Taxi Driver Online

captain cab wrote:
Quote:
Taxis and private hire

The fly in the ointment for the taxi plate cartels is that although they have a monopoly over hirings in the rank and hail markets, access to the pre-booked market is unrestricted, thus to the extent that taxis service that market the cartel is undermined by the encroachment of private hire.


I disagree with the use of the word cartel and use of the word monopoly, as previously stated hackneys are licensed by the LA to carry out the tasks as stated, they are not responsible for numbers of licenses.

If there is an encroachment of private hire then surely it is the job of enforcement to cease the problem.


Have you ever heard the phrase 'statutory monopoly' for example?

As regards your latter point, the encroachement point was clearly relating to the pre-booked market, not illegal plying by PH.

Isnt this what the HC trade have been saying? Better management of vehicles.

okay, so self employed PH drivers have more rights?

With regards to people owning HC's and PHV's, I do, so whats the problem you have with me? These others are the same, they're trying to run a business and provide a service.

captain cab wrote:
okay, so self employed PH drivers have more rights?

They have the right to work when and where they please. HC journeymen are told when they must work.

Of course the [edited by admin] PH firm in Essex is slightly different, there they tell the lads to pick up the scum that no-one else will, or they will go home pot-less.

Are you saying that unmet demand tests are a good thing or a bad thing then?

captain cab wrote:
With regards to people owning HC's and PHV's, I do, so whats the problem you have with me? These others are the same, they're trying to run a business and provide a service.

There's nothing wrong with that, but you are in a different position. In the examples, the operators were/are fighting to keep taxi quotas (to protect their own HC plate values), whilst taking on plenty of PH because they can't cope with the work.

As M&R says, say you are in an area were PH don't have a knowledge, thus all new plates will be issued to HC drivers. If a survey says issue 50 plates, those plates will go to 50 lads already working in the trade. So how does that meet the new demand?

Say London restricted. They then had a survey which says you need 500 more cabs, where are they going to come from, or better still, where are those drivers going to come from?

Myself, I'm saying they are a pointless thing. They are flawed from top to bottom.

If you had the highest SUD number, which means loads more plates, the surveys only say you should issue a % of what you have.

So if you have 50 taxis in a manor, the most extra cabs a survey would state was needed is 50, yet you may need hundreds to meet the demand.

But London aint restricted

I'm not a particular fan of surveys myself, but if thats the only way licenses are going to be issued, then perhaps its a case of better the devil you know.

Regarding the format of the survey, perhaps input should be given by all parties as to what people actually want from it.

Isnt this what the HC trade have been saying? Better management of vehicles.

Are you saying that unmet demand tests are a good thing or a bad thing then?