Taxi driver has had most of South Lake Tahoe in his back seat

For 14 years South Shore resident Ted Gregory has had most of South Lake Tahoe ride in his backseat.

A Yellow Cab taxi driver, Gregory has met a variety of people on the job, ranging from drunken New Year's party-goers to Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Gregory has lived in South Lake Tahoe for 24 years and said being a taxi driver is what he loves to do.

"You'll never get rich doin' it, but it does pay the bills," he said. " It's pretty tough in a resort town like Tahoe, but I enjoy it, I just love being outside. After doing this for 14 years I come in here like this with four walls and I just can't wait to get outside. It's just something in me I guess."

Gregory averages about 24 fares a day during his 12-hour shifts and said the summer and winter months are his busiest times of the year.

Gregory, like other taxi drivers, leases one of 30 Yellow Cabs running in a six-mile stretch of South Shore highway. He pays $350 for six days and buys his own gas. Averaging $17 to $20 a day in gas, Gregory said the gouging fuel prices have really hurt him.

Gregory said most cab drivers are patient people who are friendly and independent, which is why he said he's well-suited to be behind the wheel.

"The best part of my job is being able to drive and be your own boss," he said. "Nobody tells you what to do just where to go."

Gregory said most of the people he picks up are friendly and almost always talkative. He said people sharing intimate details of their lives with him is just an occupational hazard, especially when they do things that he claimed were to intimate for publication.

"It goes in one ear and out the other. It's kind of like being a bartender- bartender, psychologist, barber and cab drivers, I think we're all in the same realm," Gregory said. "We all hear it. It's one on one. We can be your best friend but you won't remember our name when you leave."