Source: Click Liverpool

An airport taxi driver has been left HACKED off, after Liverpool John Lennon Airport banned him for spending a penny.

Mark Yates, 45, has been driving his black cab for 23 years, and pays airport owners Peel Holdings more than £4000 each year to work from the outside the passenger terminal.

But on Thursday airport bosses slapped him with a 28-day ban from the site after he took too long to relieve himself, costing him a fortune in Christmas fares.

Mark said: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out, it’s totally ludicrous to hit me with this completely unfair ban.

“It’s the busiest time of year and I’ve got a wife and kids to support, but this is going to make paying for Christmas almost impossible.

“I was only following the rules which Peel have given to us. In the past one or two of the lads used to go to the toilet in the bushes, and of course the Airport banned that which I totally understand.

“But from the back of the taxi rank it’s a really long walk, the entire length of the terminal building, just to use the toilet.

“I was probably gone about twenty minutes, but we’re quite within our rights to get out of our taxi, as long as we’re not one of the first three in the rank, and I was the fourteenth.

“It’s just absolutely ridiculous, I can’t believe it.”

The married father-of-three was even more astounded that the ban was slapped on his taxi by Airport manager Tracy Adieu, just minutes after he had greeted her inside the terminal.

He added: “I’d just seen her, and obviously we’re there all the time so we recognise one another. I waved and said hello as I passed her, I’ve never had any problems with anybody.

“The airport is my livelihood, it’s been my job for as long as I can remember. Last night I felt completely lost not being able to go in.

“I’ve tried to contact the airport bosses to appeal, I don’t even mind a compromise, but they won’t even speak to me. I’ve tried a dozen times and nobody will talk to me about it.”

Peel Holdings and John Lennon Airport were unavailable for comment.

Source: Press & Journal

LONG queues for taxis at Aberdeen Airport could be a thing of the past under new proposals put forward by local authority officials.

Currently only ComCabs’ fleet of drivers can pick up at the airport, but a new draft plan is understood to recommend that any Aberdeen driver should be able to operate from the hub.

The changes could see a dramatic reduction in the length of time passengers have to wait for taxis at the airport – a longstanding problem for travellers.

The full details of the plans have yet to be published, but it is understood the move follows meetings of the Taxi Working Group, whose members include airport and Aberdeen City Council officials as well as taxi operators.

The plan will be put before the local authority’s licensing committee meeting on October 28, where rezoning of the airport might be an option.

Councillor Ron Clark, whose ward includes the main route to the airport from the city, said the interests of the travelling public had to come first.

“Just now you see taxis from the city dropping people off at the airport then going away empty,” he said. “A stranger to the city arriving for the first time and seeing that will have no idea why that cab has not picked anyone up.

“There is a green-light system just now where the light comes on at busy times to allow non-airport cabs to pick up people. But of course the company with a contract at the airport has a vested interest in keeping that light off. There needs to be a system where everyone, especially the customer, will benefit.”

He added: “I’ve experienced queues of 50 or 60 people waiting for taxis and I’m worried that the interest of the public is getting lost among business.”

But Labour councillor Willie Young said the proposed changes might not be the answer.

“At the moment I think we’ve got the best of both worlds,” he added.

“I would worry if we decided to change the current system because we’re leaving ourselves open to taxi drivers deciding to just work the city rather than the airport and vice versa.

“It will be interesting to see what the public and taxi drivers themselves think.”

Russell McLeod, managing director of Aberdeen-based Rainbow City Taxis, is part of the Taxi Working Group.

He said the proposal could involve non-airport taxis having to pay a flat rate to the airport for every pick-up.

Mr McLeod, whose firm used to be the managing agent at the airport before ComCabs took over the contract, said Rainbow would not operate there if drivers were charged.

Neither the airport nor the council would confirm whether that option would form part of the final proposal.

A spokeswoman for Aberdeen Airport said: “The Taxi Working Group is always looking at various different options to try to ease pressure at peak times.”

A council spokesman confirmed a report was out for consultation before going before the local authority’s licensing committee.

No one from ComCabs could be contacted.

Source: Northampton Chronicle

Railway bosses and Northampton Borough Council are in talks about the management of the 70 Hackney carriages coming and going from the station.

The talks come as Hackney carriage drivers claim the number of cabs allowed to park at the station at any one time has been vastly cut, an allegation Midland Mainline has denied.

