Subscriptions
As most of you are probably aware, the end of this month (August) is the close of our financial year. Once again we have had a very good year, especially as half the fleet have been re-equipped with the new terminals and we do not have any bank debt. As soon as we fit any new equipment, not only do we have to purchase it, but the clock begins to tick and we have to start depreciating the value of the purchase over a given period of time. Next financial year we will be depreciating an extra £1m, which will have an effect on our bottom line and consequently the BoM have decided to increase subscriptions from 1st September 2001.
   The last time our subscriptions rose was in April 1996 when they were increased to £110. In the subsequent five years we have actually lowered subscriptions to £105, this year the average member's subscription will rise by £10 per month to £115 per month, still making us the least expensive radio taxi organisation in London. At this point I would like to remind all subscribers that anyone fitted after January 1996 must carry the Dial-a-Cab logo - there are no exceptions. The new rates of subscriptions are as follows:-
   Subscriptions for fully logo'd taxis: £115 per month (including VAT).
   Subscriptions for taxis not carrying the Dial-a-Cab Logo: £140 per month (including VAT).
Subscriptions for journeyman sharing a taxi: £60 per month (including VAT).
   I hope you will agree that the new rates still offer exceptional value for money...

Proposed Fare Increase
I believe that everyone in the trade should by now be aware that our Mayor, Ken Livingstone, has proposed that the night tariff for taxis be increased from the end of September with the meter starting on tariff-plus-a-half and continuing on that rate throughout the journey. Currently it starts on single tariff and increases to tariff-plus-a-half at six miles. 

Initially I was totally in favour of the new enhanced rate, which was designed by the Mayor's office to put more taxis on the road at night, but the more I thought it through, the more doubt it raised in my mind.
   This could be rushed through without enough thought or consultation, bearing in mind that at weekends the daytime tariff will be increased by 25% from 'clock down' and continue throughout the journey, never going to tariff-and-a-half. Surely this was an oversight by the Mayors office, as many journeys will be cheaper? More consultation is required, although I am very aware that consultation with our trade is a very difficult process, as every organisation tends to have a differing view (see Jery's cartoon on page 6 ...Ed).
   I would like to make it clear that the higher the return a taxi driver receives is fine by me. But I would also like to keep it that way; consequently, I'd like to pose a few suggestions to you. Will the new tariff entice more taxis out at night to clear members of the public from the no-go areas that the Councils have created in Soho and Covent Garden due to the 'traffic management schemes' (I'm trying to be polite) that have been introduced? I think the answer will be "not enough to make a difference," with most of the increased numbers being radio taxis that will work thanks to the increased security that is offered by being with a radio taxi organisation. Security, I hasten to add, not just from the public but increasingly from minicab touts who make driving a taxi in certain areas feel extremely intimidating. So as a start, how about some extra enforcement to allow more taxis onto the roads in safety?
Will the radio taxis transport enough members of the public from the street? Again probably not, with most of the increased 

fleet looking to do radio work, but will there be enough extra radio work to give them bearing in mind that the night rate will be increased quite substantially, while the past few months have definitely seen a 'levelling off' of work?
   So I would like to pose the following question: What would you do if you were the Mayor and had given the taxi industry the biggest increase in its history, one which was not popular with the electorate and even worse, one that made not the slightest difference to the service and you were left with egg on your face? I know exactly what I would do, although I'm not prepared to give the answers here as I do not wish to give anyone ideas that could in my opinion, be catastrophic for our industry. I have met the Mayor on three occasions and I have no doubt that he is very keen to be seen to improve the service in London. However, I sincerely hope that none of his advisers have a secret agenda that the trade knows nothing about...

Apology
At the beginning of May, our dispatching system underwent a major upgrade in order to enhance its memory and archiving, while at the same it was given a major overhaul. That was almost three months ago and everyone congratulated themselves on a job well done as we suffered no 'down time' and found no bugs in the system. Suddenly, during the third week of July, our dispatching channels appeared to 'lock up' causing disruption to members and clients alike during certain times of the day.
   I am now informed that the problem has been diagnosed and a temporary fix made, although at the time of writing new hardware has not yet been added to the system, however that should happen shortly. So at this point, I can only offer apologies from a 'stressed out' IT Manager Roy Masterson, from an 'extremely concerned' software writer in Tom Carter and a 'worried' Chairman in yours truly, to anyone who has been inconvenienced by this glitch.

Brian Rice