Taxi Driver Online

This is a letter in Dundee's evening telegraph

Ten hours in taxi made me £5.30 hourly


Recently I returned to work after a four-month absence due to family problems and I was shocked at how difficult it is going to be for me to make money.
I worked a hard 10-and-a- half hour shift on a Friday night from 5pm until 3.30am Saturday morning. Once I had finished my shift, I counted my earnings to be £5.30 per hour before tax and national insurance contributions.

I was not picking berries.

Actually I am a taxi driver of seven years. Before I had to stop working, I had noticed that my earnings were getting less and less each week, but never expected things to be so bad upon my return.

For the whole night I managed to pick up only two fares from the ranks as this was the only two occasions I could get onto one.

I witnessed the Nethergate rank full to capacity with up to six cars in the bus stops opposite the rank, just in an attempt to get onto the rank.

There were calls from the office at least three times warning that police were issuing tickets to any taxi parked outwith a rank. The average waiting time for a fare from the office was 40 minutes.

I know everyone is entitled to work but when will someone realise that there are far too many taxis in Dundee and its not sorting itself out as Dundee City Council promised it would.

Unemployment is rising and I fear I will be another statistic soon because there is no way I can continue earning under the minimum wage to feed my family and pay my ever increasing bills.

Top this with wasting fuel driving around town endlessly trying to get onto a rank and trying to keep one step ahead of the police officers ticket machines. — Stressed At Work.

sourse http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/outpu ... tters.shtm

It's happening to me also, based on a 40 hr week my running cost is roughly £4 ph, so taking 5.50 - 7.50ph put's me under the min wage also.


I could end the recession within months if I had the say, it's simple, orders create jobs, jobs create spenders creates more jobs, it's all down to demand, if the powers gave all companies a large tax break for one tax year on the understanding they recruit workers to the tune of the tax saving it would be offset by not having millions of benefit claims to pay, preferably British workers so the money doesn't get sent out of the country, and to anyone reading that and wanting to race card me please accept my finger salute because that is a fact and is as harmful to an economy as counterfeiting is, that or bring a law in to stop the cash going abroard, though I suspect that would just end up loopholed anyway.

Just think of all the money you'll earn if BRAKE & the GMB get their way

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Tbh I'm past caring, when that happens I'm getting another job and manning my car 24/7 with drivers so the expectant carpet baggers don't get an easy ride, the fairest system I've seen regarding numbers is if it can be proved there is demand then block issue is the way to go under review so you issue a max of say 5 pa, and review it again the following year, at least that way you don't get swamped which doesn't benefit anyone in the long run, I just don't know where all this I must have a cab licence came from, I mean I must win the lottery when the jackpot is £25 million but there's not a lot of chance it happening, another reason never to vote Labour ever again imo, for what they've done to the taxi trade equates to me demanding a Doctor at 2 seconds notice for a cold, or me insisting the local bar has at least 10 barmaids on just incase I fancy a drink.

its always me me me with you aint it

Yet another plate baron....

I don't have a clue what you mean by that, I'm just pointing out that for some reason it's the be all and end all these days if someone has to wait longer than 5 mins for a cab, and that why should I make life easy for ppl who are going to slice an already well sliced cake, cab driving has been a career for me and it's steadly being ruined by ignorance and manipulator's like yourself using loopholes in the law to gain something and then use the very thing you oppose to profit from it, your LO imo would be well within their rights to deny you a plate and issue them to ppl with the correct usage in mind for it, you are unfit to hold a plate on the grounds you were issued with one and sold it for profit, profit that you so venomously try to destroy in others investment, the real answer to stop you is to insist you buy a brand new vehicle, stare the 60k you haven't got down the throat and you'd soon lose interest, sooner the better if you ask me.

Stands by for the next reply from Mr Alwaysgottananswerevenifitdoesn'tmakeanysenceatall.

you really show youre ignorance and dislike of anything that is not in line with youre rather simplistic state of mind let me put you straight.
firstly there is no loophole as you put it
simply the legislation.get it no loophole.
you say the L.A would be well within thier rights to deny ???? how so??
the LA with the backing of the trade made possible the selling of plates.
i mearly used the system they put in place,how can it therfore be wrong.
thier is nothing in the legislation to say i cant apply again.again no loophole,only the system.

as for a new vehicle i have little problem with that why would i ??
of course newer doesnt mean better safer or more reliable does it.
it just hammers into profit and makes daft councils look good as they take all the credit for taxi drivers forking out.
wrong agian

Really, using a system is a loophole isn't it?


Stands by for last word Ali again


Mate, you say nobody has followed through with threats towards you, maybe they never will but I wouldn't bet on it, as I said you've bought yourself a lot of looking over your shoulder, enjoy your victory, personally I don't think you're any better than those you downcry.

boring !!!
wrong!!!
and
spineless!!!

spineless..thats a belter coming from you but i will say no more as it will fly over the head as did my last post..Ali your priorities are wrong in life Mr plate baron

how was it hard work, he didnt do much driving

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I think I know what he means. It's harder work sitting around waiting for things to happen than rushing afound for 7/8 hours, job to job to job.

I had an absolute belter of a night and felt as good at 0700 this morning as I did when I first went out at 2200 last night!

I take it that's aimed at me ?


quality answers from a quality sort of person, err NO!


I can't understand the last one though, you've never met me so how can you say such a thing.

Correct, it is more exhausting to do nothing than be busy.


You should add that you work a radio circuit btw.