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Liverpool "taxi" drivers call for action
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Author:  captain cab [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  Liverpool "taxi" drivers call for action
Liverpool taxi drivers call for action over rise in fare dodgers


ONE of Liverpool’s biggest taxi firms is losing hundreds of pounds every month at the hands of fare dodgers.

City private hire company Delta today said they were encountering 100 “runners” every month.

And cabbies today spoke out and called on police to take the offence more seriously to protect their business.

Kevin Button, Delta operations manager, told the ECHO: “The situation has got progressively worse over the last 18 months.

“But during the summer, we had a massive spike with nearly as many as 1,000 between July and October.

“Something needs to be done.”

Citing examples when drivers have been ripped off, Delta described how:

A woman was taken from Norris Green to Chester, a fare of £40, only to escape by running off down a side street.

Two women were taken to Runcorn who promptly sprinted away when they were asked for the payment.

An Asian cabbie who was unable to collect his fare, but was also attacked and robbed of £50 takings.

Delta has been in discussion with Merseyside Police in a bid to present a united front against lawbreakers.

Traditionally, it has proved extremely difficult to gather sufficient evidence to present a case at court, if the offender is caught.

One cabbie from the Bootle firm, however, has steadfastly pursued one “runner” and the matter has recently been taken through the magistrates

In that incident, the fare dodger escaped into a house when a police car was coincidentally at the top of the street.

Mr Button added: “Runners can take anything from the minimum fare to £50 or £60.

“Some drivers tell us how they have customers happily chatting away to them before legging it.

“The tactic seems to be to pull up handily next to an alleyway or trying to jump over a fence to get away.

“In hackney cabs the doors remain locked if the taxi remains in gear, but that’s not the case for private hires.

“Drivers are already exposed as there’s no screen between then and the passenger. These runners leave them with a big financial hit.

“With the price of fuel rising and insurance going through the roof, cabbies are losing a lot of money.”

A spokeswoman from Merseyside Police said: “If an allegation of theft is reported to us then we will always investigate. Often, in these cases, many drivers do not report the matter to us and it can be difficult to find enough evidence to prosecute.”

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/
Author:  captain cab [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:29 am ]
Post subject: 
Number of points here;

Delta aint a taxi firm....obviously.

If Delta are losing money they must be the only company in the country who are paying drivers for runners........otherwise its the drivers who are losing the cash.

If they have had 1000 runners then perhaps they should tell their drivers to ask for money up front.

FFS are people seriously putting this firm up as a model?

CC
Author:  skippy41 [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:29 pm ]
Post subject: 
Do they have cams in the cars???
Why not get the fare up front?????
Author:  Nidge [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:50 pm ]
Post subject: 
Fare up front usually does the trick. If they haven't got it I'll take a card, if they haven't got a card it's walkies. :lol:
Author:  toots [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
If Delta are so concerned for the drivers potential loss then perhaps CCTV in all the cars would be a deterent, but, perhaps Delta don't want to put THEIR money where their mouth is :wink: Also Delta could provide their drivers with card machines so they can take card payments as well. Nothing is going to stop runners 100% but proactive deterents are better than nothing
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