I thought it was such a great story I would post it on the blog.

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voi…ce. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

-Unknown

Taxi apps are becoming more popular but the problem for the majority of owner drivers is that the app needs to be downloaded first before it can be used to book a taxi.

Apps made by http://just-taxi-websites.com get around this problem by hosting the app like a normal website. People searching for a taxi online are taken straight to the mobile app where they can choose to call the taxi company/owner driver or email with an enquiry or future booking.

It's a very neat solution for the smaller business owner who does not want to spend thousands of pounds developin gtheir own app or signing a contract with a supplier who may not send any business their way.

The app is tailor made for the business and the "CLICK to CALL" function dials either a land line or mobile number of your choice.

Taxi Passenger Injury Claims

When you make the decision to ride in a taxi as a passenger, then you have to consider the fact that there could be a crash. If you are a passenger in a taxi crash and if you sustain injury, then what can you do? The good news is that you will be entitled to a personal injury claim. How do you know, though, with which insurance company to file your taxi crash injury claim? Here is the information that you need.

If you are in a crash that is not the taxi driver’s fault, then the claim would need to go against the insurance of the driver of the other vehicle. If the driver does not have public liability insurance, then the claim would still be made, but it could require a lawsuit against the driver. If the taxi crash was the fault of your taxi driver, then you will need to file the personal injury claim against the taxi insurance. If you are the passenger in a taxi that is involved in a crash, then you are considered a victim. The only time that this would be changed is if you can be proven to have somehow caused the crash yourself. In that case, then you will not be able to make a personal injury claim and you will be responsible for your own medical expenses.

When you are in a taxi crash, it is vital that you get relevant information to do with the crash. You may think that since you are just the passenger, then you are not entitled to this information, but you are. To make your personal injury claim, you will need to get information including the police report from the accident as well as insurance and vehicle information from both parties involved in the crash. You will need this information in order to file your claim.

If you are a passenger in a taxi and that taxi is involved in a crash, then you have rights. You may have been injured, and in that case, you have the right to make a personal injury claim. You just need to know who to make the claim against.

If you do not owe any money on that taxi, then you may not be in trouble. You could simply take the taxi insurance money that you receive and apply it toward a new vehicle. However, for many people this may not be an option. If you owe money on the taxi, then there is a very good chance that your taxi insurance will not cover all of the expense.

Why is this? The moment that you begin driving your taxi, it starts depreciating. Of course, you may already know that. This is the case with any type of vehicle. However, in the case of taxies, the depreciation is much quicker. Just think about how fast your taxi gets damaged. You drive it for hours on end and you have an endless stream of passengers who may not treat your taxi with care. Because of this, your vehicle will depreciate extremely quickly. You may owe much more on your taxi than it is worth. If this happens, then the taxi insurance will only pay you what the vehicle is worth. You could find yourself in debt for a vehicle that you no longer can even drive.  

What can you do to protect yourself? You could choose to get taxi gap insurance. This type of policy simply fills in the blanks when your regular taxi insurance does not cover enough. When you choose a gap insurance policy, it works quite simply. You will receive enough money to pay the rest of your loan should your taxi be damaged beyond repair.

Do you need gap taxi insurance? If you owe money on your taxi, then there is a very good chance that you do.

Taxi Insurance Cover

When you begin shopping for taxi insurance, you will need to choose a policy that offers the cover that you need. If you do not have proper cover, then you could face a great deal of expense should you be involved in a crash. However, do you know what type of taxi insurance cover what you need? Here are the types of cover that you will want to consider.

Of course, there would be crash cover. This type of insurance policy would cover the cost of damage to your vehicle and to the other vehicle if the crash is your fault. This type of cover should be considered absolutely vital to your taxi insurance policy.

The next thing you may want to consider is public liability cover. This type of cover will take care of the expense of injury to any passengers of the taxi car. If you have passengers when you are in a crash, then they could be injured. If they are injured, then they will need to make a claim against your insurance to cover their expenses. If you want to avoid a suit against you, then you will need to choose to pay for public liability taxi insurance cover.

