Complaints and
Appeals Meetings
   As you look through this issue of Call Sign, you will come across the results of the last complaints and appeals meeting. There were four expulsions of subscribers who had broken the procedure rules of the Society.
   Three of these subscribers were involved in trying to beat the system and depriving other subscribers of lucrative 'special needs' account rides. After capturing these rides on the first occasion, the temptation was too great to stop there, so they did it again and again. It took me many days of scouring their log sheets to see exactly how they were able to always get these lucrative rides, but just like a jigsaw, eventually the pieces came together.
   I now have about 10 years of experience in examining log sheets, so I can usually see any irregularities very quickly. You then have to piece together the way they input information into the data despatch system to try and mislead it into thinking they are doing something legal, when they are doing just the opposite.
   Whilst completing the investigation into these drivers, I have learnt a lot more about drivers who through greed, are committing other offences. Some of these drivers have come from other circuits because they know we have the best work. But they are not satisfied with that, they just want to cheat. Eventually with your help, we will catch these drivers and I am sure that the three drivers sitting on the committee will see the seriousness of the situation and meter out the correct punishment.
   Anybody who has worked with me over the many years that I have been associated with ODRTS will know that I have always fought to have a level playing field for all subscribers. I can never understand the subscribers who shield or protect these cheats. I can only equate the situation to someone coming up to you in the street and mugging you for £400 (the price of just one of the jobs). If it happened, you would go to the police. These drivers are mugging you electronically and although you know they are doing it, you do absolutely nothing about it.
   When I question drivers as to why they have done nothing about it, the stock answer is that they are fellow subscribers. Yes, they are fellow subscribers but they are stealing the money from you that would pay your mortgage, put food in your children's mouths or buy your wife a winter coat.
   So before you complain to me that we only get the short jobs, look at the greedy ones who are stealing the long jobs day in and day out for themselves.

Cabot Square
   You will also have heard about the employee who was working at Cabot Square and informing certain drivers of very lucrative jobs that were prebooked. This employee (who was not a driver) chose to resign before we could take action against him. The drivers were brought to task, but one to whom I had issued some 20 complaints, decided the day before the complaints hearing to strip out and run. I think you will find that he has toured all the other circuits but none of them will touch him. After all complaints meetings, all the circuits inform each other of the results so that any cheats are kept off the radio and away from the lucrative work that we need to keep.
   There are also the other lazy, greedy drivers who only seem to do jobs that go to the airport.  They then just sit in the airport cab park for up to 3 hours doing absolutely nothing to help us cover the normal bread and butter work that has led to the airport rides. We also have these drivers booking in long before they get to within the perimeter road.Let me assure you that their time is running out and they will soon be brought to task and their

  places will be filled by the many honest drivers who are waiting to come to Dial-a-Cab. 
The other driver who was expelled, had been on three different complaints of rudeness to clients. He then decided to attend the third complaints meeting, parking his fully liveried taxi in a street adjacent to the office. 
This was 9 months after the ruling that no liveried taxis were to be allowed on ODRTS.  He said that he knew nothing of the ruling. The committee didn't believe his excuse and decided that the Society was better off without this type of driver.

Abolishing £1 Subscriptions?
   If you work the Finsbury  Square rank (EC5), you may have heard a rumour that I was going to put forward a proposition that we abolish the £1 a month subs for drivers completing 30 years unbroken service with ODRTS. I can tell you that this is just a big load of rubbish. Any sensible driver would understand that as I am rapidly approaching the 30 year mark myself, I would hardly be doing this and costing myself £1248 extra per year! If you are going to start rumours about me, please make them believable...
Shelagh, my assistant, and myself get constant phone calls from subscribers asking or demanding to know when they are going to be fitted with a new terminal.  Peter at Roman Way is working his way through the list of the drivers doing the most work and fitting them, as the terminals arrive. Phoning us will not make the terminals arrive any quicker, so please, ladies and gents, be patient.
   I had a call from Anglia  Television looking for witty drivers to join in a live phone-in over the coming weeks. If you are interested to join in and be available to talk on current subjects which are in the news, would you phone Amy Vosburgh on 01603 752 108.

