Taxi Driver Online

Gateshead's HC drivers will lose signifigant amounts of money this weekend as a "ring of steel" surrounds the Sage Music Centre and Hilton Hotel.

The "ring of steel" blocks access to the Gateshead Quayside for all vehicles and includes the towns busiest 2 nightime ranks, which have been temporarily suspended. 1 temporary rank has been placed at the top of a very steep bank, meaning the 5000 revelers which would normally fill this area on each night, will walk over the swing bridge into Newcastle for a taxi at the end of their night.

We expect losses to be as much as £500 for each "night" driver over the 7 days including and surrounding this event.

Gateshead Council recieved £3,000,000 to host the event and claim they had no say in where this "ring of steel" would be sited.

While the trade in Gateshead welcome such events, we are concerned that the short term effects will cause financial hardship for many taxidrivers, and not enough thought was put into planning this event from their point of view.

They feel as though Gateshead Council have put money before anything else yet again, the temporary rank will only hold 6-7 taxis and with nearly 300 vehicles licensed the traffic congestion around the area during the 3 day event will be possibly the worst ever seen.

Aletrnatives suggested by all sides of the trade have been ignored by the council, to the benefit of very few.

B. Lucky

I thought you guys were 'poor' taxi drivers

never mind, think about the amount of politicians you'll be able to speak to.

hehe

Captain cab

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

[We expect losses to be as much as £500 for each "night" driver over the 7 days including and surrounding this event.

Gateshead Council recieved £3,000,000 to host the event and claim they had no say in where this "ring of steel" would be sited.

While the trade in Gateshead welcome such events, we are concerned that the short term effects will cause financial hardship for many taxidrivers, and not enough thought was put into planning this event from their point of view.

What a pack of lies!

500 for each night?

some areas would be gratefull for this conference

and most people in your area are!

OK Yorkie,

If you would please take the time to read the post, instead of just thinking "how can I ave a go at GA" you would see that I actually said EACH night driver would lose £500 OVER THE 7 DAYS, meaning the drivers who work on a nightime would lose the £500 over the 7 days we are encountering disruption because of the event.

Any other area is welcome to the conferance Yorkie mate, but I doubt you would if you were refused access to all of your work for a week because of it.

Residents in the area don't want it, businesses in the area don't want it the only people who want it are on the council, particularly when the £3million cheque clears. The "security" bill is expected to be £2.4 million so the council stand to clear £500,000, [edited by admin] nice work if you can get it eh.

The cost to local industry will top £5million, I hope the xtra exposure Gateshead gets will help them recoup their money, it took me over an hour to cross the Tyne bridge this morning, I will tell the hundreds of people held up in traffic over the weekend that they should be happy, or would you like to come up yourself and tell them.

B. Lucky

I would be quite happy too,
you know Mick, you continualy deliberatly misslead and so you have here but more than that you have opened up lies from the past.

you have claimed in the past takings as low as £70 for a friday night nowthen whats your divers going to do give away £30 to lose a hundred

tell me please, are your city against tourism?

I'm afraid this is just evidence of poor local leadership.

When the event was being planned, maybe a year or so ago, the trade should have been fighting then what they are fighting now.

Still who wants to concentrate on such mundane issues, when a march in London is on the cards?

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IDFIMH

A march? whatsthatabout? more salloons to help disabled people?

What a complete lack of understanding.

The reason for the "ring of steel" is because of the threat of a terrorist attack. The planning of the event was done in complete secrecy, only those who had to know knew, the event has been 9 months in the planning yet we only found out about it 16 days ago, and that was 2 days after the licensing officer was aware of the plans.

The whole event is under the control of the Police and Security forces, THE COUNCIL HAVE NO SAY IN THE PROTECTION OF THE PRIME MINISTER, or any of the other members of the government.
Indeed the Labour party PAID for a footbridge to be erected accross the main road so visitors and delegates didn't have to cross the road, would they have done this, and had the work carried out, if they knew the road the footbridge goes over is closed to all vehicles.

