Rocky Hizalan, 43

Owner, Medallion Taxi

In Richmond the customers are good. Sometimes Friday and Saturday night is wild. If people get crazy, sometimes I put them out. I drop a lot of people on the 95. Yeah, why not? If they say they are gonna call the police, I say let them call the police.

They get very wild, you know, but this is a taxi, OK? You don’t own it, you know, it’s not your property. This is my property. You come in here for riding, OK? If you want to sit down and be nice, I’ll think it over. You want to talk to me, I can talk to you. But people get in a couple drinks, not all the time, but Friday, Saturday, especially younger age, you know. Older age, we cool, we talk nicely, I give ’em ride to home or where they need to go, you know.

There are a lot of crazy things. Sometimes lesbians come, they kissing each other, they do wild things. Usually I don’t do nothing, but I call police. A lot. This year I’ve called six times. Because people, they don’t have money. You cannot take people’s money first — this is not the bus station. Bus station is a bit different. This is the center of Richmond. This is downtown.

People finish university, right? I have this street university, because I see the people; I understand what type of people. You understand good, wild, bad. You can easily understand. — As told to Amy Biegelsen

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