Taxi Driver Online

'Grab-a-cab' Coleman's £8K Taxi Bill

Thursday, July 17, 2008

A member of the London Assembly known as 'grab-a-cab Coleman' has run up an astonishing £8,000 in taxi fares in a year – despite also claiming £1,700 for a travel card.

In April Metro broke the story of how Brian Coleman had racked up a bill of £4,147 to carry him around the previous year, but according to accounts seen by us this year's figure has almost doubled.

Brian Coleman, who was deputy chair of the assembly during the period before being dropped in May, spends as much on taxis as all the other 24 members of the assembly put together in the 2007/2008 financial year.

In total Mr Coleman totted up £10,519 including £232 in foreign travel and £1,720 for a zone 1 to 6 yearly travel card.

The London Assembly audit panel meets today to discuss the monitoring of expenses and Mr Coleman's claims will be high on the agenda, an insider tells Metro.

His use of taxis has earned him the moniker grab-a-cab Coleman among his colleagues who tend to use public transport or bicycles to get around.
Fellow AM Jenny Jones, of the Green Party, said he justifies the expense because he has taken to wearing gold chains from another era which he got from the defunct Greater London Authority.

She said: 'He doesn't need to wear these chains but his ego's out of its cage. Londoners and the new mayor want value and I don't think they are getting it from Brian Coleman.'

Motoring enthusiast Mr Coleman, who is now the chair of the fire authority, was branded a hero by rightwing newspaper columnist Richard Littlejohn for pledging to dig up all the road humps in Barnet by 2008.

However his attempts for the borough he represents were blocked by then mayor Ken Livingstone.

Labour Assembly member Navin Shah, who sits on the audit panel, said: 'Yet again Brian Coleman's taxi bill is way out of step with that of his colleagues. The committee will be asking serious questions as to why Londoners are yet again forking out for his excessive use of taxis.'

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
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Coleman's a much hated character in the GLA and his home council of Barnet.

However as the article says, Barnet, unlike the looney left boroughs such as Islington, is now Hump Free.

Again we have been lumped in with the mini cabs in the press. London assembly members do not use Licensed black taxis, as comcab lost the account for failing to provide cabs on time. They now use PHV not Taxis.

The story is about excessive use. I don't think it matters that it is a PH or a hackney.

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Grandad,

Very good value for money IMO.

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IDFIMH

Sooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy!!!

I wasn't to know; only followed the story.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

Hump free sounds good, I also understand that at least one locality in the country has banned speed and red light cameras because they didn't derive any financial benefit from them.

Regards

JD

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So when I took Nicky Gavron from Tooley Street to the H.O.C last month it was a figment of my imagination?

I should have asked her about Peter Hendy.

oh yeh look its Nicky Gavron, frank dobson and you.
Love the cap.

Looks like the board of the LCDC, except they're a bit young for that . . probably too intelligent come to think of it.

Their combined age is less than Bob Oddies and John Thomas ( no relation thank god)