Taxi Driver Online

The statement................... reminds me of the attitude of the old mill owners from a hundred years ago....... I thought we moved on.....

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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!

Cabbies' go slow in licences protest


ANGRY cabbies across the region have taken part in protests demanding a cap on the amount of taxis on the roads.

They held a series of slow drives around Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Gateshead at rush-hour yesterday morning to press their case.

They have also been asking for more rank space to be made available to them.

More protests have been promised unless authorities act to reduce the number of licences being issued.

The drivers say they are being forced out of business and have called for a survey into the demand and need for taxis.

Part of the problem, say some taxi drivers, is that there has been an influx of Eastern European, particularly Polish, drivers.

In Darlington, about 20 to 30 cabbies took part in a slow drive round the ring-road before congregating in Crown Street.

Lucy Archer, chairwoman of Darlington Hackney carriage and Private Hire Association, said: "At the moment, there's something like over 200 hackney carriages and only seven ranks during the day time.

"What we're saying is they should stop issuing any more licences as there's not enough spaces. We're not going to let this go, we did this last year and we got a bit of a result from that."

Ms Archer said even without the large number of migrant workers the number of taxi drivers was a problem.

She said: "Still, at the minute, there are taxi firms that go abroad and they do actually recruit a lot of drivers, and they tend to work for a wage.

"No offence against Polish drivers, but there's not enough work without going abroad."

A Darlington Borough Council spokesman said: "The market dictates the number of taxis that is required. If somebody comes to the council and says they want to earn a living as a taxi driver, the market will decide whether that living can be earned or not.

"It is not for the council to determine the market - it is our role to licence, not to limit."

The Gateshead Hackney Drivers' Association claims there are only 38 rank spaces for 335 taxis and wants 100 parking spaces to be made into taxi bays.

Stuart Hayes, of the Gateshead Hackney Drivers Association, called for a public survey.

But Peter Wright, manager of environmental health and trading standards for Gateshead Council, said 85 per cent had not taken part in yesterday's protest.

He said: "We have established mechanisms for consulting with the trade."

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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!

That's a problem with strikes, and for that matter, petitions.

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IDFIMH

Its the reality of the world we live in. You only have to read the latest thread on Darlington and Gateshead etc. I'm sorry if it seems harsh but some times reality is harsh.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Police stop 78 taxis



POLICE stopped nearly 80 taxis this weekend as part of an operation on Wirral's roads.

78 taxis - both private hire and hackney, were stopped at different locations across the borough and dealt with for various offences.

Road policing officers were joined by Wirral's Taxi Enforcement Team and a vehicle inspector from VOSA (Vehicle Operators Service Authority).

Of the 78 taxis stopped:

10 vehicles were immediately removed from the road for being un-roadworthy

17 were immediately suspended from the road

19 vehicles were given condition notices

7 drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices

Neighbourhood Inspector Kate [edited by admin] said: "This was a successful operation targeting private and hackney taxis operating in the area to check the vehicles are roadworthy and licenses are up to date.

"Roads policing operations of this kind send out a strong message that if you are driving a vehicle without insurance, using a mobile phone whilst at the wheel or driving a taxi that is not fit for the road - we will target you and you will be dealt with accordingly and in some cases your vehicle will be removed from the road completely."

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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!

Now I bet anyone a pound to a penny that in the next edition of Taxi'talk' all those baddies will be put down to de-limitation.

Instead of, up till now, pi** poor enforcement.

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IDFIMH

I believe that in one area the police said to the trade that they should have notified them before demonstrating,,,, to which one of the drivers replied we are not demonstrating only going to work ...... and we do not ask you to tell us when you go to work ...

it seemed that they are not demonstrating , simply all going to work at once....

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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!

Well if only 15% of them go to work then they must be coining it.

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IDFIMH

I think going out and checking the vehicles is called........ enforcement.....

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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!

Of course the fact that there are no ranks has nothing to with the fact ..... and if they over rank they get fined....... not a problem when you're earning £40 a day..... some people just don't know when they're lucky.

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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!

Taxi drivers and council to sort out dispute


TAXI drivers in Worcester have been invited to a city council forum to try and resolve an ongoing dispute.

The Guildhall has offered the trade an olive branch by revealing that it wants a better dialogue with taxi drivers from now on.

It follows a turbulent time in relations between the two, which started earlier in the year when the city council carried out a sting operation on cabs, and found 40 per cent of those checked were unsafe.

About 100 taxi drivers protested outside the Guildhall in March after the authority decided to make the report public.

Worcester Taxi Drivers Association (WTDA) has called it a "long overdue" attempt to ease relations.

Anne Murphy, secretary of the WTDA, said: "We haven't seen the final agenda, but I've seen some of the things likely to be up for discussion and it includes things such as limits to the number of licensed taxis in Worcester, the condition of vehicles, and people driving illegally.

"All we want is decent conditions to provide a service for the people of Worcester. There are lots of issues, such as how drivers suffer verbal and physical abuse, and it can't be swept under the carpet. That's why this meeting is well overdue."

The taxi forum, which has been confirmed for Monday, June 25, will be chaired by city council chief executive David Wareing and include representatives from the police.

Councillor Simon Ger-aghty, leader of the city council, said: "There are lots of issues that have been festering for a long time, many of which are not beyond the wit of man to resolve.

"Communication is the key. This is about making sure issues are dealt with so that we can move on into a new phase. David Wareing is the perfect person to chair it. This is not political, and any policy issues from the forum will be fed back to the cabinet."

A Worcester police spokesman said: "We work very closely with the Worcester Taxi Drivers Association and the city council, and this meeting is a more externally tangible version of that."

The county council will also be invited to attend the meeting, as will licensing officers and members of the South Worcestershire Safe-ty Partnership

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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!

What do you mean IF the owner gave it up? The owner wouldn't give it up unless he had to. He'd hold on to it until death.




But the drivers would still earn according to labour market conditions; only the owner would be better off.

Your claim is like saying that if the number of jumbo jets was limited then that would improve the earnings of baggage handlers.

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

You want to work a town that has de limited mate,the trade has gone flat here in Chelmsford !!

But what of the licenses already issued without any education or implimentation of quality standards.

Over supply is detrimental to more people than unmet demand is to taxi users .................... rising complaints by town centre residents, local businesses and the Police along with concerns from the Fire Service are being recieved in Gateshead because of the number of taxis trying to get onto to few ranking spaces to wait for not enough work.

Its a simple case of mathematics ..................... but instead people listen to idiots who claim the HC plate is a licence to print money in large quantities.

B. Lucky

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"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

Wake up Dusty man ........................ for many years I have been trying to get you to understand that the majority ..................... the vast majority in fact of HC drivers in this country actually own the cabs they drive.

Your claims of plate barons controlling the industry in every area across the country are so wide of the mark they don't make sense to the inhabitants of the real world.

Please get a grip and stop sensationalising the situation in order for you to achieve your goal of completely wrecking the HC industry ................ deregulation kills the owner driver far quicker than any of the so called taxi barons, the vast majority of whom provide an excellent service to the people who pay to rent their cabs.

FFS.

B. Lucky

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"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.