Joe Matthews, chairman of the Northampton Hackney Carriage Association, said the station management told them they were no longer allowed to queue up outside the station or in the overflow car park.

He said: “The station have said they only want 12 cabs there at any one time. We have never had a problem with the number of cabs in there before.

“There has to be space to park so cars can take the spaces of those leaving.

“Yesterday people were left standing there, and they will just get into private hire cars, which is illegal.”

He said the cars used to park in Green Street before residents complained so they moved to the overflow car park, which they have now been told to leave.

A spokesman for London Midland said station bosses were currently discussing ways to manage the Hackney carriages through the station to improve health and safety in the small area where passengers can be collected.

He said: “We met the borough council yesterday. One of the things discussed was taxi spaces and making sure accessibility is good. There is limited space.”

Conservative MP for Northampton South, Brian Binley, said: “No wonder the drivers are angry, they pay a fee to the station to park there. The station management has taken into their heads to be anti-taxi. The people who run our transport are urging us to believe these people are pariahs. They are not pariahs, they are decent men and women trying to earn a living.”

Prospective parliamentary candidate for Northampton North, Michael Ellis, said: “Northampton taxi drivers are getting a raw deal. These drivers perform a valuable public service, often late at night, and regularly are subject to abuse and are in danger of assault.”

Source: The Independent

They may be a symbol of London, but black cabbies are resorting to French-style direct action to protect their business from minicabs and meddling politicians. Michael Savage explains why the meter is ticking.

To the millions of tourists who visit London each year, black cabs are as much a symbol of the capital as Tower Bridge or Buckingham Palace. And since the demise of the Routemaster bus, they vie with the yellow cabs of New York and the gondolas of Venice as the world’s most iconic mode of transport.

But black-cab drivers – held in such high esteem for their flawless knowledge of the London streets and humourous banter – are feeling under threat. And there are growing fears that they will stop at nothing to protect their monopoly of picking up customers off the street from minicabs with sat-nav.

Earlier this year, hundreds of drivers protested at a scheme to allow minicabs to run a rank in Leicester Square. Their blockade cut off Trafalgar Square, The Mall, Downing Street and the Strand, stopping traffic for more than an hour.

Last week, Heathrow Airport was forced to abandon plans to allow some minicab firms to operate from its terminals after black-cab drivers threatened to bring the airport to a standstill by blockading it. But most worrying was a guest appearance by the RMT union’s Bob Crow who turned up at a meeting for angry cabbies at one of the airport’s car parks.

Rules state that minicabs have to be booked, rather than hailed from the street or hired at a rank, an honour reserved only for the Hackney carriage. But under the scheme proposed by Heathrow’s operator BAA, two minicab firms, Addison Lee and One Transport, would have been allowed to run a booking system directly from the airport.

Black-cab drivers did not take kindly to this threat to their territory. “Obviously, there was a lot of concern among the guys who work the airport regularly,” Steve McNamara, a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) told the Independent. “We told BAA that if they had gone ahead with the plan, they would have been in dispute with us and we would have taken whatever action necessary that we thought assisted our cause.”

A source close to the talks said that although BAA was keen to stand firm over the proposals, several of the airlines were nervous about the potential disruption to Heathrow from a blockade and demanded a swift resolution. As a result, BAA backed off. The decision has caused political alarm. “There are clearly issues here that need to be resolved so that we can have fair competition for both sides,” said shadow transport minister and London MP Stephen Hammond. “It is always a regret if people appear to be using industrial muscle to blackmail, rather than negotiating.”

However, Mr McNamara disagreed that the capital’s cabbies were too quick to use the threat of direct action. “It is not something we do on a frequent basis and we have to be severely pushed to do it,” he said. “On both occasions we have done it, we really were at the end of our tether. We do meet with the authorities in question to negotiate and most of the time we’re only asking what is reasonable. Heathrow was a perfect example.”

Even before February’s blockade, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, must have been well aware of the long arm of the black-cab lobby. Anthony Browne, an adviser to Mr Johnson, found himself on the wrong side of London’s black-cab drivers. Mr Browne wrote an article, lambasting London’s them as a “white working-class mafia holding the capital to ransom”. It led to a stream of hate mail. He was then called up by a “Mr X”, promising a big scoop from the Ministry of Defence. When he was greeted by the contact, he was taken to a pub, where four men dressed as Santa Claus proceeded to take pictures of him. He was informed he had won Taxi magazine’s “Prat of the Year” award and promptly found it impossible to hail a cab.