As I reported in a previous issue of Call Sign, the Board have been approached by some of our largest clients to take over the running of all their transport needs. Well the feedback that I have received from many drivers is that they are in favour of this demand. These drivers can see that we must move forward and capture the market, then hold onto it otherwise we will lose the radio market. We will then revert back to just picking up off the street - what a wonderful future that would be.
   Over the past few months, we have had an abundance of evening work on the Finsbury and Cabot Square. Ladies and Gentlemen, if we do not try harder to cover this work, we will lose it and that does not mean just the evening work but also the day work that goes with it. All of those drivers who say that they cannot find the work during the day, how about working an hour or two into the evening and help us out.

Evening Workers
   Subscribers have asked me how many new drivers are we going to take onto the circuit? Well, enough to cut down the 45 minute to an hour wait the clients are having to endure waiting for their cabs.
   To all those night and evening drivers who have migrated to day work, are you really happy sitting in those traffic jams being moaned at because you cannot get your passenger to their appointment on time. Remember the times when you picked up in the evening, the traffic was light  

 
and you sailed along? The roaders that you could take up the motorway while watching the
meter going around like a pinball machine!
   The 'shouts' at Euston, Waterloo and other places and off you went to all parts of England.
Think about going back onto evenings again and help us to cover the work that you do not have to hunt for, it is there just waiting for you.
   One last paragraph which will most probable promote further discussion in future copies of this magazine. If those idiots in their woolly bobble hats and corduroy trousers think we are upsetting foreigners by saying we are 
English or British, why are there some many foreigners trying to get over here in the back of lorries or stowaways on planes. If these lefties are so unhappy with us, why do they not replace the illegals by going to live in Bosnia and other such places? Why can we not be proud of what this country has achieved, be proud of our heritage and its name...
Tom Whitbread 
The other driver who was expelled, had been on three different complaints of rudeness to clients. He then decided to attend the third complaints meeting, parking his fully liveried taxi in a street adjacent to the office. 
As I reported in a previous issue of Call Sign, the Board have been approached by some of our largest clients to take over the running of all their transport needs. Well the feedback that I have received from many drivers is that they are in favour of this demand. These drivers can see that we must move forward and capture the market, then hold onto it otherwise we will lose the radio market. We will then revert back to just picking up off the street - what a wonderful future that would be.
   Over the past few months, we have had an abundance of evening work on the Finsbury and Cabot Square. Ladies and Gentlemen, if we do not try harder to cover this work, we will lose it and that does not mean just the evening work but also the day work that goes with it. All of those drivers who say that they cannot find the work during the day, how about working an hour or two into the evening and help us out.

Evening Workers
   Subscribers have asked me how many new drivers are we going to take onto the circuit? Well, enough to cut down the 45 minute to an hour wait the clients are having to endure waiting for their cabs.
   To all those night and evening drivers who have migrated to day work, are you really happy sitting in those traffic jams being moaned at because you cannot get your passenger to their appointment on time. Remember the times when you picked up in the evening, the traffic was light and you sailed along? The roaders that you could take up the motorway while watching the meter going around like a pinball machine!
   The 'shouts' at Euston, Waterloo and other places and off you went to all parts of England. Think about going back onto evenings again and help us to cover the work that you do not have to hunt for, it is there just waiting for you.
   One last paragraph which will most probable promote further discussion in future copies of this magazine. If those idiots in their woolly bobble hats and corduroy trousers think we are upsetting foreigners by saying we are English or British, why are there some many foreigners trying to get over here in the back of lorries or stowaways on planes. If these lefties are so unhappy with us, why do they not replace the illegals by going to live in Bosnia and other such places? Why can we not be proud of what this country has achieved, be proud of our heritage and its name...

Tom Whitbread