Taxi Driver Online

My brother is a self employed black cab driver and also works for a firm transporting children to school and home with a supervisor. The school have shut and the firm says they won’t be paid as the contract with the council doesn’t cover this scenario and therefore they won’t get anything. He’s reliant on the pay from this work as taxi work is slow at the best of times.

At first glance thought Heathcote's argument well over the top, but on second thoughts...

A bit like Grandad's point last night about the alchohol deliveries, which I hadn't thought about at the time.

Not sure about the Equality Act, but under EU law it might have been considered illegal state aid.

Recall that Addison Lee claimed that allowing HCs only to access London bus lanes amounted to illegal state aid. Court ruled that it didn't confer 'selective economic advantage', though. Similar arguments were made with regard to exempting HCs from the congestion charge, while PHVs lost their exemption.

And I suspect, even if EU law did still apply, there might be exemptions for this kind of unprecedented scenario.

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IDFIMH

That situation is mirrored throughout the country, and is incredibly sad and depressing for those drivers.

As I've mentioned in another post most special needs schools, if they follow the PMs advice, should be remaining open if they have the staff.

So maybe ask at the school.

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IDFIMH

Absolutely certain it's illegal state aid under EU law, but equally sure no one will give a f***.

I suspect the whole of the EU will be doing similar things to different sections of the business community, and nothing will be done about it.

We are in a uniquely sad and financially depressing time, and many rules and regs are being bypassed.

And a good thing that is too.

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IDFIMH

How is it state aid when you have a contract.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

How bad is it going to get ?
£25 for nine hours today! Oh well, at least the wife’s working, wrong! Her store has closed with immediate effect, she’ll get full pay this month, beyond that, who knows. Sod the bloody extension, we’ll be happy just to keep the house!
I’m off to get acquainted with a fifteen year old (Dalwhinnie!)

If you're not doing the work but getting paid anyway then it's arguably a subsidy.

Might be different if it was written into the contract in the first place (then it could be argued that the tender price would reflect that), but if it's offered gratis then it's effectively a subsidy.

Again, might be different if the was advantage offered across the board to all in a particular market, such as if councils deferred licence renewal payments but offered that to all in the trade.

Even I'm slightly better than that

Strangely few taxis on the ranks the last couple of nights, though, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing, because if they all appear back then I'd be lucky to have takings of a couple of pounds an hour, as opposed to maybe a fiver an hour or so the last couple of nights.

Not often out during the day now, and don't go to the station much, but had my council inspection in Cupar on Tuesday morning, so called in at the station on the way back to town (nearest station is about five miles from St Andrews).

Broke my record there - 6.5 hours for one fare. My previous record there was five hours

At least it was a reasonable fare, though, at £17. Could just as easily been £4 or so.

To be fair, sounds a long time, but I'd normally expect to wait three hours or so anyway - it's the first week of the student break, which is notoriously quiet out at the station. In fact I actually waited seven hours one year, although that was broken into two periods - waited four hours in the evening before giving up, and it was three hours the next day before I got a fare.

However, what was even more worrying about my 6.5 hour wait this week was that nothing left the station from the rank for about five hours, and I would have waited even longer except that a couple of independents in front of me just gave up.

And the other huge worry is that normally the students would be back next week in their droves. But university effectively closed until September, so few, if any, coming back

There is something in the contract regarding school closures. It is there usually for snow interruptions or water leaks, power cuts etc.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

Rubbish, it would only be honouring the terms of the contract where if they cancel a run and not the contracts then it's half rate.

Nowt to do with subsidies......infact every other business seems to be be getting a help financially with the exception of our trade.

It's not a subsidy, it's a contract and I'm surprised your LA hasnt something similar in their contract with you.

Gutted....I can now by diesel at 110.24 pence per litre on my Esso fuel card and thanks to Corvid 19 i'm not needing to use it.

Just had a phone call to say a passenger I transported from work to home this morning has been told by NHS 111 they have it

BUT I've known this girl since she was a toddler and if I was a gambling man I would put money on this being a stunt to skive off work. There was no coughing at all during the 10 minutes she was in the back of the car


tough call I doubt I've enough food to self isolate for 48 hours let alone 14 days

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

There will be a lot of skivers playing on the ‘self-isolation’ card. The prison service put out a bulletin this week to say that if any prison officers think they have it they must self isolate for fourteen days, it won’t be treated as sick and will be full pay. Within two days seventy staff from HMP Berwyn (Wrexham’s super prison!) are in self-isolation !!!!