But in the light of growing competition, the threat to the position of black-cab drivers is not going away. While minicabs were traditionally derided as dirty and the drivers almost certain to need minute-by-minute navigational advice from their passenger, the advent of a licensing system and the invention of the sat-nav have seen the use of minicabs shoot up. Around 1.4 million minicab journeys are now made in London each week, just 400,000 journeys behind those made by traditional black cabs, which had almost all the market in the 1960s.

The London Chamber of Commerce has calculated that black cabs are among the most expensive in the world, with the average fare in London twice that of cab journeys elsewhere in Britain. There are feelings in City Hall that traditional cabbies have failed to keep up with the competition. “The private-hire trade is throwing down the gauntlet to the black-cab industry,” said Kulveer Ranger, the mayor’s transport director. “The black-cab industry has a great heritage with London. It is important we treasure that, but also build on it so that it is competitive in a changing environment.”

As for the minicab fraternity, they are biding their time. “Our tactic is to improve and let the public decide,” one executive told the Independent. “If this is the tactic that the taxi trade is employing, we should just hand them more rope. They’re acting like dinosaurs. They used to describe minicab drivers as rapists and robbers, now they’re doing this.

“It doesn’t achieve anything for us to start a war – the public have a propensity to support these iconic things. But taxi drivers have taken their eye off the ball. They think they can rule forever, but it didn’t work for Woolworths, and it won’t work for them.”

Steve McNamara: We’ll take action again if we need to

Source: The Independent

Cabbie’s view: Some minicab firms had requested reserve parking at Heathrow and would have had a kiosk

If you want to hire a taxi, you can walk out of the airport to a rank, and hire one. If, on the other hand, you want to use a private hire vehicle, you can phone up and book one. That’s how it is, that’s how it’s always been and no one has ever had a problem with that.

We were concerned that what was being mooted at Heathrow would have meant this was no longer the case. Some minicab firms had requested reserve parking and would have had a kiosk. It would have been perfectly legal, but we were worried that this was just a first step.

We have got no problem with people using minicabs at the airport – our concerns have nothing to do with choice, as some have portrayed it. At the moment, if you walk up to the information desk at Heathrow and ask to book a minicab, they will give you 33 numbers to ring for different firms. Under the proposed scheme, there would have been two firms. So this was not for the benefit of the passenger. Consumers have a choice already.

We’ve had to take direct action on several occasions, and if push comes to shove, we’d do it again. But we don’t want to do it. Our members go out there to work during the day to earn a living. If they turn up to block Trafalgar Square, they don’t get paid. They don’t do it unless they absolutely have to.

Many people choose to book a mini-cab and good luck to them. We’re not denying people choice. Common sense has prevailed here, which everyone should be pleased to see.

Steve McNamara is a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association

Source: South Wales Argus

NEWPORT hackney cab drivers said they have had enough of private hire cabs illegally touting their fares from Newport train station and want an official hackney cab rank.

A group of around 50 hackney cab drivers gathered outside Newport Civic Centre on Monday to demonstrate their concerns and presented a petition of 49 signatures to a representative from the council’s licence department.

Chairman of Newport Hackney Cab Drivers Association, Lionel Morris, 53, said they want an official hackney rank to be set up at the train station and for private hire cars not be allowed to use this.

A copy was also emailed to Arriva Trains Wales who lease the car park area outside Newport train station.

Mr Morris said private hire cars are picking up passengers without prior booking, which their insurance does not cover, while hackney drivers are queuing behind them and losing fares.

He said things are already tough with drivers finding it hard to make a living because of the current state of the economy.

He added they previously paid Arriva Trains Wales around £350 a year in the 1990s to be allowed to pick up fares from Newport train station but said this has now increased to around £5,000 a year which is paid to Dragon taxis which has a contract with Arriva Trains Wales.

Mr Morris said they have police checks every three years and have adhered to the council’s new rules.

The council decided in March that from August next year, no hackney carriage will be licensed if they are older than 12 years.

Mr Morris said they have submitted a complaint to the Public Ombudsman for Wales.

A spokeswoman for Arriva Trains Wales said Dragon Taxi Service has a lease to operate from the station.

She said drivers with the firm have been issued with permits to operate there and that other taxi firms do not have these permits.

She said all their stations require these permits for the safety of passengers and to avoid congestion.

A spokeswoman for Newport city council said it is currently looking in to the drivers’ concerns and will investigate any licensing offences.

