Taxi Driver Online

Hmmmm, does Mr Griffin know why it's called a BUS LANE?


Yes that's right because it's for buses to avoid being queued up in traffic, nowhere does it call it a PRIVATE HIRE LANE, and the reason his cars aren't welcomed to use them is because his cars would congest it and negate the advantage of it being a BUS LANE,

I do hope the commisiion is going to address the likes of him and all the other little Hitler's dotted around the country, why not start with the dire liberties that HE inflicts on his renewable source drivers, put some legislation in so he has to give them better rights, after all the self employed cabby was so because he had freedom to choose when to work, now the likes of Griffin have turned it into a job job then their drivers who are now the employee rather than the employer should have rights,

Our local Griffin I've been told is charging Migrant workers who he's actively encouraging to come to the UK these amounts

Car rent £270pw

Room rent £125pw (this is for one room shared facilities and there are families living in these one rooms)

Set Up Fees £60pw for 3 years (this is for medical,badge and migration costs) £9000 for a badge and a ride on Easy Jet

Is that really how we are now, complete whip cracking slave drivers, those migrants by my workings have to earn £800pw to get £200pw for themselves before tax,

This is how PH operates now, cheap fares, British drivers can't afford to work on them, so bring in migrants to dodge the minimum wage, which if like me I don't suppose you are earning minimum wage anymore as well.


Good link Tom.

Be a very interesting one to follow.

Like the idea he is going to front any fines.

_________________
IDFIMH

What happened with the M4 bus lane last time he got a bee in his bonnet?

That aside, even last month when 'This is money' did an interview with him he still maintained his drivers were angels;

sadly he forgot about the one who was jailed for 3 years for deliberately running over and killing a tramp;

http://london-taxi.co.uk/three-years-fo ... slaughter/

As for Addison Lee being cheap....perhaps they should explain the following;

Ceremonial mayor runs up £9,000 taxi bill after losing official car

The ceremonial head of Tower Hamlets has gone to war with the borough’s top politician after running up a £9,000 taxi bill.

Mizan Chaudhury, left, who is the council’s independent “speaker”, says he has been forced to take minicabs after directly-elected mayor Lutfur Rahman scrapped his official car.

He claims this puts him at risk of being robbed while wearing his diamond-encrusted ceremonial chain and has made him a laughing stock among other mayors who ask whether he has come by bus.

Figures seen by the Standard show that Mr Chaudhury, 35, spent £3,913 on taxis in four months attending engagements across London. He also took Addison Lee minicabs to two events in Birmingham, costing £845 and £875 respectively.

CC

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

Oh look at the names again, it's like a plague that there just is no cure for.

Mr Doom once again rants over an issue that's not a hand.

The point Mr Griffin is making is that if one side of a competing trade is allowed access to a lane why shouldn't the other?

What Mr Doom is saying is that neither side should.

_________________
IDFIMH

how many minicabs are in London?

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

Ahh touched the Sussex nerve have I,

Nope, what I'm saying is firms like this abuse their drivers taking the lion share and that as most Hack fleets are now only 20% of the size of a PH one they don't have the impact in the lanes that the PH do/would if allowed to use them,

Bottom line is PH has brought the whole industry into disrepute with constant demands to be allowed to be the Hackney, when I was a PH driver we used to accept that we were there to fill the hole that was there for ppl to get picked up from home, now PH just takes wholesale liberties driven by newcomers like yourself, and you are a newcomer in my eyes and like most newcomers with great ideas you will simply walk away and leave carnage in your wake without a care in the world, fact is PH was invented to serve the customer in a way that is like effectively paying a neighbour to give you a lift only legally, since then it's become a greedy animal that seeks to take and destroy off the father trade and ppl like Griffin aren't helping make things any better,

Now, sit back down BOY!

No.

I just happen to believe that all working people should be treated equally.

_________________
IDFIMH

Loads, but that's not the point.

The point is if one tier of the trade is allowed access the other tier should be allowed equal access.

_________________
IDFIMH

They can have equal access.....just drive a licensed taxi

Perhaps even pass a DSA taxi test.......(sorry, they didnt want that one because it would affect the operators recruitment policies).
http://www.thechauffeur.com/proposal-fo ... or-london/

CC

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

Article on working for add lee Sept 2010 with some very interesting comments (latest comment is jan 2012) after it from the mirror.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2010/09/how-self-employed-are-addison.html


How self-employed are Addison Lee's 2,400 cab drivers?
By Nick Sommerlad on September 9, 2010 1:32 AM in Work

Order a minicab anywhere in the country and the odds are, the driver who picks you up will be "self-employed".

But how self-employed are they really?

A genuinely self-employed plumber comes to your house, decides if they want the job and then quotes you a price.

If you accept, your plumber tells you when it can be done, buys their own materials and might even send someone else to do the work.

That's what self-employment should be, the freedom to make a profit - or risk a loss - on your own terms.

Europe's biggest minicab firm is Addison Lee with 2,400 self-employed drivers in London.

John-Griffin-09.09.10.jpg
Addison Lee boss John Griffin

But these drivers can't use their own vehicles and must hire them through the company for £260 a week, plus another £38 for insurance and £12.50 for car washes. After paying for fuel, drivers start the week around £350 down.

There's only one way to turn a profit and that's by putting in the hours.

Those we've talked to work at least 60 hours a week, sometimes 70, over six or even seven days. If they work hard bonus payments mean the car can even come free.

"If I work five normal eight-hour days, I might make a loss," said one. "How can you be self-employed working round the clock for one boss?"

The hours aren't that flexible either. Drivers have to start by 7.30am or wait until 1pm. Those on nights start by 10pm or wait until 5.30am.

Addison Lee sets the prices for all jobs, including cash ones, and the driver can't turn them down without being barred from work for 24 hours. It's a world away from being a freelance plumber.

In theory, a driver can take a week off to work elsewhere but the reality is that Addison Lee is as good as it gets. Cabbies working for other firms often learn the hard way they've no right to the minimum wage.

For Addison Lee the benefits are obvious. If work is slack, the cost of the vehicles is paid by their drivers. If it's busy they get money from every job.

As long as people want work, the company can't lose. Last year, it took £83million and paid its board £7m.

What about the drivers? Addison Lee founder and chairman John Griffin says they can earn £500 a week "comfortably" and claims "the job has a certain freedom about it". The company says it has a waiting list of over 100 drivers wanting to sign up.

But they better not get ill or fall out with head office because there's no sick pay or redundancy rights for the self-employed.

They also better pay their national insurance if they want a full state pension when they retire, because Addison Lee certainly isn't paying it.

Terry Flanagan of the GMB's professional drivers branch told us: "The private hire industry is rife with bogus self-employment. Our members are denied basic employment rights and risk being fired without warning."

Our Gizza Proper Job campaign is calling for a change in the law to end unfair self-employment.

