Taxi Driver Online

An interesting stat on the local rags website is that currently 85% of those voting think the signs are a good thing.

Now we all now votes can be rigged, but it could also mean the council have failed miserably the public they are meant to protect.

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IDFIMH

Several drivers here in Plymouth have


THE DRIVER OF THIS CAB IS AN ENGLISHMAN


This is a statement of fact and can't be construed as racialist. You can be Black, White, Brown or a funny shade of Green with blue Polka Dots and still be an Englishman.

Personally I object to the use of the Cross of St George being used in this way, I also object to St Andrews Saltire, the Welsh Dragon or the Irish Tricolour being displayed, unfortunately all these flags can be misconstrued (rightly or wrongly) as being used for racialist purposes.

At my last renewal I was asked to complete an "Ethnicity Questionaire". I refused and insisted that nobody complete it on my behalf.

After all, as I am a funny shade of Green with blue Polka Dots, everyone can tell where I am from.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

It's obvious what's going on. People who don't speak English are being given a license

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

At the end of the day or the beginning if you like, these gentlemen should be commended for their business acumen. This is not racist but someone who is trying to increase their market share............they cannot be making a false claim as it is there for all to see, and there is nothing to stop anyone with a dark skin making the same claim...........if it is true.

As far as I can see it is purely a business decision and the PC brigade should get stuffed.



I would like to, but I would get done for false whatever..............cos I cant,BUT I am an English speaking taxi driver,Oh sh!t cant say that either

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Ooh, John......

There's a whole new twist on this:

How would you feel if one of your colleagues in Cardiff displayed the Welsh national flag with the legend 'Welsh speaking driver'?

How would you express your feelings? Would you expect to express them anonymously through your welsh-speaking union rep? Would you write directly to your local rag?

In all of these questions, I am of course assuming your passionate desire to become a fully integrated welsh-speaking member of your national society!

This really complicates the argument!

Steve it would not bother me one way or the other,in many respects as I have already said it is business acumen! The drivers are trying to steal the march on others.........purely business.

What we have is the PC brigade jumping on anything and everything and as you are well aware the population is right p!ssed off about it.

I was on holiday in Bulgaria in 1981 and one chap I came across who was like someone out of a Wild West film i.e unshaven,sat in his vest and trousers with braces on the outside and he looked a real mess. I asked him in pidgin English (why do we do that) if he spoke English? he pulled his braces to one side and pointed to seven different national flags! yes he spoke seven different languages Sooo do we say that this man should take the flags off that demonstrate his language skills, or do we let him help someone of any given nationality including his own.

The other side of the coin is the local LA in a tizz because some may have got through the net and cannot speak English ! I have personally come across it as a fare paying passenger some years ago (non English speaking driver) before I came into this, and it does need sorting out by the LAZY LAs who have allowed this to happen.

P.S read the comments in todays online "DailyMail", as I said people are right p!ssed off.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

We get people phoning up ASKING for English drivers only...... Just like they ask for Non FX or Mover

Do we refuse them coz they are being racist or do we send an English speaking driver coz that what the customer wants?

I think you all know the answer

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Life? Don't talk to me about life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjm2eslm6hI

I think according to the law you have to refuse.

CC

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

Taxi drivers in Southampton have been warned they could be suspended if they do not remove St George flags from their cars saying they speak English.

Some drivers said they had put up the stickers after passengers complained others could not speak the language.

They said they were not being deliberately racist, but members of the public and ethnic minority drivers have complained to the city council.

All city taxi drivers must pass a communications test to gain a licence.

A city council spokesman said: "Regardless of them being St George flags, if drivers want any signs in their cabs, they have to apply to the council.

"We would turn down most applications for signs, unless it was a phone number for the taxi."

He added it was "very unlikely" that the council's powers to suspend the licences would be used, because the drivers were expected to comply.

Council officers have been out to speak with the drivers and one has already voluntarily removed the sticker from his cab.

The matter came to a head last week when some taxi drivers complained to the city council about the stickers in a meeting.

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

Radio Two did a piece on the Jeremy Vine Show today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... 3_02_2010/

Starts at 1.37.10.

Seems to me the council are in denial.

Looking at the local rags' website the comment confirm that there is a problem, and the mere fact that the radio cab firm does their own knowledge test after the driver passes the council version speaks volumes.

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IDFIMH

Its moving on a bit....


Taxi driver vows to defy English sticker ban



A DEFIANT Southampton cabbie last night vowed to defy a council ban on “racist” window stickers.

Father-of-two Darren Busby is thought to have been one of the first drivers in the city to display a sticker in his car stating he is an “English speaking driver” two years ago. Now he says he has no intention of taking it down.

Council bosses last night said drivers displaying any sticker or signs had seven days to remove them or they would have their licence suspended.

But Darren called the ban “farcical” and said he would continue to display his sticker.

He said: “The sticker will stay in my car until the council can come up with a good enough reason for me to take it out.”

The 40-year-old from Bitterne Park added: “I originally printed out a flyer to put in my car saying ‘English driver’ two years ago and I have displayed one ever since.

“The reason I did it was because there were customers looking up and down lines of taxis looking for drivers who were not of ethnic minority origin.

“I hear horror stories every single night of customers who have been ripped off, taken the long route to their destinations, and in some cases been dropped off in the middle of nowhere because their drivers didn’t know where they were going.”

Taxi trade representatives, councillors and anti-racism groups, have branded the stickers racist and said they had upset some of their ethnic minority members.

But Darren, a cabbie for nine years, insisted displaying the stickers was not racist but instead “sent a message”

to customers that drivers would provide a good service.

He said: “It is not about race relations at all, it’s about providing a good service to customers.

“There are some really good drivers in Southampton who are from an Asian or other foreign backgrounds.

“Unfortunately there are also some that are letting everyone down and giving taxi drivers a bad name.”

source: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/distric ... icker_ban/

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

liked the quote from a listener "the ability to speak english is nothing to do with the race of the speaker, and therefore it can't be racist" A possible defence if action raised under race relations legislation?

If the council have a no stickers policy, what can the drivers do other than comply?

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My heart is heavy, but my consience clear,
I voted Yes, without any fear.

Appeal to the courts should the vehicle be suspended.

I understand what the driver is on about, but I think him and his colleagues have made their points, and it's time to put pressure on the council to do something about the situation themselves.

Maybe say they will give the council six months to sort it all out, or the posters will reappear.

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IDFIMH

I lived in wales for 4 years

HMRC sent out 100,000 bi-lingual tax returns

4 came back in welsh

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most