Taxi Driver Online

I was going to put this in the Birmingham station thread but I decided against it.

It would seem this Birmingham Taxi association has mafioso tendencies, either pay to join the association or don't work the Railway station or the Airport. We have seen this type of exclusion before and many who subscribe to TDO have actually experianced it. It is refreshing to see that Birmingham council are doing something about it.
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Birmingham Evening Mail

October 9, 2006, Monday

HEADLINE: Airport charge furore, Row after taxi test

BYLINE: David Bell

A ROW over the way cabbies operate at Birmingham International Airport has led to the suspension of a fare surcharge for passengers.

City licensing chairman David Osborne took the emergency action after using two taxi drivers to test guarantees that any cabbie could pick up passengers at the airport.

They were turned away because they were not members of the 1,200 strong Birmingham and Solihull Taxi Association which has an exclusive deal for the rank, he said.

Coun Osborne has accused the association of deliberately misleading his committee in a bid to increase fares for airport passengers.

Its officials told city councillors on five occasions that any licensed cab driver could pick up passengers there, he said.

The association used to pay the airport pounds 130,000 a year for the exclusive agreement. But the airport, to increase its profit, put in a barrier and instead charged taxis 67p a time to pass through it.

Taxi drivers wanted a 60p surcharge on fares to recover the money but this was cut by the city licensing committee to 20p.

It has now been suspended altogether and association leaders have been ordered to face the committee again to explain themselves.

Coun Osborne said: "I am very keen that all drivers are allowed free access to the airport to ply their trade.

"We sent two non-association drivers along to the airport to test this. They were turned away in no uncertain terms and have made an official complaint."

But association secretary Mike Shingler said he had been misunderstood by councillors.

The airport itself required cab drivers using it to be members of the association for security reasons and monitoring purposes.

"This has all been brought about by a few bitter Luddites who won't pay pounds 50 to be members of the association," he said.
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F*** me, another sensible councillor to follow on from the one yesterday.

I think I best lay down for a while.

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IDFIMH