Dial-a-Cab Offer
All shareholders should have received a letter dated March 15 informing you that an offer has been made to Dial-a-Cab for a controlling interest in the company. Hopefully, you all completed the 'yes' or 'no' reply on whether you wanted me to seek further information on the issue so that I might be in a position to provide you with more details. At the time of writing (Saturday March 23), we have had over two thirds of the reply slips back, so it would appear that the return will be excellent.
   However, I would like to make it quite clear that even a positive response would have to be extremely overwhelming for me to seek further information. The time involved will be immense and I'm not prepared to waste the Society's time and effort on the project should the replies to the questionnaire be close. Neither am I prepared to take abuse from some in our trade who would castigate me for doing my job.
   Whatever the outcome of the survey, the result will probably be known by the time you read this and everyone connected with Dial-a-Cab should feel immensely proud - just as I am - to think that in the past few years our Society has been transformed into a company that is the envy of the trade. In addition, there are now obviously many outside our industry who have also noted our considerable progress.
   As an added bonus, we have also received much publicity regarding the offer, something that can only be good for the company. But can you imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from an Evening Standard reporter informing me that one of our shareholders had called him, claiming that Dial-a-Cab was about to be sold and that Brunswick House was going to be demolished with luxury flats being erected on the site! I don't know what the member who made the call was taking, but whatever it is, I wouldn't mind some...!

appointment for your overhaul, evidently there is some delay.  Consequently, I've had a meeting 
with Ed Thompson, the new Director of Taxis and Roy Ellis, Principal Officer at the PCO and advised them of the problems that some of our members are experiencing. They were obviously aware of the problem and told me that it was due to the 'inflexible working' of the CO's.
   When I deciphered what that meant, it was that the CO's were on a 'work to rule' with no overtime.
   The backlog has arisen because the 'pass rate' at the PCO is normally around 60%, but that fell to 30%. It sounds like a bit of bloody mindness to me; however, it's claimed that two senior examiners are now surveying the failures with the effect that the 'pass rate' is up to 50%.
   At the time of writing, they claim to be running one week behind and with normally some ninety-six vehicles being inspected in a day, the problem involves around five hundred vehicles at any one time. Whilst I have every confidence that Messrs Thompson and Ellis will resolve the situation, it needs to be resolved quickly as it is affecting the livelihoods of DaC members, in addition to taxi drivers in general through no fault of their own.
   I asked that when an appointment could not be made before the licence expiry date, an extension to that plate should be granted, but they informed me that legal advice had already been sought on that subject and it could not be done. I'm a little surprised by that decision, as I had always believed that a licensing authority could do almost anything within reason.
As an aside, one wonders what the Mayor, Mr Livingstone, thinks about it all? He granted a night increase last November to put more taxis on the road and to supply the public with a better service, yet at a stroke the PCO are allowing up to five hundred   

taxis to remain idle at any one time due to the attitude of some of the CO's.  
I was very optimistic when the PCO moved from the Metropolitan Police to TfL as I believed that it would benefit the trade, but they now need to stamp their authority on the situation, otherwise the PCO will conduct itself as it did in the past, the only difference being that it will be responsible to TfL and not the Met Police.

Geof Kaley
It has been announced that Geof Kaley has left the employ of Delgro and ComCab with the termination occurring on March 20. Geof Kaley was in a position where he could not please all the people all of the time - I speak from experience on that one!   However, he is a man that I have come to know quite well over the years and during that time he has earned my respect by taking the smallest radio taxi organisation in London and turning it into the largest.
   ComCab led while the remainder of the trade followed.  They pioneered the way with their polished, professional, corporate image; something that we have endeavoured to emulate over recent years with much success.
   There is no question that Geof Kaley will remain, through his Chairmanship of the LTDA, one of the leading lights in our industry and I wish him every success for the future.

The House of Commons
Finally, I am very pleased to inform you that we have retained the House of Commons taxi account for the next three years.  The account went out to tender with all tenders having to be returned by last September, consequently we have been waiting for the outcome for the past six months!
   Over that period, we had been invited to three separate meetings with the account representatives and on each occasion were left wondering whether there was any significance in that particular meeting! But finally, the contract was signed and the waiting was over. I'm sure that you will continue to supply "The House" with our usual brand of excellent service.

Brian Rice