As is your way, you don't read what is posted, Sussex has already admitted such, but you take every oppertunity to berate every post I make.

I repeat my question to Yorkie, IF EVERY AREA YOU WORK IN WAS CLOSED WOULD YOU BE HAPPY ??????????????

In answer to your remarks about "loss of earnings". The figure of £500 per week is half of what YOU GUARANTEE YOUR DRIVERS Yorkie, if we were so rich then why were'nt we claiming losses at the same level you guarantee your drivers.
The disruption started on Tuesday night it will hit its peak at 10pm tonight with the whole area being closed down, the ring of steel will remain in place until 7am on Monday morning and the clean up will not be completed until next Tuesday night. Thats 7 nights disruption so if you work it out 7 nights loosing £70 is £490, not far off the £500 quoted.

Now Yorkie and anyone else, answer the question posed, would you like that kind of loss.

B. Lucky

Yorkie you only consider those who are confined to a wheelchair, or whom have a physical disability to be clasified as "disabled".

Until someone comes up with a single vehicle that satisfies everyones needs EVERY safe type of vehicle SHOULD be available from the rank. That is why implimentation of the DDA with regard HC has not nor will not be implimented, councils have to form policies that CATER for EVERYONES NEEDS.

All the councils on Sussex's list who have no WAV provision will be forced to comply with the directives of the Act, long before they are forced to form policies from advisory papers.

Pity Mick you insist on complete misrepresentation of the facts we gaurantee £1,000 per week from our office there is street work on top, dont take the [edited by admin] Mick.

simple arithmatic makes you look stupid, that arithmatic says these people will want taxis and will leave the ring of steel.

probably Deans will sort the problem out as you lot seem incapable.

I ask again is the majority of people against tourism?

I was taking the p*** a little bit earlier on.

For what its worth, I cant see messers Blair and Company hiring that many cabs.

It is disappointing to hear that the trade had no say in the siting of temporary taxi ranks.

You can only really say that the labour party are going to the North East to gain votes at the next election, trouble is do we vote for red tories or blue tories?

As for the projected loss in takings, time will tell if the event is of benefit to the trade, you can only really imagine the event being held in a labour heartland to be of use to local labour supporters. At this point it would be negligent not to say....labour supporters, like the T&G? hehe

You can understand the ring of steel, given the terrorist threat, the question remains, will the terrorists not be slightly afraid going into gateshead (hehe sorry GA couldnt help that one)

Another question could be, if there is a terrorist attack will anyone notice the damage caused (hehe sorry GA I'm on a roll).

A further question could be why the people of Gateshead named a music hall after a computer based accounting package (ok I'll cease with the cheapshots).

Its going to happen GA, whether you like it or not, perhaps you could let us know after the event if and how much takings were affected.

Captain cab

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

In case anybody had forgotten, can I remind you that during the Commonwealth Games we were not allowed within a mile of the stadium.
It gave me great pleasure to take two VIPs to the stadium for their accreditation to stop at the barrier and point them up the road. No amount of arm twisting and threats would make the security man let me through. Anyway these big shots were going to make drastic changes but guess what nothing happened.
Apart from it raining. Everyday. Heavily.
Ged

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taxi driver @manchester airport

Ged,

with due respect I dont think you can really compare the commonwealth games with a labour party conference.

Mind you, you could be right, there'll be a few of them for the high jump and the election.

Captain cab

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

first of all there is no risk of terrorist attack, the attacks are likely from Countryside alliance, and Fathers for Justice.

however yes captain there is big demand for demand led transport, not for Blair and co there are a lot of ordinary joe publics in there, and of course any one of them could be a terrorist,

its put GATESHEAD ON THE MAP AND NO ITS NOT HELD THERE FOR ELECTIONEERING

its put there for the sole purpose of buggering up the local taxi trade as Mick will testify.

Yorkie, I trust you are being a tad ironic with that statement.

Mr Prescot stated during the North East assembly vote, a no vote was a vote for the tories, one and one sometimes equals two

Captain cab

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