Taxi Driver Online

But it can be construed as site policy when the administrators gang up on members who offer an alternative viewpoint, and there is evidence a plenty for that.

The policy of this site is dictated by the opinion of the administration, and the opinion of the administration of this site is to remove quantative restriction but impose quality restriction. This is to allow them to obtain a free plate, knowing full well that the majority of licensed drivers do not have the credit worthiness to obtain the finance required to purchase a vehicle of the quality demanded, therefore putting themselves in a position to further exploit the common working man.

And they do this in the name of fairness.

B. Lucky

There is a difference between a site policy, and the opinions of the site promoters. They are not the same thing. We are all free to have our say. That is surely the point?

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There is Significant Unmet Demand for my Opinion.

I think there's a bit of hair splitting going on over the use of the word 'policy'. Note that Mr Cummins didn't say that the site had policies (ie in relation to the trade), he just said that the site's editorial policy wasn't exactly neutral, he wasn't talking about substantive policies on trade issues.

As regards the site's stance, once again the newspaper/magazine analogy might be useful.

There are two main parts to the site - the frontpage and the forum. Clearly the pieces on the frontpage represents the site's opinions, but there are no formal policies as such, althought it doesn't take a huge leap of thinking to work out what some of them are, and if you read all the opinion pieces on the frontpage then you could just about work out TDO's policy, at least in broad terms, but there is no actually statment of policies or suchlike. But in newspaper terms the frontpage articles are the equivalent to the leaders or editorials.

The forum is different, and here anyone can make their views known, and clearly, except in the case of TDO and Alex, these views do not necessarily concur with the views of the frontpage and TDO generally, indeed in many cases they are diametrically opposite. In newspaper terms the forum is like a readers' letters page.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Maybe that's the case in the third of the country that restricts, but I very much doubt de-limitation is top of the list in London. COF review, pedicabs, touts, Red Ken, buses etc is what matter there.

Elsewhere I suspect driver and vehicle standards, fare reviews, driver's safety, bus lane access, trade involvement in local discussions, customer service etc matter more than number restrictions.

But in the third that restrict, they only have eyes for one thing, and that's the protection of the plate premium. Everything else goes out of the window.

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IDFIMH

So there is a differance between the admin of this site and the admin of TTF and T&PH then.

Your message is promoted on the homepage and argued within the forums, you may not consider it to be the policy of the site but that is exactly how it is considered.

Nothing wrong with that though TDO, I would say that the forums are as busy because of the apparent policy the site generally promotes.

B. Lucky

I think that what Alex meant was that there was no statement of policies or suchlike.

No one is denying that the site has opinions.

I think the problem is stemming from from slightly differing use of terminology.

Terms like opinion and policy can often be used almost interchangably, but the sense that CC used the term 'policy' in last night was clearly of a different kind.

The site clearly has a position, so let's just leave it at that

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Sorry Andy7 but I don't think thats the case, we are free to have our say within the forums however the administration recently stated that the forums were just a part of the site with their "main objective" being the homepage and subsequent "news" stories.
Within this part of the site we have no say, and as the admin consider the importance of "non forum" site activity to be greater than the "on forum" activity.

It is therefore safe to assume that the "policy" of this site is pro-derestriction, after all it was stated by a member of the admin that this was the case.

Again, I'm not saying that it shouldn't be or that it should, all I'm saying is that anyone doubting the objective of this site is nieve in the extreme.

B. Lucky

You have no say.

But you have just been able to say that you have no say. So do you have a say, or did I imagine you having a say?

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IDFIMH

Perhaps you should actually have a read of the OFT report and the DfT's response sometime.

In fact, if you'd read the reply I made to Charlie the Paperlad ( ) a couple of months ago you would have read:

The OFT said:

[Restrictions] impede those wanting to become taxi drivers from
doing so.

The Govt said:

The Government...considers that it is detrimental to to those seeking entry to a market (in this case would-be taxi license holders) if it restricted without justification that is apparent to all.

And also:

The Government considers that it is wrong in principle to restrict entry into a market and refuse a taxi license to those who can meet all the local requirements to hold such a license.

If that's not saying that drivers should be afforded equal opportunities, then I don't know what they would have to say!!

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Again thouroughly misquoted.

The full post should have been read properly as I achknowledged that we have a say within the forums but not within the other parts of the site to which the admin attatch more importance.

Now Sussex, please read my posts properly as I don't see why after every post I write, I need to correct a misquote from the sites ownership or administration.

B. Lucky

Why not write a document, quoting proper accurate references, promoting the benefits of taxi quotas. I'm quite sure that could be put on the frontpage of the site.

This offer, I believe, has been made to anyone. But apart from the lad in Edinburgh, hasn't been taken up.

Someone with less manners than me would say 'put up or shut up', but that would be unfair.

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IDFIMH

No-one has ever been refused entry to the trade if they meet all the local requirements to hold such a licence.

In response to your quote from the OFT I would ask what they consider to be a taxidriver, but we've covered this ground before and the weakness of your answer and the contradictions it contained proved that it had no substance.

B. Lucky

Remember the thread was started about what someone else wrote about the site then continued as you and your co-owner under your different names tried to state that the site had no policy.

I therefore suggest that it is you and your coleague who should follow the advice offered.

B. Lucky

Well I can't really disagree with the thrust of your post GA.

I think most of this thread arose from Cap's rather strict use of the term 'policy' late last night.

No one has ever denied that the site has an opinion/position/slant/viewpoint on matters.

You can construe these things as policies if you want.

But Cap clearly meant something slightly different in his use of the term 'policy' when he said the site didn't have any.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

I take that as a no then.

So you belly-ache about views, opinions, policies, not being able to say this that and the other, but when asked to put up, it's a case of .

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IDFIMH