Taxi Driver Online

No doubt many people on here remember the travesty that was Fraser Eagle and the way they shafted loads of Taxi drivers.

Well we are getting a bit worried that the same thing is happening again but with Arriva Trains Wales.

WE (as in at least 4 local companies have not been paid for months and any enquiries are met with various excuses and broken promises.

Talk on the ranks is that drivers are not willing to do any more rail replacement work until the situation is resolved.

Is it just us locally or is this a wider problem. ??

no problems with Cab Find and GWR down here

cabfind are right Sh*st!rs we ditched them they would never give us local work only pick ups 20 to 30 miles away going on to somewhere else and any local work cars were dragged from Peterborough. They also would always book the outward with one company and the return with another. The final straw came when they booked two different taxi companies for the same job then denied it completely

the London lot used to do the same fetch 6 seaters from Peterborough for a little local job instead of give it to us. Mind you Sodexo book direct with us now as it is a lot cheaper on that job

As for Arriva trains wales well there has been a sharp drop in passenger numbers uk wide so they are probably losing money heavily (uk margins are very tight for all the franchise operators because they bid too much) Stagecoach have been told by their shareholders to ditch UK rail operations in favour of American and European franchises which are much more profitable allegedly. So I think this is probably a strong sign of them being in trouble.

The thing is though that Arriva is owned by DB Shenker AKA German state railways so ultimately by the German Government

I think that just as the East Coast operation is now back under government control several others will follow possibly including Govia Thameslink and Northern rail. I think the concept of rail franchises operating passenger services is coming to a sticky end and worked only whilst rail travel and revenues were constantly growing faster than inflation BUT THE BUBBLE HAS BURST !!!!!!!

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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-41809874

Well they dropped out of the running for the new franchise last year, not sure when the old franchise runs out but it's some time this year..
Let's hope they don't do a runner without paying what's owed.

If I was on better speaking terms with the boss of the company I work with I'd ask him if they've had any problems.

Once the franchise has finished all they have to do is have the business struck off by companies house and nobody will get a penny. Arriva know what they are doing they will be milking it for every penny and once the franchise is handed over no doubt all sorts of sharp practises and problems will be left for the new operator and their legal team will have made sure there is no comeback to the parent company

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

the simple answer is to issue a 14 days before legal action letter to their head office. If you get no reply within 14 days, take out a county court summons.

I had to do that on First Group about 15 years ago when they didn't pay for a private hire bus job. within 2 days of posting the letter to their HO a call came from the chief exec offering full payment by return. The local office got a bollocking for not paying within 30 days.

As you say, ATW is owned by DB, so unlikely to go broke. But then look at Railtrack plc...

How the hell they make money on the railways is beyond me? They have to rent the engines and the rolling stock from the ROSCOS which are owned by an American Company then they have to pay to use the stations then they have to pay to use the lines. All this on top of a massive franchise fee.

The tendering process itself cost tens of millions. and it's the travelling public that pays for it all, and the rest of us whose taxpayer money supports the loss-making lines which are socially necessary. the whole system is a mess and will implode sooner rather than later.

Luckily when i ran a bus company we managed to keep Frazer Eagle out of the south east by combining several independent companies to put in joint tenders. FE were told by Connex (remember them?) that they were very satisfied with the service we gave them and if FE were to tender they would end up using the same companies anyway. Probably the only other wise decision Connex made was to leave the UK.

By the billions of subsidies by the tax payer, many of who never use the railway.

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IDFIMH