Taxi driving a fare road to travel down
ALICIA NALLY “chatterbox” found he thoroughly enjoyed the social side of the job. He said there was always something interesting about every passenger.
Mr Leopold-Wooldridge was named runner-up in the Queensland Taxi Driver of the Year Awards last year as well as 2015 Cairns Taxi Driver of the Year. It is a mantle he also won in 2009.
The 67-year-old Cairns Taxis driver said professional drivers needed to be friendly and have diplomatic skills.
“You really need to like driving and I’ve always been a driver. You certainly need to have a very moderate temperament and let things go in one ear and out the other if you have the wrong sort of people in the taxi,” he said.
“But I haven’t had any runners for a while because I don’t go to nightclubs any more.”
Mr Leopold-Wooldridge said he worked hard at keeping fit in the sedentary job.
“You’re tired most of the time too - 12 hours is a long time doing it,” he said.
“I’ve always tried to keep some fitness, walk, do exercises regularly.”
Mr Leopold-Wooldridge said the job was sensitive to economic conditions.
“Everything was upbeat in Cairns until the Global Financial Crisis,” he said.
“Things affected Cairns in a big way and really took its toll on the city and how many people were using cabs.
“It is definitely picking up now though.”