Rossendale Taxi Invasion – Beware The Lack Of The KnowledgeSleuth got in a mini-cab the other day, and said, “Manchester Town Hall please.” He was already a bit puzzled because the private hire vehicle was red, and in Manchester they have to be white. “Could you give me directions?” the cabbie said. Pause. Silence. Sleuth then spent five minutes spluttering vigorous indignation at the driver.
“How would I know?” said the cabbie, “I’m from Rossendale.” Turns out that drivers with hackney licences in say, Rossendale, can be private hire drivers anywhere in the country. This loop hole means that cabbies who pay massively less for their licence and plates than Manchester drivers and don’t have to conform to vehicle colour and vehicle age or undergo any 'knowledge' test, can pick people like Sleuth up from their doors and not have a single clue where to go. Confidential has a full story about this next week.
As for Sleuth he had to give meticulous instructions at every junction to the Town Hall. As he got out of the car the driver said, “Excuse me. Just had a job radioed in. Where’s the University on Oxford Road?”
http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk ... d-Politics