New Terminals
The week commencing March 20th would have seen the fitting of the first of our new terminals although the new terminal together with the fixing will firstly have to be passed by the Public Carriage Office. The fixing is completely different to anything else that is used within the trade and has been designed especially for Dial-a-Cab.
   I know that the old fitting took a lot of criticism from members and in my opinion, rightly so. However the new fitting is completely different and will consist of a pole that is mounted to the floor of the vehicle with the top of the pole consisting of a ball joint that the terminal will swivel on and which can be locked into in any position.
   We are in the process of converting a portion of Roman Way into a Training Room where members will receive some tuition on the new terminal whilst their vehicle is being fitted with the new equipment. At this point I would like to make it quite clear that the operation of the new terminal is extremely simple and I feel very confident in saying that the new terminal will not need any tuition, because if you can work the old unit, then the new one is just a natural progression and you will be able to make it function without any assistance. Of course we will be giving some schooling but the point I'm making is that no one need worry or have sleepless nights because the new equipment is being fitted to his or her vehicle. I can already hear some of you laughing at that remark, but I can assure you that it is a very real concern to some members.
   The criteria that we will use regarding the order of fitting will probably be determined by the type of vehicle and the meter that is fitted to that vehicle, although our preferred choice of terminal was and still is on test on some cabs, only a few of the new terminals will be fitted for the first month in order to monitor their reliability.

The Mayor of London
In the last edition of Call Sign, you would have read that some members of the LTB (London Taxi Board) had a meeting with Susan Kramer, the prospective Lib/Dem Mayoral candidate for London. Since that meeting there have been two more meetings, one with Ken Livingstone and the other with prospective 'Assembly Members' of Frank Dobson's team. Both meetings went extremely well and everyone concerned was left in no doubt about the Licensed trade's expectations for the future regarding 'road pricing', transfer of the PCO to the GLA, Licensed Private Hire etc etc.
   I believe that everyone left the meetings a lot wiser and I also believe that the politicians now have an even better grasp of the situation regarding the Licensed Trade than they did before the meetings took place.
   Both political camps were extremely complimentary to the Licensed Trade regarding the manner in which our arguments were put across, and it is imperative in my opinion that our trade retains the high ground in preference to the unlicensed trade. I sincerely believe that politicians see us as a highly professional group, not just the way we conduct our day-to-day business, but also the people that represent us. Before this magazine has been read by the membership, the final meeting with Stephen Norris would have taken place and I am quite confident that it would have gone as well as the other three.

Job Figures
At the end of period seven, which includes February and which in the past has been known to be a quiet month, I can tell you that for the four week period, our turnover was well in excess of three million pounds, an absolutely fantastic achievement. Our turnover to date is up by a mammoth 19% on last year and all without any extra mobiles being fitted!
   London is extremely buoyant at the moment and so is Dial-a-Cab, but please be vigilant and try and cover that extra job in the morning, or the extra couple of jobs in the city at night. We need to service our existing client base and retain our work. There are plenty of predators out there waiting for us to slip up and always remember that nothing lasts forever - so look after what you have.
   The reason I mention that last sentence is that I detect a slight air of complacency creeping in with some members. Please remember that I, and the remainder of the BoM, can only do so much with our clients regarding service issues etc and it is up to you whether the client receives an excellent or indifferent service.

Summer Fashion
The sun is shining today and it is a time when a young man's thoughts turn, well... to other things! But in my case I start wondering how some members will present themselves this summer to our clients. I do not expect anyone to wear their best suit to work (however, I can't speak for Toggers), but I do expect all members to be presentable and clean-shaven (unless you have a cultivated beard).
   I also believe that all tops that are worn should contain a collar and sleeves (a polo shirt is fine). I have no problem on very hot days with shorts, provided that they are tailored shorts, after all they are good enough for Her Majesty's Senior Service. We keep on telling anyone that will listen how professional we are and how big our brains are, let's look the part as well.

Brian Rice