Taxi Driver Online

I had a couple from Gateshead in the cab tonight and I asked them about the story where by taxis pick up from bus stops and only charge £1.00, one of them said it was the best thing since sliced bread, and its been running for over a month now, they said that any taxi with a big sticker in the window will pull in if empty, and pick others up as they went along, and they would take you to either Gateshead or Newcastle bus stations
I asked if the meter was / had to be on and they said no. They said that the cabby's where more than delighted with doing this as they where not running empty

I might give it a try here, the number 41 bus is now leaving fares please

I thought they were still waiting for permission.

But I still have concerns that folks will use the £1 cab service now rather than the £6/7 cab service they used before.

_________________
IDFIMH

Sussex, I might be wrong but I think most of the wav's there are 7 seaters, so £7.00 a run could be the norm, so potentially they could earn £14.00 per run
The only thing that is puzzling is how do they cope with pensioners with bus passes

We are

It is becoming more evident that the scheme encourages taxi use.

The people who use this service (or will use this service) are either people who cannot afford to use taxis but don't like using buses and are seeking an alternative to their car.

Using this service to get into the town centre is being seen (or will be seen) as a subsidy for their return taxi journey.

For example - Mrs Smith used to take her car into Town to do her shopping at Tesco's ............... she doesn't like using buses and the return taxi fare is to expensive. She regularly now walks to the main road and stops a taxi with the identification on the front and travels to Gatesead for £1, she does her shopping and then gets a taxi from Tesco's home, with her weekly shopping. Her total cost for both journey's is £7.80.

Now Mrs Smith would have normally taken her car .......... and so not spent anything on taxi journeys ................ so you see where this scheme is promoting taxi use.

B. Lucky

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

I bet Mrs Smith got a hack into tescos for one pound and got a tesco taxi home for three pounds and clubcard points.

Why not just do it right and get a taxi-bus Skippy,it's easy really, it would also save the rest of us suffering!!! anyway these towns and cities with a one way taxi service seem strange to me, would you not be better off just driving a bus.

I don't know Stu, people moan their gonads off about representative groups doing nowt for the trade ............. and then when one gets asked by its membership to do something and they do it, some people still find something to moan about.

Taxibus and Taxishare schemes will be in operation by the end of this year across Gateshead, and number of licence applications are already with the commissioner.

I don't really care what anyone on here thinks of the scheme, unless they work in Gateshead ........................ its what I was asked to do and it is what I did, if you don't agree with it then don't do it.

B. Lucky

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

Anyone ever been on a Turkish Dolmus?

Or the taxi buses in Soyth Africa?

Have to say guys, this is the thin end of a wedge I'm not sure we should be supporting.

Once again others are shaping our trade, and we're letting them. This can only ever end in grief.

Your quite right GA, everywhere is different but since Skippy is secretly doing the knowledge for Edinburgh every tuesday it was really aimed at him.

Still you dont have the Scottish Executive, you have to be careful what you ask for here because unfortunately you usually get it with bells and whistles on and they dont tell or ask anyone because, well because they dont see any need for it, or maybe they do.

But it would still appear that the scheme is really a taxi-bus scheme without the subsidy available to the operators if it were so registered and run along those lines with an area which you could pick up from, pre-booked of the main routes, the area of fixity in Edinburgh is almost the whole town centre and of course thats just one service, surely the only difference is that your sceme will not run to a timetable.

Most of are area is rural with a few towns dotted at the edge, so having a fare back to town is a good thing.

But £1 a go?

Flyer

Well keep driving back to the rank for nowt .................. passing all those people waiting for busses.

Don't forget ............... in order to be there you would have had a fare to take you there.

B. Lucky

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

Can anyone tell me if this scheme is still operational

Just curious thats all.

_________________
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z07K29Fc15U

The people now representing the trade in Gateshead have all of the information on how to get this service into legal operation.

I do know that some of the lads are still picking up, and charging a quid back to the Town Centre, or other places, and doing quite well out of it.

It seems though that currently people see fighting with the council on other issues a priority .................. and to be honest I understand why they would.

B. Lucky

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

Found it!

Can someone remind me what the cab trade in Gateshead called this scheme?

CC

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

And how do they cope with the insurance too?

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.