Taxi Driver Online

I am wondering if anyone could shed some light on some topics for me please:
Firstly I am considering buying a plate in the Newcastle upon Tyne area (City Preferred), I know that the best plates to have are the saloon plates but if there was a deregulation would they be the first to go because of no wheelchair accesability or does this not matter??
Secondly having spoken to the licensing Office in Newcastle and I now know that there will be no more plates released until April 2008 can they then deregulate if they feel that there is a overabundence of Taxi's.
This is strictly a business move buying one plate and then hopefully adding in the next 6 months to possibly 4 or more.
any comments would be greatly appreciated, as this forum seems excellent for passing on advice to new people.

Bankside

Put your money into property, safe as houses and all that.

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

Sorry, Banksy, but this is not the site for the advice you are seeking.

The site name should be De-limiting Taxi licenses online, because that is thier ultimate goal.

And Bankside's business plan is the best support the de-limiters can have. Explains all that is wrong with restrictuive market practices.

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A member of the Hire or Reward Industry

well you have to look at the opportunity cost, how much is the plate going to cost you? how long is your payback period? if its three years you could have made your money back in the first 18 months and then some.

as for dereg, if it comes i am sure when it comes thier will still be entry requirements, so a new tx2 might cost you 32k but then again you will have to wait for dereg in your area, and what will you do in the mantime?

ignore some of the advice that these jabroni's give out, some of them are known as "wannaplates", they cry and they cry, but dont always get thier way.

I very much appreciate the honest reply, I'm definatley going to buy at least one plate and get to know the ins and outs as it where. The dereg, is the baffling bit to me, can the council just close the plates or do they have to give you a chance to upgrade your vehicle?????
I've tried readin up on this and it is very vague and not well written what I have seen., any description of what it entails would be most helpful if anyone has a link.
again many thanks
Bankside

On a now defunct taxi site, a number of Dundee drivers got similar information from their LO.

Three months later the council de-limited.

If anyone from Trafford asked their LO two or three weeks ago, they would have got a similar answer to yours, there's a Cabinet meeting next month.

Watch this space.

If I was a cab driver/owner in Newcastle, then folks like you would be like 'mana from heaven' for me.

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IDFIMH

But what is de-limited??
I still am not 100% clear on this?

Bankside

De-limiting means that the your council will issue a license for free to anyone who will put on a suitable vehicle. In general terms, it means that they remove the ability of any Taxi driver, or owner, to make a sustainable living. But ask around the trade if it's likely to happen in your area, but not the plateseller, get independent advice, but Councils that do restrict will continue to do so in my opinion.

Usual simplistic misrepresentation there Jimbo. If you look back you'll see that myself and other derestricters have given advice as regarding the financial risk or otherwise of buying plates - that's different from what we think about it in ethical terms.

You could try reading our FAQ for a start.

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

Jimbo
thank you very much, much appreciated, now I understand.
Bankside

More nonsense - unless you have a very high sustainability threshold Jimbo - perhaps you could put a figure on it?

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

I suggest you make your own mind up on the information available to you and if you have any doubt whatsoever about parting with £35 grand for a plate, then keep it in the bank.

Just a note of caution on which you might wish to reflect, last year there were 150 Authorities that restricted numbers, 151 if you include South Somerset, there are now only 64 with 38 still to decide what to do. 48 authorities have removed restrictions or stated a future date when restrictions will be removed.

Buying a plate is a huge gamble, don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

JD

Well Jimbo.

I work in a derestricted area and make a sustainable living.

What it does mean is that we in this area a far more customer based service than is typical in restricted areas. And that means we are kept busy by good quality customers.

We have a restricted area next to us and we are constantly being called into it by the local population of that area screaming out for a good reliable service.

So how does your argument stack up?

What you mean is that investors who have taken on a mortgage to buy into a closed market worry about having to be at work when the customer wants in order to pay of their debts.

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A member of the Hire or Reward Industry

A tad more than the £6 per hour takings I averaged today would be nice