Taxi Driver Online

I wouldn't know tbh heard good and bad about them. I'd have more respect for the owners if at times like these they dropped the settle a little bit, or if they increase the drivers by a certain % they decreased the settle a little bit then, but, they don't. They brag about the number of calls they get but who knows why people ring it's not all to book a car, sometimes it may be to cancel, it maybe to find out where the promised car is, to complain etc, etc and there also the % element of no shows as well. If you divide the number of calls by the number of drivers it ain't all that really it's just average like everywhere else

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

They do over 10 million bookings a year, there's only one other firm in the world that does more than that in Singapore. They have 2000 drivers on the books but of course they don't all come out at the same time or in the same areas, some only work part time etc. The system that they use is a state of the art system. All the information about each area (how many jobs done last hour and in the same hour last week, how many vacant/busy cars, and how many jobs waiting) is available at a glance so drivers can see where the work is. If a driver gets a bogey/no show, they are guaranteed to get the next job off the system, and they actually do work to reduce the number of bogies as much as they can by refusing work if they have uncovered jobs that are more than 10 minutes old. They're consistent, and always looking for ways to improve. Any driver who says he cannot make money in my opinion is not prepared to be flexible in the hours or areas that he works.

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Sometimes the most telling information comes from what's not said...

What's the definition of flexible? Could work 8 hours a day but may need to work 16 They need an App over there in Sefton make things a lot better for the drivers

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

I mean that a lot of drivers only want to work hours that suit them, i.e 9-5 mon-fri, and some only work in certain areas. If they worked more hours at night, especially weekends, and were not selective in the areas they pick up from, I don't think they'd complain about their income. Also they already have an app and have done for some time.

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Sometimes the most telling information comes from what's not said...

The very definition of self employed is the ability to pick and choose where and when you work. Delta having an App is not same as Sefton having an independent App is it. Drivers can work for as many companies as they like providing they follow licensing regulations so what is to stop a driver having an independent App as well as working for Delta or SRC for that matter I know I'd rather be paying £10 per week than any % or any weekly rent of £90/100.

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Of course drivers can pick when and where they work, but the very nature of their work is the provision of a service. Therefore it is in the drivers' interests to work the times and areas where that service is in the most demand. That is, of course, if they want to make money. Some drivers I speak to take 12 hours to earn £100 on a day shift - I can do that in 4 or 5 hours on a weekend night. To me it's a no brainer. I'd rather pay £100 a week and get the ability to take £1000+ a week than pay £10 and sit and vegetate in some car park waiting for a job to come in. been there, done that.

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Sometimes the most telling information comes from what's not said...

Perhaps the drivers are unable to work the weekend shift, not everybody can do those hours and why would you sit and vegetate you could have the two systems in your vehicle until the App work builds up like the Uber app is doing now, just a thought I think times are changing and private hire is changing with it, I also think that the easy pickings that private hire companies are used to are going to be harder to come by in years to come, but, I guess we shall have to wait and see.

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

13 jobs a day, at what £4 a job = £52 a day, at £5 a job = £65 a day.

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IDFIMH

If they can't do those hours that's unfortunate. A living can still be made on days, but obviously longer hours with more waiting around involved. The world is becoming ever more competitive and you can bet your bottom dollar that Delta will do everything in their power to stay one step ahead of the competition. If, as you say, private hire might be reformed then these changes would also affect Uber and the like. From the customer's point of view, no app coming into the market now is going to be able to get a car to them quicker than Delta. If a driver takes a job off the Uber app then decides to call at McDonalds drive through on the way to it, what would Uber do about it (if they even had a way of knowing)? Probably nothing as they need all the drivers they can get. If a Delta driver did that he could be sacked.That's an average of 4 or 5 hours work a day for every driver on the books then, or 28-35 a week, about right when you consider that people take days off, some are part-timers, and some may be operating inefficiently by having a preference to certain areas.

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Sometimes the most telling information comes from what's not said...

If they reform private hire it will be to make things less regulated for the likes of Apps, they're not in the mood at the moment to make things more regulated, see the de-regulation bill for clarification as to the kind of mood their in An App is quicker than a telephonists and as for a driver wandering off and doing their own thing, if they do that the App knows and takes the job from them and gives it to another driver, you really ought to check what these Apps can do before you start writing what they can't do. With regards to the amount of drivers an App company needs it's far less than an operator needs to make a living. Out of curiosity what polish do you use?

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

The only way they are succeeding is by preying on the gormless and stupid. They want no knowledge test, not for the good of the public but for the good of themselves.

They cite their drivers are trained and it costs them money - yet behind the b*llshit everybody knows drivers achieve funding themselves.

Indeed, do they seriously expect people to be fooled by the training they say costs them - when in actual fact it is a pre-requisite of the contracts they tender for?

They appear to believe people are so stupid that they envisage Adam Smith as producing 'wealth of nations' and believing he was making particular reference to the minicab trade.

I despair.

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

You're expecting a lot aren't you, they're too busy to be reading Adam Smith ffs

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

An app may take the booking quicker but I very much doubt it can get a car there quicker. I never said they can't do anything I asked what they WOULD do (if they had a way of knowing, as from personal exp. in this line of work the GPS signal on a smartphone is usually unreliable and slow to update). Why, as a customer , would I order a taxi from an app that has maybe a few dozen drivers working on it when I can order a Delta anywhere in south Sefton, Liverpool or Knowsley and get one usually in less than 5 minutes?

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Sometimes the most telling information comes from what's not said...

Why do you doubt it can get a car quicker? The App shows where the car is that you book and then you can watch it travel and arrive at the pick up point, perhaps they drive slower with Apps in the vehicles than they do with a Delta dispatch system in their vehicle



There are lots of reasons why customers choose who they do when booking a taxi/private hire. An App enables a customer to see what cars are available, what drivers are available, have a little list of favourite drivers, track your journey to love ones so they can see you're safe and last but not least pay by card, cash or wallet which just pings your money over to the driver. It enables you to review the driver and the vehicle thus ensuring excellent customer service and a nice clean car. Now Delta don't do that you get the driver they send and if you don't have an account you have to pay cash because they don't take card and you certainly can't 'ping' money over.

With regard to Apps only having a few dozen drivers, whatever you do don't tell Uber because they're under the impression they have lots of vehicles in several countries and some even believe it's worth billions of $, but, hey what do I know those App thingys are just a fad flash in the pan, nothing will be better than Delta in Sefton

Btw how many cars did Delta start with? Oh and another thing just think how many hours less drivers will be able to work when they don't have to find their weekly fee. I have to say I'm more than willing to help build up an App which may well see me paying £520 a year rather than £5,200 a year you'd have to be a mug not to imo

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

What reason would an app booking be slowing than a phone booking?

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IDFIMH