Meanwhile, the success of Addison Lee has made Griffin, 68, from Potters Bar, Herts, a wealthy man, worth over £50m. His firm's donated £150,000 to the Tories and he's handed out £155,000 on Channel 4's Secret Millionnaire.

Except he doesn't like the word "handouts". He even recently told his own brother, during a court case over their mother's inheritance: "I'm not a fan of people who never work". Well, what about rights for those that do?

For more Gizza Proper Job stories click here.

To follow our campaign on Facebook, click here.
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44 Comments
rez said:

I was a driver for them everything in this article is true also would like to say they charge clients £25 for a job and pay drivers £6.50 to do it and expect you to be there 20 minutes before and wait 20 mins UNPAID all londoners should not pay on account only cash as drivers get more commision. Well done to the investigaters great work.
September 9, 2010 9:40 AM
alan ridgley said:

john griffen is the eptomee of tory franchise culture & sweat shop exploitation!
September 9, 2010 10:10 AM
Tommy brown said:

I used to work for this shower of s..t
They run you ragged they have a
Driver liasion team that are supposed
To be there for the drivers but in
Cold light of day are on the side
Of the management they don't
Give a twopenny f..k for the drivers
September 9, 2010 11:24 AM
mark said:

At last, somebody might just unearth Addison lee's rip off system, the more you work, the more they earn. i worked there for over 5 years and left because it costs a fortune to drive one of there cars. As for being as good as it gets, how wrong can you be. There awnser to any problem is "if you dont like it, give back the keys" but as a driver you know if you don't have a car, your finished, and if you work there for any length of time buying a car is not an option cos you just won't have any money.
You quote of it costing £350 a week is also well down on the truth. when you if you look into it and see how much they take off ther drivers in booking fee and the percentage thay keep from account bookings i bet they earn at least double that from each driver. A very good friend of mine is still trapped with addison lee and has just been told he needs to start working over 65 hours a week as "we are not a car rental firm" When and if this is ever looked into you will find out that addison lee's sucess is due to people be exploited on the pure greed of those who sit on there board.(none of who do so for 65 hours a week).
September 9, 2010 12:58 PM
Robert Etchells said:

I worked for Addison Lee for around 4/5 years. The problem that P/H drivers have is that Addy Lee is about as good as it gets, but it is still not good.

If you get your head down, when I worked there you needed to work a minimum of 55/60 hrs per week any less you where in trouble. If you where ill, flu or similar you could not afford to take time off. I'm sure that clients would be unhappy if, one: being driven by a driver who shouldn't be on the road and two: being infected by someone with an infectous virus. This dose happen.

Also there was no policing on the number of hours worked.

I left around 2004/5 at that time there were only around 600 drivers and it was John Griffin's ambition to have 1,000 drivers. To reach todays total 2,400 there has been an increase in the amount of drivers by about 50% per year. The only people who benefit from this odious increase in drivers is Addison Lee. Everytime they buy another 100 vehicles the amount of work the original drivers get is diluted. Back in the day (2002 -2004)to increase the driver numbers by 100 was to dilute the work that was avaiable to existing drivers by as much as 20%. Therefore I had to work longer hours to make the same net amount of money.

That's why I left.

Although I did return earlier this year due to Addison Lee buying the company that I was working for as an owner driver "Premier First". Driver Leaison agreed to allow me to carry on working, but only in one of their vans.
After trying the market, "Chauffeur First," "West One" both were absolute rubbish.

From the experiance of having worked for Addison Lee before I knew that they were around 50% better. I was running a "S" Class and can you believe that West One give the drivers £1.20 per mile. Maddness!!! Chauffeur First. A good night was £100. In an "S" Class.
The down side was that I had to park the "S" Class up.
The up side? Not one I ended up in hospital after two days with heart probs. I have since let my PCO licence Lapse and retired. For two days work, income after outgoings £0.00.
Let me tell any likely lads or lasses who are thinking about P/H as a way of making an income. DON'T DO IT. Addison Lee is, as good as it gets and if you want a life do something else.
September 10, 2010 1:10 AM
Y T said:

I am glad adlee is now being 'BIG BROTHERED' cause that exactly what the drivers experince. They claim the jobs are dealt out as per proximity, but the drivers know better, due to the point system i.e. the more work you do the less rent you pay, they prevent you from reaching the next threshold. I started the London Knowledge 4 years ago as well as a lot of their old drivers, they don't care about the drivers as there is always a long list of trainees waiting to take your place. If you decide to go on holiday without keeping the vehicle, you can not come back until after 6 weeks. If you decide to keep the vehicle, its £115 per week. (You pay them for storage)I am sure the govt pays them for each trainee, no wonder the country is going bust. If the car gets damaged and you are not able to hold the 3rd party responsible, you are charged for the repairs i.e. you loose your deposit. I was shocked when an account client told me their minimum charge excluding admin, its far more than the black cab. the drivers gets paid peanuts. As with all trades dominated by migrants, what more can you expect, they govt is never on your side.
September 10, 2010 3:27 AM
Cab4Now said:

An interesting article gentlemen and comments which appear somewhat bitter but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I would love to work for Addison Lee again but right now I can't. More of that in a moment.

I have worked at Addison Lee on two previous occasions. I earnt enough money from my earnings there to save and start other businesses. The last time was over 9 years ago.

I also worked for West One and Globe - more than 25 years ago.

The difference with Addison Lee and all other private hire companies - as I believe that's what they now like to be called - is that Addison Lee had a culture of fairness and honesty with respect for the driver.

They also chose to invest heavily in technology and go the company car route to supply a consistent standard to the customer. Most minicab companies don't give a damn about the quality of the customer experience. Addsion Lee does.

They're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But they have become the biggest by being the best. Overall. But they're will always be the individual customer experience which falls short. And that will apply to their self employed drivers as well.

I have owned businesses and paid myself handsomely. Not quite at John's level. I'm guessing his salary is £2,000,000 pa plus. A driver at Addison Lee today will earn around £50,000 if he puts the hours in and get a free car which used to be down to the number of account jobs you did. That'll do for me and I don't begrudge John a penny of his money. Or any of the other directors.

And here's why. He has a rare talent to be able to build a successful, ongoing, profitable business. I haven't been able to but I've had great fun trying. It's easy to make a million or two but I have found it hard to hold on to it. And build on it.

I started out by writing that I would love to work for Addison Lee again but right now I can't.

And this is a scandal that really needs investigating. On September 2nd 2010 my application to become a Private Hire driver was received at the Public Carriage Office. It cost me over £500 in total including a medical. I believe the P.C.O.'s share of this is £262 but I could be wrong.

And now I have to wait 16 weeks before I receive my license. That may mean that they have a huge backlog of applications. Or there may be other reasons that the Public Carriage Office is failing to deal with applications in a timely manner.

Regardless of the reason the Public Carriage Office is clearly not fit for purpose and I wish you would find out why such a much needed regulator has failed so miserably. Seriously, they will now sit on my application on what is the busiest time of year and their negligence will cost me at least £15,000 in loss of earnings for the rest of the year.

