Glaswegian cabbie, Robert McLaughlin, has been driving the streets of the Scottish city for an impressive 58 years.
79-year-old, Robert, is Glasgow’s longest-serving taxi driver and he’s not stopping there. The veteran cabbie has no intentions of retiring anytime soon and is steering on to a million miles travelled around the city. Continuing to drive one day a week and working the odd Sunday shift for Glasgow Taxis, he still enjoys getting people to their destinations of work, rest and play. Robert’s long-standing career has defied his age to continue the job he loves.
Growth of Glasgow Taxi Trade
He said: “Glasgow has changed dramatically over my time in the trade. It’s a very nice city to look at now, whereas in my day the Clyde was still heavy focussed on engineering.”
He recently passed his medical to enable him to carry on his love of driving. However, a lot has changed since entering the trade in 1960 and he said its harder for younger drivers to make a living as a taxi driver due to a tougher environment compared to when he first started.
Robert adds: “When I came into the trade there was only three doors on the taxi. It was the old Austin FX3 – no heaters, nothing at all, just the bare essentials. Did it start, did it go? Yes. Was there a meter on it? Yes and away you go to work. But when you’re a young man that’s neither here nor there.”
Robert says his experience was far from the stereotype of Glasgow’s reputation as a tough “No Mean City”.
Over the years he says of Glasgow passengers: “There’s a lot of shouting and bawling, but very, very seldom does it get serious. I’ve got enough fingers on one hand to tell you the number of times I’ve had to get myself out a tight spot. I could always talk my way out of it.”
Glasgow Cabs Face Competition
As a young man first stepping into the trade, there was 852 taxis for a city of more than 1 million people. At present there is now 1,429 hackney cars for 500,000 people. Robert states what makes competition more difficult now is the growth of private hire cars.
Robert said: “There’s a living to be had now if you’re willing to put the hours in, but it wasn’t always like that. It’s not the job it used to be. If you want to eat, sleep and work you’ll be well off.”
Robert adds: “When I was a young man in the trade we had social events throughout the year. We had an angling club, a golf club and social evenings out – maybe three times a year. Back in the day, you took a day off to decorate your car for the kiddies day out and another to get it tidied up again. Drivers can’t do that now, they just can’t afford it anymore.”
New Technology Overtaking
There are other ways in which the industry has changed also with the demise of radio operators leaving a noticeable silence.
Robert commented: “We don’t have voice anymore, it’s all screen and hi-tech. The trade used to be very good because you were listening to a bit of crack over the air. If you were quiet and driving along, somebody would be on to the controller and there would be a bit of chit-chat, a bit of banter, you know? It was good. It’s just a screen now and if you have the need to talk to a supervisor you’ve got to press the appropriate button, then you go into a queue. If it’s a busy time of the day, you can wait for five or six minutes before you get a bit of airspace.”
Robert who has nine grandchildren was recently asked by his grandson – how many miles he has driven in his time. He said: “I can’t even begin to imagine how many miles I’ve done, I’d hazard a guess at 15,000 a year and it’s probably more than that because some drivers are doing 1,000 miles a week now.”
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