Taxi Driver Online

Meter fault leaves Dundee taxi drivers out of pocket


Dundee taxi drivers are thought to have lost out on thousands of pounds of earnings during one of the busiest times of the year after their electronic meters failed to register a festive fare rise.


The fault in meters used in around 400 of the city's cabs was discovered on Christmas Eve.

Around half the affected drivers had a temporary fix put in place but the remainder were left trying to explain to passengers why they were being asked to hand over more cash than was on the meter.

Chairman of Dundee Taxi Association Graeme Stephen said drivers had lost thousands of pounds as the Christmas and New Year tariff was around half as much again as the usual fare.

"The public weren't happy because they didn't see the festive tariff on the meter so they thought we were overcharging," he added.

Temporary arrangements were made to ensure the problem was not repeated over the New Year holiday period but new computer chips will have to be installed by the end of the week, Mr Stephen said.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee ... ocket.html

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

Well actually you were.
You are not allowed to charge more than the metered fare.

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

That's why I would never use a calander controlled meter.

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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

You wouldn't have a choice here.

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

Or here, they should be compulsory for all

Why? are you all thieves?

CC

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

SOME COMENTS ON THE DUNDEE COURIER FACE BOOK PAGE

Here's a story we're sure will make you all very sad...
The Courier - Meter fault leaves Dundee taxi drivers out of pocket
www.thecourier.co.uk
Dundee taxi drivers are thought to have lost out on thousands of pounds of earnings during one of the busiest times of the year after their electronic meters failed to register a festive fare rise...

Angie Kelly Haha, love it!!!!

Erik Zoha Unexpected Christmas present.

Jacqueline Dawson What a shame, we should have a whip round. Not.

Scott sulley Shame......NOT

Iain Hendry Another topic of conversation, ala Peter Kay

huv ye been busy
Whit time are yi on tae
Is yer meter wurking noo

tricia Fox Don't mean to point out the wee gap in the legalities of this but surely taxi fares are also covered by The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations. This means that although you can’t insist onsomeone selling you something at an ad...vertised price, if they have specifically advertised an item at one price but charge another price for it, and if they continue to do so after you have pointed out their error, they are committing an offence. So if the tax driver didn't say there was an issue when they got into the cab, knowing about the issue, they have deliberately misled the customer.See More

.Andrew McIvor Where would you be if the drivers decided to stay in and enjoy their Christmas. Loads more drunk drivers too. Give them a bit of credit.
· .Carol Ferguson pmsl x

.Angie Kelly. Their all too greedy to stay in and enjoy their xmas and NY, its all about the cash!!! But if you get in their car, all they moan about is having to work the festive season, their job choice at the end of the day!

.Pamela Nelson. Its their job - where would we be if nurses decided to stay home and not work? police, fire brigade etc etc loads of folk have to work xmas and new year. I have no sympathy for them at all. Very few have any manners and lay down the law like the gustapo when you get in their car. They charge a fortune and complain about too many cars on the roads.... aye right thats why i queue for over an hour every time i have a night out in Dundee.

TheCourier.co.uk You're a tough lot! Is no-one else going to come to the defence of taxi drivers?

Alex Mannion. nah

Andrew Mitchell .£20 for Carnoustie to the Ferry!!! Basically tough!! No doubt the price will rise again with VAT

stephen Mill Nope !! Bunch of greeting faced fishwives !!!

Laura Smith .Dundee city taxis are much more expensive than Glasgow city taxis. They also have no clue where anything is and mist have no social skills.

Thomas Small. What a horrible bunch of people commenting on this. Of course it's their job and livelihood, which gives them a right to be paid the correct fees they are promised like the rest of us. What a ridiculous argument that its about greed - if you didn't get the correct rate of pay that you were due (i.e. double time/time and a half etc) i'm sure you'd be a little peeved too. I think you're being unnecessarily rude. If you can't stand them that much maybe you shouldn't use them.

Caroline Kelly. Like anything you get some good some bad taxi drivers. I don't think they are being greedy working xmas/new year - they are providing a service for which they are entitled to be paid. If you don't want to pay the price, then stay in/drive yourself/ get the last bus home. I'm sure you would all be complaining even more if the taxi drivers decided not to work xmas/new year and you had no way of getting home.

Glenn Matthewson They make enough money off tips at this time as it is - that wont go thru the books so they quids in anyway

Pamela Nelson. Im reflecting purely on personal experience of rude, arrogant and aggressive dundee taxi drivers. They complain constantly about wages - if i was unhappy about my salary or working conditions id change career simple as. Also if i spoke 2 people at my work with such distain as some of the drivers i have encounterd i would be sacked.

