Taxi Driver Online

Then complain.

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Grandad,

I have glanced up the thread to see where the quote you included has come from, but can't find it.

Whilst I have to agree that to a Taxi Driver who plays by the rules it may seem like a harassment to be photographed, part of me is of the opinion that if one Driver is the cause of the problem, then the Public should protect themselves, and, in the world of today that means "Take a Picture". I (among many) have video cameras in my Cab, is that a harassment to the public with constant picture taking?

I would love to think that all Taxi Drivers in Plymouth are Angels, I am all to regularly proved to be wrong. I want my customers, and would be customers, to be happy getting in my, or any Plymouth Taxi. If that means rooting out those Drivers that upset the customer, then good.

I am delighted that the Taxi Marshalling scheme is not to be paid for by the Trade, it never should be. I am pleased that you managed to get the interest accrued back as well.

I fully support the mystery shopper catching PH in their misdemeanours but, as outlined above I support them catching Taxi Drivers who "Cherry Pick, refuse Guide Dogs, refuse Wheelchairs (100% WAV here), or are rude or abusive. Perhaps going to your LA to get them to do all of these would help.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

From a Taxidriver...Not someone that just drives a Taxi..

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

The section that you could not find was posted by Mr T, it was within a list of comments that have jumped on the bandwagon..............



It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that people will go to slate their own trade.

My own obsevations are this; NO trade is perfect i.e 5* hotels get complaints, then there are the police, they are rife with complaints despite dropping numbers in the ranks, with complaints going up and up! Do we see the papers full of people writing in day in day out complaing ? answer.....no we do not. However if it is taxis....everyone rips into us.

I am not saying that it does not happen, but neither do I believe that we in Cardiff pro rata are any different than anywhere else. we all know what needs doing, having said that if you have some lazy sods ( and we do have them ) sat in their office drawing a salary that you would not cock a nose at, not doing their jobs.......then I am not going to do it for them. Usually in such circumstances an under fire trade/company/organisation closes ranks and defends its position....nobody does tut tut, oh yes we really are naughty - as some are doing in this case.

The hotels down here for the RWC have in some cases raised their prices by over 1000% ( the extra zero is not a mistake), the pubs have upped their prices way above normal, in both cases hardly a mention! We get three sex assaults (two foreign named men charged) and all of a sudden the papers splash diverting the bad news tactic. As in Jaws (nah, no sharks in the water - liars) stating that we ( the taxi drivers ) have all got to be Mother Teresa to the drunks, druggies/liars and those who think that we have got to take them home, and that they will pay the other end....as if!

Of the two news issues (sex assaults & drivers refusal to take ) have a guess (I will give you two guesses) which article has had the most press & the most comments? I do not buy into the slating we are taking, neither do I think that innocent drivers should be subjected to even more harassment than normal.



I am sure that you can do better that to ask a question such as that! Do I feel harassed going into a Bank,shop, train, bus with similar technology...oh come on! The point I am trying to make is that we are dealing with drunks and druggies who now think that it is okay to stick a cam/mobile into your/my cab and to start clicking away, giving you/I verbals and pontificating like a barrack room lawyer that I have now got to do this that and the other.

I had an Irish guy last night (seemed sober) trying to get back to Neath/Glamorgan, roughly 37 miles away, (he did not know the exact address). I quoted a normal price £75/£80 (no hike), he then said I was trying to take advantage as he had come down for £55! I tried explaining that different Boroughs have different tariffs i.e London is higher than us etc. He then comes back with........he had done his homework and that we in Cardiff are in the same borough/tariff as Neath!! The bottom line being is that I am definitely the one that is free of alcohol and drugs.....and you guys are listening to some popped up people and giving them the benefit of the doubt. Do we need to improve - I guess that many trades/professions including us do, but do we need to shoot our selves in the foot in doing so?

IMO it was a bad news day, and they are using us to divert it. It was also exaggerated by the fact that on the night of the (driver accusations), there would have been an extra 70,000+ fans in the City, 120,000 for an actual match, which obviously on the night/s is going to make getting a cab pretty difficult, unless booked. Hey, lets blame the taxi drivers....they will even blame themselves

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Common sense........is just not that Common.

