Taxi Driver Online

In your rush to attack me and my post MrA, you seem to have overlooked my question, feel free to answer it once you've taken a deep breath.

Was'nt it busy tonight?

So now we are in possession of the PCO and Westminster council replies, we can safely say this is yet another load of old tosh which has been sensationalised by yourself in a further bid to keep the your hate campaign against the LTDA going.










Of course it's all a big conspiracy against you is'nt it MrA?

MI5, The Police, Minicabs, Smart Cars and Bob Oddie are to blame for everything.

GBC whilst you make some valid points you seem to intersperse them with vitriolic attacks on Thomasthetaxi! Is thre any need to be so demeaning to a fellow cabbie ?

It is possible to have a different view other to your own and for it to be equally valid. I for one think this isn't just an overreaction, i'm pretty sure that once this is fully operational we will see guys in hi-vis jackets walking around Leicester Square with their faithful clipboards approaching people to direct them to the "booth" to get their personal marshall to escort them to their waiting car, now lets put this same scenario over to Convent Garden, then perhaps in and around Berkeley Square etc etc before too long we are going to see a fair amount of our work diminishing......

ok perhaps a tad reactionary but generally once something like this is allowed to get a foothold it isn't too long before it's exploited by some companies; a simple demonstration of that is the return of PH signage on the rear window: a company is allowed signage that covers no more than 33% of the rear window yet look at any Addison Lee van and you will see that its covers nearer 50% of the rear window, as i say it's a trivial matter but an expoitation of the law none the less.

I work nights, i work past 3am and to be honest i can see why many drivers don't want to do it but that is their choice as it's yours. I also have no problem with fair competition and understand that the PH drivers need to park somewhere but as someone rightly pointed out private hire is just that; you ring them up make an agreement and the driver comes to your door, a private agreement between an individual and a company, why you can't see that this is tantamount to this company being able to practically ply for hire is beyond me to be honest.

Out of interest have you ever taken part in any of the demonstrations that have been organised or are you one of the drivers that enjoy reaping the benefits whilst your fellow drivers stand up for your future ? You may not have many years until you decide to leave this trade but there are many like me who have a good 30 years of work left in us who care passionately about the future and refuse to bury our heads in the sand because we are "still taking our money", stop going on about how busy it is on any particular night, you're not impressing anybody with all the boasting and in fairness i'm working the same streets as you are and i'm seeing a very different London to the one you seem to work in.

I wish you well and hope we can keep some mutual respect between us and our differing opinions.

You mean I give back what Mr A gives out? I'd call that fair game from where I stand.

He's a sensationalist, he's praying on the less intelligent who can't make up they're own opinions, and he's obsessed with attacking the LTDA, yet does nothing apart from invent stories on a blog page out of nothings invented by the actor from SE1.



That may well happen, but at the moment we have no evidence of this. Besides, how does this differ from any other Minicab operation in central London?

They have an office, they take a booking, they have a car waiting.

In this case the office is a booth, the booking is made by a controller, and the cars are nearby, in this case in an unused Bus Stop 100 yards from the office.

That’s the facts Mr ACabbie, whether I, you or anyone else doesn’t like them is irrelevant, as long as they comply with the law they'll stay put.



Agreed, however these types of marshalled schemes have been operating in the suburbs of Croydon and Kingston without incident for a few years.

I think the main bone of contention with yourself and some others is that this one is in Leicester Square, traditionaly regarded as our heartlands.
That’s life, we don't have a given right to the work, we have a right to ply for hire and the punters have a right to choose their chosen means of getting home.
Leicester Square is no different to Brixton High Street, the little people have had offices in W1 since Welbeck was the new word on the block.

The advertising nearly came back as door adverts, bonnet adverts and a rear wrap, it was only through representation from the LTDA and the LCDC that it was limited to what we see today.



I'll go back to the previous question, how does this situation differ from any of the 3000 licensed Minicab Offices that operate in London?