A good read Nick but I don't believe it will rock the boat too much. But I guess it was never really intended to.
September 10, 2010 9:40 AM
faretrade said:

All the people who supp on fair trade coffee and munch on fair trade chocolate then get in an Addison Lee car to the oxfam shop to buy fair trade xmas cards hang your heads in shame. The means of production should be in the hands of the workers said a very wise man (a socialist) yet Ken Livingston activly supports this evil avaricious capitalist (john griffin) and the Labour Party have an account with Addison Lee(not with the unionised london taxi trade so much for soldarity comrades) as does the Conservetive Party (so much for the London living Wage Boris) money talks and it says sh*t on the working man.
September 11, 2010 4:10 AM
Graham Gray said:

This is happening all over the UK and its not only private hire its taxis as well, some allegedly self employed drivers ore on £1.00 sometimes
If the driver does not own the vehicle they should be employees period, but due to the tax loophole that asks who pays the fuel owners are claiming the driver is self employed, this needs closing now
No more split bags or percentages, pay the minimum wage and all the benefits of being an employee
September 11, 2010 12:05 PM
knowledge man said:

I am a driver working at add lee and everything you reported is spot on. The way they treat drivers is deplorable and the way they treat the customers is not much better. The company are making so much money they have become arrogant and greedy towards the driver. Its such a shame the drivers have no representation and don't stick together - if we did we could f**k them big style. All we need to do is just all take the same day off and watch
Griffin and the rest of the greedy bunch sh*t there Armarni pants. I'm doing the knowledge and can't wait to leave these jokers and earn some money for a change rather than keep them in luxuries.
September 12, 2010 9:59 PM
Stuart W said:

Graham Gray is correct; the issue isn't just relevant to private hire, it affects much of the UK taxi/Hackney Carriage trade as well, indeed it's an issue throughout the world as far as the cab trade is concerned.

Of course, there are many different scenarios throughout the industry, but at one extreme drivers being paid an hourly rate less than the NMW, wearing a company uniform, being told when to stop and start work etc are the antithesis of the often widespread perception of the genuinely self-employed owner-driver on the London black cab model.

In many locations only a small minority are genuinely self-employed owner-drivers. The rest are essentially working in an extremely casualised labour market.

In employment law terms the whole thing is a sham and a scam, but the powers that be seem uninterested; too many vested interests and it would take a Herculean effort from HMRC and the Government to sort it out, and there's little evidence of political will to tackle the issue.

The Mirror should be congratulated for highlighting the issue in a prominent national forum, and this may create some impetus towards change, but I suspect that official priorities will be elsewhere, for the next few years at least.

And, of course, the Tories won't be particularly enthusiastic about regulating the market, although to a large extent this would merely represent proper enforcement of currently enacted statutes and case law.
September 12, 2010 11:12 PM
Tom Titmarsh said:

I worked for Premier for many years until Add Lee took us over and in my opinion it was the best thing that could have happened to me.Premier used to charge us £240 a week for the car however much work you did,if you reached £750 or £1000 then you got a small discount.At least Add Lee give you a car discount on the amount of work you do plus their cash rates are excellent and no one seems to mention this.If you are going to come into this trade then Add Lee are the only company to work for as they are streets ahead of the rest.The drives that moan are the ones who expect want to earn over £1000 a week,£400 to £500 is not hard plus your cash on top.Dont believe evereything to hear try for yourselves and be the judge.but remember they have an enormous office and staff which has to be paid for so they are going to charge the clients a lot more to be able to pay their office staff.The Chairman has built this company up from nothing so I think he is entitled to his rewards.
Tom
September 13, 2010 8:36 AM
Trampolines Man said:

Doesnt IR35 stop this? I thought you could no longer have only one customer, and it forced full employment rights on companies like this.
September 16, 2010 10:50 PM
Terry Flanagan said:

Clearly Addison Lee drivers need to address the situation. To the Poster who says there is no driver representation there is:

GMB PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS BRANCH
THORNE HOUSE
152 BRENT STREET
HENDON
NW4 2DP

BRANCH SECRETARY TERRY FLANAGAN 07958 275 339 OR 0208 202 8272
September 20, 2010 4:17 PM
ABU M said:

Addison Lee is the best company to work for I've been with them for over five years, obviously the harder you work the more money you make, this applies to working anywhere, and I guarantee you will make more working at Addison lee, there is no other company that pays better rates on accounts and on cash than Addison Lee, there are times when I don't make money but this due to me taking time off which I still have to pay for the car, and it's better than having my own car, because whenever there's something wrong with the car I get another car straight away so I'm not off road waiting for my car to be repaired, I just wanna point that no minicab or taxi drivers sets their own price, look at black cabs they have their prices set by Tfl/pco. I am very happy working at Addison Lee, the only time I will stop working for them is when I have something else to do other than a private hire driver.
September 24, 2010 3:24 PM
Mr Lee said:

Last month I worked for 5 nights and I earned £22 for the week.I have no reason to lie.f**k driver liason.Book cash jobs.the drivers are better off this way
September 30, 2010 6:38 PM
LIZ said:

This is absolutely true. Sometimes if there isn't enough work. The driver has to pay them extra money as you would be minus on your account. They don't care about the drivers. If a customer wants to pay by credit card, the driver will only receive half of the amount. They make the drivers work as self employed but on employed conditions when it suits them. So many drivers work for below minimum wage. If you are sick, you have to work otherwise it will cost the driver over £300.
October 8, 2010 3:37 PM
the one said:

i worked for them for few years and i been sacked for stupid reason, just wanna make apoint for the credit card payment, they charge the client up to £5 for admin work, and they take half off that from the driver , PURE RIP OFF , F,,,,ING EVIL C,,,TS
October 25, 2010 7:00 PM
David said:

What a bunch of losers if you want easy money, go and work for Tesco. Im working for AddLee for over 4 years now, average acc+cash £950 a week + free car, 5 nights a week, 44 weeks a year, new car every 2-3 years, if you know something better, please let me know. Boss is making money, not unions, good I happy for him.
November 29, 2010 3:34 AM
XTC said:

Hi All,
I've found all these comments very interesting!!
I'm a 38 yr old man who left the print trade 5 yrs ago after 15 yrs and for the last 5 yrs have been in & out of various things but have been doing a fair bit of driving work, be it a stint as a courier, laundry delivery service etc.
I have been seriously considering trying to do the 'knowledge' as i believe being a black cab driver would open up the possibility to earning 'proper' money and so very importantly i would be able to choose the hours i worked and what times i worked!
I've recently started to try & find out about Addison Lee as i'm thinking perhaps this is the next best thing??
However after reading the comments my enthusiasm has diluted

I would so appreciate if current Addison Lee drivers could respond and let me know the true earning potential of a driver there now, how many hrs were worked for that money, how much money on average does a driver need to spend per week out of their own pocket, what are the most productive shifts or maybe what the average earnings are on the various shifts?
I'm very prepared for hard work but i'm at a point where i really would not like to put my heart & soul into it only to become a disgruntled employee down the line wishing that i'd never started in the 1st place!!
Ultimately i'd still love to attempt to gain the knowledge and have true 'self employed' freedom but who knows i may find an article on black cabbing that shatters my illusion lol

Any true feedback from current drivers now would be most appreciated!
Thanks.
December 9, 2010 3:51 AM
Warren said:

Well, that was an interesting read. Started off from the top with only majorly negative comments and was feeling very scepticle about the company (addison lee).

