Sunday Summary from Tom the Taxi Driver

Hey , welcome back to my Sunday Summary, a collection of insights and my behind the scenes from the past week.

☕ A London Experience:Redemption RoastersDid I ever tell you that I love coffee? Another independent off the list, redemption is named as it is the UK’s first prison based roastery.  With various sites across London they train offenders in coffee making skills with the aim of reducing reoffending in the UK.Prison reform and rehabilitation is something I strongly believe in (A Bit Of A Stretch by Chris Atkins is a great book if you wish to hear a direct perspective on this), so to be able to help by way of getting my caffeine hit, it’s an all round win.💂‍♂️ On Tour:I’ve had a great week of tours with some wonderful guests! The highlight for me was paying a visit to the former home of Noel Gallagher. 9 Steeles Road (Aka Supernova Heights).

I’d heard of the pad (famed for endless parties and binges) in the Haverstock Hill area but never actually identified it for myself.  Thanks again David for sharing this with me!  One can only imagine what stories this property could tell behind closed doors!

🚖 Word On The Street:The Roaders ReturnWork-wise, London is unlike anything I have seen before. Aside from the lull first driving in, and the 8-9pm slack period. It’s been almost non-stop. Thursday night I was driving a passenger to a restaurant just off Haymarket W1, and practically everyone on the street was staring me down in the vicinity. As a dropped off, people drew nearer to the cab, some running.  Unfortunately I can only take one passenger, a gentleman to South Norwood. “Roaders” (or a longer journey out of town) were slowly becoming a rarity pre-pandemic. Largely driven by an abundance of cheap private hire options.With Uber/Private hire drivers constantly surging, not enough drivers to fill their demand, and a recently published price increase, we are seeing “roaders” return.This was illuminated by the fact that I was following occupied cabs all the way through Brixton, and beyond into West Norwood.  Something I can’t ever recall experiencing (usually on roaders it feels like you’re the only cab being pulled out of town).  I just hope TfL sort themselves out and offer support for cab garages as its incredibly tricky for passengers to find any form of journey on the way home.  Recent news of possible line closures or service reductions in lieu of the spiralling debt at TfL will only exacerbate this problem further!It’s great in the short run for us cabbies, but long term we need to be able to offer a reliable service!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to reach out to me with your; comments, concerns or just general conversation.  I'd love to know what you're up to or what you might be working on! 📝😁Have a great week everyone!Tom