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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:06 pm 
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jman316 wrote:
grandad wrote:
jman316 wrote:
But wouldnt a base send the nearest free driver when a job comes in? In which case it would be handy to know when and where there are peak times. Once I can build up a database I can automatically plan and predict to be at the right places to pick up more jobs!

I know all of this probably sounds stupid most of you seasoned drivers!!! :)

In Birmingham! In the evenings around China Town and Broad Street. At the times when shows and gigs are ending either the Hippodrome or the NIA. Daytime near the hospitals, New Street station or the Bull Ring.
What more do you need to know?


Im going to be in Solihull plus a PH driver! !


and you leave all this to the base

they whistle, you run

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:53 pm 
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jman316 wrote:
grandad wrote:
jman316 wrote:
But wouldnt a base send the nearest free driver when a job comes in? In which case it would be handy to know when and where there are peak times. Once I can build up a database I can automatically plan and predict to be at the right places to pick up more jobs!

I know all of this probably sounds stupid most of you seasoned drivers!!! :)

In Birmingham! In the evenings around China Town and Broad Street. At the times when shows and gigs are ending either the Hippodrome or the NIA. Daytime near the hospitals, New Street station or the Bull Ring.
What more do you need to know?


Im going to be in Solihull plus a PH driver! !

Do ALL Solihull PH vehicles work just in Solihull or do they also take people to Birmimgham and fetch them back again?

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:09 pm 
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grandad wrote:
Do ALL Solihull PH vehicles work just in Solihull or do they also take people to Birmimgham and fetch them back again?


We all do anywhere dont we? (pre booked)

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:13 pm 
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jman316 wrote:
grandad wrote:
jman316 wrote:
But wouldnt a base send the nearest free driver when a job comes in? In which case it would be handy to know when and where there are peak times. Once I can build up a database I can automatically plan and predict to be at the right places to pick up more jobs!

I know all of this probably sounds stupid most of you seasoned drivers!!! :)

In Birmingham! In the evenings around China Town and Broad Street. At the times when shows and gigs are ending either the Hippodrome or the NIA. Daytime near the hospitals, New Street station or the Bull Ring.
What more do you need to know?


Im going to be in Solihull plus a PH driver! !


whaddya mean PLUS a PH driver? thats ALL you will be, licensed by Solihull, through a Solihull based base

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:17 pm 
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jman316, you worry me...

this is how it works

you get a badge

you get a car, you plate it in Solihull on a PH plate

you rent a radio, pay the £125 a week settle, the only work you can do is what the voice from THAT box tells you to do

the only records you need to keep are costs and takings, not journeys

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:44 pm 
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It may be useful for future reference and for your own records, even if you work for one operator.

If you're a good statistician, you can work out and predict, mileages and therefore running costs, which areas/postcodes are the most popular, and give the best/most work, times etc. You can quickly work out your takings per week and month, which customers are regular, and if they do regular journeys (to the shops, a certain restaurant, airport/station, etc.), and tip well you know to hang around their area to get their job... etc...


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:50 pm 
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christopherwk wrote:
It may be useful for future reference and for your own records, even if you work for one operator.

If you're a good statistician, you can work out and predict, mileages and therefore running costs, which areas/postcodes are the most popular, and give the best/most work, times etc. You can quickly work out your takings per week and month, which customers are regular, and if they do regular journeys (to the shops, a certain restaurant, airport/station, etc.), and tip well you know to hang around their area to get their job... etc...



Finally someone who gets it! Lol....Exactly Christopher,well said.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:27 am 
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jman316 wrote:
christopherwk wrote:
It may be useful for future reference and for your own records, even if you work for one operator.

If you're a good statistician, you can work out and predict, mileages and therefore running costs, which areas/postcodes are the most popular, and give the best/most work, times etc. You can quickly work out your takings per week and month, which customers are regular, and if they do regular journeys (to the shops, a certain restaurant, airport/station, etc.), and tip well you know to hang around their area to get their job... etc...



Finally someone who gets it! Lol....Exactly Christopher,well said.


those hours spent tapping a keyboard would be better spent driving and earning, especially as it wont benefit you in the wallet

the highlighted comment is plain daft for a private hire driver, he cant take a flag, will have to call clear when dropped and be sent wherever the base sees fit

everything jman316 says points to him thinking hes a self employed, owner driving taxi business, when hes only (or will be 1 day) the 1st two

i bet he has ordered his own business cards already, with his number on

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:18 pm 
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wannabeeahack wrote:
jman316 wrote:
christopherwk wrote:
It may be useful for future reference and for your own records, even if you work for one operator.

If you're a good statistician, you can work out and predict, mileages and therefore running costs, which areas/postcodes are the most popular, and give the best/most work, times etc. You can quickly work out your takings per week and month, which customers are regular, and if they do regular journeys (to the shops, a certain restaurant, airport/station, etc.), and tip well you know to hang around their area to get their job... etc...



