A simple projector discretely hidden in a faux garbage receptacle or some other camouflage paired with a smartphone and a proprietary app to scan (using the smartphone's camera) vehicles parked at a taxicab stand, verify that they are, in fact, rival taxis, and project the words 'Out of Service, Please Call xxx-xxx-xxxx for Prompt Pickup' right below the window on the sidewalk-facing door. Not fair, you say? Sure it is... just not *your* fare.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 Sounds like you're having fun. Glad to see you're enjoying your new job!-- rcarty, Dec 14 2013 Wait! Someone gave [21Q] a job??-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 14 2013 Innocent people put their lives in his hands every day as a cabbie. I'm in school now, but I had a driving job one summer picking up and delivering truck parts. Driving as a job is pretty good compared to all other possible jobs in my experience. Driving was more enjoyable than working as a mechanic, which is a bloody job. 21_Quest has often made his work experiences part of his content, so it's nice to see he's found something that stimulates his imagination.-- rcarty, Dec 14 2013 I've been driving a cab for a year now. Started off part time, then switched to full time (60-72 hours per week) pulling triple duty as IT guy, dispatcher and a driver (multitasking at its very finest). This is the most thoroughly enjoyable job I've ever held. All 4 of my great passions, driving, talking, smartphones, and getting belligerent with rival Cabbies all in one... doesn't get any better than that. I'll be truly saddened to leave when I start a new job in January wearing a white lab coat and goggles. The letter of commendation I was given by the Health Center director at Gonzaga University for my work with their students was extremely touching.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 You'll be working for this university health centre?-- rcarty, Dec 14 2013 Oh no, not that. My company has a contract with the university health center. The university pays the cab fare to get students to and from any medical appointments they might have (going to urgent care, ER, psychiatrists, dieticians, x-rays, podiatrist, you name it). My company has an exclusive contract with the health center so we shuttle all students to and from any medical appointments they have. I'll be working at an aerospace manufacturing plant for one of Boeing's suppliers.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 There's a classic American job. Working in high tech heavy industry should give you a halfbaked idea or two.-- rcarty, Dec 14 2013 I fervently hope so.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 I think this will work very well until someone gets wise - at which point they have your number. After that - well, 21 Quest is the one who keeps getting called out to ferry chicken faecal slurry to the valeting service.-- Loris, Dec 14 2013 Oh the bogus calls come in more frequently than you might realize. I've got the numbers of most of the problem cabbies in town, and I've learned to call a business to make sure they really have a customer waiting for a cab before I go. If it turns out to be a shit run, I forward it to the prankster's dispatcher as a run that I can't get to because, wouldn't ya know it, I'm just too busy. Then they send one of their own drivers on the bogus run.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 Your firm is a known entity at that point, they're not going to hit a rival for you. They might even be working together by then.
I would imagine that the aggrieved party would just say to something a passer-by like "my phone's out of credit; would you call the number on that broken-down cab over there and request a taxi - for five bucks?".
You're not getting that smell out of your seats - I think you'll have to replace 'em.-- Loris, Dec 14 2013 Heh... I don't do package delivery. I'm a cabbie not a courier.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 Sounds like a better set up than my school. I walked to the hospital on what turned out to be a broken ankle (we had a student ambulance, but they reserved for emergencies, and since I could walk on it, it obviously wasn't broken).-- MechE, Dec 14 2013 I'm 100% certain the students are paying for the cab rides in the form of the ridiculous tuition the school charges.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 I'm thinking as an alternative to having your company's phone number on the projection, it could simply say 'Out of Service, Use the Next Cab Down >>>' with the arrow pointing in whatever direction your cab happens to be.-- 21 Quest, Dec 14 2013 Or just project "Paedophile doing community service - please take this taxi help this man reintegrate with the community " onto the rival taxi.-- not_morrison_rm, Dec 15 2013 random, halfbakery