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The Reiver
Price on a plate?
During December, the City of Chicago auctioned 50 medallions and raised an amazing $3.9 million dollars (£1.99 million), an average of $78K (approx £40K) per plate.
As you will all be aware, the system in the UK prohibits this; licensing revenue must be reflective on the cost of operating the licensing regime. The Chicago solution obviously makes for a worthwhile column.
I have no idea how the City of Chicago will spend their new found wealth, if something similar were introduced here I would imagine a number of care homes for the elderly making noises and potentially being kept open and improved upon. I suppose the public would demand it. Indeed, in a country where our elderly are regularly reported to be sitting in the cold because they cannot afford to heat their own homes I would suggest it is an avenue that the auction system should be seriously looked into.
I would imagine anyone buying a medallion for $78K would want some guarantees as to future plate issues and suchlike. Indeed, anyone investing in a plate would be more or less guaranteed remuneration.
The concept of councils selling plates would be difficult to accept by some, yet taxis are a business, in any business you are expected to invest, in this manner you word harder to make a return on your investment. Yet, with taxis in areas that ‘freely’ issue licenses the only expenditure when starting up is either the vehicle or the insurance.
We see countless numbers of cowboys entering the trade and leaving it, invariably these are the people who ruin the reputation, would these cowboys be prepared to invest the necessary money if the Chicago system was to be adopted? I personally cannot see it.
Tinted Vision?
I tend to think some people lay in their beds on a night thinking of ways to upset people, I know I do.
However, I think I am quite right in stating that 99.9% of the private hire trade are legitimate and hard working people (just like 51% of the taxi trade). I sincerely hope everyone, be they private hire or taxi, upon licensing are thoroughly checked and vetted to a high standard. If we accept the principle that we are all okay and legitimate, where does this put the recent T&G calls for an end to tinted glass in some private hire vehicles in London? Indeed, where does this put some local authorities in the rest of the UK?
By tinted glass, I do refer to the standard tinted glass that comes with some vehicles, and not that stuff boy racers buy and put on their vehicles!
If tinted glass is banned, then surely this sends the message that authorities believe drivers cannot be trusted. Which in turn, sends the message that there is something wrong with vetting procedures?
Best Placed to decide?
I know I have written in the past of my belief that locals are best placed to decide, this has been misinterpreted by some as local councils know best.
It is becoming increasingly obvious (to me anyway) the best person to decide is actually me.
Apparently, I have no qualifications, a rather large biased opinion and my own interpretation of licensing law. This puts me on the same level as licensing officials and above councillors. (To have the same qualification as a councillor you must have no opinion or knowledge of the licensed trade at all.)
We are operating in a multi million pound business, we are an essential service to the most vulnerable in our society and an ‘integral part’ of the transport system and we are effectively governed by people who sit on committees, knit cardigans and may decide to use the taxi trade as a political football.
It seems insane, I have written before advising how I cannot imagine a professional business such as ‘Tesco’ allowing an amateur housewife to run their logistics network, yet this is precisely what happens with our business.
How often do we hear calls for more ranks get referred to committee after committee? How often do we hear stories of drivers being suspended for petty offences when most businesses would be prohibited by law from suspending people without pay?
Indeed, as and when a driver is brought to task, you have a person passing judgement who has no single idea about the livelihood he may be depriving a person from.
Fare increases are another example where local authority councillors can have a direct affect on your livelihood, the political football may decree it is a political decision not to increase charges on locals, irrespective of the increases in costs. I can’t imagine ‘Tesco’ permitting a local authority to decide by committee what the cost of ‘fish fingers’ are going to be for the next 12 months, can you?
A certain school of thought believes locals are far from the best people to decide, considering the above, they could well be correct.
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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