Dusty Bin wrote:
But if de-limitation has such little effect on waiting times and the like, then what's this merely highlights what many of us have been saying for years - any increase in cab number can largely be due to jockies getting their own plate, so the amount of cabs actually on the streets at any one time doesn't change.
Dusty
BUT the majority of jockied plates are on saloon cars Dusty (I wish I had your name so I could refer to it constantly during my replies). Any new plates would, in most cases, would be for WAV's. It therefore follows that owners of the saloon cars will find new jockies for their saloons when their original jockey is out driving his WAV with his own plates. This also leads to the "premium" being strengthened as owners of expensive WAV's see buying a cheaper saloon vehicle as a way of reducing costs and increasing profits.
This is what I have found in an area which has seen a increase of more than 200% in H/C numbers as well as an increase in P/H vehicles. Some jockies, fair enough, bought a WAV and got their own plates but they were replaced almost immediatly by others, mostly entering the trade. Numbers of vehicles are increasing, on Friday I had a meeting with the local Police, Traffic Wardens and various local authority officials to discuss the matter of congestion around different ranks at different times of the day and night. We simply do not have the provision to accomodate the numbers of cars wishing to work at any time of the day or night, the Police even suggested that "restricted plates" should be issued allowing holders to only work certain ranks or certain times of the day or night, until the redevelopment has been completed and adequate, viable provision is increased.
You see, arguments for some areas to increase numbers are justified, however premiums will ONLY be removed following full deregulation and because some authorities have allowed plates to be transfered knowing that monies have been exchanged for the operating rights, it will be impossible to, in some areas, deregulate fully as the authority would face compensation claims from ALL existing "premium" plateholders to cover the full cost of investment. Maybe this is what should be done, total deregulation of numbers, single tier or whatever termanology you wish to use would offer a level playing field for non-plateholders but surely without payment of compensation to plateholders who have legally, and with the full knowledge of the council, paid for their "work right" the playing field would be stacked in the favour of those wishing to have the oppertunity rather than those who currently do. If, however, an authority DOES NOT allow such transactions NO compensation could be saught, nor could it be saught by a plateholder who recieved the plate from the authority without "premium". Just look at the situation in Brighton where people wait years for a plate then sell it as soon as they recieve one, even though they have moaned for years about the fact that they couldn't get one on demand.
This is what is wrong, this is whats unfair. I believe that H/C numbers should be restricted however they should not be transferable and when someone leaves the trade THE AUTHORITY should re-issue the plate to the person who has waited the longest for one.
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