Taxi Driver Online

Hi guys and girls

Following my recent problems and numerous complaint letters and emails to the various authorities I have been granted an audience at the council to address my concerns about my personal safety and lack of support from Police and Council.

If any of you know of any councils or police forces running initiatives can you let me know so I can take details to this meeting.

Ta much

Ours has an offer for CCTV to be installed in the cars part finaced by the council.

I'll get back to you with the details when I get all the details as to who is involved

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Life? Don't talk to me about life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjm2eslm6hI

I think for a start you need to get the police reps to remind their colleagues that doing a runner is a criminal offence, not a civil one.

Also remind the police how valuable our eyes and our ears are for the police, and the more the police help out our trade the more our eyes and ears will see and hear.

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IDFIMH

Our council received a grant to fund part payment of installing cctv's in Cabs.
The owners had to pay part and the council paid the rest. When the LO gets back from a "well earned rest" I'll get all the details.

_________________
Life? Don't talk to me about life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjm2eslm6hI

Well that was a total waste of time.

Done a fair bit of research before I went in and went in and suggested a Council run Safety exhibition which could be done at no cost to the Council if they got a small fee from various manufacturers of Safety Devices. Answer from our fabulous enforcement officer - I spoke to Glasgow and they dont have any advice for drivers and they are bigger than us so I dont think we need to !

Option 2 - stick a few lines on your website offering advice to drivers, basic common sense stuff, again no cost. Answer - I don't know much about computers (did i f@@kin ask him that ?)

I then advised I would be handing my plate back in at which stage he stopped even pretending to have time for the meeting and couldnt get me out quick enough, obviously didn't see the point in trying to pretend to be interested when he wouldnt be getting my plate, license and test fees each year.

I suggest you take the whole story to your local press. Also get on to your local councillor and MSP / MP and highlight the complete disinterest of this moron, oops sorry, person.

Good Luck

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Our safety is Paramount

Are we taking about the infamous Mr Roy Hadden ? Renfrewshire Council's enforcement sergeant

Yes enforcement sergeant is the title for him !!!????

If it is I suggest you contact the new head of the Regulatory Functions Board http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/cs-ar-councillor-bill-perrie

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_around_the_world

Indeed it is, however did you guess. Cheers for the heads up on the new head of the Regulatory Functions board. I'll think of what exactly I want to say and then get onto him, as well as my local councillors.

So having sat on it for a week or two I have had time to put together a wee letter to our friend at the Cooncil as he had the front to spin me the old "Admin Costs" line and the audacity to tell me not to write to him again. So heres the letter to cheer him up this week :

Further to our recent correspondence and meeting I would like further clarification from you with regards to the above Private Hire Operators Licence and Private Hire Drivers Licence.

In my email to you dated 12/06/2007 I requested a refund of the unused portion of these two licenses which are due to expire on 31/08/2008 and 31/07/2008 respectively. In your reply dated 15/06/2007 also by email you state :

“With regard to a refund on your applications, please note that no refunds
are given. The fee is to cover the work involved in processing your
application which was granted and therefore no refunds are applicable.”

I would therefore ask for further clarification of your administrative processes that result in the Operators Licence costing an additional £50 for a two year renewal as opposed to a one year initial grant, and an additional £40 to supply a two year drivers’ licence as opposed to an initial new licence grant for one year of £40.

It would seem logical that an initial grant of a licence would be more expensive due to the additional work involved in a full disclosure and suitability check and allocation of new driver and plate numbers than a renewal of existing licenses. This is surely reflected in the longer timescales involved in processing initial granting of licences than in renewing existing licenses.

Additionally there is less paperwork involved in processing an application once every two years than once a year, and as I still have to pay for new plates annually the cost is not for materials. Surely you will agree that to print a number 8 on a piece of paper rather than a number 7 is not any more expensive.

I therefore request by return post a full breakdown of your administrative costs with respect to the processing of license applications or a cheque for a minimum of £90 to cover the unused portion of these licenses.

I would also like to point out that contrary to your comments in the email which implies I asked for “safety training” at our meeting I did no such thing. What I did was to offer you several no cost initiatives for the Council to be seen to be taking a proactive role in driver safety within the Renfrewshire Council area, not for myself but for all drivers of licensed vehicles in the area.

However as according to your figures there have only been 6 incidents within your 11 year tenure I appear to have been involved in a third of all these incidents, with another third involving drivers from Paisley Cab Co in the past year. It would appear that either your figures are flawed or the lack of responsiveness of the Council to issues like these mean that Drivers don’t bother letting you know.

Additionally to state in your email that you took my comments seriously but did not want to take up too much of my time as I had another appointment at 2.30pm I feel this shows how little you actually listened to what was being said. The fact is that I stated that I had to leave your offices no later than 2.30pm, a fact that had been confirmed in writing to you by email 7 days before the meeting.

Please be advised that if I do not receive a satisfactory answer to this letter I will have no option but to take this matter, in the first instance, to Cllr Bill Perrie who I believe is the Convenor of the Regulatory Functions Board.

Contrary to your stating on your email that “no response to this letter is required” I believe that it is your duty to supply me with satisfactory answers and my prerogative as to when I decide to conclude my correspondence on this matter.

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http://renfrewshirecouncilwatch.blogspot.com/

Make a Freedom of Information Request for sight of the councils licensing account.

I would also suggest making a complaint to the councils best value officer.

I would also point out though, that I made these requests about 5 years ago and due to the lack of action, or should I say inaction, my complaints are now in the hands of the District Auditor and Council Ombudsman.

I think the "safety roadshow" is a great idea, and with the number of firms now offering "in cab security" systems there should, as you suggest, be no cost implications.

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.

Do Renfrewshire allow CCTV in Cabs?

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.

Not sure JD, I know that there is a guy that sits on the rank with stickers stating cctv is in operation but whether it is or not i couldn't say. However as there is nothing in the conditions of license that prohibits its use I would assume that it is allowed.

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http://renfrewshirecouncilwatch.blogspot.com/