I currently drive buses around London and am applying for a PCO. I had made a lot of money in property over the years and ended up losing a lot of money in a business, in fact all of it. A very life changing experience.

Thats how I ended up driving buses.

Anyway to cut a long story short I am ready to try the PCO circut. I am a keen driver and am good with people, I find most people no effort and I like dealing with the public so there is no problem there.

I would like to think that if I am going to do this I would like to have high earnings and am prepared to do the work. I would like to think that because of the infrastucture behind Addison Lee that they would be my best bet.

Can any of you guys that are doing well working for them get in touch and give me a proper rundown on what you are doing and how much you are earning, with all the figures involved.

I would appreciate that as I am at a crucial decison making moment.

Cheers Warren
December 9, 2010 9:57 AM
Cab4Now said:

Hi Warren and XTC, I'm re-joining Addison Lee in January 2011 after a 10 year break. I'll be posting how I get on in the link on my name.


I commented above some months ago. I'm now at the stage where TfL is about to issue my license. Nearly 4 months later.


Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to all Mirror readers.
December 14, 2010 9:13 AM
Bermondsey Man said:

Hi, i worked for Addison Lee for 1 year and i can totaly agree with the negative comments about Addison Lee. If you are thinking about working for this company THINK TWICE don't be fooled by how glamorous they make it look...because its not. I would work 5 nights a week from Monday to Friday around 10-12 hrs per day 50-60 hrs a week and i would earn £400 after expenses (£300) not to mention you still have to pay TAX & NI. To earn this money they run you ragged and send you all over the show. So the man DAVID who claims to earn £950 a week for 5nights work sounds a bit of a lie to me.......maybe david is part of Driver Liason?

So with ever rising costs of fuel and unavoidable parking fines is it worth it?
February 28, 2011 11:38 PM
Cole said:

The only time time you will make money at Addison Lee is when you are doing over 12 hours a day and 7 days a week and you also have to be lucky to get cash jobs as account jobs only pay half of what you will get on cash, if you cannot do this you will never ever make money try for yourself and see, 90% of drivers are unhappy. I hope this helps
March 13, 2011 8:58 PM
ABDIKADIR ABDI MAHMOOD said:

driver
March 14, 2011 11:00 AM
Moo said:

Fake "self-employment" such as this is rife in other similar jobs. I worked as a "self-employed" bicycle courier for five years staring in 1990. At the time there was a union-led campaign to secure creating basic rights for couriers, which included sick-pay and a guaranteed minimum wage. I loved the job and made reasonable money, but in the end I had a serious accident with lasting consequences. The largerest problems with this kind of fake self employment is that it's always in the companies interest to take on more riders, and this results in less work for each rider. And when there is little work some couriers will earn nothing, as the company will tend to give all the work to one or two couriers they favour. I worked hard, was on time and put in the hours (10 or more a day) so, whilst not being one of the top-dogs I was usually looked after, but it was always with a sence of guilt knowing that some of my collected were earning little or nothing. Additionally, we had to buy our company-emblazoned clothing and bags, an had to hire our radios from the company. The company bore no risk, the courier had it all. The only leverage you had, which was minimal, was that an experienced knowledgable courier could find work elsewhere reasonably easily. But at the time out of the plethora of firms there were only about four that were any good to work for. Some of the others were downright dishonest and had a reputation for didling their workers. So really there was little choice. During my time I saw rate fall from around over £5 per job to as little £1.20. Some companies at the time paid just 50p for some work. What surprises me is that in nearly 20 years nothing has been done to improve or change this practice so called self-employment. It's about time that thing changed.
June 8, 2011 9:41 AM
G Ferguson said:

Its a nation wide thing, in mainly rural areas of the UK driver are on around £2.00 an hour if they are lucky.
The law needs changing so that any taxi or mini cab owner requiring a driver will take that driver on as an employee and not self-employed as the owners claim
June 27, 2011 3:25 AM
abdur rahath said:

i hard all driver comments i am starting work in addison lee myself i will do 6 days a weeks 12 hrs shift i will see myself how much i can make?after 6 weeks i will write again thank you all
August 19, 2011 12:39 AM
Big T said:

Come on you guys who were unhappy with Addisson Lee, how come you were still working with them at the time when you realised that you were unhappy with them? i mean, you must have made some money right? may be you just didn't put in enough hours, after all money doesn't come that easily especially with private hire industry nowadays, too much competition around.If you wanna earn super cash you gotta work like hell my friends,sacrifice your time.It's hard everywhere.
I know three Addisson Lee drivers who are my friends and are really happy with the company!and are making at least £1000 a week after some expenses.
Driving for money is my most ideal job. How nice it is to make money while you drive in the comfort of your vehicle.
August 31, 2011 3:10 PM
neil said:

Adddison Lee give the tories over 100k a year, do u realy think they will change the law to give mini cab drivers there human right for full employment status.
September 11, 2011 5:10 PM
Mr P said:

Any more comments about Addison Lee?
I`m thinking about giving it a try, any suggestions?
September 24, 2011 9:24 PM
Mr G said:

Hi all, I have just received my PCO licence and was thinking about working for Addison Lee but am dis-heartend. Are they really that bad??

Does anyone also know of any other good companies to work for as a self employed driver?

Best Regards
G
October 12, 2011 7:36 PM
MR JEDUARDO said:

Hi i just receive my PCO licence i whant apply to addison lee. Is anyone know what kind of questions they ask for knowledge test.
October 17, 2011 1:47 PM
Cab4Now said:

If you're going to work as a minicab driver then AL is a good choice.

They won't suit everyone but they haven't got to the size they are without having an overall attractive package for the driver.
October 18, 2011 1:15 AM
Cab4Now said:

The questions are pretty basic JEDUARDO.
October 18, 2011 1:20 AM
Kazik said:

What are the questions you shall be asked.
November 2, 2011 11:53 PM
Robert Walsh said:

Could someone please give me more information on this company AL, i Am unable to trace them
i,d also be grateful for the names of any other busy London minicab companies
Kind regards
R
November 17, 2011 7:59 PM
MY said:

Robert Walsh
if you want to do this job there is no other place to go but Addison lee.
Issues mentioned in this article are the problems of this trade, it is same wherever you go. Hours are long and drivers will be treated bad. But working for Addison lee you will make serious money. Good luck
November 23, 2011 12:09 AM
Robert walsh said:

Thanks My,for taking the time to post.
moving to London in January to work as a private hire driver,want to make as much money as possible and in the process provide a good service for the paying public.
Will most probably act on your advice.
When i went to Addison Lee for my Topographical test the staff were very professional and friendly.

