Wisdom of the Cabs

Who has the most intimate knowledge of a city's streets but also has the most opinions on current affairs of the day? Well, I would think the only candidate for this would cab (taxi) drivers.

I met two actually recently during my trip to Perth and had some insightful conversation with them. The first one while making my way to my hotel from the airport. He had a strange accent which distinctly sound very familiar, so I commented that he did not sound Aussie. He readily admitted he was Scottish and had come over to Perth on his work vacation holiday some twenty odd years ago, and had stayed there ever since. Got his degree in sociology and married a local lass, and is now a taxi driver plying the streets of Perth.

We talked abit on his hometown in Glasgow and I asked which football team he supported and he said none because he did not want to support either Celtics or Rangers as the fans were separated through either being Protestant or Catholic respectively; and he was neutral. He did profess which faith he is but it was obvious he did not like the sectarianism (this was something I did not know, I do now).

We then shifted gears talking about the state of economy in Western Australia (resources industry boom; eg oil, minerals) and the effects of this on the local property prices. His home cost AUD 90K when he first bought it and is now worth more than AUD 300K. He seem well informed and was able to articulate well on the IT industry over there as well. We even talked about how the effect of China and India being a rising power that might overtake the world economy.

In a space of thirty minutes, we had a very broad range discussion on various topics which I personally felt was nice. Then, I started to have a thought; why would such a well-educated bloke like him choose to become a taxi driver. I did not have the answer to this question, as the taxi pulled over the at the hotel and we shook hands and said goodbye after he helped with my luggage.

The second taxi driver I encountered was when I was on my way to airport from hotel. This time, this bloke was pretty quiet initially. But after few questions about his work hours and the conversation started. Well, he says he was going to knock off immediately after the airport as he wanted to go watch football (I presume it is the AFL) on the Friday night and that he has been working only four hours until he picked me up. The conversation then shifted to the fact that even though he had twelve hours of driving time; he do not fully utilise it as he says he does not want to. And he also said this was the most stress-free job (he owned a few business for nearly seven years but decided to quit them); he is happy that he is self-employed and makes enough to pay his bills.

He further elaborated that what Australians had was a Lifestyle. They want to work but they also wanted to have enough time to enjoy the other things in life. The social welfare system is great but abuses are prevalent amongst some the youths and had created anti-social behaviour like crime. Then, he mentioned that the word "SLOW". Perth was a slow city as compared to Sydney and Melbourne but it does has its advantages. He went on to say, if you were young and ambitious, probably it will be good to be in these two cities, but after that, Perth would be great place to slow down and raise a family. Then he vaguely mentioned he has three children, two daughters (in university) and a son (in trade school studying to be electrician). In a nutshell, he is a happy man.

Then, he made an insightful observation. He said all of this was dependent on where the person was brought up. He had picked up a Hong Kong Lady who complained to him that Perth was simply too slow for her and that she needed to go back to recharge her batteries. Well, according to him, it was simply a matter of perception. Since, she was brought up in Hong Kong, the concept of time would be things needed to be fast. So, it was really about where people are brought up.

Also, he discussed about how he has a taxi driver, he had a choice on where he wants to go to pick up his passengers. He says he prefers the more well-to-do suburbs and that he made this his conscious choice, while a bus driver would not be able to do so, as they had to ply certain routes on suburbs which are of lower socio-economic class; and where the kids there are a more rowdy lot.

Along the way, he also gave some nuggets of insights on poker machines in clubs (Western Australia prohibits them while the rest of country allows this) and also on gambling generally. He made a very funny joke on how other taxi drivers normally assess the losers from the winners and would ask them whether they had thirty dollars before taking them on.The thirty minute ride again ended and so did our conversation.

On the plane, I begin to think again. I had my answer to my question in my first taxi ride. These guys are in their forties and obviously still capable to perform any job or work. They have an analytical mind, articulate, well-read and are able to express their opinions independently.

It boils down to one word: Choice. The Aussie Taxi Drivers choose to do this as their profession. Unlike, the taxi drivers in my home country, where there are instances of white collar professionals in the same age group who are unable to find jobs after being retrenched during poor economic period. These people had no choice, as being a taxi driver seems to be only one of the few jobs that they can do. Age discrimination against people in the forty-fifty age group in the manager/professional category is really rampant although this is widely not acknowledged.

I am not saying all the taxi drivers in my home country are all ex-managers/professionals, indeed most of them are from less well educated backgrounds and probably would not be able to hold such thoughtful discussion on a broad range of topics although they are able launch a tirade of complaints (mainly on the rising cost of living and our local politics). This category of taxi drivers probably had no choice too, as they had no or little skills and getting a taxi license seems to be the one of the few tickets to making a living.

The second Aussie taxi driver sums up what I think we all should learn in the search for meaning of our work and our passions for life. It is really about your choice of work and the lifestyle you want to lead.

I would never expect to learn this from a taxi driver (aussie one).... but I do appreciate that slow is good in a society that demands more and more of us to do things always fast, faster and fastest.

So, choose your work and the lifestyle you want if you are able to... easier said than done... but nevertheless, this is a reality Down Under.