‘Taxi for Carr’: Jimmy bids farewell to his customers
THE first ever private hire taxi driver in Barrhead has retired after almost 30 years at the wheel. In the early 1980s when Jimmy Carr began taking his saloon car out to pick up fares, the roads where littered with black hackneys.
But now that has all changed and the majority of taxis in the area are now private hire. The 79-year-old has seen it all as a taxi driver and at the turn of the century Arthurlie Taxis was close to going into administration, but Jimmy and the rest of the drivers dug deep to save the company and become joint owners.
He said: “I started off taxi-ing as a means to an end, I enjoyed it and it gave me a good living but there’s too many of them on the road now though. “When I started off in 1983 the private hire taxis were just kicking off in Scotland and I had the first one in Barrhead.
“At that time the fares were low but then they started to go up, I have seen a lot of changes to Barrhead in my time as a taxi driver. “The roads were good in those days but they have changed now and are far too busy, they are a nightmare and you can’t get parked since they built that monstrosity on Main Street.
“I could write a book about the things I have seen in the back of my taxi. “I have enjoyed my time as a taxi driver and I have made a lot of friends and everybody knows me. “I have seen young boys come into my car as babies who are now getting in as grown men with their own families. “I would like to thank all the office staff who have treated me very well over the years.”
Frank Smith, director of Arthurlie Taxis, said: “We wish Jimmy all the best and hope he enjoys his retirement. “It is sad to see him go - he is a very popular guy in the area and it is like the end of an era.”
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