Entitled People·
STANDBY TAXI DUTY
A devoted partner's long commute turns into an unpaid taxi duty, draining time, fuel, and rest as a self-employed driver resists being kept on standby.
Keep driving or set a boundary?
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The partner's commute had already cost the poster one car. Now it was costing their time, their fuel, and their days off.
The problem started when the partner, a pilot, was based at an airport just 8 to 10 miles from home. That nearby "home base" was one reason the couple had moved there in the first place. Then, last year, the base shifted suddenly to an airport 1.5 to 2 hours away. To make that drive safer and more comfortable, they bought a three-year-old high-spec car.
The partner, the poster said, is a "massive car nut" who usually prefers old "shitboxes" that need fixing up. And once the pilot was able to return to the original, closer base late last year, that nicer car was gone again. In its place: two more "shitboxes" sitting in the garage and driveway, both needing work and neither usable. So the partner started getting to work by taxi from home.
The poster has their own car, bought on finance two years ago for work. They're self-employed, keep careful track of fuel, and try to keep mileage low so they don't rack up repairs. Most of the time, if the couple wants to go somewhere on a day off, the poster drives and is happy to lend the car.
But when the partner finishes at the nearby airport, a new routine has taken over. They expect the poster to drive the 8 to 10 miles to pick them up and then take them home. The poster says they often wait around an hour while the partner finishes sorting out the aircraft.
At first, it was a favor. Now, the poster says, it feels automatic. It isn't being asked anymore. It's just expected.
That's the part that's starting to grate. The partner frames it as a benefit, saying, "we get to see eachother sooner then." But for the poster, that means more than an hour of lost time off, extra petrol from a monthly budget meant for work, more miles on the car, and plans that have to be reshuffled at the last minute.
The timing is especially bad. The poster says they're under job stress, dealing with health conditions that require proper rest, and already short on time off after being off the previous day because of illness and facing an extra workday next week.
So the question on the table was simple: were they wrong for feeling like they're "on standby" and being used as a taxi?
The post ended with a familiar AITA-style plea: "AITA H?"