Kind regards
Robert
November 28, 2011 7:19 PM
Cab4Now said:

As I mentioned before I re-joined Addison Lee in January 2011 after a 10 year break. I've now been working with them for nearly a year. It has been, overall, a positive and enjoyable period.


I have written a post at http://Cab4Now.com about my experience which will be published in January 2012.


Once again, happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to all Mirror readers.
December 15, 2011 2:01 PM
Sham said:

had to finally resign from Addisom Lee yesterday, after the verbal abuse i recieved from the management team there, they called me a basterd and various horrible things, that i was totall shocked about, it is the most corrupt firm i have ever worked for, so unprofesional, and no shame to speak to their own staff that way, they have double standards, and i did not reply to them in the same manner, beacuse im better than that, and i have my self respect so i had no alternative but to leave this horrid business, i will have to take legal advise to pursue this matter further with them ..
December 17, 2011 6:58 PM
Mansour said:

Can someone please guide me as to what sort of questions are on their test and how to go about preparing for it.
January 2, 2012 11:18 AM
MY said:

They will give you a 20 questions test. Mainly central London and city. It is not too difficult. If you do ok then they will do a short oral test. Like " take me to Euston station from bank of England" or Lords to victoria station. If you can prove that you have some knowledge of London you will ok. Good luck
January 9, 2012 2:24 PM
Cab4Now said:

The post "A year as an Addison Lee London minicab or private hire driver" is now completed and will be published on 20th January 2012 at 8.30am to celebrate another year's service with Addison Lee.


It may help anyone considering joining Addison Lee as a self employed London minicab or private hire driver. You can get to see a preview by clicking my name above.
January 10, 2012 2:36 PM

I'm not a fan of Addison Lee, but I'm pretty sure no-one is forced to work for them. Even if some of their business practises aren't up to what some would like.

But this is about access to bus lanes, and should Addison Lee win then many thousands of London Licensed PH will be far better off.

_________________
IDFIMH

pmsl.....

Sounds like the begining of a rant...

I'm not a racist, but...

I was no fan of adolf Hiter....but



CC

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

Heres a blog from a guy after hes third stint at addison lee,it was after he left the company in jan 2012 from jan 2011 ,he replies to most replies to his blog ,and from the way I read it he seems genuine......

http://cab4now.com/2012/01/20/addison-lee/



Addison Lee – A Driver’s View In 2012
January 20th, 2012 Cab4Now
Addison Lee Windows Phone Aapp

Today is the 20th January 2012. I joined Addison Lee again as a licensed London private hire driver one year ago to the day.

I last worked with Addison Lee as a London minicab driver eleven years ago and, again, before my daughter was born over 17 years ago.

I first drove a minicab in 1985 with West One in Bolsover Street, London W1. No – one knew, or cared, if I had a criminal record. I had a good living and enjoyed the job. Now TfL licensing is required for all London private hire drivers. The industry has moved on. It needed to.

London Minicab Passenger Tweet

London Minicab Passenger Tweet

The licensing agenda was set by the companies that provide the work for licensed London private hire drivers. And politicians. That was a necessary starting point but their interests will always come first. The industry is a hugely fragmented one with no real representation of drivers’ interests. That’s wrong. But understandable.

In this article I will look back at what it used to be like in the early days and the changes that have happened in the private hire industry. It will naturally be from a driver’s perspective.

The Good Old Days

When I joined Addison Lee as a London minicab driver for the first time I was, like everyone, an owner driver. My car of choice was a Renault Laguna. The radio rent was £60 I seem to remember but I could be wrong. There was a points scheme in place where for each account job I would get around half the fare and the more points I made would cause the radio rent to reduce or, possibly, become zero.
London Minicab Tweets

London Minicab Tweets

Today, Addison Lee has grown in to the Goliath of private hire companies and as the largest private hire operator by far has very little real competition. Addison Lee now has over 4,000 drivers. Addison Lee also took over Premier, Blueback, Lewis Day and others.

It was a busy circuit and most drivers preferred cash work where you simply charged a mileage rate and kept the lot. The system of allocating work was open call. An open call circuit worked by the controller calling out a street and you would put your number up when you fitted the criteria below.

First call – you were in the street.

Second call – you were within 100 yards of the street being called.

Open call – you were within 1/2 mile of the street being called.

Assistance – you could be POB and dropping nearby the street being called.

London Minicab Tweets

London Minicab Tweets

This method of allocating work was very inefficient and Addison Lee would not have grown to the size that it is today with open call. But it had distinct advantages for the self employed London minicab driver. Many London minicab drivers would not call for work in a street where there was an account. Given a choice most London minicab drivers would always prefer cash and simply pay their radio rent in to the office each Monday. The maths was simple. All cash work and still paying radio rent was far better financially than only getting half the fare but not paying the radio rental.

The Addison Lee circuit was far smaller in the early days when I worked with them as a self employed London minicab driver. And, of course, the open call system was open to abuse. Some drivers would false call to win a job. They would put themselves nearer to the job than they really were in the hope of winning it. So how do you address that issue? Well, Addison Lee stated that on the first proven case of false calling you would get a warning and on the second they would take the radio back so that your business relationship ended. That stands today.
London Minicab Tweets

London Minicab Tweets

For my part I had a radio scanner that stayed on the driver frequency so that I could hear where other nearby London minicab drivers put themselves. Most Addison Lee minicab drivers did not have that. I felt it was essential and for many reasons it paid dividends.Today, Addison Lee have 4,000 London private hire drivers on their radio circuit at the time of writing. No doubt they’ll pass 5,000 in a year or so. So, why is this? And why are they so successful?

Let’s Fast Forward

Well, a company is only as strong as the weakest link. And, simply, there aren’t any weak links in terms of their business model. That’s not to say they’re perfect. Far from it as I’ll cover in a moment from a driver’s perspective. But they will continue to go from strength to strength much to the chagrin of Licensed London taxi drivers.
London Taxi and Minicab Tweets

London Taxi and Minicab Tweets

Today their 4,000 licensed London minicab drivers are tracked via GPS and a computer simply allocates the work to each driver based, mostly, on the nearest Addison Lee licensed London minicab for the job. But there are clearly exceptions to this rule. When it is quiet and a backlog of empty drivers have built up then the computer appears to consider who has been empty the longest in a small area around where an Addison Lee licensed London minicab is required. This is fair but it can be irritating when you’ve been empty outside an account address for an hour and another Addison Lee licensed London minicab pulls up to take the job when they were obviously further away. This appears to happen for both pre booked and jobs for A.S.A.P.

