Taxi Driver Online

UK cab trade debate and advice
It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 1:51 pm

All times are UTC [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Wed Dec 24, 2003 9:24 pm 
Offline

Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2003 6:09 pm
Posts: 1180
Location: Miles away from paradise, not far from hell.
This story came from the Manchester Evening News.

Is their anyone out there that doesn't recognise what's happening? :(

********************************************************
Risks laughed off in queue for illegal lift

A MAN claiming to be a taxi driver is giving young people illegal lifts home.

He may have looked like any Mr Average parking up to collect his girlfriend after a night out, but to the gaggle of revellers hanging around city centre clubs had he was their illegal lift home.

The 11-year-old Ford Escort estate had slowly pulled up at the junction of Canal Street, weaving through the revellers on heaving Princess Street.

Several people, including us, made a bee-line for him. He was a bogus cab driver and by midnight, a makeshift rank had already gathered with people eager for his custom.

He told us he was a taxi driver and took us to our destination two miles away and charged us a fiver. He had no plates or meter and refused to enter into any conversation.

Half-an-hour later, back at the same rank, there was another mad dash as another car, an old Ford Escort saloon pulled up. Seasoned customers recognised him as a bogus cabbie and we managed to get to the front of the queue and get our lift.

The M.E.N. asked him if he was a taxi driver and he said he was. Cheerfully, he chatted about ours being the first job of the night and he intended to be out until 3am.

Those are the best hours, I come out at this time every Friday and Saturday,he said, charging us £2.70 for the same journey.

When our photographer snatched his picture seconds after he had dropped us off, he insisted I don't know why you're taking my photo, I've done nothing wrong, just been to drop my sister of home.

No checks

In the cold light of day, people using the scores of bogus cabs touring the city centre know they have no idea who these drivers are.

No one is saying that every one of the men has a sinister reason to pick people up illegally, for many it could just be an easy way to earn a few quid. But anyone getting into an illegal cab is trusting a driver who has had no police checks on his background and is totally uninsured.

And there can be few people unaware of the massive police operation to catch the bogus cabbies responsible for two rapes and numerous sex attacks.

So what young woman in her right mind would stop a complete stranger in the early hours and trust him to see her home safely? But in an alcohol-induced fog, they will do whatever it takes to get there.

Logic and any thoughts of self-preservation go right out of the window. The M.E.N. watched as scantily-dressed girls tried to open vehicle doors, often when moving. We also saw two teenage girls clamber into a Rover parked in a side road. They asked the male driver if it was a taxi. He said it wasn't, but they begged him to give them a lift.

He started giggling, spoke quietly into a mobile phone and then said he would give one of the girls a lift if she ditched her mate.

As they discussed the risks outside his car, another pal turned up and shouted at them not to be so stupid.

But it's the only way we will get home, they complained. Show us a proper taxi and we'll get in it.

Not Enough Cabs

That is the crazy problem which hits Manchester city centre on Friday and Saturday nights. There are simply not enough Hackney cabs or late night buses to get people home. Private hire drivers are not supposed to stop unless they have been pre-booked although we saw scores doing exactly that.

People we spoke to admitted that when they got into a bogus cab they knew it was a risky business.

One 32-year-old male office worker said: Getting out of the city centre late at night is a nightmare.

I've got into private hires, even though they're not meant to stop, but when it's late and you just want to get home, anything will do.

But he admitted to urging female friends to steer clear.

Girls who have got into these cabs admitted feeling nervous, but said that after a few drinks, they didn't think too much about the dangers.

One 20-year-old shop assistant said: When I tell people at work I get these bogus cabs, they go mad at me. Yes, I've heard about the rapes, but then I think well, it's not going to happen to me, is it?

But no one gets into these cars for choice. It's because there isn't enough late-night public transport and it seems so daft that private hires aren't supposed to stop when they drive by empty.

She then dashed off as a friend shouted she'd got a cab' it was a bogus one and we saw the driver urging them to get in quickly as a police van rounded the corner.

_________________
ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

Simply the best taxi forum in the whole wide world. www.taxi-driver.co.uk


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2003 12:46 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:30 pm
Posts: 53921
Location: 1066 Country
Yes it is Alex.

That's why the OFT study mentioned it, and as soon as this mess is sorted out, the better.

_________________
IDFIMH


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 3:29 am 
What the OFT failed to mention, was the majority of time through the week when the demand is for passengers NOT for taxis.

Throughout this whole argument I am amazed that so many people want so much but are willing to concede very little.

P/H drivers working legally will never be able to pick up on the streets as if they are empty at these busy times they are on their way to a pre-booked job, over Xmas I have picked more people up who have been let down by their local P/H firm than ever before, surely identifying a need for more P/H vehicles.

The local authorities are completely totally and utterly to blame for the extended waiting times at weekends. A few reasons to quantify this statement are -
Not enough properly placed ranks.
Not enough Police activity around the ranks.
No real SAFE place for people to wait.
Refusing access to bus lanes therefore lengthening journey times.
Refusing a acceptable tarriff to encourage drivers to work.
Not enough enforcement, regularly at the busy times.
Lack of action when the trade report vehicle details of these bogus ba$tards.

I'm sure there are more, but the blame for long queue's at weekends isn't allways the fault of the H/C driver trying to make a living.


Top
  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 3:32 am 
Oh aye Sussex,

What should a H/C driver prioritise at these busy times, should he pick up from the ranks to cut waiting times or should he pick up flaggers.

I know how much you hate people jumping queue's so I suppose you'll suggest that we pick up those who have waited the longest.


