Taxi Driver Online

We on TDO know the real reasons behind the "Meeting of Mindless" exercise and from the narrow mindless topics that have so far been at the forefront of their agenda it is plain to see that one particular topic rises above all others.

This article just about explains what the Liverpool contingent want and it is farely obvious that they don't really give a chit on how they achieve it, or the impact it might have on the Taxi and private hire trade as a whole?

There has been a lot of adverse comment about the GMB and some of its more prominent members who run the Taxi section but I think it should be pointed out that it was the Brighton GMB who were instrumental in publishing the minutes of these meetings of minds in order that you all could see just what was being orchestrated and manipulated in your name.

This article lays bare the price you were expected to pay just so Liverpool hackney carriage drivers could rid themselves of fair competition in the private hire booking sector, from Sefton Private hire drivers.

The whole lot of them should hang their head in shame because they were all a party to changing legislation that if implemented would have had an adverse affect on all of us.

In this article some bright Spark from Liverpool even introduced the blatant lie that hackney cab drivers had to return to their own area after dropping off a passenger in another area. There is no law prohibiting a hackney carriage driver from doing exactly that what a private hire driver does but like i said it’s amazing what blatant lies some people will say in order to try and get their point accross?
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Liverpool Daily Echo

July 30, 2007, Monday

CABBIES FLAGUPA PRIVATE HIRE FIGHT;

Hackney call to have same rules for all

NICK COLIGAN

LIVERPOOL cabbies want a change in the law to stop private hire cars taking their customers.

They would like vehicles from other parts of Merseyside to be forced to return to their own districts after dropping off customers in the city.

Cabbies believe this will stop passengers acting illegally by taking private hire cars from the street, rather than phoning for one.

Drivers from firms outside Liverpool are allowed to park inside the city boundaries after a journey to wait for another pre-booked job.

But taxi driver representatives say this gives them an unfair advantage over Hackney cabs, which must return to their home district by law after dropping off.

They have already held talks with government officials about the law change, which they say would place all drivers on a "level playing field".

Liverpool council is supporting their case, saying that queues of private hire cars encourage people to break the law by flagging them down, rather than booking.

It believes a law change would almost eradicate this problem, which can lead to drivers receiving hefty fines if caught accepting passengers from the street. The government has now asked the council for more details about cross-border hiring and the issues it raises.

Tommy McIntyre, taxi convener for the T&G union, said: "We have no problem with a driver from Knowsley or Sefton getting a pre-booked job after dropping off in Liverpool.

"The problem is that these guys sit in the city rather than go back to their own district.

"We just want the same rule to apply to everyone."

Damien Edwards, the council's principal licensing officer, said: "Increasingly over the years, vehicles from other boroughs have congregated in different parts of the city.

"They are not doing anything wrong, they are waiting for the next pre-booked call. But just by being there, members of the public who just want to get home will try to hire them, and that is illegal.

"If the law is changed so they have to go back to their borough after dropping off, it removes the risk of people being tempted to break the law. It is a simple piece of legislation, not a sea change."

In May, council and T&G officials and Merseyside police met transport under-secretary Gillian Merron MP and Riverside MP Louise Ellman in London to discuss a law change.

They are now a waiting a response.
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It will never happen IMO, cos it's not a big enough problem elsewhere.

In fact I'm not sure it's a problem up there, and even if they did enact a law saying PH must go back to their area once free, what's stopping all those 1000s of Sefton PH licensing as Liverpool PH?

The Liverpool LO has made himself look stupid and a patsy to the Liverpool taxi trade.

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IDFIMH

Queues of private hire cars encourages passengers to flag them down????????How do you flag down a parked car?

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Grandad,