Irene Stewart I'll come to defense if your a driver do you realize they are working for less than min wage esp if you are day shift to many cars on the road in dundee most doing extra even though they have other jobs for the guys out there that this is t...here only income spare a thought crap job nowadays !!! My Dad worked trained in the shipyards and when they closed he landed on the taxis and it was an ok living but now Pfft long shifts and hardly anything to show Spare a thought for these guys that just want to provide for their families and the fact you might have to be staying in or walking without them "Ticked off Daughter"See More
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Irene Stewart. and also a career change when you of a certian age isnt always simple people dont want to hire someone older and no training !! another thought for the pot

Jacqueline Dawson. They get plenty tips so I don't believe they are that poorly paid. And as for being untrained, go get some training then if you hate the job so much. Plenty colleges around! Having said that, it can't be an easy job, abusive, drunk strangers in a confined space. You couldn't pay me enough to do that. Also I choose to drive and not drink, pubs prices and taxi fare on top are all a rip off. Would rather stay in.

Gill Spain And why is it taxi drivers always take the longest route to get you where you want to go? Should they not be aware of the fastest routes from a-b? I think they con passengers regularly especially vulnerable pensioners

Amanda King Ppl making negative comments about taxi drivers obviously don't know any! Its a difficult living, and if ppl feel they are getting ripped off they should get the taxi number and report them!

Alex Cooper Id like to let you know that they certainly didn't loose out! I got a taxi on chrismtas day, menzieshill to broughty ferry he told me when I got in that the meter was broken and his friend had a fare to Doulgas that cost £18 so he'll charge me £25. Got a taxi on New Years day for the same journey which is at the same tariff (4). It cost £15!. Now how does that make me feel sad. He better hope I dont get in his taxi again!!!
Bill Samson. I generally like taxi drivers, but have had a couple recently who could do with some training in 'The Knowledge'. After all, Dundee is a tad less demanding than Greater London.

John Shields ‎"Uncalibrated meters" surely thats not allowed?

Dundee Taxi Trade. Do not tar all taxis drivers with the same brush if you have been treated badly or feel you have been overcharged take down taxi number and report him to the council. We will not get rid of the bad taxi drivers unless people take the time ...to complain. Dundee taxis are well below the national average for there prices in fact they are near the bottom of the table and like everyone who works Christmas and the new year they deserve to be paid accordingly.

Tony Waters I am the secretary of the Dundee Taxi Association and have been a taxi driver for 17 years and and have learned that people's opinions of taxi drivers is always going to be poor but having worked with a lot of taxi drivers over the years ...there are more good ones than bad ones and the council has to take the blame for giving the bad ones badges.Like the comment before if you have a problem report it

Dundee taxis are also cheaper than surrounding areas and when it comes to the running mile we are well below the Scottish Average some 10p to 15p below

I think the opinion the Dundee public have about the cab trade is echoed nationwide.

CC

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

Yes your right they think we are just greedy, ignorant,smelly, stupid, lazy,obnoxious, uneducated scum that should be treated like second class citizens

Thats nasty, you shouldnt talk about jaspar, skull and alistair in those terms.

CC

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

I can see another post be locked

Someone who has seen the light

Taxi drivers have a lot to put up with
I HAVE often thought that at times some taxi/private hire drivers have been a tad on the rude side when chivvying passengers out of pubs and clubs etc and it has left me wondering where the servant attitude has disappeared to.

However, now I am a part-time driver myself I am beginning to see things from the other side of the fence and can better understand their frustration when customers keep them waiting.

There have been numerous occasions over the Christmas period when customers have booked a car for a particular time, only to keep the driver waiting for half an hour or more.

Recently, this happened several times during an evening shift which resulted in one of our cars being nearly an hour late for a young lady who stood waiting patiently on her own in the centre of Louth.

Fortunately, we always take contact numbers and were able to ring ahead and warn the young woman to stay somewhere warm and where there were other people.

That said, the responsibility that we felt as a company for the young woman's safety put pressure on us to get there as soon as we possibly could and persistent late customers only added to that pressure .

Now I can better see where taxi drivers are coming from when they appear to be rude because most of them have the same sense of responsibility as we do.

It isn't just a case of squeezing as many jobs as possible into an evening shift.

We all have a reputation to keep and there are many occasions when we are booked by responsible, forward- thinking parents to pick up their offspring from a busy town centre in the early hours of the morning.

I am sure everyone would agree town centres are not the safest of places to be hanging around in the early hours of the morning on your own for any significant amount of time.

As a company we are contemplating leaving customers who are more than 15 minutes late.

It's not something that we feel comfortable in doing but under the circumstances something that we will easily be able to justify.

And just for the record, if you are all thinking that this is mainly down to selfish young people who don't have any regard for other people, think again, they are our most considerate customers.

The worst offenders are groups of older people, especially groups of women, on a girls' night out.

Details supplied.

The Telegraph says

To keep drivers waiting like this just shows complete selfishness on the part of the customers. They should be left!


http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/viewpoin ... ticle.html

Better than thinking wee lassies being “raped is reasonable”.

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

I find those with loadsa money/big houses seem to think "jeeves outside can jolly well wait till we are ready"

5 Minutes, 10 minutes if it's a decent job. Meter normally goes on about 5 mins after booked time.