Taxi Driver Online

I have said before I have no problem with licences being issued, I have a problem with oversupply. in Sefton we now have a survey each year, and if more plates are needed they will be issued.

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

The thing that makes me laugh is that we have regular trade meetings, and the view of all sections of the trade are expressed, private hire companies.. hackney owners, hackney drivers, the biggest difficulty is getting private hire drivers to take part,
The part that I find funniest of all is that I have spent a great deal of time organising the drivers Associations and pushing them to have a voice.

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

Hasn't a new national drivers organisation recently been created?

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

my understanding is that it is the only National Association with 10 members or so, made up of some Liverpool drivers and some from Preston

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

The reverse is also true. There is little point in debating this with someone who has little to gain and much to lose from change.
You are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

In your view... but that doesn't really matter.

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

Limit the amount of drivers and you won't have an oversupply.
It can be done by having strict quality control of applicants.
Set the standard as high as necessary so that only the best get through.
One driver passes = one more driver on the road.



Issued to whom? Drivers? People who already have plates? Individuals who only intend to make a quick buck selling them on? There is no control of this, is there?
One plate issued = 2 or 3 more drivers on the road.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

As always, you put it far better than me.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Taxi drivers to disrupt rush hour with protest


A rush hour protest march by angry taxi drivers is expected to disrupt traffic in Dublin.

The drivers will march through the city centre on Monday to demand a halt to the issuing of new taxi licences, because they claim there is not enough work.

More than 1,000 drivers may join the march from Parnell Square to the Taxi Regulator's office in Fitzwilliam Square, said march organiser Jim Waldron.

The march will begin at 8.30am and will take a route past the Department of Transport offices in Kildare Street, where it will pause while a letter outlining the drivers' grievances will be handed in for Transport Minister Noel Dempsey.


Frustrations

Mr Waldron, who holds no post in any of the four unions for taxi drivers, said the march plan came about from the frustrations of ordinary taxi drivers who are finding it more and more difficult to earn a living in an over-crowded profession.

Speaking to the Herald, he said he had received indications that the taxi unions approved of the march and that he expected a wide section of the taxi industry to take part in the march.

He said taxi drivers wanted a moratorium or ban on the issuing of licences in Dublin for the next three years. The over-supply of taxis in Dublin has meant a driver could typically work for 12 hours to earn just €95, which was less than the minimum wage even before the price of fuel, insurance, and car costs were taken into account.

Drivers with families and mortgages to pay were finding it more and more difficult to get by, he said.


Accessible

He acknowledged that the Regulator Kathleen Doyle had a valid point that there still are not enough wheelchair accessible taxis in Dublin, but an incentive could be offered to existing drivers to convert to wheelchair friendly vehicles.

He said a decade ago there were 2,700 taxis in Ireland, but now there are 26,000 taxis since the sector was de-regulated. Dublin city alone has 16,000 taxis, which he said was far too many.

He said many new taxi drivers were availing of incentives from the Department of Social Welfare to become taxi drivers at a time when taxi-driving as a career was no longer sustainable.

He said gardai had informed him that the Western Way near the 'Black Church' on the northside and Merrion Square South on the southside will be closed on Monday to become a parking area for taxi vehicles.

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

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

I don't believe it is right that plates can be sold or passed on to anybody under any circumstances. The plate for a taxi should always belong to the LA that issued it. There should never be the opportunity to make money in this way. If a cab is to be sold the plate should be returned to the LA before it is, but that's only my opinion. I don't understand why they can't have both quality and quantity controls. The system for regulating or not regulating taxi numbers should be a little more flexible. If it is felt there are enough taxis on the roads in any particular area then they can close the book so to speak and then open it again when they have reason to believe there needs to be more taxis on the road for one reason or another. People come and go in this trade all the time so the numbers would fluctuate accordingly

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Half the Trouble is that Councils are lazy..rather than create a Simple controlled system of Limited or regulated plates, plates that are owned by the council and non transferrable, the either Regulate and let market forces dictate who has enough money to buy the plates..its wrong in my book but thats one of their lazy and eazy options.

the Other Lazy way is to deregulate and give everone that wants a plate a plate, again no effort on their behalf just paperwork whick is covered by the plate price.

The Logical way would be to Regulate, limit or cap Licences/plates but let these plates be kept the in the sole ownership of the council and then no transfer value can be gleaned from them, they then give any prospective applicant a fair chance of owning an affordable plate, each plate awarded on its own merit...the size of Company should have no bearing on whether a plate is offered but possibly on a points based system and time on a waiting list, possibly an allocation % Split of Licences based on operational size such which would see the small independant being given similar rights to a Vacant/surrendered plate as a Large established operator. It should still be possible for a hereditary plate to be passed from family member to family member but not possible for a plate to be passed from one Business to another for cash. it should be possible though if a complete Taxi business was sold as a going concern that the plates could be transferred along with it but at no Extra cost other than the basic plate cost. any Unused plates from a large business sale should be handed straight back to the councils or the council should simply cancel them.

Its not 100% percent fare but it least it Regulates a business and allows first time Genuinely interested partys to gain a foot on the ladder where as before only the very well off or the financially endowed Big boys could afford their way in to buy any plate going spare.

What do you expect when they allow any Tom, Mick or Paddy to have a driver's badge and then allow any of them to have a plate as well?
They now anyone who wants to be a taxi driver can be. It doesn't matter if they don't know where they're going or can't speak the language.
Decent entry standards for drivers would have controlled this.
The market is already massively oversubscribed and as the credit crunch/ recession deepens, it is going to get worse.

The Irish haven't just lost control, they've lost the plot.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I don't agree. A plate is merely a method for ensuring that a cab meets legal requirements and should be used purely for that purpose. Companies should have to queue like anybody else for a plate if they are restricted. If more plates are to be issued individuals should be given priority over companies providing they meet the quality standards required by councils.

I don't suppose you agree that the Lords titles should be hereditary do you

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Firstly......... everyone has a right to their opinion and it is nice to see those opinions expressed in a civilised way, ...... the people that put arguments forward which are intended to ignite the jealousy and resentment in certain people in this trade hold no water whatsoever with me.
Secondly........ the vast majority of Hackney licences are owned and operated by owner drivers who may or may not have another driver working his cab.
Thirdly...... what the answer is I do not know..... but I do know what is wrong, to devalue the worth of these Taxi drivers' is wrong...
In Sefton we have 271 hackney licences and 2500 private hire..... it is conceivable that if we had stayed delimited we could have 2800 Hackney's all working for private hire companies, now I think toots will understand the consequences of this, it means that drivers would have no alternative, total control would lie with the owners of the private hire company. because there is no possible way a Hackney driver could earn a living from just working ranks and road.
The trade in Sefton have worked together (owners and drivers) to keep the hackney trade separate, we have one 180 rank spaces and will continue to create more and discard ranks that have become obsolete, when a new rank is created it means that drivers have to work that Rank even though there might be no work, it takes time to make that into a working rank, the work does not suddenly appear as if by magic as many people seem to think.
now when drivers do this year after year I believe they have a worth and that they are quite entitled to receive a payment for what they have created

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