City of London
Again some time ago, I reported that the City of London were concerned about the lack of empty cabs at night. There have been numerous complaints from members of the public to the City Corporation on this topic and in talks that I have had with the Corporation, their biggest complaint by far is the number of cabs that appear to be empty but who have their 'For Hire' signs switched off.
   As we all know, these taxis (or at least most of them) are on their way to pick up account clients.     This not only applies to us but to the other three circuits as well and it is a problem that has been with us for many years.
   However, things have now taken

 on a new twist that could have very serious repercussions for our trade. 
The City Corporation have been approached by a Private Hire company who would like to install portable 'booking booths' in the City at night whenever there is a function. As I have stated, these booths would be portable and transferred from venue to venue as and when required.
   This is not a new idea as many cities throughout the world have them, but usually for taxis and not Private Hire. The way in which they will work is that a member of the public will insert money into the machine and back will come a slip with a car registration on it, this circumvents the law by making the vehicle 'pre booked'.   The vehicle will then arrive, pick up their passenger and go. I can only assume that the Private Hire company that wishes to operate this scheme will 'hold' their vehicles somewhere in or near the City ready to be dispatched, which is exactly what we do with Finsbury Square.
   The most alarming aspect of this is that I am led to believe that the City Corporation, PCO and the City Police have given this scheme their blessing and it is undoubtedly something that we will have to watch very closely.

Working Time Directive
Now for some more doom and gloom! Just as we thought that the Working Time Directive had been put to bed with taxi drivers being exempt, it appears that it has now reared its head again.
 
 

  At present the WTD does not apply to passenger vehicles under nine seats or three and a half tons in weight, however, a committee has been set up by the European 
Union to look at passenger transport. The Chairman - or as they refer to him the Rapporteur - of this group is an East German named Helmuth Markov and he and his committee have recommended that the WTD be extended to cover all passenger vehicles with more than four seats including the driver.
  This again is another situation that will have to be monitored very closely. They are also very much in favour of all fare paying passenger vehicles being fitted with tachographs, so as to scrutinise driver hours and even going so far as having a 'black box' fitted to all vehicles,
similar to the 'boxes' that are fitted to aircraft.
   You can rest assured that the radio circuits will do everything within our power to lobby the appropriate authorities on the above topics. We have already engaged professional help to
help safeguard the future of our industry and of course you will be kept informed of any new developments.

Dial-a-Cab Offer Rumours
Having just returned from two weeks in the sun, I was rather taken aback to hear the rumour that Sovereign Capital Ltd wish to withdraw their offer to Dial-a-Cab subscribers. In fact, not only was I on holiday, but also those at Sovereign Capital Plc were away, so who actually was left to pull the plug is unknown!
   Let me assure you that the situation is unaltered from last month. Sovereign intend embarking on a series of meetings with members in an attempt to gauge your feelings and views on the future for Dial-a-Cab. Any decisions needing to be taken will be taken after those meetings.

Brian Rice