Three key questions for great airport runs

Ask BEFORE you leave the driveway

There are three key questions to ask on an airport run, says City Taxi driver Khaled Al Sayyah.

“First, which terminal are you going to?” Al Sayyah tells Taxi News. “Then, which airline are you flying? That’s so I can drop you right in front of the door closest to your airline. Toronto’s terminals are long, long buildings, it’s a really long walk, especially for older passengers.”

The most important question, though, says Al Sayyah, is: “’Do you have your passport?’ The terminal and the airline, you can ask about those once you get on the road. But the passport, I ask about that before we pull out of the driveway. You would be amazed at how many people forget their passport!”

On August 15, Al Sayyah picked up a fare who was on her way home to Australia. As she wrote in a complimentary thank-you letter to City Taxi, Marilyn Shortt actually had left her passport sitting on the kitchen table.

“Before he drove out of the driveway, he asked me if I had my passport,” Shortt wrote. “I didn’t, because I had left it on the table whilst I was saying good-bye to my daughter!…Great service!”

Al Sayyah got his driver’s license at age 16 in his native Lebanon, and drove Taxi for ten years there before he emigrated to Canada. He spent many years in manufacturing before he returned to driving for City Taxi in 2021, right in the heart of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“The streets were empty, it was like a ghost town,” he laughs about those unusual days. “But City is a good company to work with, their dispatch keeps us busy all the time.”

The worst part of driving Taxi, he says, is Toronto traffic: “The construction, the back ups, the gridlock….it is really awful. Downtown Toronto, no one wants to go there.”

But on the flip side, he says the best part is driving on open roads, “cruise control on, empty roads, it’s very enjoyable.”

He would like to see Taxi drivers become part of a union movement to become “more strong and positive, for ourselves and for others, too.”

Al Sayyah’s advice to any young person getting started in their career is to be organized.

“You have to maintain a level of organization,” he says. “Make a plan, and use the plan. Be organized. Don’t waste your efforts. Plan, and be organized.”

Hi
I booked a City Taxi on Thursday August 15 2024, pickup at 9:45pm…to Toronto airport.  I didn't get the driver's name or the cab number, but I would like to let you know that his service was 5-Star.  
He assisted me in getting my luggage into the boot of his vehicle and then before he drove out of the driveway asked me if I had my passport.  I didn't, because I had left it on the table whilst I was saying goodbye to my daughter!  
I'm so glad he asked me this question.  Again at the airport he helped me with my luggage by getting a trolley and putting my luggage on it.  Great service!
I will definitely use City Taxi the next time I visit Toronto.
Kind Regards
Marilyn Shortt
Perth, Australia