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tell the subscribers of Dial-a-Cab exactly what you think. Complaints, compliments or just
to write about Call Sign. This is YOUR paper within your magazine....
You can also email your letters to: callsignmag@aol.com
Steve Smith
Just a note to tell you that I had a lovely visit from one of
Steve's former mates, also a London cabby, Dave Smith. He and his lovely
wife Bernadette were here on holiday. It was both happy and sad; Dave did
not know that Steve had died until he read about it in Call Sign, it was a
terrible shock to him. Dave contacted me right away and has now made this
lovely visit all thanks to Call Sign. Many thanks indeed as usual and keep
up the good work.
Tina and Joe Berryman
Huntingdale, Perth, Western Australia.
In the July issue of Call Sign, we published an appeal from Tina and Joe
from their home in Australia, in which they tried to trace any London taxi
drivers who knew or were friends of their son Steve Smith, a taxi driver
who died of a brain tumour. They had been down many other avenues to try
and make contact, but had failed. The process began with a remarkable
chain of events. A former DaC driver, Sam Stuart, who lives in Spain and
who reads Call Sign on-line, happened to know Tina and Joe as they
corresponded on-line without ever having met. Sam suggested that they
write to Call Sign. Almost immediately the July issue came out with their
appeal, we had several calls regarding Steve, one from his closest friend.
All were passed on and Tina and Joe now have the contacts they wanted so
desperately. Call Sign is delighted to have been of help and it just goes
to show how small the world is and how useful a tool is the Internet ...Ed
Gas Cabs?
My wife and I have been to China twice and found it fascinating. I find it
of interest that Tony Arnold says that fuel in Beijing is 32 pence a
gallon, which is approx.10% of the price here. What he did not say is that
taxi fares in Beijing are also 10% of ours, as we found that a six-mile
trip was only £1.40 on the meter. Therefore it would appear that pro rata
their fuel costs are the equivalent of ours.
As you are aware, I am anti-diesel and have been campaigning
for the last 7 years that gas cabs only work in our cities. I beg all of
you who want a future for the next generation, to change your engines. My
information is that in the next round of council contracts, it will be
mandatory for radio circuits to have an ongoing commitment to provide
"green" taxis. If you had come to the Taxi Driver of Year
exhibition on September 1 at Olympia, you could have seen three
conversions (excluding the Metro). Each have their own merits. My cab is a
Metro, but has the two-litre engine, as the one in mine is no longer
used. The new engine is a 2.3 litre Ford which I have yet to
test.
Ecoengine let me test drive one of their Fairways for four
days and it returned 17 mpg, which is the cost equivalent of 34 mpg of the
dirty fuel most of you use. A couple of years ago LTI asked me to test
drive a TX1 with the 2 litre Ford petrol engine running on LPG, but it
really should have had a larger engine and I believe that project has been
abandoned.
The quietest TXI I have driven for a short distance only is
the AXIOM conversion (01908 279400). They rebuild your 2.7 Nissan engine
and turn it into an LPG ONLY engine, and the power in the engine is a lot
better.
Yes, I know you are shouting "what about the
buses?" It's about time Ken Livingstone told the bus companies to run
buses on gas (if Dunkirk can do it, London can). The worst offending buses
are those run by the tour firms. I think the management of those firms
should be made to stand for at least 20 minutes a day by the stinking foul
fumes coming down the exhaust pipes of the buses they operate!
We should all be aiming towards a quieter and cleaner London.
Stanley M.Roth (Y53)
Mick Garner
I was saddened to hear of the passing of my old verbal
adversary and friend, Mick Garner. He reminded me so much at times of
another great friend, the late Jack Taylor. Like Jack, he did not suffer
fools gladly and always came straight to the point. In the old days, he
was a great radio man who always had the circuit at heart. He will
be greatly missed by all.
Please offer to his family my sincere regrets...
Sam Harris (S95J)
Golden Wedding
On behalf of Martha and myself, I would like to thank you all
at Call Sign, and indeed the circuit, for the beautiful bouquet of flowers
we received on the occasion of our Golden Wedding on September 7. At times
that day, our apartment was looking a bit like Kew Gardens and the arrival
of your wonderful gift was the icing on the cake. Fortunately, all the
flowers kept until the day before we went to the USA as a belated
celebration, just over two weeks later. Again, please convey our grateful
thanks to one and all.
Sam Harris (S95J)
THAT Bus Lane...!