Can you work when you want? To a degree. At the weekend and any week with a bank holiday in it there is an open shift where you can log on and off at will. But in a normal week Monday to Friday you can only log on between 5.00am and 7.30am and between 1.00pm and 10pm. A large degree of flexibility but like most Addison Lee licensed London minicab drivers I would have preferred an open shift at all times.
London Taxi and Minicab Tweets

London Taxi and Minicab Tweets

When you log on you also have to be within the north and south circulars. This does throw up a situation where an Addison Lee licensed London minicab driver who joins the virtual rank at any airport may wait for an hour, slowly moving up the rank, and then when Driver Liaison spots it you are running a very real risk of being removed from the rank and receiving a telephone call to tell you to come within the north and south circular. Fair? Well it’s their rules. You know them. So I guess so.

It happened to me once. I logged on the rank at 7.15am and unusually I hadn’t received a job by 9.00am. I was removed from the rank and the lovely Matt in Driver Liaison called me and told me to move in. I’d got away with it for 10 days. I just moved back to splits with a 1.00pm start and then it’s not an issue at that time.

Oddly, Matt did me a favour because I fell on a cash to Aylesbury from Chiswick and then got an Oxford back to W6 on account. A great day.

Earnings and Costs Today
Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

In my opinion, in a relative sense, a licensed London private hire driver would have found it more profitable working as a self employed London minicab driver with Addison Lee eleven years ago. And, perhaps, even more so fifteen years ago. But there are many factors to take in to account so the difference may not be much.

Today, Addison Lee is a company car only fleet. That is to say there are no owner drivers and all vehicles are rented from Eventech, an Addison Lee subsidiary. At the time of writing the Ford Galaxy rental is £150 per week, the vehicles are comprehensively self insured for £40 per week with a £500 excess through Addison Lee Insurance and a compulsory £12.50 car wash deduction.

You get 1 point for a cash job – no points in the good old days – 2 points for an account job 7pm to 7am and 3 points for an account job 7am to 7pm. Hit 120 points and you do not pay the £150 car rental. Less than 120 points and you do make a contribution on a sliding scale. There is also a charge for cash work now, there wasn’t in the good old days. £1 for a cash job during the day and £2 for a cash job at night. Don’t work and you pay the full car rental. But if you hit quite a low quarterly target you get a free week every three months. 10% of Addison Lee licensed London private hire drivers hit 180 points+ each week. There is also a Christmas draw based around the points system in the run up to Christmas. The 2011 draw had a prize pool of £52,000 with a top prize of £10,000. Sadly, I didn’t win anything this time. But I did win £1,000 11 years ago!!
Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

Good deal? I think so. Last year I had eight weeks holiday – 4 free weeks due to me hitting an achievable quarterly points target, 3 free Christmas weeks as I hit the Christmas run up points target and 1 week where I paid for the car. I had permanent use of a new, taxed, insured vehicle serviced every 5,000 miles. In the good old days I had to maintain, tax and insure my own vehicle. On reflection perhaps the good old days were only just marginally more profitable because of Addison Lee’s company car scheme.

Watch Out For Macdonalds

All licensed London private hire drivers who join Addison Lee sign paperwork which allows for direct settlement of a range of minor traffic infringement fines and parking fines. Despite me trying to inform Driver Liaison that Civil Enforcement Notices issued by the parking contractor who manages all Macdonalds car parks were not enforceable by law – Google it – Addison Lee insist on paying those fines and deducting them from your account earnings. That is plainly wrong but if you don’t agree to it you can’t work with them.

Don’t Throw Money Away

All self employed London minicab drivers are paid to take clients the shortest route. Addison Lee self employed London minicab drivers are also paid to take clients the shortest route. I started every day at Heathrow and on many occasions the shortest route will not be via the M25 if you’re going to a destination around the M25 or further afield. However, it may be quicker. I always asked, as suggested by the Addison Lee training manual, if a client had a preference for a particular route. Where there was a clear choice of shortest or quickest I would ask the client if they wanted the shortest or the quickest route. Invariably, the answer would be the quickest.
Cab4Now London Minicab Tweet

Cab4Now London Minicab Tweet

As an Addison Lee self employed London private hire driver it is absolutely essential that the customer is advised that there will be an additional charge for their preferred route if that may be the case. The route is recorded on the amendments screen together with the mileage that you clock. I always added “Customer advised of additional charges” on the amendments screen too. Even with all of that done it is essential that you check your statement to ensure that you are paid for the additional mileage.

I did just that on a fare from Heathrow to Kingston Upon Hull and I saved the passenger at least an hour with motorway for nearly the whole journey. Unfortunately, I still had to prompt the pricing department to pay me the correct amount. I was paid an additional £60 the week following I had been paid for the journey via the shortest route which made no sense at all.
Cab4Now London Minicab Tweet

Cab4Now London Minicab Tweet

The tweet above and adjacent by me were on a particularly bad day on 15th December 2011. Everyone gets bad days. Just don’t throw the towel in until you’ve done at least 10 hours no matter how bad it gets. My pet hate is getting caught by the computer and having to run miles for work. It doesn’t happen often but on that day it just got worse. I was allocated King Edward Street when I was in Kennington because they had no VIP cars available. But it was nice to speak to Richard who phoned to check I was on my way. I knew him from the old days and if he’d asked for help on open call I would have assisted anyway. He was one of the best controllers I have ever had the pleasure to work with. And it ran me on to a £50 job as well.

Another point worth bearing in mind is that on many occasions you will be asked to drop someone off “on the way.” Note the postcode on the amendments for all additional drops. Over a year it will make a big difference to your earnings.
Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

For cash bookings it is a requirement at Addison Lee that all service amendments are called in to control for a revised price. Do it. On most occasions the price will be more than your guestimate. There are anomalies created by the Addison Lee fare structure which sometimes work for you and sometimes against you. It all averages out over a year.

And Finally…

I keep myself busy. There is significantly more time today sitting around waiting for work than there was ten years ago. I found it very common to wait an hour or two between jobs. At other times it can be non stop. I had a very simple philosophy. I drop and stop. As long as I was within the north and south circular. Many drivers don’t do that and choose to head back in to the central area. Even there though outside the busy periods you may be competing with dozens of other drivers in all central post codes.
Cab4Now London Minicab Tweets

Cab4Now London Minicab Tweets

To keep myself busy I added content to this website while waiting for work. I tethered a laptop to my mobile’s data connection to get internet access in the car and on the odd occasion I was able to help a customer out by sharing my internet through the same connection. Ed Sheeran appreciated that as you can see.

I also bought a Garmin Nuvi TV which served well as a back up sat nav but it also had traffic alerts and all the digital freeview channels.

And, of course, I am an avid Twitter user as you can see together with Audioboo. The Cab4Now Facebook page also has over 2000 likes and I take the odd photograph or video too. All while out and about in an Addison Lee licensed London private hire vehicle.
Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

When the wheels are turning – that is you have a passenger on board – you will earn a penny or two per second at night. That’s how I looked at it. Do the math. The earnings are less during the day because of the traffic.

