Taxi Driver Online

Will Pink Ladies be left red faced?
By Stephen Bailey Warrington Guardian 16/11/06
Comment

PINK Ladies is fighting on despite a new road safety law that stops it operating without a licence.

The women-only cab company has arranged a meeting with transport minister Stephen Ladyman next Tuesday.

The Warrington-based firm has been rolling out franchises across the country but the House of Lords last week passed a bill to stop it working without a license.

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The firm said it is not a taxi company, but a members club - and so it does not need to be licenced.

Pink Ladies members pay a membership fee and must have credit in their account before making a booking.

But that position has upset many licensed cabbies - and raised concerns about the safety implications.

Co-founder Andrea Winders said: "Stephen Ladyman recognises we are 100 per cent unique, and we are looking for a unique solution."

The firm has been invited to Buckingham Palace for its work with women and is backed by women's safety campaign the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. But Warrington and other local authorities have raised concerns relating to the firm's lack of public liability insurance and criminal record checks - all necessary for licensed firms.

Warrington Borough Council called a crisis conference in the summer, and days later the Government added an amendment to the road safety bill to stop Pink Ladies, which the House of Lords passed last week.

Phil Barnes, Warrington's taxi licensing officer, said: "The Government announced it is standing firm with the amendment and the exemption will probably be regulated from the spring.

"There will probably be a honeymoon period of several months after that."

Phil Johnson, head of transport at Warrington Borough Council, said: "Our priority is public safety."

9:00am Thursday 16th November 2006

Indeed they are unique, they are the only firm that tries to make a safety virtue of running un-licensed.

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IDFIMH

Too true

CC

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

l talk about having a laugh the pink ladies are the biggest joke i've ever heard they say there all about making women feel safe .. how???????????? dose any one have a answer ?????????????? no badge,no licence,no C.R.B. in fact no nothing .HOW SAFE IS THAT.

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I D'ONT LIKE MONDAYS or tue;wed thu;fri;sat;NO HANG ON SUNDAYS ARE GOOD.it's PUB DAY ...................

Vodka night? Dont have to much, thought you shaved your legs on a sunday night!

no silly it's my head i shave not my legs but u must agree wot a joke they ara

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I D'ONT LIKE MONDAYS or tue;wed thu;fri;sat;NO HANG ON SUNDAYS ARE GOOD.it's PUB DAY ...................

From a female Licenced Cabbies point of view - I have to agree with the idea of female drivers only picking up female pax; but ONLY if fully licenced. I wouldn't be offended if a group of guys wanted a male driver for a stag night (I might ask why )

There have been so many incidents involving so called "cabs" that surely all you guys should be offering support to us ladies of the road who are willing to regain your reputations and willing to go and pick these girlies up. On such a shout I always explain to the passengers that all drivers are licenced, CRB checked etc, and that they can have "ring back" so that they know that that is their car; and that the operator will give them the name and call sign of the driver etc.

Give us some credit - the legal ones of us that is - of these type of call over 95% will accept a male driver the next time round!

I wonder if there are legal claims in the pipe line, don't know what it costs to be "pink ladies taxi" franchise

It has to be purely a money saving exercise combined with the fact that they cant get their drivers licenced.
Licenced drivers can earn a decant wage working the right hours. They pay about £5.50ph on days and £7.50 nights. The only people they can employ are the one's who cant get a licence, those who are licenced wouldnt work for the money they pay.

Lets say they have 6 cars working in Warrington, as an example. The unpaid mileage those cars must do to cover the town must be massive. The fact is if they were paying for the vehicles to be plated £300pa
Drivers badge £26pa
CRB £34
Then the insurance each vehicle £1200pa
Then with the drivers being licenced they'd have to pay more £80 a day
They simply couldnt operate like a normal PHV Company with so few cars.

They dont have the work to make it pay.

Did the change in law apply to Scotland ?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_around_the_world

No but a member had an e-mail from your lot saying it was in the pipe-line.

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IDFIMH

I am fascinated at the stated involvement of theSuzy Lamplugh Trust.

Surely after that organisationfoughtsohard to get Private Hire licenced in London they wouldn't support a company trying to find a loophole in the law.

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A member of the Hire or Reward Industry

I think it's a case of a well meaning organisation being mugged into supporting a not so well one.

I suspect they were told, by the pinkies, all the women only stuff, but not the un-licensed stuff.

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IDFIMH