Think about it, take away the 'secure escort', and what are you left with?

I've never suggested the company won't try it on with clipboard men, but its being monitored by the council, the Police and TFL, even if you have no faith in any of these bodies, I'm prepared to let them monitor it in the knowledge they know what the rules are.



Yes thank you, and you?

Please don't allude to personal insults, it does your post no favours. If you have some hard facts about me, feel free to post them.




You have no idea 'how long' I will be staying in the Taxi trade, it could be two weeks it could be 47 years.

I'm not sure how celebrating a busy night is boasting, I'll do everything in my power to encourage new entrants into the trade, I'd also support a compulsory retirement age to get rid of all the dead wood who sit in cafes moaning and turning down anything that doesn’t suit them, in fact doing anything but getting their butts out of the door and doing some work.

The 'Games dead' drivers will always outed by me, Londons busy and I will never shy away from that, some London drivers on here need to spend a night sitting at Newcastle Station or a rank in the middle of Hitchin to appreciate what quiet is.

My London is the same as yours, I guess it’s partly down to being a cabbie or being a cabbie.

I'm not out to impress anyone, its a free and open forum, if you don't like what I scribe, never mind, last time I looked membership of TDO didn't involve everyone agreeing with each other?




Quite.

leave me out of it please...

I must have come into town too late (3.30am), drove round the west end for half hour EMPTY, nothing but shiny lit hire lights and droves of mini cabs mooching around.

In the end decided to try the grosvenor casino in harrowby str, was, i kid you not the NINTH cab from point (rank holds 3 at a push).

So i'm struggling to see where all this "work" Mr GBC keeps on telling us all about

Well I did'nt give myself the money last night.

I think it depends on what individuals consider a good night.

£350 mights be a poor night to some, £100 might be great for others.

To start at 3.30am would never be a shift that would appeal to me, things are starting to quieten off by then, but thats the great thing about being self employed you start when you want and finish up when you want.

As i've said before, I try to take in the evening rush hours, and work through until the small hours on the most anti social nights of the week.

Tonight being an exception.

GBC I HAVE NEVER IN 24 YEARS OF DRIVING A CAB ,KNOWN A CAB DRIVER,WHO IS SO CONCEREND ABOUT HOW OR WHY THE MINISCABS ARE ALLOWED TO OPERATE.
IF NEED BE LET THEM PARK IN THE NEXT COUNTY,WHO GIVES A [edited by admin] APART FROM YOU.
I BET YOU MUST BE THE ONLY CAB DRIVER IN LONDON THAT DRIVES ROUND LEICESTER SQUARE AT 2.00A.M. AND THINKS TO THEM SELVES.THE MINICABS ARE RANKING AND WAITNG,AT THE BUS STOP FOR CLIPBOARD JOHNNY TO BRING THEM THEIR JOBS.
AT LEAST THE GUYS AT CHARING CROSS ARE OUR OWN.

Hi Guys, just tried to catch up all of this thread so apologies if I repeat something someone else has said.

Firstly I am a day worker but do arrive in the city/west end at 5am during the week and 4am on a Saturday so see the very end of what goes on. Also until four years ago I worked nights for twelve years.

I detest the "Licensed" touts (ie us) that hang it up at Charing X, and Liverpool St, doing the Brentwoods for £50 but directing the Wappings to the rank over there, this was one of the reasons I gave up nights. The quicker TOCU nick these guys and remove their licenses/badges the better.

I am no "private hire" fan, but we all know if we are at Leicester Sq at say 1am and get a West Kensington, with the traffic it will take approx 20 - 30 mins to get there, and if they have to come back empty to their new rank it will take probably another 20-25 mins. Will it be financially worth it for these guys to pay their fees to do this work, just looking at it outside the box. With a fair size number of cars it may not pay them to do it.

