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MUSHING AROUND
You know how it is, when you see something that seems to encapsulate a certain 'truth' or even anything that makes you laugh and think at the same time, there emerges this urge to share it with someone who just might appreciate the sentiment.  Recently I came across another oldie, but timeless quote. Calvin Coolidge to emphasise a point, once said:
   "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not, the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
   Is there a finer quote for a cab driver to take into the uncertain economic future we face as we roll into the next year, except to just keep on mushing around the next corner...?
Jon 'the mush' Tremlett
Thanks John, how long exactly have you had this problem!!?? ...Ed

EVENING STANDARD CLASSIFIES!
I see the Evening Standard were running true to form again with their headline seeking story 'cabbies are just taking us for a ride' (6 Nov). At every turning, the writers wanted to paint the blackest possible picture they could, exaggerating the tariff increase to 60%.
   Articles like this are damaging to our trade and lead gullible people who still believe that everything they read in the papers is the gospel truth, straight into the satin claws of minicab touts and the private hire.
   I live in Brighton and the taxi fares there have gone up recently, with the starting price at £2.80 -double that of London. Our local paper, The Argus, did not send teams of journalists out on the streets conducting a personal vendetta against Brighton cabbies!
   It seems to be a national pastime today for some newspapers to select a target and then proceed to try to rip it to shreds, and if that target is in the public eye so much the better; fair game, par for the course. We have seen in the past the climactic final round, often ending in the courts of law, for the skilled player; or on the pebbles at the foot of Beachy Head for the unskilled one. The timing implementation and publicity for the tariff increase has been woefully badly managed from start to finish.
   People are now becoming nervous and wary about getting a cab at night and watch the meter like a hawk. It is no good denying it and trying to paint a rosy picture, it's too late and the damage has been done. We have now got to move forward and improve our image and strategy for the future.
   Our foundation stone thankfully, is still there, the fact that people still prefer to ride in a licensed London taxicab with a knowledgeable driver...
David Heath (W27)

THANKS FROM WESTMINSTER
Can I please thank everyone involved with the Westminster Taxicard from your kind telephonists with such pleasant and helpful voices, to the wonderful drivers of Dial-a-Cab to whom nothing is too much trouble. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Taxicard has changed the quality of my life. I try to use public transport whenever possible so as not to waste the luxury of having the card, but on my own, public transport usage is virtually impossible. Very occasionally and with help, I can just manage with difficulty.
   So to all at Dial-a-Cab, I say thank you so much and a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
Mr N.Robinson
London SW7

HAPPY WESTMINSTER?
While there is disagreement within the trade as to whether the tariff change is good or bad, one group who must be pleased with it are the City of Westminster. This is why...
   Under the old tariff, if you did a TaxiCard job on a Sunday that came to £9 on the meter, you then cleared it at £8.00 plus the old 90p Sunday charge, total £8.90. With the 90p gratuity from Westminster plus the passenger's £1, you received £10.70 in total.
   Now let's suppose the job goes £10.00; there is no Sunday charge so you clear the trip at £8. Westminster now pay £8.80 and the passenger pays £2.00. The driver gets an extra 10p and  Westminster saves 90p.  Something seems wrong somewhere?

RELIGION IN CALL SIGN
In the November Call Sign magazine, I read from Barbara Fenton (Mrs E01) some comments associated with religious aspects - thankfully, not of a major issue. As a subscriber to Dial-a-Cab, coupled with numerous articles I have written and had published in trade magazines, I have always steered away from politics and religion and will continue to do so for as many years as I am able to make contributions to the editors.  Almost 98% of the world's problems erupt in a variety of ways over these two items and even though we live in a supposed democratic country, these two things can and have caused aggravation galore. What is going on in the world today is surely an example of the calamity that this can cause. Dial-a-Cab is an organisation of Licensed London Taxi-drivers all striving to earn their individual living, irrespective of colour or creed and like numerous other highly respectable organisations, membership is not singled out to any particular denomination.  Everyone is welcome irrespective, so long as they have qualified for their Green Badge through the Public Carriage Office.
   As I've said on numerous occasions, all things being equal we are all on the same side! So let's agree to keep all politics and religion out of Call Sign magazine because I'm sure that all we want is as peaceful a path to earning our living as is humanly possible.  Let's face it, we have enough troubles of our own in its various forms within our trade without wishing to add to it.
Ron Colman (J09)

