Taxi Driver Online

When members of the public are put at risk due to excessive hours undertaken by driver/operators trying to keep their head above water then yes we do need a controlled market. When driver/operator is working between 70/80 hours a week on average and as much as 36 hours over Friday / Saturday then yes we do need a regulated market.
One thing I can assure you is that if government find some way to regulate the number of hours we drive, the public will not be able to afford the price of a taxi in a de-regulated market especially if we are tied into a 48 hour week with a maximum of 10 hour shift in any given day.




The system that Dundee use to run gave the have-not’s who came into the business and put their name down for a licence the chance to operate his own when his turn came available and he didn’t have to buy in to have the privilege.

[quote="ALI T"]do you have any quality controls o and o[/quote

What I have stated above is quality control it guarantees everyone gets a fair crack of the whip, the public’s safety is paramount and standards are kept high.
De-regulation means cheap cars shoddy maintenance and excessive hours in my opinion all of this puts the public at risk and they in my opinion are far more important than all of the above.

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Watch out curiosity killed the cat

aye
thanks for the straight answer
glad you cleared that up for us.


btw i said quality controls! not the reinstatement of quantity controls as a way of justifying better quality controls

The fault here is complex and blaming delimiting alone is wrong.
Aberdeen has a two tier system for taxi licences, which has an impact on everybody.

Top of the tree are those with saloon licences.
Purchase and running costs are significantly lower than those of the WAVs.
Figures quoted by Aberdeen council suggest £2-3k less per annum, although some of us think that is an underestimate.
Saloon taxis command a premium rental price, consequent to the reduced costs and increased driver preference.

Bottom of the heap are the WAV drivers.
All new licences since 1994 have been required to provide a WAV from an approved list.
Purchase and running costs are higher, as I already stated.
They are not as sought after for rental and as such do not command the same high prices.

No new saloon licences have been issued since 1994. They are however passed on from father to son etc.
Just as with a restricted area, saloon plates have an artificial value.
Many plate holders illegally hire their plates to the owners of saloon vehicles. The council are aware of this but do little to stop it.

I don't include PH in the two tier system, since they are not number restricted and never have been.
They are however affected by it. Many taxi drivers choose PH cars instead of WAVs because the cost is lower.
We have nearly 300 of them now, all but 2 driven by taxi drivers. In the mid 1990's there were barely a handful of them.
Individual or corporate plates, make no difference to the operating costs, just whether it can be sold on or not.

Drivers of these WAVs, as well as the hirers of saloons need to make more money each week to pay their increased costs.
In a shrinking market, that means more hours for the same or less than before.
This in turn means everyone else also has to work more hours for less.
As has been pointed out by many posters, we all eat from the same trough, and there is less in it than before.

We also have an added problem with drivers circumventing the entire licensing process.
They license with neighbouring Aberdeenshire council who have no knowledge tests, no age limits and allow saloon vehicles.
These vehicles are then operated illegally through Aberdeen offices with no action taken by either council or the police to stop them.

Dundee run a similar system for taxi licences with similar results.
They also have the added problem of PH cars operating as illegal taxis, with little or nothing being done to stop it.

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

no no no dug it,s part of the master plan

Here! Here Gusmac,
It’s amazing how operators in Aberdeen & Dundee have similar problems, our councils have no limit on the number of licenses they issue but its seems to be driver’s/operators from area's that are regulated that seem to shout in favour of de-regulation but anyone in a de-regulated area always seem to criticise it, but I don't hear anyone in a de-regulated area shouting in favour of it so what does that tell you
1. The only people shouting for de-regulation are people who haven't experienced de-regulation
2. The people who know better because we are de-regulated don't want it and these people above don't want to believe it.

I hope de-regulation comes to you all soon and lets see how many of you are shouting in favour of it then

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Watch out curiosity killed the cat

gusmac, apart from the neighbouring area part, you have more or less described Falkirk District to a Tee. Do all the councils have a similar agenda? Or is it purely co-incidence?

The PH plates in Falkirk are predominately owned by 2 companies. This is a recent development, as both have numerous WAV and saloons on General Plates. The problem then is, as both of them use Auriga systems, they feed their PH and general plates the work to the detriment of the owner drivers who rent radios from them. They, the owners,then head for the ranks, pushing in on the independent operators space, of which there is precious little. Leading to all the overspilling and "seagulling*" you could imagine.

I'm glad I opted to work away from the town centre, less hassle for not much less money, most nights.

* I think that's the term I'm looking for

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My heart is heavy, but my consience clear,
I voted Yes, without any fear.

over and your are right i was one of the drivers shouting for deregulation and now wish i had not.I think the one in one out system would have been better.I do sympathise with drivers trying to get there own plate but i suggest they take a look at the bigger picture.

Stationtone I rest my case until it happens to you, you don't know whats ahead of you but unfortunately in this case we do!

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Watch out curiosity killed the cat

to be honest i think now is the perfect time for it.
were already in a recesion.
i doubt you would notice the difference.

and although i doubt the perfect system exist, whether ir be regulated or not. i believe a derestricted model to be the fairer system.
and i have yet to have a decent counter argument.

thing is if business is bad for drivers and owners then its really bad for drivers in a restricted market becouse the rentals dont, never have, and never will! reflect the market conditions.
the owner can keep bumping it up to prop up his loss of business,the driver just has to swallow the extra costs put upon him.
he has no choice.

Ali I ACTUALLY thought you were different to jim and skull but with coming out with now is the perfect time for it we are already in a recesion i doubt you would notice the difference you are braindead just the same as them and you say I have yet to have a decent counter argument read the posts from the other people in the deregd areas they are telling you its crap whats to even think about they know for a fact you dont..as for the rentals you are probably right something needs done but it isnt dereg

it may well be crap dug


but it least its crap for everyone now what can be fairer than that.

i dont see any owners in edinburgh going without thier big fat rentals when its crap do you

and who cares what you think of me dug
why do you guys have to bring personalities into this.

if you feel ive attacked you then i apolagise.
its youre argument im attacking not you

Alastair was issued a free licence and then put the oldest possible Taxi on the road, and then sold it, obviously the tears on his face as he received the money from the poor unsuspecting driver where from regret, and not tears of laughter at having found a poor mug.,...BS by the ton from this one . it's all on TDO if you wish to read back. 50.K

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Ali all i am saying is i cannot and will not believe that you want it opened up and i do not believe that you are interested in other drivers you are just like gary and jim you are only interested in yourselves and your own just like me and you know dereg aint gonna help us and our own well be skint with a taxi and plate at our door and it will only be getting used as our private cause its dead you are right with the rentals though when its getting this quiet something should be worked out...

Where has mr thomson been the day then I got your pm your haunting me