Taxi Driver Online

I've pasted this tale from the latest edition of Taxi"talk". The complete edition is available on http://www.taxitalk.co.uk/ and it's worth a read.

Anyway, this story is exactly why most PH want the choice to decide for themselves how they work. The operators views i.e. 'do as I say or earn f*** all' show exactly what some drivers are up against.

Bless them, Balsidon have since de-limited.

P.S. Well done David, putting it up now makes good sense.


Council Taxi Solution is 'The Wrong One'

A MOVE to increase the number of taxis in Basildon to cope with late-night revellers could backfire, it was claimed recently. Basildon Council wants to remove restrictions on the number of Hackney Carriage cabs in the town, hoping it will improve waiting times at the Festival Leisure Park.

At the moment, the council only allows 106 hackney carriages - the orange and white vehicles that can be hailed or wait for passengers in cab ranks - throughout the district. The main concern of councillors is the long wait people have at the Festival Leisure Park, where there are frequently fights and scuffles as clubbers queue for cabs.

But now the county's largest private hire firm, A&B Taxis of Pitsea - which owns half of the district's cabs - has entered the fray. They believe private hire drivers will become hackney carriage drivers because then they can choose their own hours.

Steve Foster, who is also the area representative of the national Private Hire Association, said: "It will be a free-for-all. We can make our drivers go to the leisure park. If they refuse a job at night for us, we don't give them any others for an hour. They could have earned £20 to £30 in that hour so they won't refuse another call there. But if you delimit, no one has to do it. The council has not spoken to the trade but are still railroading this through. They are affecting our way of life when they don't know anything about it."

Chris Cowley, the company's contracts manager, said: "We have already had people asking if they can go over to hackneys. But if people spend £25,000 on a new disabled vehicle - which they have to have - they are not going to go up to the Festival Leisure Park where it can be smashed up." (sic)

Mr Foster said: "The existing hackneys don't go there so why do they think new ones would? Instead the council should be encouraging clubs to stagger closing times."

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IDFIMH

Good point there.
If an operator tells me to go asomewhere dangerous or im off the firm.
Then off the firm i go.

Thus explaining, if we needed explanation, as to why Mr Roland is so pro-quotas in PHM.

GA is correct - the leeches aren't just on the HC side of the trade, they're also on the PH side, but perhaps USER is a better term than leech.

Given the chance, it seems probabe that many PH would run HC but stay with an office, but would have that bit of extra bargaing power that would prevent offices taking the Mick, eh Mick?

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

Many PH would run HC but stay with an office

How then would the problem of unmet demand be solved.

The OFT didn't investigate the problem of unmet demand for HC licenses, it investigated the unmet demands of the consumer.

I don't see the point of a PH driver getting a HC to work from the same PH operator, you suggest more bargaining power but I imagine that a radio can be taken out of a PH car just as easy as it can be taken out of a HC, the drivers have the power and that power is to walk away and work for the competitors of such "USERS", making their competition stronger.

B. Lucky

Well it would help deal with those customers trying to flag a cab down.

But if you are right, and having more cabs doesn't effect un-met demand, then what has the existing HC trade got to worry about?

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IDFIMH

The whole point of this thread was that an operator was demanding his PH clear work that no other f***er wants. If they didn't take a chance with their well being, then they couldn't work due to the operator booking them off.

If they booked off the HC, then they could still work.

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IDFIMH

I thought this had long since been resolved, how can a HC working for an office stop for a flagger if he is on his way to a prebooked job ?

Also don't you think that arguing for a plate because of unmet demand for HC vehicles from ranks when you don't have an intention of alleviating such demand could be mildly constrewed as deceptive.

B. Lucky

3 drivers have already gone over to PH this week in Mansfield, 2 cars have been handed back to the finance companies and 4 drivers are leaving the trade on Saturday. Oh aye PH want the end of quotas alright.

That point is very true Sussex, but how often would that be likely to happen, you have to say only once.
I would also ask a question as to why someone would stay with such an operator knowing the possibilities that he could be put off the road.

This operator however will maintain his policy as long as he has the drivers as opposed to his competitors, a bigger statement is made if the driver leaves to work for one of his competitors than if he left to work the streets, where it has been proven on here that after refusing a fare from the rank you could well find yourself in front of the LO and possibly the licensing committee, with your livlihood under threat again.

I work in an area which has derestricted, yet the number of PH drivers licenses has increased, I could suggest that your claims that "most" is in fact more likely to be some, who would I believe only constitute a minority. I say this because we have a "dual badge" as well as a PH and HC badges most of which are used by HC drivers who work for PH offices who have PH pool cars available to them should their HC break down or need repair, few PH drivers have a dual badge just in case they decide to drive HC.

B. Lucky

Bang on there youth

Maybe that HC doesn't have a job to go to, but is on his way back to the rank empty. Surely that's a more normal occurance than your suggestion.

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IDFIMH

You can, and often do, construe things to suit you. I prefer just to go back to the equality issue.

So why shouldn't suitably qualified drivers not be treated equally?

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IDFIMH

Thats fine Mr Angel so long as your saying all hackneys currently operate only from ranks, the problem is they dont.

Whats wrong with someone wanting to purchase a £20k plus vehicle and use it as a glorified private hire vehicle, using the streets when the radio is quiet? Hackneys in most areas do this already.

The only two problems here are the plate value issue, remove the plate value and the problem virtually ceases to exist.

As well as those who only want to use the trade for a secondary income, part time owners need to be marginalised or shot.

Regards

Captain cab

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

long way going around the issue, argue section 11 and 12, chances the council cannot argue against you, and so you must have a plate..


then go nowhere near the rank!

All that from a man who won the lottery then bought a PH firm.