ANSWER ME THIS...?
Could you please tell me: A few years ago Mr Rice wrote in a magazine that a driver was only able to do 3 jobs per day if you take the year as an average. Is this still the case and if so why if ones profits are up and the Board that have about 500 hundred years of being there and I have been on the circuit for 16 years, we should have more jobs. Please let me know...
P. Levene (V21)
I give up, Paul, why aren't you doing more jobs? Ask at the AGM where the BoM will be celebrating their 501st anniversary! ...Ed

AN ARRESTING TOPIC
Regarding the article in December's Call Sign about the driver who was arrested on the Holborn Viaduct rank outside number 65, I would like to ask the following questions:
1. Assuming the cab was fitted with central locking, why wasn't this used? If it had been, the situation would not have gone as far as it did.
2. Can Dial-a-Cab and the account client concerned at 65 Holborn Viaduct come to an agreement on a designated pick-up point / area away from the rank?
   On arrival, the driver does an AAR and places a name board in the window, yet you still have problems with people thinking you are for hire while sitting on that rank waiting for your passengers.
David Marks (R22)

PARKING ON RANKS
Reading the December 2001 Call Sign, I was intrigued by the story of the unfortunate DaC driver who was arrested whilst waiting for his booked job on the Holborn Viaduct rank.  Unquestionably his actions were wrong, even though he was being provoked. The physical striking of anyone is a criminal offence - to happen to a Police Officer certainly wouldn't have helped the situation! In the past, I have always wondered about the actual use of this rank (and others) for DaC account work, 

STAFF OUTINGS AND A PLC...!
I am extremely annoyed at Paul Shaw's (B19) attack on the Board for supposedly "wasting" money on the Brunswick House staff. Maybe if Mr Shaw could put himself out and visit the Call Centre to see what the staff actually does, he might change his mind. I wonder what his thoughts would be if he worked in an office where the management never showed their appreciation by either making an Xmas party or taking the staff out? He would probably say what a tight-fisted bunch they were!
   I haven't always looked on the BoM favourably in the past because they would never think of providing any entertainment or suchlike towards the staff.   However, I will say that this Board and the previous one of 2 - 3 years ago, have shown welcome appreciation for the staff and personally I say thank you to a BoM that looks after its staff.
   Can I now change tack and climb up on my high horse about PLC? Like so many of the drivers on DaC, I moan and complain about all the cars and people carriers waiting at our large accounts while we sit on the ranks outside and get a walk-up.  The only way we can compete is to either do more fixed prices below the meter or lose the gratuity. I wouldn't like to lose either, but if it gives me more work, then so be it. I know that lots of drivers who work on the principle of taking £x per hour will moan if the fixed price goes less than the meter price, but I'm afraid that you can't always have your cake and eat it - no matter how hard you try.
   Another way is to go PLC and that would give us the strength to go to our customers and tell them that we will provide you with all your transport needs. Before you respond by saying "no way," what is better; as a shareholder, you would get a bonus at the end of the year for the money DaC would earn from providing cars and bikes. Or you can have 100% of nothing...?
   So I ask you to think with your heads, you are not fools even though we cannot all be the chairmen of big businesses. We all used our heads when we succeeded in doing The Knowledge.
   I was once told that what you did in a year to get your badge, would take university students 3 to 4 years to learn! So ladies and gents, let's think with our heads and go forward into the future before the competition do.
Ivor Belkin (C97)
Thanks for the letter Ivor - especially regarding the staff, who I'm sure most drivers appreciate. As for a PLC, the closing date for propositions and rule changes at the AGM has now passed and it is too late to resurrect the debate - contrary to what the Waterloo 'wag' says...Ed

THANKS...
I would like to say a real big thank you for the wonderful tickets I received for Chicago. It provided a wonderful evening's entertainment and a welcome night out for my partner and myself after the birth of our baby girl Shannon. Once again, thank you Call Sign.
Joe Brazil (K16)
Joe won the tickets for Chicago in a Call Sign competition last year. Don't forget that in this issue you can win two nights in one of Paris's most luxurious hotels plus two first class return tickets on Eurostar ... Ed

January 2002 Call Sign Home Page

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