Taxi Driver Online

Birmingham Evening Mail

August 7, 2007, Tuesday

a lazy vicar ran up a three grand taxi bill in the name of the father, the sun and the Holy ghost.

Vicar runs up pounds 3,500 council bill even though he could use bus for free

A BIRMINGHAM vicar is the patron saint of city cabbies after totting up pounds 3,500 worth of trips on the meter last year.

Vicar of Winson Green The Rev Richard Bashford made 231 cab trips on the city taxpayer as councillor for Quinton between April 2006 and March 2007.

The Labour councillor's pounds 3,518 annual taxi bill is more than a fifth of the total figure of pounds 16,543 claimed by Birmingham's 120 councillors.

This includes a 15 per cent service charge added by taxi firms, but does not include VAT which makes the total cost to the council taxpayer pounds 19,438.

Asked if his stance went against the council policy of encouraging public transport use the 70-year-old councillor said: "Buses are unreliable when you have to get to meetings on time."

He made the majority of return journeys from home to meetings and surgeries held in Quinton, meetings at the Council House in Victoria Square and making regular pounds 60 round trips to the Silver-mere Centre in Sheldon where he sits on the city's fostering and adoption panel.

Late last year he moved from his Winson Green vicarage to Adams Hill in Bartley Green.

Coun Bashford said he was not surprised to top the cab claims as one of the few councillors without a car or a council car.

He said: "I am very active, I do a lot of work in my ward. I also have long trips, often each week, to the Silvermere Centre near the airport where I sit on the fostering and adoption panel."

But when asked whether he should take the bus to as many meetings as possible he said: "When you need to get to meetings on time I find that buses just are not reliable."

Being over 60, Coun Bashford is entitled to a free bus pass and could take the 23, which runs every 12 minutes during the day from his Adams Hill home to the city centre - from where connections are available. Another top travel claimer is Cabinet member for Education Coun Les Lawrence who took pounds 4,200 in travel allowances, including private car mileage last year.
________________________

Sounds like a good man to me

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

Well he is a vicar, if that's what you mean

PS what happened to your avatar, Badger?

_________________
Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk