Cabbies at War
EUROFILE WITH CHOI TUCK WO
Sunday June 28, 2009
The battle for customers has pitted London cab drivers against mini-cab drivers in showdowns said to be the worst in almost half a century.
As unbelievable as it seems, 21st century London is grappling with what appears to be a turf war between the city’s iconic black cabs and mini-cabs.
It’s almost like a throwback to the clashes of the 1960s; the long-time rivals are accusing each other of blatantly stealing passengers in an increasingly hostile environment.
“The anarchy on the streets continues,” declares Richard Massett, an executive with the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (Ltda) responsible for about 25,000 black cabs in the city.
The battle for customers has brought them to a face-off with some 70,000 mini-cabs, a showdown described to be the worst in almost 50 years.
The simmering tension has erupted into an open fight in the city’s streets, bearing an uncanny comparison with Malaysia’s teksi sapu (pirate taxis) vs licensed taxi wars.
Although their dispute has been a longstanding one, the economic downturn has certainly brought matters to a head.
With the recession biting deeper, a cab ride is obviously a luxury which most city folk can do without. And that’s when the old wounds opened up.
As the pie gets smaller, the scenario of too many taxi drivers chasing a dwindling number of passengers can only spell trouble.
While black cab drivers can pick up passengers from the streets, mini-cabs are only allowed to respond to telephone bookings.
Although both groups are licensed, mini-cab drivers inevitably become “illegal” if they take passengers randomly without pre-bookings.
Undercover film
And that’s what has irked black cab drivers: poor business has driven their traditional foes to wait for passengers outside nightspots and restaurants in London’s West End.
What started out as a resourceful means to pinch fares has turned into a nightmare as mini-cab touts, also known as Clipboard Johnnies, started to stand outside nightspots to solicit customers.
That was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back.
In retaliation, cab drivers started ranking up in large numbers, using radio networks to summon colleagues to form “impromptu” ranks outside the nightspots.
It wasn’t long before things turned nasty. Tempers flared and in at least one incident, a cab driver was attacked and his car rammed by another vehicle.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association also hit back, producing an undercover film exposing the illegal touting, resulting in a number of arrests and several mini-cab licences revoked.
Malaysian black cab driver David Chan insisted he and his colleagues had no quarrel with mini-cab drivers if they had stuck to telephone bookings instead of encroaching into their territory for passengers.
“The problem is quite serious. But it’s been going on for years, dating back to the 60s when mini-cabs were first introduced,” said the 49-year-old from Segamat, Johor.
Chan said the latest incidents of taxi drivers clashing with mini-cab touts trying to divert customers away from black cabs outside the city’s nightspots, were aggravated by the economic crisis.
He said some mini-cab drivers had abused their licensing regulations by picking up customers when they could only take telephone bookings from their base.
“I’ve heard that some doormen and touts are paid between £5 (RM26.50) and £10 (RM53) for every customer,” he added.
Recessionary tactics
Like many cab drivers, Chan works up to 14 hours a day to make up for the business shortfall caused by the recession.
Putting in the extra hours invariably means covering more areas, resulting in overlapping claims by the traditional foes.
But while mini-cab fares may be cheaper, especially when going to Heathrow Airport, they may not be as popular as black cabs within central London.
Given a choice, most Londoners would rather take black cabs, deemed to be safer, cleaner and more reliable.
And the drivers’ encyclopaedic memorising of the city’s streets, mews and lanes as well as every pub, bar and restaurant gives them a psychological edge over their rivals.
While the majority of cab drivers are Britons, most mini-cab operators are foreigners who hardly speak English, let alone know the city like the back of their hands.
Call it recessionary tactics or whatever, the taxi war seems to have brought mounting tension to the city’s streets. And taking matters into their own hands isn’t going to resolve the issue.
It’s thus heartening that the authorities have finally issued a stern warning to mini-cab operators to abide by their conditions or risk fines and revocation of their licences.
Choi Tuck Wo is Editor, European Union Bureau, based in London
Source; Malaysia Star - Malaysia; the star online
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