Taxi Driver Online

leave it to operators, is that a serious proposal?
Wharfie

Took the words out of my mouth

_________________
Dont confuse "The Knowledge" with "knowledge"

Of course it is.

If you believe that a market should have free and open access then it should be a genuine free market.

As long as a company/Operator declares and publishes their rates then so be it and the punter know them before booking why not.

Go down your High Street and see how many different prices you get charged for a can of coke. In one mile of my office you can be charged from 45p to 69p for an identical can.

Clearly in a rank environment you would need common agreement to save on a lot of aggro.

Tom,
opperators dont own cars pay no expenses not even to drivers, just collect.

they are the exploiters of this trade, leave it to opperators?

NEVER

Wharfie

Too many generalisations Wharfie.

This operator owns 40 cars, employs (PAYE) over 80 drivers and yes gets clobbered for VAT on everything.

Still the system works.

Nice cars, drivers stay for years (average over 11 years) and large client base.

So I pay all the expenses.

30 are hacks and 10 private hire.

It's nice to see that some are doing it right Tom.

From my limited experience of PH operators that don't have meters in there fleet, they either try to fleece the punter with different prices depending on the mood of the driver or the operator, or they fleece the driver of that vehicle by taking a huge cut of his fare.

There are many good and fair operators, but there are also many many charlatans.

That's the crux of the problem with unregulated fares, there just isn't enough transparency so there's always the potential for rip-offs and inconsistencies.

Even if PH had to set their fares and stick to them, it's not really easy for customers to compare prices (and ignoring quality) unless they undertake the same journey on a regular basis.

As for taxi work on the streets, it just wouldn't work. At the ranks, people will still tend to get the first cab, and if they are willing to shop around, it'll be difficult to compare prices (like comparing half a dozen tarrif cards?) and people want a cab so that they don't have to waste time.

Even worse for hailing a cab down in the street, are they going to wait who-knows-how-long for another cab just because it's a bit higher priced than the average (say), or again does the customer even know if the price is reasonable?

A one-tier sector and nationally-set fares could solve all this.

BTW, I don't mean the same fare nationally, but perhaps the same structures, for example without all the variations as regards extras and unsocial hours payments etc.

Dusty

Well I want the same as London.
That will do me.

The only way is for us to all come under the banner of a regulatory body eg oftwat,ofsted etc. A national standard for the "trade",and obviously set at the highest standard to weed out the pin money boys.

If something like that came out of the OFT Report, it would come as no surprise to me.

Most Operators own no cars MOST OPPERATORS

THATS NO GENERALISATION THATS A FACT.

Leave them to fix fares? Never.

Wharfie

That'll be the new one to license prostitution

Dusty

So you don't think you should be allowed to decide what you charge for your service?

If a punter wants a 100 mile job do you tell him it runs on the meter or will you quote him a nice price?

Sorry that annoni mouse posting was me Wharfie