Cab Driver Eric Barron, 64, has been named St. John's cabbie of the year. Barron is the owner of The Red Barron, an independent taxi company. He has been driving the streets of St. John's since 1984.

"It's an honour," said Barron. "It really is".

"I've been promoting this city for a long time. It's a great city ... 26 years, finally getting recognized? That's pretty good," he said.

Barron said when he started driving he struggled to make enough money to support two growing children. At the time, he said was making about $400 a week.

"It wasn't paying very much ... so I quit the other job and I bought myself a cab and went gung-ho," he said.

Now he's cruising to the sound of his new title.

"Someone recommended me," said Barron, on how he picked up the special recognition.

"I used to get these letters from city hall every year to recommend a cab driver, and I said, 'no, I'm not going to recommend myself. It's only me,'" he said.

Instead Barron said he gave the city a few names and numbers of his regular customers. He figures somebody ended up talking to the right person and convinced them he should be this year's best cabbie recipient.

It's a job, he said, that remains fulfilling year after year.

"I watch families grow. I drive the kids, the grandkids, and you know the parents," he said.

"They think they have their own personal chauffeur, and it's a nice feeling for them as well".

He said the benefits from the relationships he's developed with his regular customers over the decades go both ways.

"You become friends in a way, part of the family in a way, so it's a nice feeling, a very nice feeling," he said.

Barron said he doesn't see himself retiring when he turns 65 years old next year.

"I gotta be busy. I gotta have something to do," he said.