Taxi Driver Online

The history to this saga can be found in the following report to the Novemeber committee meeting of the Oxford licensing committee.

http://www.oxford.gov.uk/files/meetingd ... /item6.pdf

Regards

JD

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

Councillors have stated in this report that all licenses should be returned to the council when finished with and should not be transferred. lol I wonder if the local cab trade still think that councils know best?

Two cases instantly spring to mind and one of them could indeed give councillors some hope of achieving their aims?

7.6 The review group is concerned that the Council is inadvertently facilitating a trade in hackney carriage licences. Although there are disagreements as to the amounts of money involved, the review group hopes that by instructing licence holders to return their plate when they leave the industry this trade can be stopped. This should apply to current plate holders and to any plates issued in the future.

Regards

JD

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

Don't know whether to laugh or cry over the point made in the report that out of the last eight plates issued, two of them went to people without a taxi license of any sort.

Is that the way the quota mob from this country want things to stay?

Thousands of licensed cab drivers without a plate of their own, yet someone (without a taxi drivers license) who just happens to be lucky enough to get their name pulled out of a hat wins a £100,000 plate.

An absolute f***ing disgrace.

_________________
IDFIMH

THOUSANDS of cab drivers without their own plate ?????????????????

Where Sussex ???????????? In Oxford ???????????

I doubt it my little southern softy friend.

I think it more likely that the "haven't got a plate but wanna plate cause I've got a licence" gang make up less than 10% of licensed drivers in any area.

But again .............. lets not let the facts get in the way of a sensationalist story.

B. Lucky

_________________
"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.

Its nice to see Dustys report on Myth and reality being used as a source of information. It was stated in the Oxford report that

The report ‘Restricting Taxi Numbers: Myth and Reality’ sums up these arguments pretty well:

“The nonsense of both these contradictory arguments is that while the vested interests in the trade claim that the removal of quantity controls will lead to bankruptcies, overflowing taxi ranks and unsafe vehicles, it seems that at the same time these same people will be sitting at home while customers are crying out for taxis”.

3.10 The report concludes that market demand will dictate when drivers will work irrespective of taxi numbers.

3.11 The report ‘Restricting Taxi Numbers: Myth and Reality’, also says that plate holders often complain that there are too many taxis within their area, but at the same time in other areas, argue that there are not enough drivers. The plate holders want to encourage more drivers into the trade, but not new licence holders. For example, in 2002 Edinburgh City Council debated whether to follow the outcome of their demand survey, which recommended 49 extra licences be issued, after lobbying from the local taxi firms. However, at the same time, the Council suggested lowering the passing grade of the “knowledge” test to tackle the shortage of drivers.

This is a contradictory position, but one endorsed by the local taxi trade. (The licences were eventually issued). The perception is that new drivers are welcome, as long as they are not driving their own taxi, but crewing an existing licence holder’s vehicle, and renting it from them at a premium. Multi crewed vehicles can reduce unmet demand, strengthening the position of the plate holders, to the detriment of those wishing to enter the trade.
________________

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

Well there are 1000s of cab drivers in this country without plates.

But instead of diverting the issue, as is your norm, why not give us your views on non licensed drivers getting £100,000 plates from the council?

Or do you support it?

_________________
IDFIMH

Surley the plate should be GIVEN back to the council and they can then put it up for auction and the good old rate payers benifit from the sale..

Would make more sense than the council giving some unlicensed chancers a £100,000 windfall.

_________________
IDFIMH

The report quotes extensively from Myth and Reality but also highlights the huge mass take over of hackney carriage license plates by the Asian community. The report suggests that they invest their money in order to avoid capital gains tax but I don't entirely agree with that assumption, I think they just like driving cabs, whether they be hackney carriage or private hire?

Almost without exception, those purchasing license plates are from the Asian community, a section of the population who have diversified from other business sectors bringing their profits from sale of those businesses with them, under tax laws in this country, profits derived from the disposal of a business has to be re-invested in order to avoid capital gains tax, this may explain any perceived enhancement in plate value over the years.


Regards

JD

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

an intervention from you JD more like, thing is if it does go free for all, we will still go to work, but its the poor folks who have invested thier life savings in the plates that will be most affected.


whats your plate worth these days JD? have you managed to get your fellow drivers free plates yet?

as for me, i move on........... or rather i have moved on............

You mean you sold out? lol, wise man if you saw this coming, which I'm sure you did but you can't blame TDO for this one, even though they did quote exstensively from Dustys report.

JD

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

TDO does give you the latest info and keep you up to date, so i guess i saw it coming and thanks to you, Sussex and TDO, unless of course you are the one and same!

however JD, whats your plate worth at the moment?

55 grand but I understand another 40 are coming on next year so get your name down. lol

JD

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

big meeting on wednesday, how do you think it will go?

No change.

_________________
IDFIMH