Taxi Driver Online

If its gets to the Stage where the only Vehicle that we can use for PH or HC then I couldnt afford to run one..nor would my customers be able to afford the extra rise in fares to cover these extra costs. as it is I make a lean Living out of 2 working Vehicles..one fully Paid for the other with a modest finance on it. this pays approx 1.5 wages at basic rate(mines included). How in hells name could the likes of myself and several thousands like me survive if we had to finance £40,000, that would mean over say 5 years, monthly repayments of around £750 per month and add to that a Vehicle Depreciation of around £625 per month which totals Approx £1375 Per month..thats before Fuel, Licences, Insurances, maintainance, wages etc are added...In the end we would become a charity working for virtually nothing...all for the sake of taking a very expensive sledge hammer to crack 1 nut of the 1000 nuts we come across.

This is the kind of blind stupidity that is killing britain, this over regulation created by those that have a non job and have no brain putting the needs of the tiniest of minorities that really should be catered for more by the government or charity transportation than us in the mainstream that provide a perfectly good service to 99.99 percent of the people of britain..

If push comes to shove I like probably many others might just jack the job in and sign on the dole or I possibly go back to Minibuses that dont come under PH or HC rules..at least I can pick up a Minibus reasonably cheap. my point is though is why we should have to Cut off our noses to spite our faces and to deny the Vast majority a quality service all because some faceless grey beuarocrats tells us to.

This would affect the majority of borders owners myself included.
In fact there could be next to no taxis left in rural areas

But the ones that are left will make a fortune.

CC

Only in those areas that have insisted that owners have a WAV.
Dont forget CC there is still around 80% of the UK that only use saloons for taxis and PH

But the ones that are left will make a fortune.

CC

Not if the Council sets their Tarrifs they wont be...they'll just be worked til their B*llocks drop off....a huge Rise in fares wont wash in these austere times..or indeed even in good times.

I think anyone writing a balanced response to this document is going to have to square the position of both the Government and the disabled with the financial cost and practicalities of implementation which fall on the shoulders of individual taxi owners and drivers.

It should not be forgotten that the disability discrimination act is not going to go away and the Government are under pressure to act on its Transport accessibility. The taxi trade for their part have to limit the excess of cost and regulation so that they as providers have a working solution and environment that is favourtable to them.

I certainly won't be around when the affects of the Secretary of state's decision impacts on the National taxi trade, however even though for years some of us have been subject to the type of vehicle regulation that could very well impact on all, I am wondering if a fourth option could be found that is acceptible to the majority of the Taxi trade and the disabled?

We have been offered three options but are any of them acceptibale to the cab trade? It is going to be very difficult to obtain a consensus among the cab trade because the three options on offer will no doubt have their own individual supporters, that is not to say that a carefully worded fourth option might not find mass approval?

The sixteen thousand dollar question is which taxi trade organisations would be willing to try and compile a fourth option in the short time available to them and having compiled a new option would it be acceptible to the majority of the cab trade?

That's the dilemna the taxi trade finds itself in, if indeed there is a dilemna at all?

Regards

JD

If a disabled person is travelling by plane they make prior arrangements with the airline,
so to expect every taxi outside the terminal to be wheelchair accessible is over the top,
it would surely be easy for radio company to have access to a WAV provider and maybe even part of their condition of Licence
councils could even set up a phone line with access to registered WAV owners.

Except of course that every taxi outside the terminal isnt necessarily Wheelchair accessible.

CC

I did use the word expect