Taxi Breakdown Cover

An option that you may want to consider would be breakdown cover. This would not necessarily be a must have for your taxi insurance, but it would be an option that could save you money. If your taxi car were to breakdown, then you could find yourself with a great deal of expense that would come from your pocket and you may have to wait a while before you have your taxi repaired. That would equal even more money that you would lose. If you want to avoid this, then you will want to consider breakdown cover from the taxi insurance companies that you are choosing from.

Taxi Insurance quotes

Taxi insurance is extremely important when you have a taxi car. However, you need to make sure that you choose just the right taxi insurance covers. There are different options that you could choose, so make sure you choose the right ones.

Does Your Taxi Insurance Provide a Replacement Vehicle?

Owning a taxi means you must be prepared for things to happen. Of course, you never want to imagine that you could be in a crash. However, it is a possibility when your taxi is on the streets for hours every day. You cannot ignore the possibility that you may be involved in a crash. You do need to have a plan prepared in case this happens. Of course, you must have taxi insurance, but you also need to make sure that you have chosen a taxi car insurance company that provides the right benefits.

For example, what would you do if you are in a crash? If your taxi is your source of income, then you could be out of a job until that taxi is repaired. This is most certainly not something that you will want to happen. Do you have options though? It all depends on the coverage offered by the taxi insurance company that you choose. Different taxi insurance companies offer different coverages, so this is something that you will want to check on.

Taxi Insurance Policy

The best thing to do would be to choose taxi insurance that will offer you a replacement vehicle during the time it takes for your taxi car to be repaired. However, it is important that the insurance company that you choose provides proper taxi insurance. That means that the replacement vehicle that they provide you with would be a licenced taxi. If it is not a licenced taxi cab, then you will not be able to continue to provide transportation to passengers. Then, you would still be out of a job until your vehicle is repaired.

When you are looking for taxi insurance, then your first reaction may be to look for cheap taxi insurance, and there is certainly nothing wrong with trying to save money. However, if you choose a policy that does not provide a replacement licenced vehicle in the event of an accident, then you could end up losing much more money than it would have cost you to get the better policy and coverage for your taxi.

Choosing a Taxi Insurance that Provides Windscreen Cover

There are many things that you will need to consider when you are choosing taxi insurance. You will need to make sure that you choose the right options so that you will be sufficiently covered. Various taxi insurance companies will offer various coverages, so make sure you take the time to search around before you decide on a coverage.

Of course, one of your concerns may be that of cost. You may want to look for cheap taxi insurance. Cost can be very high and you may not have the funds to pay for something very expensive. However, when you are considering cheap taxi insurance, be sure to keep in mind that you still need to choose quality coverage. Do not sacrifice quality for cost.

You will also need to consider the things that will be covered by your taxi insurance. Some policies will not cover all of the things that could happen to your taxi. For example, you would want to consider a coverage that would provide for windscreen damage. Consider the one part of your taxi car that is most likely to take damage. There are so many ways that your windscreen could get damaged, and you do not even have to be involved in a crash to suffer the damage to it. However, many different taxi insurance companies will not pay for windscreen repair or replacement.

When you are considering your option for taxi insurance, then you may need to consider that windscreen coverage is actually an option that you will need to add on to your policy. Not all insurance companies even offer it and some require that you pay a little extra to include it as an addition to your regular taxi insurance policy.

When you need to choose taxi insurance, then there are things that you will need to consider. Of course, cost can matter and you may want to consider your cheap taxi insurance options. However, you will also want to make sure all of the important parts of the vehicle are covered in your taxi car insurance. Be sure to look for windscreen coverage since it can matter a great deal.
Replacement windscreens can cost hundreds of pounds and the time spent off the road while it is repaired will also cost you money.
With windscreen cover you are normaly only liable for the excess charge, which can be as low as £25.00

You can get quotes from several taxi insurance companys by visiting the taxi insurance page on this website and filling in the simple form.
It will save you a lot of time phoning round insurance company's and probably save you some money too.