IN THE NEWS
FROM GUN THREATS TO PARTYING PASSENGERS - SOLIHULL CABBIE REVEALS TYPICAL DAY ON THE JOB
In the 14 years Shahan Zeb has worked as a cabbie he has been robbed, held at gunpoint and witnessed drug use in the back seats. But according to the Birmingham Mail, he still wouldn’t trade the job for the world. For every crazy incident the father- of-two has had to endure, he cherishes the warm conversations and helping hand he offers to vulnerable people who just need a ride home.
He has also gained a quirky reputation as a perfume whisperer, being able to guess the scent worn by any passenger. The aroma is certainly more appealing than the stench of vomit left by drunk party goers.
The Solihull driver lifted the lid on a typical day in the life of a taxi driver and why no day was ever the same.
Shahan, 46, works with A2B Birmingham five or six days a week, in eight-hour shifts. From Solihull to Birmingham city centre, he picks up passengers from all walks of life.
He said: “It is an interesting job, every day there are different people, everyone tells you different stories of their lives. “The worst thing was when someone put a gun on me, the job was booked and I picked them up from Broad Street. It was 9.30am so daylight in summer. They gave me £50 and asked for change, I said I had none, then they put a gun on me and robbed me. “They took my phone and around £60. My kids didn’t want me to go back to work but I did, we can
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handle the situation better than normal people. We emergency
have button but not
everyone turns up.” Some hot-blooded customers even invite the Pakistani-born worker to join in the fun, he said. “A lot of people invite me, saying: ‘Come party with us driver! Have a drink with us!’ Girls will say: ‘Come have a little session with us or party’ and I say: ‘Thank you but I have to work’.” One skill that makes passengers jump is Shahan’s uncanny nose. He is a self-confessed “perfume freak” and loves to guess people’s scent for fun, saying: “I can clock what perfumes ladies wear, I ask them: ‘Have you got Angel on?’ and they say: ‘Driver how did you know that?’ “Or when men come in and I guess their scent too. My favourite perfumes are Angel or Tom Ford’s Black Orchid.”
Eight hours on the road can rock the body however, with Shahan saying he had suffered leg and back pain and digestive system issues. Blood pressure and sugar levels are also a health problem, pushing the driver to regularly train at his local gym. If he feels peckish he will venture back home or head to food haven
an
Ladypool Road and munch on some Halwa Puri. So what does Shahan count as a good day? He said: “When I pick up elderly or lonely people, helping them out of the car or bringing their grocery bags to the doorstep. “They are very thankful, they are my favourite type of customer. It is a nice feeling. I have a good conversation with them and when they have a smile on their face that’s what I love you know? “I want to stick with this for a while. I can choose my work hours, if I want to go on holiday I can go whenever I want. It’s the flexibility. “I am a Muslim and from Pakistan so I like helping senior citizens who are very vulnerable. “I am not imposing my culture but representing it in the nicest way. There are a lot of positive on this job, that’s why I do it. I love my job.” Bumps along the road have included Uber’s swell in popularity and drivers from Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Sandwell coming to work in Birmingham, taking work away according to Shahan. He also noted that when fuel prices rose, his base fares stayed the same, causing problems. Asked what his pet peeves were with passengers, he noted two examples, saying: “When they start taking or sniffing drugs in the taxi, also they think taxi drivers are all uncles from back home who know nothing. “They don’t realise we know a lot and are street smart. Sometimes I ask a passenger: ‘Have you taken something?’ and they say: ‘Driver how did you know?’ It is never boring.”
FEBRUARY 2023 PHTM
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