Taxi Driver Online

If you think the Chorley trade has been mentioned on here before, but can't recall precisely, then one look at the photo will confirm that you weren't imagining it

I mean, that hair and beard can't be entirely natural, surely

But where to start with some of this?


Extra peace of mind for Chorley taxi passengers as drivers unite - this is why they say it's better than Uber

https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/ ... er-4371493

Taxi passengers are being offered extra peace of mind, thanks to the birth of the Chorley Taxi Association (CTA).


Image: Lancashire Evening Post

Private and Hackney drivers as well as operators have come together to form the CTA in a bid to raise the quality of service, have better representation with the council, and share information.

The group was the brainchild of Mohammed Esa, businessman and owner of a Hackney Carriage, and Shaz Malik who operates Four Sixes Taxis.

With historic differences between Hackney and private hire drivers, they wanted to get the whole trade working together, rather than everyone dealing with the same issues individually.

Shaz said: “At first it was just pie in the sky, to be honest. We didn't even really understand how we would do this – to unite the Chorley taxi trade together and how the infrastructure would even sit. It’s never been done in the history of the Chorley taxi trade.”

After several meetings, Hackney drivers and operators Shakail Ahmed, Shoaib Desai and Rashid Sohail were brought on board, and the CTA was launched a little over a month ago.

It involves a small paid membership to cover running costs, with money to be put back supporting the trade. Only licensed badge holders from Chorley can apply.

Members have access to legal information and individual drivers can discuss any taxi-related issues on a one-to-one with CTA leaders.

After working with local businesses, CTA membership holders will also have access to discounts from the likes of takeaways, insurance companies, accountants and car washes.

CTA is also working in partnership with Chorley Council, representing the taxi trade.

How do customers benefit?

Shaz said: “CTA trade members are certified taxi drivers and not only have they been verified by the council, but also registered with the Chorley Taxi Association, which gives the customers extra piece of mind.

“Previously if a customer forgot any of their belongings in a Hackney Carriage they would have had to either remember the license number or registration number to ask about the item, or wait on the taxi rank hoping to see the driver at some point during the day.

"As all Hackney drivers are self employed and have varied shifts, this was a difficult task.

"CTA members, who are both Hackney and Private Hire are all on one platform and share this type of information about lost property. Its much easier to locate missing items and return them back to customers.”

Uber

He also warned of issues booking an Uber, which are currently not licenced in Chorley but come in from other boroughs.

He said: “A customer who decides to book a Uber or other drivers who are not apart of CTA could always be a disadvantage.

“Uber drivers are not licensed in Chorley, so if there are any problems, then unfortunately you have to contact another borough who they are licensed to.

"All the taxis currently operating in Chorley not are all from Chorley.

"If you’re unsure about a taxi driver, take their badge details and you can also ask them if they are a member of the CTA. If they are then it’s an extra piece of mind. The customer could contact CTA in the first instance if they have a complaint against the driver.”

Model

Shaz wants other districts to copy this model.

He said: “We are building something unique for Chorley, a shared platform between all taxi drivers and it’s not only for the trade but for the people of Chorley. Keeping everyone safe. CTA is a name you can trust, building a better future for the people of Chorley.”

In fact this is all a bit misleading to members of the public, because more important is presumably that drivers should hand lost property to police if it's not returned directly? This all makes it sound like there's no such obligation, and that the best way is to go via the trade directly. Of course, that can work at times, but obviously plenty of people will phone round various offices, or approach drivers on the ranks, while independent drivers like me might not get to know someone is looking for something.

And, on a related point, it's presumably not compulsory to be part of this new association?


By the same token, this is a trade association rather than a circuit, or whatever? I mean, on what earth will passengers be getting in touch with a trade association with complaints, and would that even be advisable?

Other than that, this is all a bit too PR-ish, and makes it sound like they've reinvented the wheel rather than started a cross-trade association. And wasn't one of the previous articles from Chorley simply off-the-scale in terms of bull$hit?

maybe round your way but in many parts of the country including Lincolnshire the police will NOT accept lost property

_________________
Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

Not exactly reinventing the wheel here are they?

Both sides of the trade working together, alongside operators, isn't exactly unique.

However, once they disagree on something that's when the fun starts.

_________________
IDFIMH

Edders, I thought the return lost property to owner or hand it in to police within 24/48 hours thing was pretty standard, but maybe it's just a Scottish thing.

