Taxi Driver Online

Veteran Arthur in driving seat with taxi qualification
Published date: 16 April 2010 | Published by: Staff reporter

VETERAN taxi driver Arthur Pritchard as been driving taxis throughout the Chester area for more than four decades.


He is the oldest person to achieve the BTEC in Transporting Passengers by Taxi or Private Hire and the NVQ Road Passenger Vehicle Driving.


Arthur, 71, of Broughton, started driving taxis while working as an aircraft engineer and soon made it his full time career. Although he retired at the age of 65, he couldn’t quite give up completely and quickly went back to driving part time. He said: “I couldn’t do without the people. It’s a great job if you like meeting and talking to different people.”


Formalising licensed driving qualifications began five years ago throughout the country. Cheshire West and Chester Licensing Authority made the BTEC compulsory for new applicants in July 2009 in conjunction with West Cheshire College, who developed the course.


And although Arthur did not have to complete it under what he describes as ‘Grandfather’s rights’, he was determined to do it.He said: “The tutor told me no one had ever failed so I was worried I would be the first. But I managed it and I’m pleased I have.


“I didn’t think there was anything they could teach me because I thought I knew everything there was to know about driving a Hackney cab. But I was wrong and I did learn new things.”


Arthur, who originally qualified as an engineer from Loughborough, has always preferred driving to engineering but said his original skills did ensured he could do 90 per cent of the maintenance of his cab himself. He has no intention of taking his foot off the pedal just yet.


He said: “As long as I can get insurance I’ll keep on driving. I love it.”

http://www.chesterfirst.co.uk/news/8743 ... ation.aspx

Good for him, it's nice to see somebody enjoying their job for a change

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

I love the job, will never do anything else.

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IDFIMH

Sad as it may sound it's actually 100% the truth.

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IDFIMH

I wish i could say the same

Well you look happy enough.

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IDFIMH

Sussex i am happy i have a beautiful wife and two wonderful daughters Rebecca 8 and Gemma 4 but i am finding it hard to provide for them in this current climate.

I have no other trade so i feel i am stuck in this Trade .I hope you would agree that there is a significant change in earnings in the last few years.

Apart from a down turn in earnings i suppose the job is not that bad


I have another 23 three years before i can retire (that's if i make it that long) so you can maybe see why i am not that optimistic

Thats sad my friend.

This trade is the very best and the very worst, its the very best because we can do what we want within reason.....the very worst because it is run by idiots with a few idiots involved.

CC

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

CC you are are one of the few that really cares about this job and you should be congratulated for that.We have Graeme Stephen of the DTA in Dundee who has been bullied and threatened yet still stands up for his members and sees this job as worth doing.

On the down side is that Operators/Drivers will not join Associations or unions yet still reap the rewards of there actions.The Dundee taxi trade has a continuous fight on there hands and yet so few are members of the union/Association.I suspect you have the same problem down your way.

It's a problem throughout the country. I think you need to ask the non members why they don't want to join?

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Toots i would like to say its because of money but our fees are less that £1 a week.£40 a year and that is STF membership as well.

I think there's a few more of me.......and on here I dont think I'm a minority.

Even the likes of skull and jaspar......who is disagree with on virtually everything, have a degree of love for the trade....their very presence suggests this.

As for the bullies / mafia types........f*ck em.

CC

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

Stationetone I feel for you! I worked in Newport Gwent for four years, 58 hours per week + another 10/12 hours per week travelling from where I live, and getting worse every week! I took the Cardiff "Knowledge"/driving test" and wish with all my heart that I had done it 30 years ago instead of running pubs.

I do not work from an office, so I start when I want and I finish when I want, if I do not want to work then I do not.........The only thing that I have to do is to be disciplined to earn what we need to pay the bills, and that is not a problem.

If I had my time over again, then it would be London........Happy days.

Think about it, the trade can be good/very good, but some times it may not be in your neck of the woods. It may be time to get on your bike to earn a good living, and to give your family a chance of better times.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.