Taxi Driver Online

Leicester Mercury

June 20, 2006 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Your views on types of taxi sought

People are to be asked which type of cars they would like to see used as taxi cabs in Leicester. Leicester City Council is considering allowing models other than the traditional Hackney cab to operate in the city and is urging the public to have its say.

The public will be able to inspect four different vehicles which will be on display outside the Haymarket Shopping Centre in Humberstone Gate, on Wednesday.

Council staff will be available to answer questions and collect comments from the public during the event, which will take place between 10am and 3pm. The city council's ruling cabinet will make a final decision on the policy later this year, having considered representations from drivers and the public.

For further information about the consultation, contact the council's licensing team on 0116 252 6326 or log on to:

www.leicester.gov.uk/news/consultations.
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The link to the four vehicles on view is here but you may wish to save the document to disk as a pdf file and not as an asp file extension, which is attributed to the file.

http://www.leicester.gov.uk/EasySite/li ... pgid=41461

Regards

JD

Leicester have commissioned independent survey company Halcrow to gather the public information regarding these four vehicles. When I spoke to halcrow yesterday they informed me the public response to all four vehicles on show was very positive. It would appear Leicester are leaving nothing to chance but if I were them I would pass a condition which stated no vehicle to be licensed without ABS, that would certainly teach LTI a lesson, at least in the short term.

Regards

JD

Not so, but it would bankrupt many decent owner/drivers of their product. ABS, in any case is something that comes into use only when a poor driver exceeds his ability and is about to crash. But your vindictive and puerile suggestion is no more than I have come to expect of you. My first Metrocab had drum brakes all round, and I managed to drive it for 5 years without crashing into anyone, by keeping my distance. It was written off by someone crashing (head on) into me, something that ABS would not have helped to avoid. My present Metrocab has front discs, and I still get by without crashing into other vehicles, by, KEEPING MY DISTANCE! I wonder if ABS, Airbags, etc, really save lives, or just lull drivers into a false sense of security.

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Former taxi driver

Obviously I didn't mean existing licensed vehicles had to have ABS, only those which were newly licensed or being replaced. I forgot to put the word "future" before "vehicle", I suspect you formed the opinion I meant all vehicles?

Is there a difference between LTI insisting on a turning circle requirement and the council insisting on ABS? Any company who goes out of their way to restrict driver choice by taking legal action against local authorities in order to stop them implementing their preferred choice, deserves all they get. I for one will do all in my power to see the end of the Turning circle condition, no doubt Edinburgh is a rook LTI can ill afford to lose. Leicester will be the next piece on the chess board to fall and rightly so, others will soon follow, especially when the DfT issue their best practice guidance on vehicle choice.



You suggest my stance on driver choice is vindictive? Well if that be the case I welcome being vindictive because I openly believe in driver choice. Does LTI belive in choice? Do you believe in choice? Your support for LTI ably demonstrates that you don't believe in choice and if you did under your scenario it would make you as vindictive as me?

I told you once before when you came up with the idea that LTI would sue the PCO if they removed the turning circle, that the chess board would change and they will eventually be subject to competition or become an historical feature of the past, just like our large red Telephone boxes.

That time is rapidly approaching and as Buchanan rightly said, "the TC is not a necessity", so when an aggrieved proprietor in one of our provincial areas or perhaps vehicle manufacturer, takes legal action against the reasonableness of the TCR condition and wins, then the game will be well and truly up for LTI, and what's more they know it.

So if Mathew chaney is reading this, he probably knows he is going to lose the provinces even without a court case. All he will be left with is London but only until such time the condition is challenged in a court of law. When that happens we can probably say goodbye to LTI because I doubt very much they could compete in a free open market? This is ably demonstrated in those authorities that have not adopted the Turning Circle condition.

If I were Manganese Bronze shareholders I would be very concerned at their current position because the future looks very bleak indeed. It is only a matter of time before shareholders realise that Manganese bronze is heading for a big fall.

One more point I would like to mention, as yet I have not turned my attentions to LTI, I've only tinkered around the edges but when I do, they will certainly know about it.

Its called doing whats right for the trade, if your version of doing whats right for the trade is restricting their choice, then your welcome to it.

Regards

JD

Wot, you mean like the turning circle?

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Fair point, but surely it's better to have ABS to prevent a bad driver crashing than leaving the bad driver to crash?

And it's not always poor driving that necessitates the use of ABS, it can bo other drivers and suchlike.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Oh no no no.

ABS have saved many people's lives whilst driving at a low speed i.e. over oil, ice, etc.

But even if you had no sympathy for drivers that speed, what about the innocent folks in the other motors, or just walking the streets?

Even they have families.

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IDFIMH

So the public now decide which vehicles we have to buy?

Can't they just ask the drivers which vehicles they would like?

Apart from a few disabled lobby groups, do the public really care what vehicle their Taxi is?

I suspect not.

The public exercise is so that Leicester City council can prove that the public would like to see other vehicles licensed, besides LTI vehicles. It is a good move if you want to swat a fly that has been a little irritant of late.

Regards

JD

Oh no no no. Sussex gets all fluffy.
There is no evidence to support your proposition, that "ABS saved many peoples lives"

Airbags too, I suppose. They NEVER go off without warning, (or crashing) do they?

I have probably driven over a million and a half miles since becoming a pro driver in 1972. No ABS. No Airbags. No seatbelt. I'ts a wonder I'm still here, really. And a dissapointment, for some, I'll warrant. Maybe I'm just a safe driver, with my clean license, and maximum no claims, even though I drive about 50K a year.

I still maintain those with ABS, etc, drive too fast, in the belief that ABS will save them. It won't.

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Former taxi driver

By the way, what will cab direct, etc base their "taxi's" on when Fiat/Citroen cease production of the Scudo?

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Former taxi driver

Well I suspect there is, it's just neither of us can be bothered to search the net for it.

But surely even you must realise that ABS slows down vehicles quicker in a straight line, thus avoiding folks on the pavement. And would you rather be in a car being hit by another at 10 mph or 20 mph?

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IDFIMH

VWs, Mercs, Fords, Vauxhalls.

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IDFIMH

I don't drive down the pavement, so I don't need ABS?

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Former taxi driver