greet them with a smile, instead of the finger.

Thank you for this wonderful thread!

tazmaan · 19th May 2012, 11:14

Yesterday I got into a conversation with an Auto guy whose auto was brand new with Digital meter (In Mumbai every one know why I am stressing on digital part).

Since the Auto was new I stared asking him how much for an Auto, whats the cost of permit, whats the cost of new e-meters, how many hours he drives, how much CNG he uses in a day and finally how much money he makes. Initially he was reluctant to disclose things but eventually he opened up and revealed a few things which normally we dont know.

His brand new auto cost him 3 lac rupees including the vehicle and permit for 3 years (Permit by paying premium). The e-meter which I assumed is very expensive cost him just 3000. He, on a usual day drives 12 hrs (no night shift and he doesnt give his auto out for night shift). He makes around 600 per shift as per new rates out of which he pays 100 for CNG.

I asked him that being a new vehicle the maintenance cost must be negligible to which he replied, have you seen the quality of new autos, the simple ones before were much better. After three years the vehicle depreciates to less than 20k and the average maintenance per month on these vehicles is 2k / months.

Now he asked me to work out how much he makes.
Dividing 3 lacs by 36 months 8333 / month is the capital cost
Maintenance cost 2000/ Month
Total 10333 cost / month

Income Average out: 600 - 100 (gas) = 500 /day i.e. 15000 / month assuming he drives every day.

If I take interest on capital investment he will end up making less than the sweeper in my house with a profession which is much more risky and stressful.

Is this why most of the Auto walas cheat? Or am I missing something?
Why does he still drive an Auto? I have not even looked at other costs such as insurance, cops maintenance, off days etc

Oh one more thing he said, most of the auto walas do not want to be a part of the union and are forced to.

19th February 2009, 21:10	#46
sukrit7 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: delhi Posts: 722 Thanked: 185 Times	Hey. Awesome stuff yaar; was a pleasure reading your thread. If there's anymore please do post, i'll b waiting.
	() Thanks

20th February 2009, 13:43	#47
wmax BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 64 Thanked: 0 Times	Hey Taz, Cool excting Stories. Superb Narration. Enjoyed every bit of it. Thanks for sharing. All the best.
	() Thanks

26th February 2009, 16:28	#49
anekho Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: . Posts: 1,995 Thanked: 684 Times	tazmaan, excellent read! thank you! What car was the cab, I don't think you've mentioned...?
	() Thanks

27th February 2009, 12:04	#50
evo BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kolkata/Shillong Posts: 780 Thanked: 158 Times View My Garage	brilliant read! Enjoyed every bit of it! The direct way you have written makes for easy reading too! @anekho, it was Ford Falcon, I think, its there in the first post
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 15:02	#51
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,558 Thanked: 2,462 Times	Wonderful narration. Those are some experiences you had in Austraila. Thanks for sharing these episodes of your life with us. Its such experiences that make us better human beings.
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 15:40	#52
yzfrj BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: who cares Posts: 787 Thanked: 142 Times	@tazmaan Excellent stuff, really enjoyed reading it. Is't there a pic of the cab ?
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 17:03	#53
G-BoleroBoy BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 125 Thanked: 63 Times	Nice stuff man. I for once recalled all my taxi experience as a passenger in Aus, few months in Melbourne as well.. I was once dropped off at wantirna by a young Indian driver who was quite friendly too and was new to melbourne in 2003. Wonder if it was you? Or may be a similar guy..
	() Thanks

17th January 2012, 09:59	#55
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,501 Thanked: 300,629 Times View My Garage	Re: Myself, Studies, Cabs and Caffeine Tazmaan, I don't know how I missed this thread, but let me tell you that you are one heck of a story teller! Awesome read, thanks for sharing your experiences. I was an international student once too, and had quite a fun job (responsibilities included managing food, music, lights & security for under-grad parties ). But boy, it pales in comparison to your experience. I had no clue Aussie cabbies make such good money.
	(2) Thanks

17th January 2012, 11:02	#56
nitin.rai BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 331 Thanked: 271 Times	One more thread which reminds me of vagaries of life & how positive things can set you up for a hopefully great day ahead! Thanks!
	() Thanks

22nd January 2012, 01:09	#59
suhaas307 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 8,830 Thanked: 12,251 Times	Re: Myself, Studies, Cabs and Caffeine One word: Brilliant! This is what life is all about. Going out there, experiencing the unknown. It's a wonderful feeling. I'd love to be a part of this. One of my really close friends is currently studying in New Zealand, and he keeps falling woefully short on cash, so I'm going to suggest this to him. I'm sure he'd be up for it. He's quite the 'driver' too. I hope India reaches the same level of sophistication soon. We need cops catching these taxi-drivers and ensuring that the cars are fit to be driven. Oh, and don't even for a second doubt your writing skills, Sir. You've got what it takes to bring the whole Forum to this one thread. I'm going to share this with a whole lot of my friends now. I'm telling you mate, I can't get enough of your anecdotes. I'd like to read more! And one more thing. I'm going to look at cabbies differently now. I'm not going to be as judgmental as I generally am. I'm going to give them the right of way, when I'm supposed to. And I'm going to greet them with a smile, instead of the finger. Thank you for this wonderful thread!
	(1) Thanks

19th May 2012, 11:14	#60
tazmaan BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 926 Thanked: 3,235 Times View My Garage	Re: Myself, Studies, Cabs and Caffeine Yesterday I got into a conversation with an Auto guy whose auto was brand new with Digital meter (In Mumbai every one know why I am stressing on digital part). Since the Auto was new I stared asking him how much for an Auto, whats the cost of permit, whats the cost of new e-meters, how many hours he drives, how much CNG he uses in a day and finally how much money he makes. Initially he was reluctant to disclose things but eventually he opened up and revealed a few things which normally we dont know. His brand new auto cost him 3 lac rupees including the vehicle and permit for 3 years (Permit by paying premium). The e-meter which I assumed is very expensive cost him just 3000. He, on a usual day drives 12 hrs (no night shift and he doesnt give his auto out for night shift). He makes around 600 per shift as per new rates out of which he pays 100 for CNG. I asked him that being a new vehicle the maintenance cost must be negligible to which he replied, have you seen the quality of new autos, the simple ones before were much better. After three years the vehicle depreciates to less than 20k and the average maintenance per month on these vehicles is 2k / months. Now he asked me to work out how much he makes. Dividing 3 lacs by 36 months 8333 / month is the capital cost Maintenance cost 2000/ Month Total 10333 cost / month Income Average out: 600 - 100 (gas) = 500 /day i.e. 15000 / month assuming he drives every day. If I take interest on capital investment he will end up making less than the sweeper in my house with a profession which is much more risky and stressful. Is this why most of the Auto walas cheat? Or am I missing something? Why does he still drive an Auto? I have not even looked at other costs such as insurance, cops maintenance, off days etc Oh one more thing he said, most of the auto walas do not want to be a part of the union and are forced to.
	(4) Thanks