With out getting my head bitten off...what is your answer to this then...

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

I await that reply.

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Grandad,

I for one will be replying, but I am working at the moment.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

I am more interested in Cabby John's solution.

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Grandad,

First and foremost if you feel that I was having a go at you, it was not meant to be personal or for that matter to actually have a go at you. I tend to get a teeny weeny bit uptight....when others imo are not looking at the overall big picture - especially when they have inside knowledge

Tbh I feel that the root cause of this happening needs to be recognised. The problem/s ( and no one man band is going to sort it out) has got to be the tariff.

As already mentioned ( by me somewhere on the forum), our last increase was 4 years ago of around 2.3% to help us with the escalating fuel costs. The previous rise was some 3 years before that, making it basically 7 years without a proper rise. If you add to it deregulation increased hacks from 450 to (I think something like) 967 hacks now jamming up the City, in effect cutting the cake in half. To make matters worse we have the so called recession, plus endless traffic lights and speed bumps installed all around the City slowing/stopping traffic over the same time span.

To do short runs you can no longer nip around the City and pay your way, as mentioned endless traffic lights, the volume of traffic itself, speed bumps galore plus of course the damage that these traffic calming measures can do to cabs/cars do slow you down. To consistently take on short runs, you would honestly struggle even more than normal.

To me the tariff is the root cause, at this moment it is being proposed and posted in the newspaper for a massive 30p increase on the start, Or if you really like to dress it up 4.1% increase on days and 3.7% on nights....makes it sound lot by doing it percentage wise. As ever 50% of nothing....is still nothing.

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Common sense........is just not that Common.

Are you still dereged..

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

I know that Grandad, but you are going to get my Two penny worth as well......

....in a bit.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

[/quote]
Are you still dereged..[/quote]

No.

It got that bad with hundreds of drivers clogging up the City Centre,that despite one councillor who was hell bent on issuing more licenses, the police ended up objecting and stopping it.

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Common sense........is just not that Common.

Note to self, read things twice. At first glance i thought were asking him if he still deranged.

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Grandad,

1. I do not “Slate” my own Trade, I do what I can to improve it.

2. You are right, every trade gets complaints, but with the Taxi Trade the way to make a complaint is with the Local Authority. A complaint in the 5 Star Hotel is resolved by the Manager. Police complaints can go via the Police, the Police Commissioner or the IPCC.

3. I am sure that Cardiff is as good as anywhere, but as you rightly say it is likely to be as bad. If enforcement is not being done, you need to kick the “Lazy Sods” into action. If you think banding together to protect the guilty is a good way to raise the status of the Trade, your wrong, but you should band together to protect the innocent. In Plymouth the Association does not defend the indefensible.

4. Anyone with an unregulated business can charge what they like, it is usual for Hotels to raise prices at times of peak demand. That is the nature of supply and demand. If there is a glut of Strawbwerries, Strawberries are cheap, unless you sell them at Wimbledon, you would not believe the price of Strawberries there. In the Hackney Trade prices are regulated or if you prefer fixed by the Local Authority, if you want to alter the Tariff you apply to do so. You argue your case and if you do not get what you want you go through the process again. It is difficult in areas with too many Taxis but it is achievable.

5. If you are getting the 5hitty end of the stick in the local press, what reply in the press are you making? Taking a stance on being against “Cherry Picking” and supporting the provision of “Information to Authorities” where possible on the problem of the sex attacks will help. Your potential customers want to know that the majority of the Taxi Drivers in Cardiff are on their side, silence from the Trade will maybe make them think the Trade are protecting the Guilty.

6. It matters not a jot what your Tariff says, if you are asked to go outside your Licensing District you may negotiate the fare. If you do not like the low offer made by the intending passenger, don’t go, simple.

7. If you are a Taxi Driver it is going to include dealing with the Riffraff and the intoxicated, it comes with the job.


Finally let me return to the second part of the first sentence in this post, "I do what I can to improve it".

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related