But a quick google suggest that it varies enormously, in England at least.

The next three posts are the first three English councils I found via Google, and that's the only reason I picked them. Usefully, they're all quite different, and at a rough guess I'd say they're probably fairly representative of the whole lot, because apart from these three, I can't really think of any other way to do it, unless like Chorley there's no official involvement in it at all

This is Nottingham City Council, and is pretty straightforward:

This is St Albans - and the council here deals with any lost property itself

This is South Glocs, and the following is written by the taxi compliance officer, and is quite interesting. So an HCD finding £400 in cash (say) doesn't even have to hand it in?

He just has to tell police he's found it via their website?

But again there's that fantasy in the latter two above that drivers will check their car for lost property after every run

Was on the rank here last night, sitting behind a driver for maybe 45 minutes or so. A middle-aged couple came along, and there was a bit of toing and froing, and opening of doors etc. Eventually they came back to me - turned out someone had puked on the back seat and down the door exterior, and the driver hadn't even noticed

I'd guess the pax been making a lot of noise, and he was distracted by that, so could just about identify with it all, although it was either completely odour-free vomit, or the driver doesn't have a sense of smell

Was only 9.30pm as well

I think all the local councils down here have the police station as the venue for lost property.

So much easier to just drop off and go.

_________________
IDFIMH

officially we are supposed to hand it the police but the police will refuse to accept it as they will not accept responsibility for the storage of lost property

_________________
Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

Well it looks like they've got the lost property thing sorted out. Trouble is, you need to go on a course and pass an exam to understand it all

And I think there are quotation marks missing here - it's mostly quotes from an official council statement, by the looks of it, but there are no quote marks at the beginning of each paragraph, suggesting that it isn't just direct quotes. But the giveaway is maybe the highlghted word 'us'...


New lost property rules to help if you lose your phone, jewellery, keys or purse in a taxi in Chorley

https://www.lep.co.uk/news/new-lost-pro ... ey-4555604

This has happened to a lot of us.

People who lose their valuables in a taxi are being given a helping hand in Chorley.

Chorley Borough Council has brought in new rules to make it easier for items to be runited with owners. It came after the Chorley Taxi Association (CTA) notified officers that drivers had no where to take items after police stations stopped taking in lost property four years ago.

After being contacted by CTA founder Shaz Malik, a public safety committee meeting was held, and it was agreed that the council would take in items not reunited by taxi drivers after 72 hours. They will keep hold of them for three months.

Chair of the Licensing and Public Safety Committee, Councillor Matthew Lynch said: "After we became aware that licensed drivers no longer have somewhere to hand in lost property (found inside taxis or handed to them) in the event they cannot reunite the property with its owner, we made an amendment to those licence conditions so that licensed drivers can now hand the property in at our council offices on Union Street."

What are the rules?

Where property has been left in a licensed vehicle, the driver has a duty to attempt to reunite that property with the owner. This may not always be possible due to the driver being unaware of who left the property, being unable to get in contact with the person or some other reason.

Where a driver finds and/or has property handed to them which has been left in the vehicle, and which he has been unable to reunite with the owner, the driver should return that property to the Council Offices within 72 hours of that property being handed to him. The council will take custody of the item and will record relevant details in a dedicated register.

The council will store items which have been handed in to us for a maximum of three months from it being handed in. After this, the item will be destroyed. Any money which is returned to the council will be donated to the Mayor's Charity after thee months have elapsed.

Shaz Malik said: "At CTA, we strive to reunite lost property with its rightful owners as quickly as possible. To facilitate this process, we have created a form on our website where individuals can report any lost items. The information provided is then circulated among our CTA members, this is done pretty quickly, we operate 24 hours."

Access the CTA lost property site here: https://www.chorleytaxiassociation.co.uk/lostpreperty

Fair play to the CTA, and despite the misspelling 'property' in the URL, the link does actually work.

But, as is often the case, this on the relevant CTA page is just too full of BS and the like if you ask me:


And, more importantly, it makes it sound like you actually need the badge or vehicle number to make an enquiry (which is more obvious from the actual form on the website).

And, in that regard, it's worth remembering that the CTA encompasses several PH operators and HCs. I mean, how many people hiring HCs in the street will know the badge or vehicle number if they lose something?