Taxi Driver Online

Quite right, it will only be an option, and it remains to be seen if LAs will allow much extension from current hours given the current mayhem.

The liberalisation of licensing laws was originally intended to combat drunkenness, but they forgot to chec out Scotland, where it was tried years ago and the problem is still as bad as in England - it's a cultural thing, it has naff all to do with opening hours, and extending them would just extend the timeframe for the other problems that it causes.

So now the Govt are saying that it's all about allowing theatre goers in London to enjoy a drink when they come out, which clearly has nothing to do with 24 hour drinking, and to that exten the legislation is a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but the more obvious answer is that the Govt has realised that it's cocked up and is thus trying to spin the intention of the legislation into something that wasn't really the original intention.

But if a limited liberalisation was allowed it could in fact be good for the trade and public order if it was used to stagger opening hours, which could in turn stagger demand, which would not really imact on the trade other than spreading demand over a longer period, when the trade would be working anyway.

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Taxi Driver Online
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So what your saying is that this couldn't happen or that it doesn't mean 24hr drinking.

Bar A opens at 8am and closes at 6pm.
Bar B opens at 5:30pm and closes at 10:30pm.
Bar C opens at 8pm and closes at 2am.
Club 1 opens at 9pm and closes at 4am.
Club 2 opens at 10pm and closes at 6am.
Club 3 opens at 11:30pm and closes at 8am.

Thats only 6 establishments, even Gateshead has more than that.

B. Lucky

[quote="Gateshead Angel"]So what your saying is that this couldn't happen or that it doesn't mean 24hr drinking.

Bar A opens at 8am and closes at 6pm.
Bar B opens at 5:30pm and closes at 10:30pm.
Bar C opens at 8pm and closes at 2am.
Club 1 opens at 9pm and closes at 4am.
Club 2 opens at 10pm and closes at 6am.
Club 3 opens at 11:30pm and closes at 8am.

Thats only 6 establishments, even Gateshead has more than that.





Mick
which club would you rank outside?

club c would in theory be full of [edited by admin] artists in practice nobody will go there

it will close

Was that a deliberate attempt to confuse?

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not difficult with you

What I was trying to say was that in theory 24-hour drinking could happen, but I don't think it will.

I don't think there's any great demand to stagger opening times, but what I had in mind was staggering closing times., but not by as much as per your examples, only an hour or two at most.

For example, if all clubs kick out at 2 at present, if some were open till 3, it wouldn't make much difference to the trade work wise or time wise, because at present chances are they would be still clearing the queues at the ranks by 3 anyway - so the demand for taxis would just be spread out a bit.

In the town I work in the past half the pubs closed at the same time and the other closed later. Taxi wise there were two mini-rushes just after each closing time.

But then most of the pubs decided to stay open till the later time, so the first mini-rush more or less disappeared, but the second mini-rush turned into not quite such a mini rush, but it didn't make any difference to drivers' working hours or whatever, all it did was change the pattern of demand.

I think a magnified version of that is what happens in the bigger towns and cities.

I think that all the pubs/clubs chucking out at the one time was one of the impetuses behing the licensing liberalisation, because the view seemed to be that the more idiots on the streets at once, the more likelihood of a kick off. Thus the aim seems to be to effectivley reverse what happened in my manor.

Of course, if all that happened was that all the clubs opened till 4 (say) then nothing would change except that the kick offs would happen later, and taxi drivers would have to work a couple of extra hours to make the same money, and would thus spend more time earlier in the night doing jack.

I think the Govt perhaps thought that if they liberalised things then demand would spread itself, for example by 4 few people would be in the clubs and most would have gone home anyway, but demand would have been spread out a bit more.

But it probalby wouldn't work like that - if the clubbers got an extra couple of hours then they would probably just come out a couple of hours later and go home a couple of hours later and the current mayhem would just happen a couple of hours later, which would please no one, and [edited by admin] off many others, such as taxi drivers, police and the public who have to endure it all.

But of course it's difficult to know what is going on, because the Govt and LAs have no more a clue about these things than they do about taxis.

For example, I think the main problem is not hours per se, but that police just sit around spectating until things kick off, and even if an idiot is apprehended by police the chances are all he'll get is a night in the cells, which won't bother him because he won't remember where he was anyway, and it's something to brag about to his mates - it was certainly like that when I was clubbing

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Taxi Driver Online
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Not difficult with anyone since club C doesn't exist!!

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Well Geoff I would see what was happening at each of the establishments that are open, popping off to the church and bingo halls when they kicked out.

Geograhically they could all be within 200 yrds of each other with one rank in the middle, so I'd probably work there.

Newcastle currently doesn't get busy until 9pm with a increasing number of people going out later but more regularly. I also used to get many requests from punters to take them to somewhere else they could get a drink after 2am.
We have an area, in Newcastle, called Jesmond where there are loads of Hotels, most of which serve drinks all night to residents, yet there are very rarely disturbances.

Remember one of the London lads commented that he sees less trouble from the people who leave a club in the morning than he does when the pubs kick out at 11. I think if people were given the responsibility for drinking sensibly the majority would and the idiots would still end up getting a night in the cells.

B. Lucky

Is this true, or are we making an imaginary scenario?


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

Its an imaginary scenario, very loosly based on the Big Market in Newcastle. But it could so easily apply to many other city centres.

I have no idea what would happen in rural areas, but the limited experience I have of going into such pubs suggests that a rural landlord is less likely to be bothered about when he stops serving, even if he's supposed to by law.

B. Lucky

I see, so your going to start plying for hire in Newcastle?

I thought you were gonna go across the A69 and become a fleet owner

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

Is there something the matter with you Wayne mate.

Or are you just, "joining in" on the "lets try and bully GA" group.

I have a thick skin.

What I was suggesting was that in most town and city centres the nightlife tends to be in or around the same area, this is normally where the rank is, so staggered closing times will ahve an effect on any unmet demand that may be currently present. Newcastle was only used as a basis for my example, you try to put words in my mouth by suggesting anything else and then try to make me look foolish.

This site doesn't want debate it wants everyone to agree, JD calls for fairness on his terms which isn't fair to the people I represent.

Its getting kind of boring

I wasnt trying to bully anyone, and the Newcastle remark was tongue in cheek, as was the other

I know what you were suggesting, so sorry if you misunderstood.

What seems to be suggested by this thread is staggered drinking hours, which has been suggested by the trade for years.

The entire problem is that virtually all places have a sudden rush of people all needing public transport to get home, invariably the taxi and ph are the only vehicles available.

Again its a political decision.

Will pass on your regards to Wayne, when I see him on the rank later

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

The failure of delimitation in this regard is abysmal. They want to tell that delimitation works - as a matter of fact, they do not know, they want to tell taxpayers and the domestic public to keep them deceived. They are embroiled, they are confused and they are in a quagmire. They have begun to tell more lies so that they might continue with the perpetration of their folly. May they be accursed.

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"Even those who live on another planet, if there are such people, would have condemned this action before it started"