Taxi Driver Online

It's down to the fact that it's harder to get a hackney plate (cost of wav plus hoops, knowledge etc etc) than it is private hire (10 year old pile of junk).....bloody good job it is as well!! Still doesn't stop them from illegally plying for hire though, just plain and simple times are hard so desperate people do desperate things!! So maybe you can understand the animosity....

Perhaps you should be asking for similar standards for both sides of the trade as they are here. The only difference between PH & HC here is the vehicle they drive the rest of it is the same

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

Once upon a time all one could get was a Hackney license so it was tightly regulated, limited and a "professional" trade....
Then the "cowboys" just crowded in and operated illegally, thus was born "private hire"
Councils and the law all over the land were powerless to do anything to stop them so councils/authorities just licensed them as it was the only way out of a bad situation, so it became easier to extract revenue and legalise the trade.....
Is it no wonder that London cabbies hate the words "private hire". or "minicab"
So it's just the same here and everywhere else....
No offence, it's just the way it was and will probably stay.....
Standards improve, but the real problem never goes away
I dare say that the private hire industry is now bigger than the Hackney trade which will most likely become a dying profession so look out!! Equalities act here it comes!! Start saving up for a wav.....

Are you suggesting that just because it was regulated that made it professional IMO the only thing that encourages professional behaviour is competition. Having exclusive right to trade your wares does not make for excellent service it tends to lead to a 'like it or lump it' mentality. As I said before perhaps you should be requiring higher standards from both sides of the trade not just for the vehicles but for the drivers too

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

here anything can be plated Hackney so they come in their droves from other areas where they are struggling to earn enough PH the trouble is all these people coming into the trade are mostly recent immigrants all with few skills and we have about 100000 a year coming into the UK and a few unscrupulous taxi firms are signing them all up and once they have started in the trade and are struggling to make a living they then look elsewhere to see where there might be a better living I regularly get PH drivers from Peterborough phoning me up asking me how much can they realistically earn in Stamford but they don't take my word for it they take the word of muslim taxi proprietors who are looking to amass loads of board rent result an ever increasing number of taxis

You will always get the like it or lump it attitude from a small core.... even from the private hire industry. Competition is fine so long as it's fair which it never is..... Over saturation is what's causing the problems of today.... mainly through unchecked immigration policies bourne by present and past governments. Ironic as that may seem it's true. Most of the drivers here are of ethnic minority and are complaining that they don't have enough work. Now they know that we weren't being racist but just telling the truth. These ethnic minority drivers, which are now in the majority, are now complaining about the eurasians and slavs now invading the trade.....
That is the real truth but no one is prepared to speak up about it.....
The Private hire industry became professional by default through the back door so to speak, so has never been accepted by Hackney die hards..... That's life, but true....

Oh well suppose you should just be thankful for small mercies then and be glad that there are only 218 PH

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

I'm just glad that I am only 8 years away from taking retirement.... I've paid off the mortgage, done up the house as we want it, stuffing as much into private pensions as I can afford and hope the return will be better when I do eventually go...... By that time maybe common sense will prevail and the trade stabilizes but I doubt it..... it's been downhill since 1995 and I don't think it's reached rock bottom yet..... I would imagine the streets will be clogged with Wavs driven completely by illegal immigrants