If TOCU do clamp down on the touts, we may find "we" as a trade may be able to reclaim the work. I have said for a number of years I would like to see Orange Street made into a rolling rank from 11pm to 4am, a marshall on site, 50p from each driver per job to pay for it. With the head of the rank at the corner of Leicester Sq, this could work.

Any thoughts ??

Good post paulhornchurch.
Minicab drivers arn't perfect, but niether are taxi driver's.

What the taxi drivers AND the minicab drivers need to do is put pressure on TOCU to arrest more touts and for the courts to punish them more.

However, MOST of the minicab drivers I have had experience off are two bob muppets who tout.

_________________
stressed controller!!!

plenty of room to rank here.



http://www.londonnet.co.uk/listings/tax ... sinbarnes/

A Trojan Horse

http://www.thelondondailynews.com/trojan-horse-p-1875.html
by John Kennedy.

Yes even after the press releases from Westminster City Council and Transport for London I and many other taxi-cab drivers believe that the operation sanctioned under a traffic management order back in May this year but never consulted on constituents a "mini-cab rank" . You may wonder why I would say this after the strong denials by Westminster City council and TfL/PCO, well it is simple really mini-cabs can pick up and set down pre booked passengers on yellow and red routes and therefore their is no need or requirement to provide "rank space" upon the public highway for this company or any other mini-cab firm.

A recent trend is emerging in London outside various nightclubs and bars where local councils, the PCO, the Metropolitan and City Police forces ignore the illegal mini-cab ranks which form directly outside venues with scant regard for the law. Westminster City council state they wish to make travelling home after a night out safer, this statement must be praised when taken in isolation. However the reality is very different with mini-cabs parking illegally throughout the West End. Take the example of the Haymarket bombers the vehicle parked outside the club Tiger Tiger was ignored because mini-cab touts regularly "rank up" outside yet the second vehicle parked away from the club was towed away to a car pound.

If Westminster City Council are so keen on helping people travel home safely at night I would like to advise them maybe they would be taken more seriously if they removed or at the very least ticketed all the illegally parked vehicles in Charing Cross road Soho district which just happen to block legitmate taxi-cab ranks and creating large amounts of congestion within the area late at night. I must stress I have no issue with competition from the private hire trade but the job of the mini-cab is to do pre booked work only on a private hiring basis and Westminster City Council should be working with the London taxi trade who have the right to "ply for hire" unlike other modes of transport.

The Public Carriage Office which is part of Transport for London need to seriously look at their interpretation of what a Private Hire/Mini-cab office should be. We have a ticket kiosk in Leicester Square that overnight gains permission to become a mini-cab office without due consideration of parking implications in a already congested part of London or did the PCO work with Westminster City Council on the creation of this "mini-cab rank" in Whitcomb Street ? I feel the chill wind of the freedom of information act may be required here.

This "mini-cab rank" is in fact a Trojan Horse and will be used by other councils to form "ranks" and once this practise spreads those in authority will be unable to act because they can't deal with the present problems we face other than to write a letter pointing out the obvious and insulting all the hardworking taxi-cab drivers at the same time. I would urge the whole board of Transport for London to give these matters due consideration and make a decision on the interpretation of what a private hire/mini-cab office should be, I call upon the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to request the closure of the "mini-cab rank" in Whitcomb Street for the sake of the very future of London's taxi-cab driver and associated businesses.

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

Great post, try Peter and Jane for a few weeks and see if you can improve on it.

So you made it across to TDO from the now defunct Black Cab suicide forum?

At least I know your a genuine London driver who only posts under one username, and you speak the truth that some don't like to read.

Keep up the posts.

I find it very amusing that theres been a 'Mini Cab Rank' (not my words) outside a nightclub in Smithfield for over 3 years which is serviced by about 30 cars.

Theres another two in Kingston and Croydon.

This Minicab operation in Whitcomb Street had about 6 cars available at 2am last night, yet suddenly its a threat to the world and 25'000 taxis?

Be better if some more of these 25'000 drivers were working last night instead of playing at being victims.