Taxi Driver Online

it has now been over a week since the renewal date expired,there was a lot of talk the introduction of the tax reference number would finnish the fly by nighters,i heard estimates of up to 300,guess what ,it didn,t happen,i perssonaly know 7 drivers who claimed they would not renew their badges,all 7 renewed them,4 claimed they have not been driving taxis the other 3 are unknown,i also know 2 drivers on benefits both renewed their badges,looks like it was just a council bluff sure the full time cabbys who haven,t been paying tax will be caught but the part timers/benefit claimers are going to be raking it in for at least another 3 years,there were some plates handed in but these were from genuine operators(tax ref number was requested last year)who can no longer make a living,this week has been one of the worse in history of dundee taxi buisness ,there were another 10 plates handed out at the council meeting on thursday,3 to one individual which wont help,if any of the ops who handed in their plate is reading this do yourself a favour ,get a good deal with another operator who is prepared to say you are not driving for him (there are plenty in dundee) go down sign on the dole,get your rent/mortgage paid your council tax paid plus a giro,then next time the badges are renewed just say i haven,t been driving a taxi,many cabbies have been getting away with it for years and the taxi trade is to stupid to work out how to deal with it so why not?

If there's one thing i hate ....it's defeatism.....please tell me you're a street-car and don't hand the harvesters fees !!!!!!!!

if i felt defeated i would have handed in my plate last fri,my point is nobody in the trade is tackling a problem which is draining the dwindling cash which is meant to be our earnings,incidently i hand handys £77 per week and every now and again they hand me a job,sometimes its even the right address

£23.00 in 3 hours=job fvcked

When are all sides gonna realise we need the town CLOSED !!

another 7 plates handed out last thurs, good on them ,most were drivers anyway,its been a good week in dundee,student grad last week and a blues festival this weekend, many happy cabbies faces were reported, back to usual tommorow though, there has been a massive drop in punters going out at night during the week , my regulars are saying they can only budget to go out every second weekend, there is a fare increase on the way maybe that will entice them out? incidently just learned last night (out on the drink(not like me) asked the bar person to phone a taxi ,a handys contract pub, a 203020 taxi appeared , i went back inside and asked why they phoned this company , the reply, we switched companys after the strike ,im not sure how long this pub has used handys (club bar ) but im sure it wont make any difference , go on dta ,(any dundee punters know how long the club bar/handys contract was?)ive only been at handys 12 years

Have you ever considered the hugely onerous task of ringing the cab for yourself?

_________________
IDFIMH

this pub has been a handys contract pub for as long as i could remember, this is why i put my trust in the barstaff making the call , ill know in future to phone handys myself,unless of course there is another strike then ill do as the public have done and call the dreaded number 2030etc

Had to laugh at 203020's latest recruitment advert, which said:

"Over 400+ Taxi Drivers, for whatever reason, failed to renew thier Taxi Badges by the end of May 2008, leaving the good citizens of Dudnee short of good reliable drivers."

That seems to conflict a bit with what you said, dundee wav - 400 seems quite a lot.

203020 will post any rubbish that they think will benefit them,the council quoted in the tele 1300 badge holders if 400 binned them we would all be run off our feet,believe me we are anything but run off our feet,i now know the name of one cabbie who didn,t renew his badge,only another 399 to go,203020 are struggling for drivers there fees are the highest in dundee£90 the next nearest £77,they also take 25%of all credit work(never understood that) the other offices take 0,most of their work is credit work council contracts etc,they also got a lot of dodgy drivers through their tests but this seems to have come to an end,there ws only 2 badges handed out at the 2 june meetings which is very low considering all the job loses in dundee,ive actually had a good week this week (5 shifts)and the fuell has only went up 1p,(could have been worse)t in the park next week though big drop in punters maybe ill employ one of those invisable drivers to make ends meet.

Been looking in at you Saddo's,why are you lot so obsessed with Davy Young and 203020,just one line which sums you up was "I pay HANDYS £77 PER WEEK AND OCCASIONALLY GET A JOB",should you not be telling them to bugger off, you would be better off on the street.

I checked with Dundee City Council and they informed that there were 407 drivers who failed to renew their badges.This information was given to me today go and check it out!!

Keep the entertainment coming!!!!

old hack you keep saying we should all work the streets rather than line the office owners pockets,how many of the 700 odd cabs work the streets ?40-60?if we all did it it would be mayem,i take it you got your badge renewal certified letter this week,if you read the last page you would have seen a warning about overranking on the main town rank,traffic wardens/police were mentioned,this begs the question where would we all sit?maybe davy young would let us use the compound for fat sams central as the club is not in use during the day,but wait a minute 203020 private hire cabs are already using it even when the club is not open ,ps how many drivers can you actually name who have binned their badges?

just came across this makes sense
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2008 ... etters.asp

Nigel Dotchin
Head of Disability and Equalities
Accessibility & Equalities Unit
Zone 2/23
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR

Tel: 020 7944 4912
Fax: 020 7944 6102
E-Mail: nigel.dotchin@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Web site: www.dft.gov.uk








Taxi Accessibility

I have received a number of enquiries about whether there is currently a Government target that all taxis in local authority areas should become wheelchair accessible over a 10 year period from 2010. This letter clarifies the position.

In 2003, the Government stated that it intended to set standards for wheelchair accessible taxis and to introduce regulations that would apply to mainly urban local authority areas (so-called 'Phase 1' authorities). As you may know, the regulation making powers relating to accessible vehicles are contained in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and do not apply to private hire vehicles.

Since then, however, the Department has received a number of representations making the case for a broader range of disabled people's needs to be met in any regulations, rather than restricting the requirements only to wheelchair users. We have been looking at how this could be achieved but it is a complex matter. As a result, regulations have not been made.

Ministers remain keen to make progress on taxi accessibility and therefore intend to develop a consultation package for summer 2008 to seek views on the way forward.

I hope that your authority will engage in this forthcoming consultation and I would welcome your comments at that time on the way that taxi accessibility might best be achieved. To help us develop the consultation package, we intend to set up a small informal stakeholder group, including representatives from the Institute of Licensing and the National Association of Licensing and Enforcement Officers, as well from the taxi trade and disability groups.

I have also enclosed a copy of the report by the ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport) Taxi Group, which contains information that you may find of interest. You will note that it advocates a mixed fleet of accessible taxis. This will certainly be one of the options on which we will be seeking your views during the consultation process.

In the meantime, accessible taxi policies remain a matter for individual local licensing authorities in line with previous guidance that has been issued by the Department.

I should be grateful if you would pass the second copy of this letter to the Council’s Taxi Licensing Officer.

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

its the point about unfairness that interests me,everybody knows the costs
£20000 wav £10000 saloon but the mention of a license difference makes a lot of sense,£2000 for a saloon and £200 for a wav and the choice would still be with the op ,no comeback with the all wave rule either,the lettter writer even gives his name

Why should I pay more for a licence than a WAV,I have been in the trade for over 26 years had my Hackney Plate for 19 years, you guy's come in knowing that it's a WAV and start screaming about fairness.

As for the silly question of how many people do I know who did not renew,all I will say is get a life you sad WAV,go and check it out as I did.