The military taxi driver and the 43 disappeared students…

I was out and about yesterday travelling on taxis till the early afternoon. I really enjoy travelling on a taxi, not because it can take you from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ free of hassle (if you are lucky) but because the stories that taxi drivers can reveal sometimes can be fascinating. 

I tend to break the ice by asking how their day has gone and the follow up question is always, whether they have ever encountered negative experiences at work.

The first taxi ride was the highlight of the day for me.

Hi there, how’s it going? How’s your day gone so far? I asked the driver… Taxi driver responded, - not bad, I have had an ok day today so far. I pushed it a little further, - And what time did you start working today? - I started at 9 am and will end my shift at 2 am but when it is very busy I go all the way until 5 am.

After asking several taxi drivers how many hours they work, their answer tends to be the same. Taxi drivers invest more that 10 hours per day at work, but they sometimes push it from 12 to 14 hours per shift.

I suddenly let the driver know that today it was busier than normal as it is was pay day. He looked at the calendar on his phone for a second and stared back at me suspiciously. He then nodded his head in a confused agreement . He replied, - But it’s just the 23rd, pay day is at the end of the month. I respond , - you are very right! I don’t know which date I am on anymore, clumsy me! We laughed for a couple of seconds.

As the ride continued, I kept ambushing the driver with some points I had, - I don’t like taking taxis to be honest with you. I took it today as I am working but otherwise I would walk. I like walking to most places and when time does not allow it I will walk to the nearest metro station and then jump on the train. I limit my use of public transport as much as I can.

The taxi driver agreed with me and added that when he used to be a soldier, he would spend many hours exercising , keeping fit and healthy but that now he is stuck by the steering wheel every day. 

Before he became a taxi driver he worked at as a soldier for the military.
I got very curious to know more about his old profession and carried on enquiring. So, you were a soldier in the past then? Did you ever engage in any conflicts? Did you ever make use of your weapon? 

I was very happy to work for the army, he explained. He then complemented his response by adding, I loved my job and spent 15 years on the post. I did attend a few calls in conflicting areas such as Guadalajara back then. Once I was shifted over to the National Defence section I started to experience internal conflicts, mainly with other colleagues. As you know, there is a huge mafia inside the institution. 

Besides all the issues he faced, the man certainly did not want to quit his job as he had 5 more years to go before he received his pension.

One day, the Sargent under his supervision warned him that his head was wanted, that if he did not quit he would be killed. Such sergeant was like a father to him, he loved him like a son but he insisted that he had to quit and consequently forced him to do so or else the former soldier would have not seen a new day.

I hopped off the taxi, said goodbye and wished him a nice weekend.
About an hour later I stopped another taxi. I broke the ice once again with the same sort of questions plus, I asked him if the new taxi service called ‘Uber’ was messing up the traditional taxi services. He responded, - nah, not really as customers know that Uber may sometimes charge cheap fees but when the demand is quite high, then the prices sky rocket. This system for Uber is called differentiated cost, which means that as soon as it’s peak hours and more people request the service, Uber’s fees can change from $100 to more than $200 just to get to a nearby destination. Having said that, night time fees are very cheap, cheaper than normal taxi ones, he added.

The conversation with the third taxi driver kicked off by asking him what the number 43 meant to him. He responded, - 43 means a number to me, it is simply 2 digits put together, a 4 and a 3…My taxi ride was leading me towards the 43 Monument ( The non-monument, as it’s known which was not placed to celebrate anything but rather to expose the injustices this country faces) situated on Reforma Avenue, a road where many of the financial services are based and money is abundant.

The driver then reflected on the question once again and added, - Oh, yeah, it also means the 43 students that disappeared. I don’t know what to believe anymore with all that. I was pretty involved with it when it all kicked off but I don’t pay much attention to it anymore. The government lies all the time and it’s hard to believe anything. Did the students do anything wrong? Did they not? who knows.
I allowed the man to finish his point and continued by asking him, - Would you say then that the Mexican government always provides the truth so we can be rest assured that everything is fine? I think that they are happy that we, the people are confused with what is what.. 

We advanced a little further and reached the final destination where I hoped off once again and thanked him for his friendly service…