Taxi Driver Online

Anger at private hire plying for business



ANGER is building among Bury St Edmunds’ taxi drivers.


Taxi driver of 26 years Halil Salih says that five years ago he drove 180 miles a shift. Now he drives just 70.

He blames some private hire drivers for his reduced custom and has provided the council with a record of those he says have been plying for business, an offence which can incur a £2,500 penalty.

The father-of-three, from Bury, said: “It’s affecting me making a living but my other concern is the public aren’t aware when they get into private hires that aren’t booked they’re not insured – say there’s an accident and that person gets paralysed, they won’t get a penny.”

Donald Donnelly, a taxi driver of 35 years, said private hires waited in town where they were likely to ‘pick up’ instead of at their base.

The 71-year-old said: “It’s affecting my business big time. I’m earning half the money I used to.”

Ian Thompson, 48, from Thurston, said: “It’s a massive problem, it always has been but it’s getting worse. We need enforcement officers on the streets.”

A spokeswoman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said: “We take abuse of licensing regulations very seriously and have diverted staff resources into investigating allegations that some private hire vehicles are plying for trade without a booking, which they are not allowed to do.”

In response to increased complaints during the last six months, every taxi and private hire operator in Bury has been warned of patrols being carried out.

Shakeel Asghar, director of Private Hire Association (PHA), agreed this was an increasing problem throughout the UK but said the law was outdated as it did not recognise the improved communication available to drivers for ‘pick ups’.

“There are bad apples in every trade,” he said, adding that PHA supported using marshals, council funded and police enforced, to ‘get rid of illegal plying for hire drivers’.

source: http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/lat ... -1-3805165

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

Whilst ph maybe part of this drivers problem I don't think it's all down to that really.

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

This seems to be a universal problem...
We have been providing the council with details of Private Hire cars picking up illegally over and over again and all we get is excuses why they cannot do anything.

Not enough evidence !!
Not enough enforcement officers !!
Our hands are tied !!

We have even had people making videos and giving them to the council and still the problem continues.

Unless the driver doing the illegal pick up admits it, then the chances of a successful prosecution are slim. Unless, again, the punters give statements and attend court.

Maybe this difficulty will lead the Law Commission to ponder whether to get rid of the two tier system, and allow all licensed vehicles to pick up legally.

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IDFIMH

that creates more problems than it solves Bad idea

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

True.... the Hard pressed cabby who is complaining about a few illicit private hires picking up his punters would end up with ten times more Ex Private hire converts legally competing directly with him in a one tier system....and lets face it, no government is going to take away the Lively hoods of a 100,000+ PH drivers nationally, They would be offered a Taxi Licence or a One Tier licence equivalent, nor is it going to force each and everyone of them buy a WAV.

Sorry, but in this Instance its better the Devil you know...

TBH this whole situation won't go away until driver standards are increased, migrants have to be resident for a period of time and all LO's at first license make the applicant aware of his duties, we're getting immigrant PH who think they aren't doing anything wrong in picking up flaggers, they hover around ranks pretending to be on bookings, which really will only stop if there is a wait zone in each radio zone they are allowed to sit in, local PH thought it a good idea to zone one area on the taxi rank of a venue complex, and another outside of a shop in a bus only road and got away with it, I was only thinking earlier we are basically de-regulated already the way it is now, of thats another chestnut as well, a venue area road has been pedestrianised recently, so who do you think had 3 cars in the now paved zone waiting outside of a club, and at the other end of the road from the new rank hacks took it upon themselves to sit where there isn't a rank, guess who came and filmed it for the council, now can someone explain to me what possible cause a PH firm can have to moan about hailable cars making themselves available and stopping the PH pirate from doing the same thing, it's all shown out this weekend, one venue complex has had a marshall on the drop zone to move them on, funny thing is this weekend the rank which doesn't move much anymore has moved brilliantly, just like Griffen has been told to sit down and shut up recently the authorities need to back the council up to tell all the other theiving slavemaster PH firm owners to get back in line and speak when they are spoken to and not before.

Interesting there is never a mention of HAC illegally ranking up outside places that have freephones, thus taking PH work.

Same old same old, sheeple fighting each other over meaningless nonsense, while the ppl they should be fighting sit in their ivory towers laughing at the goyim.

and at the other end of the road from the new rank hacks took it upon themselves to sit where there isn't a rank


What part of it don't you get?

The part that tells you you are for pre-book purposes ONLY, or that a freephone isn't an office, by definition we HC are there to serve the customer who wants an instant ride, if that person is standing by a freephone it doesn't make it your right to have them, even if they phone you first and then change their mind if a hack arrives we are still doing no wrong in picking them up.

Your side of things is doing illegal things en-mass and you know it, all your squinnying is because you ignorantly think it's your right to flout the laws that are in place to protect the public, if you want to work our side of things either get a drive or get your wad out, stop sitting there crying like a little bitch who lost her stake on a horse race.

So long as if there isn't a rank the hack is moving and is flagged

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