The minimum fare you will be paid on account is £7.50 and at night it is £6.50. The extra £1 you get for a daytime account fare has not increased in 15 years. The minimum cash fare is £11. Waiting time on account is £11 per hour which is, frankly, derisory and can ruin your shift if you get stuck waiting for an account customer. Cash waiting time is £16 per hour.

All passengers get 9 minutes free waiting time. If it rolls in to 10 minutes the whole lot is chargeable. Many customers don’t always understand this.
Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

Cab4Now London Taxi Tweets

The mileage rate is currently £2.90 per mile but as journeys are priced from the centre of post code to the centre of post code you regularly get anomalies where you could earn as little as £2 per mile and then again as much as £5 per mile. It’s swings and roundabouts. I never let it wind me up when I was on the wrong side.

The mileage rate has not increased for two years and you are losing money every time you stop because of the fixed price for each journey.

… The Conclusion

It was a hard year. I worked an average of 70 hours per week with the only days off being for specific events such as birthdays or parties. Of course, I had the eight weeks away in Malta. I needed the breaks. Many people may ask as to how I could do it? Well, here’s the rub. Clearly, if I was driving 70 hours it would be grim. But I wasn’t.
London Taxi and Minicab Tweets

London Taxi and Minicab Tweets

As an Addison Lee licensed London minicab driver I can only receive bookings via their computerised system which is the best in the industry. But, when the work isn’t there you can regularly wait between one and two hours for a job. That’s the nature of the game. It seems worse than it used to be. But I can’t be sure.

This has the effect that I was probably only earning money for a little over half of the time that I was available. I earned a little over £65,000 for the year I worked. Fuel cost was over £10,000, insurance excess on 4 accidents was £2,000, another £2,000 on fines for speeding, bus lane infringement and parking fines. And 3 points on my licence.

So before tax I earned around £1,000 per week with eight weeks “paid” holiday. Good deal? I’ll let you be the judge. Personally, I had hoped to earn a little more. Perhaps I should have been more careful? Parked better and driven better? I did try. Honest guv’nor!
Follow @Cab4Now on Twitter

Follow @Cab4Now on Twitter

Road closures, poor traffic management by TfL and diversions probably cost me around another £10,000 in lost earnings. Fares are fixed prices for all Addison Lee licensed London minicab drivers as with all companies. In fact, meters are specifically prohibited by Act of Parliament for all private hire vehicles in London. This is unique to London and is due to historic lobbying by licensed London taxi drivers.

Fancy only working 40 hours as an Addison Lee licensed London minicab driver? Well, you’re self employed so you can do what you want. Earnings of around £500 per week after expenses but before tax if you’re lucky. And a “free” car. And a life. It may be attractive for some. But you’d probably be better off driving a bus.
Follow @Cab4Now on Twitter

Follow @Cab4Now on Twitter

Many licensed London minicab drivers are transient. You may do it for a few years before doing something else. Or if you are serious about driving for a living then another option is to do the knowledge. 100s of Addison Lee licensed London minicab drivers are on the knowledge and 100s of ex Addison Lee licensed London minicab drivers are now licensed London taxi drivers. Why? Simple maths. Licensed London taxi drivers earn around 50% more than Addison Lee licensed London minicab drivers after expenses.

Then again Addison Lee licensed London minicab drivers who reach 65 and have completed many years of uninterrupted service with Addison Lee as a licensed London minicab driver receive a very attractive bonus. They receive points for each year of service which are taken off their points target of 120 every week. Just before Christmas I bumped in to an Addison Lee licensed London minicab driver – Geoff – who is now 67. We first met when we both started as Addison Lee London minicab drivers for the first time 17 years ago. Geoff now receives a credit of 52 points every week. He works 3 or 4 days each week and has a free serviced and taxed car which is changed every 3 years. Clearly, Addison Lee rewards loyalty and this scheme is a credit to the company.

Follow @Cab4Now on Twitter

I have now been a London minicab driver on a total of five separate occasions over the last 30 years. Three separate times with Addison Lee. I was 50 earlier this month and now it’s time again for a break.

If you are reading this on the day of publication then I will soon be on an Emirates jet heading to Asia. I depart from Heathrow at 8.30pm. I am off to stay with friends for a few months in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Why? Because I need a life!

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30 Responses to “Addison Lee – A Driver’s View In 2012”

CH says:
January 20, 2012 at 11:05 am

Well done on that blog, finally in depth info about AddLee.

Enjoy Asia!
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 20, 2012 at 11:49 am

Welcome CH. I’m glad you like it.
Reply
tom says:
January 20, 2012 at 1:23 pm

Thanks for all the information. A valuable read. You sold it to me! Enjoy your time away.
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 20, 2012 at 2:05 pm

Thanks Tom. Glad you enjoyed it.
Reply
Stephen says:
January 20, 2012 at 3:24 pm

Well done a great blog,once again have a great holiday,speak to you soon
Stephen @stephen.barker5
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 20, 2012 at 4:41 pm

Cheers Steve. Many thanks mate.
Reply
rufus says:
January 21, 2012 at 4:43 pm

A fascinating piece of journalism. I have been on both sides of the fence so I appreciate the authenticity of this article.
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 22, 2012 at 5:25 am

Hey Rufus. Thanks for your kind words.
Reply
Loqman says:
January 24, 2012 at 3:21 am

The best article of the year, so simple and useful especially for people with foreign background who seek a good job.your article made ​​me decide my future job. THANK YOU&enjoy your trip
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 24, 2012 at 8:22 am

Hi Loqman,

I’m so pleased you liked the post. Your comment and all the others makes it so worthwhile.

If you do decide to join AddLee then I can tell you they are a great company to be with. Standards are high but work hard and it is a rewarding career.

I am enjoying my holiday immensely. And thank you.

If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to let me know.
Reply
David says:
January 25, 2012 at 1:39 am

I work for Add Lee over 3 yrs! It’s ok! Addison Lee = no life!
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 25, 2012 at 4:03 am

Thank for your comment David.
Reply
Les sw1 says:
January 26, 2012 at 1:09 pm

I used to work 7 days a week for addison lee for peanuts, slave labour most of the drivers felt the same. I have now passed the knowledge of london & enhanced taxi driving test, i used to be ashamed to admit i worked for them now im sooo proud to be a london taxi driver consistantly voted best in the world atb
Reply
Bill Covell says:
January 26, 2012 at 2:32 pm

An honest account by a man who has most definately done the job before , enjoy the far eastern experience it will mend jangled nerves and tired limbs and get you ready for the next instalment of hard work . Bill
Reply
Les sw1 says:
January 26, 2012 at 4:05 pm

40 hours a week you would owe them money!
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 26, 2012 at 10:09 pm

Hi Les,

Thanks for your comments. Did you only work 5 hours a day? Even if you did that would still be 35 hours for the 7 days that you worked. But as I wrote above you would have been better off driving a bus than working with Addison Lee with that level of effort.