Top
  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 5:21 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:30 pm
Posts: 53921
Location: 1066 Country
Anonymous wrote:
Oh aye Sussex,

What should a H/C driver prioritise at these busy times, should he pick up from the ranks to cut waiting times or should he pick up flaggers.

I know how much you hate people jumping queue's so I suppose you'll suggest that we pick up those who have waited the longest.


You seem to think this is an either or situation, well it isn't.

I'm not sure what you do, but I would take the nearest job, be it from the path or the radio.

If you have good office staff, they will make sure that the right jobs are cleared first. If they ask you to clear an urgent job, then perhaps you would take that over the path job in front of you.

The name of the game is to be all things to all people. Tell the customers on the phone that it's going to be half an hour if you are busy. From my experience they can cope with that.

What they can't cope with, is to be told 5/10 minutes when it takes 30/45/60 minutes.

_________________
IDFIMH


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 10:35 pm 
I think a customer is a customer wheather they ring for a taxi or they stick their hand out.
If we spend our time picking and choosing which customers come first. Then we end up losing more to the buses. Or the walkers.


Top
  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:10 am 
Sussex Man wrote:
What they can't cope with, is to be told 5/10 minutes when it takes 30/45/60 minutes.


The thing is that is exactly what they are told.

My other point, that still remains unanswered, was what happens to the flagger when you are on your way to a pre-booked job. Should they be picked up cause they are closer, if so what happens to the pre-booked fare which has to wait an extra 25 minutes for the next available car in that area. Does this not strengthen the case for the drivers ONLY doing the radio work through the busy times. What I mean by that is that if the clerk despatches the job in time for you to get there for the pre-arranged time surely they can't be blamed for taking that booking or for that booking running late.

I believe this identifies why we need to have a two tier system, one man can't be all things but the whole trade can offer every customer exactly what they need, therefore one part of the trade needs to be limited in order to make proper provision for the others users, if we were all the same in our working practises the public would be the group that would suffer the most.

B. Lucky :twisted:


Top
  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:14 am 
Cgull wrote:
I think a customer is a customer wheather they ring for a taxi or they stick their hand out.
If we spend our time picking and choosing which customers come first. Then we end up losing more to the buses. Or the walkers.


The thing is we shouldn't choose, as a trade we need to ensure that one group does the street work while the other group does the radio work. Simply stating that the drivers should choose who they pick up, or more importantly who they leave behind leads to the kind of confusion that will see the public catching the last bus or just walking home.

I think its called having your cake and eating it.

B. Lucky :twisted:


Top
  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:27 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:30 pm
Posts: 53921
Location: 1066 Country
Mick wrote:
My other point, that still remains unanswered, was what happens to the flagger when you are on your way to a pre-booked job. Should they be picked up cause they are closer, if so what happens to the pre-booked fare which has to wait an extra 25 minutes for the next available car in that area. Does this not strengthen the case for the drivers ONLY doing the radio work through the busy times. What I mean by that is that if the clerk despatches the job in time for you to get there for the pre-arranged time surely they can't be blamed for taking that booking or for that booking running late.


If you have taken a radio job, then that's the end of it no-matter how many flaggers you pass.

The idea of 'market forces' should ensure that an empty taxi will pass soon after.

_________________
IDFIMH


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:29 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:30 pm
Posts: 53921
Location: 1066 Country
Mick wrote:
I believe this identifies why we need to have a two tier system, one man can't be all things but the whole trade can offer every customer exactly what they need, therefore one part of the trade needs to be limited in order to make proper provision for the others users, if we were all the same in our working practises the public would be the group that would suffer the most.


I don't for a second think that the two-tier system will go, and never have.

What will happen is that it will down to drivers to decide which vehicle they own and run, not bureaucrats.

_________________
IDFIMH


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 3:08 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 3:20 pm
Posts: 3272
Anonymous wrote:
Refusing a acceptable tarriff to encourage drivers to work.
I'm sure there are more, but the blame for long queue's at weekends isn't allways the fault of the H/C driver trying to make a living.


I agree with most of what you say, but why is it that the HC in your manor are so hard up during the week, yet when they could me making big bucks at the weekends then they won't come out because they want even more??

Dusty


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 3:17 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 3:20 pm
Posts: 3272
Mick wrote:
The thing is we shouldn't choose, as a trade we need to ensure that one group does the street work while the other group does the radio work. Simply stating that the drivers should choose who they pick up, or more importantly who they leave behind leads to the kind of confusion that will see the public catching the last bus or just walking home.



So you think that taxis should only be allowed to do street work?

To an extent I agree - as you know I favour a one-tier system, but with two tiers one idea might be to exclude taxis from pre-booked work (as I think is the case in New York) and this would have meant less of the confusion that currently prevails.

Dusty


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 4:13 pm 
Dusty Bin wrote:
Mick wrote:
The thing is we shouldn't choose, as a trade we need to ensure that one group does the street work while the other group does the radio work. Simply stating that the drivers should choose who they pick up, or more importantly who they leave behind leads to the kind of confusion that will see the public catching the last bus or just walking home.



So you think that taxis should only be allowed to do street work?

To an extent I agree - as you know I favour a one-tier system, but with two tiers one idea might be to exclude taxis from pre-booked work (as I think is the case in New York) and this would have meant less of the confusion that currently prevails.

Dusty



polotics of the mad house, read the original acts to see the intention of hackneys, which was basicaly to do everything a passenger wanted. house to house premises to premises. rank to work home ect

then read what private hire are licensed for, to stop drivers raping passengers!

that says it all.


Top
  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group