Taxi Driver Online

Taxi firm went overseas for drivers
By Chris Kearney


Mark Green, who runs 001 Taxis in Oxford, blames city council delays for shortage of taxi drivers
A taxi company which is struggling to get drivers, tried to bring in cabbies from Eastern Europe.

Mark Green, manager of 001 Taxis in St Aldate's, Oxford, was forced to turn to a specialist driving school in the Czech Republic because of a staff shortage.

He said: "I have cars sitting around that are not out on jobs because I do not have the drivers to fill them.

"If 30 people came into my office looking for jobs tomorrow morning, I would give them straight away. But I can't because of the training and testing that is required.

"In the end, we went to an agency in Prague where people were desperate to get jobs in the UK."

The Academy of Driver Training, in Prague, trained drivers for the Oxford firm. And for every driver who successfully applied for a taxi licence, 001 Taxis agreed pay £1,000.


However, Oxford City Council's licensing requirements for taxi drivers made it difficult for the drivers to start immediately.

Mr Green said: "You have to fill in an application form, and drivers also have to have Criminal Records Bureau checks, as well as a knowledge test of the area and a driving test.

"It was taking up to six months for the applications to go through, which is just too long, so we had to give up."

Mr Green's father, Tony, also a manager of 001 Taxis, said: "A few years back, there were more regular tests for taxi drivers to get their badges.

"I don't think the council is providing enough test dates now for the drivers."

Hackney carriage manager Mick Tombs, of ABC Taxis in Cowley, agreed there was a shortage of drivers, but said: "It's because of the antisocial hours and the problems that drivers are facing with drunken passengers. It's turning people away from the industry."

A city council spokesman said: "Our prime consideration must always be the safety of the travelling public.

"For this reason, it's extremely important that all the appropriate tests and checks are carried out before a licence is granted."



Source

Check out the comments lol

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Why don't you get a proper job???

I'm surprised any radio firm either private hire or hackney which supposedly has plenty of work for drivers, cannot source those drivers from within their own local catchment area. I wonder if Jimbo can shed any light on whether or not this company is bucking the trend in the current economic downturn that is being experienced by many private hire and hackney carriage drivers.

Or is it a case of this private hire company taking on as many drivers as it can without having the work to sustain a proper standard of living?

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

So which part of the testing and training does this mush want rid of?

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IDFIMH

Exactly, if this mush had work coming out his ears, and drivers on his firm were rolling in it, then he would have no problem filling his cars.

But I bet he doesn't, thus he is driver less.

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IDFIMH

Oxford City Council are doing their job, in my view, ensuring the persons they are licensing are fit and proper.

Anything that would make it difficult to recruit low wage labour.
Things like:

Knowing where they are going.
Being able to drive.
Ability to speak English.
Not being a dangerous felon

Or any other such red tape that gets in the way of making a quid.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I just remembered, Jimbo is in Lincoln not Oxford.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

How Comes if there is so much work Going undone that a few smaller Private Ph firms or one Man Bands dont Plug the Gap???

More Worryingly if this Wizard of Czech driving school is Training people up to be superb drivers that Drive on The RH side of the road within an area they Know..are they going to have Sufficient Savvy to Drive on the Left at all times over Here under Fire of the weekend Drunken Passenger and to Know where theyre Going without local Knowledge? or Even to Understand the Local Accent of some Half Jaked Local when he says "shorry me oldmate Hic! burra neerra gerra moveon assa missuus gonna booorra shirra oourra me fer bein shhhhhhhhhooooooo feching pishhhhhhhhhhhhhhht anna cannaaa member wherrrra shhtayyy, Hic!!!

North of Gatwick is all the same to me.

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IDFIMH

Hackney driver in Newcastle
Just a couple of remarks her, a local private hire company did this not 5 miles away east of Newcastle.
The drivers are Polish,Cech,mostly from eastern block countries.
Now some speak very good english,others speak next to no english at all.
The local council refused to give them badges due to problems with CRB checks,on immigrant workers. So,our friend found the well documentet loophole in the law and got these drivers plates and badges from elsewhere.
Result is some of these drivers,apart from breaking the law by working out of area,(unknown to the driver i may add)need to rely on satnav as if it were the holy grail,to find anywhere,problems with the language etc.
You try asking a [edited by admin] geordie where he lives when the driver has at best only pidgeon english.
Also,the fact that this office can`t get local drivers,similar story to this office here,either as mentioned,there is no work and still the proprietor takes on cars,for the `bit`,or has the office such a reputation locally among the trade that nobody wants to know,or finally,are the fares the office operate on at such a low level,the drivers cant make a living.
Incidentally,if the council insists on drivers meeting a certain standard of driving,local knowledge,and customer care,then...GOOD ON THAT COUNCIL....large pat on the back for using COMMON SENSE...not seen as politically correct by too many authorities in this country now.

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Why don't you get a proper job???