Congratulations on getting your badge, I understand your pride. It’s clearly the way to go if you wish to be a career driver. Working 40 hours a week and hitting all the cash could mean you owe Addison Lee money. But that would have meant that you’d got paid twice as much in cash as you would have taken on account. Far better value and you would have more than enough to pay them for the car and probably still have around £500 left.

Hey Bill,

Cheers mate. I tried to be as objective as possible. Clearly, even with 8 weeks holiday last year I needed this break. I will return rejuvenated and ready to go again at the level that I’m used to.

One of the advantages with Addison Lee is that you are self employed so many drivers take long breaks. You’ve just got to do the hours while you’re there and not muck about to make it worthwhile as I’ve mentioned. Unlike Les above. But each to their own, eh?
Reply
Les sw1 says:
January 27, 2012 at 10:47 am

Hi, you said above that you could work 40 hours a week if you want, my reply was correct that you would owe them money. I worked 60 hours a week & would most definately have been better off driving a bus be lucky
Reply
Cab4Now says:
January 27, 2012 at 11:14 am

Hi Les,

Thanks for the clarification. Have a great weekend.
Reply
Les sw1 says:
January 27, 2012 at 11:25 am

Have a great weekend yourself sir.
Reply
Cab4Now says:
February 13, 2012 at 11:53 am

I keep getting searches that hit this page for the Addison Lee telephone number. The direct number is 02073878888. I guess that’s the number people are looking for to avoid additional mobile charges on their advertised non geographic number.
Reply
Naga says:
February 18, 2012 at 1:45 am

Hi, that was a very beautiful article. Thank you so much for all the information. I am thinking of being a cab driver. Already applied for private hire license. Just wanna know few bits about Addison lee. Is it easy to get into Addison Lee? Do they check my credit rating? Can I choose the car I have to drive??
Reply
Cab4Now says:
February 18, 2012 at 4:39 am

Thanks Naga.

Addison Lee will test your knowledge of the streets of London. If it’s not good enough then you may need to work somewhere else initially and re apply later.

You need to be on the voter’s roll and provide 2 utility bills. You can’t choose the car you drive. But as they’re mostly the same I guess that’s not an issue.

Good luck.
Reply
peter says:
February 18, 2012 at 3:39 pm

i realy ejoy you articl ,i have one quastion ,how difficult or easy it is to reach that 120 point ,if not reached how you pay the diffreanc?there is a roummer that they hold you not to reach that point can you epalin in deital i am thinkinh to join add lee .thnaks
Reply
Cab4Now says:
February 19, 2012 at 12:49 am

I’m please you liked it Peter and thanks for letting me know.

Many drivers count their points to keep score. I used to 12 years ago. Last year I never bothered. I just figured I’d work as hard as I could. Counting the points didn’t matter because I could do no more. I had 2 weeks where I hit 217 points on each occasion.

There were 6 occasions where I didn’t exceed 120 points. That was when I took long weekends in Malta. Finishing early Thursday and coming back Sunday afternoon. The reason I took that period off is that the week ends at Friday midnight.

If you owe anything it is deducted from your account earnings. If you do not have enough account earnings then you pay what is due in to the office 10 days later on Monday week following the Friday where the money was owed.

I have heard the rumour you refer to and from a short term commercial view it may make sense to hold some drivers back from achieving their points at the end of their week if they are near a points threshold.

Addison Lee have not become the biggest by taking such a short term view. Simply, I believe the rumour you refer to is unfounded and has no basis in fact.

Addison Lee is a fair company. You won’t always agree with every decision they make but, hey, you’re self employed. If you don’t like it, drop the car back and move on. You don’t have to give notice! The reason the majority of people don’t is that on balance Addison Lee is the fairest and best deal you’ll get driving a minicab as a self employed minicab driver in London.
Reply
peter says:
February 19, 2012 at 2:07 pm

Thank you very much for your quike replay ,i am looking forward to join add lee soon .by the way you hav’t upload new taxi boo recantely i enjoy listning that to you should have been a radio dj lol.thnaks .
Reply
Cab4Now says:
February 19, 2012 at 2:33 pm

Welcome Peter. I’ll do another Boo soon just for you soon. Been meaning to for a while.

Good luck at AddLee. Work hard and it’ll pay dividends. It’s a worthwhile, honourable job and can be fun. Just remember, it’s what you make it.
Reply
jamel says:
April 11, 2012 at 6:35 pm

Hi I enjoyed your article a lot a deep insight about private hire,I mysef have a PCO licence but I haven’t used it yet,I am a student at the moment and I can only work for around 40/45 hrs a week(due to learning) is it worthy to join ADDLEE? and approximately how much can I expect to earn after the expanses and taxes !Cheers mate,I would appreciate your input !
Reply
GRAHAM says:
April 12, 2012 at 7:49 pm

I VE BEEN WITH ADD LEE FOR NEARLY A YEAR NOW AND YOUR ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE. IF YOU WORK HARD, A £1000 A WEEK IS NOT THAT HARD TO REACH. I DID IT FOR A WHILE BUT WANTED MY LIFE BACK, SO NOW WORK MONDAY TO FRIDAY 60 HOURS AND USUALLY CLEAR £500 PLUS FREE CAR AND DIESEL ETC. ITS A JOB THAT GIVES YOU A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF FREEDOM REGARDING HOURS OF WORK. THE ONLY DOWNSIDE IS BEING IN THE VICINITY OF SELF RIGHTEOUS CYCLISTS WHO APPARENTLY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE HIGHWAY CODE, FLOUT EVERY RULE OF THE ROAD AND BLAME ADDISON LEE DRIVERS EN BLOC FOR THEIR OWN STUPIDITY. ANYWAY, THATS MY BIKE GRIPE OUT OF THE WAY. WELL DONE FOR A GREAT ARTICLE!
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Cab4Now says:
April 13, 2012 at 9:04 am

Hi Jamel,

Well, for a current view I refer you to what Graham wrote above. It would appear you would earn less than £500 currently. I’ve been on holiday for most of this year and I know through my buddies on twitter that it has been unusually quiet at Addison Lee. The flexibility might suit you though? I’m glad you enjoyed the article.

Graham, I take your point on cyclists. In my opinion they should be required to have 3rd party insurance. I was stationery on Trafalgar Square last year with passengers on board and a cyclist went in to the back of me causing a small dent in the tailgate. I was at the lights waiting to exit to Whitehall for about a minute. I took his details which he gave me but they were false. He wasn’t even apologetic and said he wouldn’t pay for the damage any way.

When it happens again if the cyclist is unable or unwilling to prove his identity then I will make a citizen’s arrest and call the police to enable his identity to be established. As you know the Addison Lee excess is £500 so I was not covered for the loss. I ended up working that day for nothing.
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jamel says:
April 13, 2012 at 3:58 pm

Cheers mate and keep posting !