FL Morris / Fmorris@StarBulletin.com
Alan Hui has been driving the streets of Oahu for three decades as a driver for Charley's Taxi. He also works as a dispatcher, usually with at least one other dispatcher on duty. Above, Hui handled dispatching duties at the company's offices in Kakaako.
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Aloha, where you like go? Stories from the streets
Alan Hui is both a dispatcher and a driver for Charley's Taxi who helps people get to their destinations
Who: Alan Hui
Title: Taxi driver and dispatcher
Job: Routes customer calls to drivers, and drives, for Charley's Taxi
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Alan Hui moved to Hawaii from Hong Kong in 1975 when he was just 21, and soon found a job that he has had ever since. In fact, after 32 years at Charley's Taxi, he pretty much considers his colleagues at the company like family, including its
co-founding matriarch, Helen Morita, who died just last month, at age 94.
"She was a very tough lady," Hui said last week. "She runs the company six days a week. But she's also a very soft-hearted lady. She'll listen to you. I mean, a driver or dispatcher made a mistake, you know, even get fired, but if you're begging and asking her for the job, telling her you have to feed a family, she'll hire you back. (Laughter). She's that kind of person. You have to respect that. You have to."
"Charley's Taxi these days is being run by Morita's daughter, Dale Evans, and her daughter as well, Darci Evans, who together helped Morita build it into one of Honolulu's leading taxi firms, with more than 200 taxis, vans and limousines; about 300 licensed taxi drivers; and more than two dozen employees.
Hui's role at the company is both as a driver and a dispatcher. Through the years he has spoken on the phone with thousands of customers seeking rides, driven thousands of fares to virtually
every place on the island, and gathered a ton of good stories about his experiences on the streets of Oahu.
An American citizen since 1981, Hui is 54 and with his wife Winnie has two adult children a son and a daughter. He resides in Aiea.
FL Morris / Fmorris@StarBulletin.com
Hui showed off his ride that he takes to the streets, usually at night, when there's less traffic and no sun.
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Question: What do you do at Charley's Taxi?
Answer: I'm a driver, but I'm also a dispatcher.
Q: What does a dispatcher do?
A: A dispatcher is simply to take calls and -- you know, the customer calls in, I'll answer it, and take the address and get full information like name and phone numbers, if necessary, and then we'll distribute the call to the closest drivers.
Q: Do you prefer being a dispatcher or a driver?
A: Oh, both, yeah. It gives me something else besides just doing one thing. Some variety.
Q: Do you need a license to be a taxi driver?
A: Yes. Besides your regular driver's license, you need a chauffeur's license. The license is basically for taxi drivers only, and you need to go through two tests. One is the written test, and one is an oral test. From one point to another, they expect you to take the shortest route.
Q: What about language?
A: Well, basically, if you can pass the oral test, they're also at the same time testing your English. Not necessarily to be in what grade, a high school grad or whatnot, but basically you have to be able to speak English so you can pretty much deal with your customers.
Q: You must have Japanese-language drivers, too, yeah?
A: Yeah, we do. At Charley's we deal with a whole lot of Japanese tourists. We have an account with JTB -- the Japan Travel Bureau, I think it is -- and they give us a whole lot of business. So we basically have not only the Japanese-speaking drivers, but also the Japanese-speaking dispatcher.
FL Morris / Fmorris@starbulletin.com
Alan Hui is a dispatcher and taxi driver for Charley's Taxi. He's been with the company for several decades. Above, Hui worked as a dispatcher last week in the company's office in Kakaako. With him were Chad Kagawa, center, and dispatcher Andy Ong, right.
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Q: Do you need certification to be a dispatcher?
A: Not really, but we do need the dispatcher to have the driving skills, to be a taxi driver first, because we want the dispatcher to know his way around, so when they're taking calls, they will know how long it will take for the driver to get to the pickup point, and also know exactly the location and things like that. That way, if the driver doesn't know how to get there, the dispatcher, an experienced driver, can tell them how to get to the pickup point. So basically we'll hire somebody who has great experience with driving before they can be a dispatcher.
Q: Do the drivers cruise a particular territory, or would they be expected to pick up a ride anywhere on the island?
A: There are three ways we pick up passengers. One is to pick up people on the side of the road, who flag down the taxi. The second one is somebody calls for a cab, so the dispatcher takes the call and sends the cab to the address. And the third one is to stand by at designated stands and wait for somebody to come out and take them from that point to whatever destination they request.
Q: What would you say is the average mileage per trip?
A: Oh, well, it depends. It's really hard to say. It could be as short as from one hotel to another -- maybe even next door -- and I happen to pick up customers going just one block away, because they have difficulty walking or something, like maybe they're in casts or whatever, and the meter might not even click (Laughter), that's how short it is. But we also get people going from town to North Shore, or even around the island.
Q: What are some of your favorite territories?
A: Everybody has their favorite territory. Certain people like to stay at the hotels, 'cause they don't like the stress of the streets, looking for an address. Others like to get around so they don't get bored, sitting in one place for up to an hour waiting for a fare. Myself, I work at night, and I like the Keeaumoku area, the in-town area, the Kapiolani area, because there's a lot of bars over there.
Q: Is nighttime your favorite shift?
A: Oh yeah, that's my favorite shift, because nighttime has no traffic and no sun. That's what I like. (Laughter)
Q: What's the worst experience you've had as a driver?
A: Oh, you mean stories? The worst scenario I got through was a fake bomb. Somebody called me to deliver a box to a bank. So I did that and half hour, 45 minutes later I have a call from the FBI. (Laughter)
And before, in the old days, we didn't have cell phones, so if we had to stop at a pay phone to make a call, somebody might try to steal the car.
Also, people throw up in the car, somebody tries to rob me, and I'll try to talk them out of it. Things like that. It's a whole lot of things. I've been doing this for over 30 years. So there's a whole lot of stories, but those are some of the things.
Q: Have you ever picked up a passenger who was fleeing the scene of a crime?
A: Actually, wasn't me. Was my friend. He brought him (the passenger) from a downtown taxi stand and took him to the airport, and this fare was not too smart 'cause he told the exact airline. (Laughter). So they caught him in Texas.
Q: Do you talk a lot with your passengers?
A: Oh yes. Communication with the customer is quite important, I believe. That's how you get to know your customers. Not so much their personal life, but most of our customers are regular customers, and you got to serve customers better, so you try to know them a little bit more, about what their needs are. Sometimes they need a certain drop-off, or a certain way of getting into the car, and they want to sit in the front seat or the back seat. Some people are so particular -- they don't want loud music, or they don't want your radio on, things like that. Somebody may not want to talk at all, some people love to talk a lot.
Q: What's the protocol for tipping? Is there an expected amount that should be given, and do you feel bad if the passenger doesn't give you a tip?
A: Not really. For example, the old lady with fixed income, I don't expect anything at all. Of course, if they do tip, I'll be happy, but I wouldn't mind helping them up the stairs and not getting anything. But if it's a well-dressed gentleman taking a lady out to dinner, I would expect something.
Q: Do you drive your own car?
A: I have my own car.
Q: Who takes care of it?
A: I fix my own car, the small little things like brakes, change my oil
Q: I would imagine that as a taxi driver you might have some ideas about how traffic congestion could be relieved in Honolulu.
A: I think we need alternatives. It's my own opinion, but I think fixed rail, personally it will not work as well. I think alternatives probably would be between taxi and bus.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about your job?
A: Well, you know, seeing people. Especially like dispatching, we're just like a family. Like I say, I've been driving 32 years, and dispatching for 28 years, and always with the same company. It's more like a family. It's already the third generation. Otherwise we wouldn't last that long, right? (Laughter)