Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers who pay for permits to ply at railway stations and airports are, according to Skippy 41, "Idiots" Well, it's an opinion he's entitled to hold, and clearly if the railways ever came to the outback where he lives, he probably wouldn't ever get one. But is that because he has failed to recognise the reason "idiots" buy permits, which is not to ply for hire at travel terminii, but to prevent those that do not have a permit from plying there. There are many out there who would demand a permit system to be re-introduced at their railway station if ever the owners decide to open up the place to a free for all. To keep others off. Is my opinion.

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Former taxi driver

And in your opinion are permits a good idea or not?

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

Clearly those with are happy to keep those without out, which does sum up our trade.

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IDFIMH

Jimbo, if one station can get away with it all the others will jump on the bandwagon. It's money for nothing. Do the maths, if you've got 200 cars paying £300 per year for a permit the station owners / train operating companies are getting £60,000 a year for providing nothing. It's a 1000% profit because they've got nothing to pay out.

Look at Newark Northgate for instance, the drivers are paying upto £500 a year to park in the station, do they get any work from the East Coast Mainline trains? I've never seen a cab pull off when the London train has come in.

Look at the lads who park outside the station on the Council rank, they are in full view of the train customers and are paying nothing, only their licensing fees to Newark and Sherwood Council. Who's better off?

Permits at stations should be stopped. Why should the cab trade have to pay to do the last mile for the train operators??

I would never pay for a permit even if the station had 100 high speed trains a day coming through it, "we should'nt have to pay to work".

You appear to have completely missed the point.

Taxi drivers who buy a permit are happy to pay to restrict access to others.

You made an example of Newark. you said that they pay £500. they do not. They actually pay £1240, and restrict the numbers to about a dozen.

If Newark station did abolish permits, the incumbents would demand to pay for the priveledge.

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Former taxi driver

Which would be OK if only Taxicabs operated from Stn ranks. If you do not pay the fees how long would it be before the dreaded minicab office opened. Two examples that I know of Keighley West Yorkshire and Beaconsfield Buckinghamshire completley different areas.

I pay a sum not a million miles away from that paid by the Newark boys & girls, and would rather pay that extortionate amount than join the rest of my bretheren running around town for 60% of the meter rate.

.....exits harrumphing gently into the sunset..........

A permit to exclude.....thats what people pay for.

CC

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

Whats a permit?

Personally I don't think permits are worth the money because usually too many are issued and it does not stop customers using other taxis BUT for the railway companies I'm sure it pays some of the costs of operating the stations