Cabbie of the Month
If I Were King
Cabdriver Saied Sarvinehbaghi's pro-active, community-oriented attitude sets an example for the masses
By: Matthew Kordonowy
When Saied Sarvinehbaghi walked into City Council chambers, he had no idea he was going to give a speech. Instead, he planned on simply being among the forty-six drivers to come to City Hall on April 7 to witness the Transportation Committee's hearing on the proposed gas surcharge. As he entered the chambers, another concerned driver approached Saied and asked him if he would like to voice his opinion during the hearing. He agreed.
“I wish I was ready to talk - I would have written things down to say, but I decided to talk just that day. They called my name first, but I purposefully went next, so I had just enough time while [the first guy] was talking. It was mostly from my heart.”
The message was simple: the Transportation Committee and the Department of Consumer Services should include actual taxi drivers when making new rules. That way, the organizations will have a concrete understanding of the taxi industry from the inside - how ordinances work in practice rather than theory. Saied believes that a fare increase makes more sense, and that the committee would understand this if drivers were properly represented within the committee.
To represent his point, Saied told an anecdote: “There is a story about a king who was so successful that kings from all over the world would send him the message, 'What is your secret? Why are you so successful?' And the king replied, 'It is because every night, I change my clothes as a normal person and go out and shop to see what normal people go through. The next day I change the laws so people are more comfortable.” Accordingly, he believes the Commissioner should drive a cab for a week to truly understand the cab industry.
Saied came to the United States in 1979 from northern Iran to attend Columbia College in Chicago. He said that he has always understood that working hard for representation is the only way to make any progress.
“Where I grew up, if you don't fight for things, you don't get them. You know, nothing ever comes easy, and I think that if you got a life, you have to work hard at it.”
He applies this mentality toward running his taxicab. As an independent driver, he feels a personal responsibility to serve customers with the utmost care. He explained this as the reason independent cabs are given special exemptions: “Because more private owners means more clean cabs and more drivers who take their jobs seriously.”
Saied drives an immaculate, blue-green Dodge minivan. He fixes small noises as soon as he detects them and washes his car constantly. He says that all the praise he receives from passengers is worth the extra gas money it takes to drive the big car.
“The first thing I hear when people get into my car is, 'Oh, thanks bud, your cab is clean. We were just in a cab that was smelly, that was dirty.'” His advice to other drivers is to keep the cab clean - it represents the city of Chicago as much as it reflects the driver himself.
In addition to keeping clean quarters, Saied advocates that drivers attend public events and voice their opinion. He believes that the surcharge hearing “should be a lesson for us to get more involved for the next one. [Drivers should] talk to them, tell them we have to stick together because it will look better for all of us…one voice is never going to be as effective as a group.”
May Cabbie of the Month
Chicago Dispatcher is pleased to announce Saied Sarvinehbaghi as Cabbie of the Month for May 2008. He will receive dinner for two at Ben Pao, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant.