The Argus put the views of the hackney cab drivers to Dragon Taxis who declined to comment.

Source: Times Online

BAA has incurred the wrath of black cab drivers in London by striking a deal to allow a minicab company to pick up passengers at Heathrow.

The deal will allow Addison Lee and One Transport to operate a booking service directly from the airport, prompting cabbies to threaten a blockade of Heathrow over what they call an unacceptable encroachment of minicabs on to their lucrative turf.

Cab drivers, who gridlocked Central London in February to protest over a similar minicab issue, said that the move would be “disastrous” for their trade.

The airports operator confirmed that a six-month trial would take place at terminals 3 and 5 this year, with Addison Lee operating a booth from the car park at each of the terminals.

Although passengers must pre-book, Addison Lee said that customers would be able to order a cab after landing — heightening fears for black cab drivers, who believe that they will lose valuable trade to their cheaper rivals. Customers will also be encouraged to book via a link on BAA’s website.

Minicab drivers already drop off and pick up passengers at Heathrow, but on an ad hoc basis as operators have no official presence on site. They must pay to park but under the new plan will be offered free spaces.

Steve McNamara, a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), said that the deal was a “foot in the door” for minicabs, which would be able to “steal” trade from the black cab drivers. “They’ll have a meet-and-greet desk in the car park so people will be able to easily find them. It is totally unfair and totally unreasonable and we would question BAA’s motives for doing it. It is an unnecessary encroachment on our turf. Why can’t they just keep the system as it is?”

Liam Griffin, the managing director of Addison Lee, said that there was “no intention” of encroaching on the black cab trade. He said that private cars already accounted for 24 per cent of journeys to Heathrow and the new service was merely “better organisation of a trade that already exists . . . It’s not designed to compete with the cabs. Black cabs are an iconic part of London and they offer a fantastic service. We are just trying to give the public an alternative.”

Mr McNamara said that cab drivers were already talking about blockading the airport over the issue, although he emphasised that such a move would not be officially sanctioned by the LTDA. “There’s already talk of militant action, blocking the tunnel into the airport or the roundabout at the exit to the airport on the M4.”

In February, hundreds of black cab drivers caused gridlock in Central London, blockading Trafalgar Square, The Mall, Downing Street and the Strand to express their anger at a decision to let minicabs operate a rank in Leicester Square. They brought traffic to a standstill for more than an hour.

One black cab driver, who would be named only as Adrian, said that the Heathrow decision could result in similar action near the airport. “There will obviously be a lot of opposition to this and you may well see hundreds of black cabs descending on the airport if this looks like it is going through,” he warned. “This would be disastrous for our trade. If it starts at one airport, then there is no reason to think that they will not start doing at all the other airports and maybe the train stations as well.”

A BAA spokesman said: “Passengers requesting taxis will continue to use the traditional black cabs in the designated ranks. Private-car companies are required by Heathrow to only use licensed drivers and cars no more than three years old. We hope that the new service will provide passengers with a greater choice.”

The trial will begin this year, although no date has been set.

Cashing in on airport run: Comment by Dominic Walsh

The snaking line of black cabs that greets passengers emerging from Heathrow arrivals tells you all you need to know about how lucrative airport pick-ups can be for taxi drivers. A single fare into Central London will cost about £50, depending on the traffic, or £65 to the City, but throw in a decent tip — Americans are particular favourites — and the cost of extra pieces of luggage and the final price could be nearer £100.

That’s why so many black cabbies choose to join the end of the queue at Heathrow and wait for an hour or two rather than cruise the streets of London. That is also why you will usually find queues of black cabs outside five-star hotels in the West End — and woe betide the hotel guest who jumps in a cab and asks to be taken to Trafalgar Square rather than the airport.

The usual defence for the high charges is that black taxis and their drivers are much safer and more reliable than a minicab, although Terry Sandford, once a regular in the black cab line at Heathrow, rather punctured that aura a few years when he claimed that a bag containing Sir Matthew Pinsent’s Olympic rowing gold medal had been thrust into his cab at Heathrow.

Hailed as a hero for returning the missing medal, he was later jailed for stealing the rower’s suitcase after he had accidentally left it on the roof of a car while picking his girlfriend up at the airport. Before his arrest, Sandford had told reporters: “I hope it shows people that their property is safe in black cabs as opposed to mini-cabs. Black-cab drivers always hand stuff in.”