Taxi Driver Online

yes

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

I'm not saying either Dusty.
Only that the current system is bizarre, possibly illegal and at best will weed out only a few risks while ignoring many others.
I suppose the only fair way would be to check everyone or not at all.

They could always pass the buck onto the DSA.
After all, if they see fit to issue a licence, why should a council be able to say your not able to drive?

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Well I suppose it's just about managing risk the best they can, and there's no doubt older people are a higher risk medically. No system will ever be perfect of course, and you can argue about the merits of age limits until the cows come home.

And also the other usual thing about higher standards being expected from cab drivers.

As for the DSA/DVLA, don't they insist on medicals after a certain age for private car drivers?

No.

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My mistake, but you do have to declare that you're fit to drive every three years after reaching 70, and advise the DVLA of any relevant condition inbetween.

Of course, as we all knew anyway - irrespective of the precise procedure - it's not particularly onerous, but it's still a form of age-related discrimination.

Dusty: As you say, we of a certain age are prone to accumulating maladies.

However, we've also grown up enough to drive with a little more care and attention, so as not to put our Customers at risk of a smash, as you young whipper-snappers do!

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

Yeah. I get tired I go home. Unlike the serfs who reach for a red bull/pro plus cocktail.

I imagine it must be bad enough with the blacks. But at least they have a higher tariff and higher standards.

However, private hire is the lowest common denominator. The game is so rigged against the serfs; with lower tariffs, less work, ever increasing fleets, high rentals, increased fees and spurious vehicle charges for what should be the responsibility of the owners; they are forced to grasp at anything, and especially at the expense of the interests of the public; their safety.

But this is precisely what successive councils have actively encouraged. We've long seen how the expanding and less regulated private hire fleet, driven by cash grabbing barons from all points of the compass, have overseen the expansion of their take, while making it ever harder for the serfs to supply it to them. Like the pimp who gets paid whether the hooker gets "work" or not.

I guess the maxim is that a lot of guys and gals will get fed up and move on. It doesn't matter of course, because there's always a steady stream of unsuspecting serf fodder for these paragons of greed to feed from.

So the challenge for us all is to determine what we can do to cut off their manpower supply and stifle their greed lust.

I offer the starting point that all licence holders, PH or Hack, and who are equally driving customers, should have to reach the same topographical and other standards. After all, why should a member of the public, that the council is charged to protect, and choosing private hire be less entitled to personal safety and sound route knowledge than a hackney customer? It just doesn't make sense for some members of the public to be more equal than others.

And, in the interests of all customers, it should be now.

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Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

We've had that for the last 25 years.

I would suggest that the higher standard should be adopted for both, rather than the lower one.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

You should start by telling the LC that their proposals for PH are not wanted in Scotland. They will only serve to lower the denominator even further than it is.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Problem is - and regarding what you said in the other thread about the Law Commission's visit to Edinburgh - the LC takes the view that it's for PH customers to decide basically what standard of driver they want to hire, thus if they want a, um, poorly paid serf to come and pick them up at a discounted price then that's what they'll get.

Thus the market is considered to be king, which essentially seems to reflect the current view of Scottish politicians if Edinburgh is anything to go by, so I don't really think the LC's flying visit to Edinburgh is likely to help the situation there much.

70 in Glasgow too. Got a wee bit to go yet

And this is precisely where the taxi trade gets it wrong.

PH customers don't think they're using a cheaper less qualified service.

They think they're ordering ordering a taxi. They expect the driver to be courteous. To go by the shortest route. And not to rip them off. So much so, when they place their order, they're not asking for a private hire car. They're asking for a taxi to ...

Yes, price may be a part of it. But curiously you're as likely to get a hefty tip from a PH customer as from a taxi customer. So, it's not the whole story, is it?

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Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

I'm not sure Age Discrimination is all bad, At some point old age rather quickly turns into dead, and I'm not convinced that the rights of a 98 year old to be driving towards me at speed at that precise transitional moment is enough make me appreciate the merits of their discriminatory right to kill me.