Taxi Driver Online

Cabbies in fear

Black cab and private hire drivers are joining forces to protest at a city council ruling ordering names to be displayed on licence plates. Outraged taxi drivers are now planning a mass demonstration.

Muslim cabbies claim that revealing their names could put their families at risk, and others say it is a breach of the Human Rights Act on citizens' privacy.

The city council's licensing committee says the ruling has been enforced to enhance public safety. One Handsworth taxi driver, who did not wish to be named, said: "My passengers come from all walks of life. "I can pick up murderers, rapists, psychopaths, people with something to hide from the police - and with my name they will have access to my family. As a taxi driver I've learned to deal with trouble - I've been assaulted and called Saddam, bin Laden, a [edited by admin] and all sorts.

"There is no need for the name to be on the plate because the council can already identify the driver via the plate number." The only other local authorities which adopt this policy are believed to be Solihull and Glasgow.

Mohammed Rashid, of Birmingham and Solihull Taxi Association, said: "I have more than 1,000 black cab drivers and 3,000 private hire drivers who are all against this." Roy Foxall, sales manager at TOA Taxis, said: "It's not popular with staff. How many car drivers would like to have their name on their number plate?"

A city council spokesman said the decision was taken following legal advice, with consideration given to the Human Rights Act. "The licensing committee introduced this change for public safety and to reduce the number of drivers who failed to notify the section when they sold or transferred their interest in a licensed vehicle."

Hi
A friend of mine was in a similar position.
He had trouble with a passenger and called the Police.
The Police asked him (the driver) to exchange addreses with the passenger.
The driver refused saying ''I work most nights officer and my family is at home,will they be safe from him ?''
The Police officer saw sense and agreed with the driver not to disclose his details.
I think Birmingham council are equally stupid.

Most Hackney Carriages have a name and address on them (buses)

its a storm in a tea cup, most people dont notice when there is a plate on the vehicle!

and surely most taxis have a buisness address, nowthen Birmingham stupid? or forced into this by stupid cabbies?

dundee council make up put our name on the drivers and passenger door
the lettering has to be the very clear ie black lettering on a white vehicle
so it could be seen very easily it also has to be a certain size ive never heard of any cabbie complaining of this....

It would be just fine if we only picked up the pillars of society, but alas we don't.

Having you name in your car is great if it's Brown or Smith. But if you have a name shared by just a few, you are leaving yourself wide open to the idiots.

I think that Birmingham will have to back down, because if you are going to [edited by admin] off the whole taxi/PH trade, then do it for a good reason, not this one.

_________________
IDFIMH

the register of Hackney owners is open to the public, name, address

and the rest.

And that's wrong too.

Why should someone want to know the inns and outs of a driver?

If customers complain, then let the council deal with it.

_________________
IDFIMH

(so they can report them to the magistrates as per ancient acts, Sussex, the law is the law, even junior solicitors like yourself should know that!)

Can't quite work out your point, but I bet on your tariff card it says that any complaint should be referred to the council.

If they want to involve the police, then so be it.

i REFERED TO THE ANCIENT ACT IF YOU DONT KNOW YOUR HISTORY OF OUR ROOTS PAL YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND OUR TRADE HERE GOES

we started with horses and traps, so we got laws to stop our forfarthers going into the pub allnight, and thats where limit by numbers came in, limit by numbers because the council or police stables were only big enough for the horses taxis to stay if one had to be driven away from places of entertainment.

then we got laws saying you may only charge the fare the council sets, and any extra given like a tip may be clawed back by the customer, something to do with out forefarthers charging heavily drunks and saying it was a tip.

We had a register so cabbies could be identified by the public and brought to book at the magistrates.

we havnt always wallowed in fancy motorised cabs they have been with us for only 100 years this year.

now do you understand?

as likely not.

Sorry are you saying things shouldn't change?

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IDFIMH

Sussex
why do you do this? woke up with brain not in gear?

the chap said he did not understand, so I explained!

so sussex of course I am not saying there should not be change, merely there hasnt been!

Geoff