Taxi Driver Online

getting dusty's hijacking back on the correct thread.

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

Sheffield;

2005; 547 HC 827 PH
2011; 857 HC 1200 PH

some might suggest finding rank spaces, even using the Button method of a 1 in 3 split.....would mean 100 extra rank spaces needed in Sheffield.


Watford

2005: 73 HC 199 PH
2011; 303 HC 115 PH

some might suggest finding rank spaces, even using the Button method of a 1 in 3 split.....would mean 76 extra rank spaces needed in Watford.

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

Well for a start I picked out your Milton Keynes figures because they're so clearly wrong. You state less than 200 PHVs in 2005, whereas the DfT stats say nearer 600.

And looking at the MK figures for total drivers across both sectors, for example.

In 2005 it's 1,300 (a suspiciously round figure for a start), 2007 - 1,920, 2009 - 1,920, 2011 - 1,073.

So for several years numbers were apparently unchanged , then they plummet.

So everyone's no doubt seen a huge increase in earnings.

Well of course not. There are obviously fundamental errors in the figures.

So I wouldn't even bother trying to use them for any sort of robust and compelling analysis.

A few years ago I used to spend hours poring over the DfT figures. But then I realised there were so many errors that they simply couldn't be relied upon.

So there's normally little point in trying to analyse these things without making sure the figures are robust.

Look, I don't doubt that market supply has increased significantly in recent years everywhere - as is self-evident from the figures and even taking them with a huge pinch of salt - and I can think of at least three macroeconomic factors as to why that might be.

But your Holy Grail wouldn't change the amount of extra deckchairs appearing, it would just arrange them to suit your own narrow agenda. End of.

Then we should have a duty put on councils ensuring they supply enough rank space for their taxi trade.

However if the taxi trade actually wanted to serve its local areas well they should have ranks in every area of the district, but they don't, all they want to do is sit and gas in the district center.

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IDFIMH

So are you saying if you suddenly put a rank in some obscure place there suddenly becomes work on it ? Get real it doesnt work like that and i suspect you know it .

No he does have a point in a way, you are correct that out of the way ranks simply don't get used and there is no custom at them anyway, but if there were more available and someone took a chance to build up on it once the public knew it was there they may well become used to idea of immediate hire, to really make it viable the hc sitting about off rank needs legalising and then let the drivers find the sweet spots around town, and then have ranks placed in these locations, because as it is now locally once I drop I have an equal return distance hoping for a flag which hardly ever comes now, so there is some merit in the idea, what isn't required is ranks that ghost, what could well help is many smaller ranks around the prime sites instead of one bigger one, this would help discourage those that shouldn't be there who are blatantly touting.

Would you explain the 'deckchair theory' to me again please?

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

Same drivers before and after, just rearranged a bit.

Oh i see so theres not more ph swap to hackney ? thus taking more streetwork ?

I didn't claim that. But it depends.

You have evidence of this?

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

Not suddenly, but if customers have confidence that a taxi will be waiting for them at a rank then they will use it.

Why do you think PH congregate at certain areas? Are you that naive?

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IDFIMH

Not so im afraid,we have plenty of ranks here that youd be lucky for 5 to 10 jobs a day go off,theres also ranks that some days no jobs go off.Who uses these ranks you might ask ? Hackneys plotting for a job in that area,so if your not on a radio company why sit there ? As for ph congregating in certain areas think youll find thats usually opposite pubs and the like. Me naive ,maybe things are rosier in your part of the country

May I suggest you put ranks at those places then.

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IDFIMH

Talk to licensing its out of my control