Finally someone who gets it! Lol....Exactly Christopher,well said.


those hours spent tapping a keyboard would be better spent driving and earning, especially as it wont benefit you in the wallet

the highlighted comment is plain daft for a private hire driver, he cant take a flag, will have to call clear when dropped and be sent wherever the base sees fit

everything jman316 says points to him thinking hes a self employed, owner driving taxi business, when hes only (or will be 1 day) the 1st two

i bet he has ordered his own business cards already, with his number on


Woah, i can do that?

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:52 pm 
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jman316 wrote:

Woah, i can do that?



course you can

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 12:28 am 
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wannabeeahack wrote:
jman316 wrote:
christopherwk wrote:
It may be useful for future reference and for your own records, even if you work for one operator.

If you're a good statistician, you can work out and predict, mileages and therefore running costs, which areas/postcodes are the most popular, and give the best/most work, times etc. You can quickly work out your takings per week and month, which customers are regular, and if they do regular journeys (to the shops, a certain restaurant, airport/station, etc.), and tip well you know to hang around their area to get their job... etc...



Finally someone who gets it! Lol....Exactly Christopher,well said.


those hours spent tapping a keyboard would be better spent driving and earning, especially as it wont benefit you in the wallet

the highlighted comment is plain daft for a private hire driver, he cant take a flag, will have to call clear when dropped and be sent wherever the base sees fit



Doesn't take long to jot down the job details in a book, then type them up once you're at home when you finished your shift - however I used to do (and still mainly do) airport runs, and usually I the most I do/did was five or so jobs a day, so it didn't take long. If you work for a local firm and do a dozen or three minimum fare jobs, then I agree, it is going to take hours!

The second comment, depends on the PH company, and how their plot system works (I only ever worked for one local minicab company using a plot system - first in, first out), and whether you can drive do a different plot once you dropped. The company I worked showed the number of drivers in each plot, and it made sense once you dropped, if there were too many drivers already in that plot is to move to a different one. Therefore if you work out that Mrs Bloggs (the generous tipper) does her shopping at 9am every Tuesday morning, and the plot she lives in is empty, then it's prudent to go to that plot if you dropped nearby and there's no other driver already in her plot.

Furthermore, for account jobs, it's essential you note down all job details, in case the firm diddles with your money, and over time, if you see the same jobs (or those jobs going similar mileage), are paying less, you can see, and make a noise about it. Some unscrupulous firms out there.

There's also the security point of view, a witness could say your car (with cloned plates) was involved in a crime, you received a parking ticket etc., with these jobs written down with job numbers, customer's names, pick ups and drops offs, you can prove it wasn't you. From the words of Tom Clancy, "If if isn't written down - it didn't happen".


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:04 am 
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[/quote]
Doesn't take long to jot down the job details in a book, then type them up once you're at home when you finished your shift - however I used to do (and still mainly do) airport runs, and usually I the most I do/did was five or so jobs a day, so it didn't take long. If you work for a local firm and do a dozen or three minimum fare jobs, then I agree, it is going to take hours!

The second comment, depends on the PH company, and how their plot system works (I only ever worked for one local minicab company using a plot system - first in, first out), and whether you can drive do a different plot once you dropped. The company I worked showed the number of drivers in each plot, and it made sense once you dropped, if there were too many drivers already in that plot is to move to a different one. Therefore if you work out that Mrs Bloggs (the generous tipper) does her shopping at 9am every Tuesday morning, and the plot she lives in is empty, then it's prudent to go to that plot if you dropped nearby and there's no other driver already in her plot.

Furthermore, for account jobs, it's essential you note down all job details, in case the firm diddles with your money, and over time, if you see the same jobs (or those jobs going similar mileage), are paying less, you can see, and make a noise about it. Some unscrupulous firms out there.

There's also the security point of view, a witness could say your car (with cloned plates) was involved in a crime, you received a parking ticket etc., with these jobs written down with job numbers, customer's names, pick ups and drops offs, you can prove it wasn't you. From the words of Tom Clancy, "If if isn't written down - it didn't happen".[/quote]

Bang on again mate, although i dont think entering even a few dozen entries will take that much time. Hey thats what I do NOW!! :)

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:37 am 
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Quote:
There's also the security point of view, a witness could say your car (with cloned plates) was involved in a crime, you received a parking ticket etc., with these jobs written down with job numbers, customer's names, pick ups and drops offs, you can prove it wasn't you. From the words of Tom Clancy, "If if isn't written down - it didn't happen".


your base has a legal requirement to keep records for a few years, and have you considered the DPA requirements?

and Christopher is an operator, your not and wont be

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:41 am 
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Christopher, your your own man, the boss, the operator, bound by certain rules Jman isnt bound by but granted privileges he isnt by having an Ops licence - which at £1500 where he is he wont be getting...

horses for courses

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 11:06 am 
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wannabeeahack wrote:
Christopher, your your own man, the boss, the operator, bound by certain rules Jman isnt bound by but granted privileges he isnt by having an Ops licence - which at £1500 where he is he wont be getting...

horses for courses


If an operator operates on the basis of sending the nearest driver available to a job (instead of preferring a select few drivers for the good earners) then it makes sense to me to have someway of being at that particular time and place for the regular jobs.

This makes sense to me as a new driver. It may work. It may not. But at least ill know!

As for your apprehension for this and any new ideas (it seems), comet incoming bro :)

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