I thought I would write to you regarding my experience of the
controversial bus lane in Upper Street. It's Saturday 5th October and I
went to work. I had just dropped a couple of gentlemen in Upper Street and
then headed south. I left the bus lane section we are allowed to use and
joined the main highway. At this point, a gentleman hailed me whilst
standing at the bus stop in the bus lane. I slowed down to a virtual halt,
wound my window down and called over to him that I couldn't go into the
bus lane as I wasn't allowed to. By now I was at a standstill and blocking
one lane of the carriageway, the gentleman crossed the bus lane and got
into my cab. It was at this time that I noticed the man had a sight defect
and he asked me to take him to Moorfields Eye Hospital. I then
explained why taxis are not allowed into the bus lane. I wonder, if this
gentleman had been knocked over by a bus whilst crossing the bus lane, if
I would have been liable?
On a happier note, may I take this opportunity to thank Wally
Garratt (W99) for the splendid
service he gave when my wife and I hired his Asquith on the day of our
wedding.
Jonathan Radcliffe (G09)
It's important that these examples continue to come out because no doubt
TfL are hoping we'll just get fed up moaning and then accept the status
quo. And of course, congratulations on your wedding Jonathon ...Ed
Kupkake, Chas And Everything...
Two items in the October issue of your excellent mag have prompted me to
put pen to paper. Firstly Chas Kissin's diatribe against asylum
seekers. These people make up a very small proportion of the
58 million people in the UK. Of those, a smaller number are after
something for nothing, while an even smaller number actually want to harm
us. Everything the tabloids say about them was probably said about the
Nomads, the Huguenots, the Dutch, the Irish, the Russian and Polish Jews,
the German Jews, the West Indians and the Asians - all people who
have helped to enrich this country.
Secondly, Kupkake's excruciating poem about the Islington bus
lane. I have every sympathy for him, but you don't have to be a QC to work
out which bit of the bus lane is for us and which bit isn't. I used it
before the cameras were in place, but I was always aware that I could be
nicked at any time.
Geoff Levene (K43)
Thanks for the compliment, Geoff. I like to think that all the differing
views that appear in Call Sign means that you don't read page after page
of the same thing and that they help to provide a magazine that takes
longer that 10 minutes to read ...Ed
Legality Of Minicab Insurance
I have heard from a friend that when working minicab drivers
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have an accident and fill in
their insurance claim form, that they do not have to answer the question
as to where they picked up from and were due to set down. As both are
legal requirements for minicab offices to provide their drivers before
passing on the trip, surely the insurance company have an obligation to
ask that obvious question, otherwise they are aiding and abetting minicabs
in illegal street pick-ups? After all, if they have illegally picked up in
the street and have a 'set' (assuming they actually have insurance), then
they have broken the law, yet apparently their insurance company aren't
asking the obvious question.
Jim Pullum (C31)
It's an interesting point, Jim. I made a few enquiries and according to my
info, while your friend is right about the
wording, individual drivers firstly have to sign a form before being
covered that says they are not covered should they be found to be acting
illegally in any way ie picking up off the street. No insurance company
will pay out without first confirming the legality of the driver's
movements with his office...Ed
Computer Chinchat
Can you please tell Vince Chin that I really liked the website
address he published in his column of the October Call Sign about getting
info on London and the UK. It's a site that I'm sure many of us over here
in California will be able to use. It will definitely come in very handy.
Keep up the good work Vince...
Josie Allison
Seal Beach, California
Compliment From ComCab...?
I really enjoy your magazine - it's nearly as good as ComCab's!
To be serious (but not very), when you publish items about competitors in
Call Sign, why don't you just say ComCab or RTL? You used to operate a
code ie "A well known company in Paddington - I struggled but
eventually worked out that was us! Or "A North London Taxi
Company" - er.... possibly RTL?
Apart from being the start of a great pub quiz, at least we
generally knew who you meant. Now it's all "one of our
competitors" did this or that. This is really unfair as ComCab just
get tainted by RTL's sins - we don't commit any sins, so RTL get off Scot
free! Come on Alan name names...
Best wishes...
Mike Galvin
MD, ComCab
I don't know, Mike, there's a lot to be said for the occasional bit of
sin. But if it makes you happy, then I'll do my best to start a war...!
...Ed (to some)
Voice From The Past For Ann Hughes
We have just acquired an expensive computer and are on 'the net'. We found
Call Sign and saw a picture of Ann Hughes regarding her 25 years at Dial a
Cab. Well done Anne, we have always wondered if you were still there but
somehow never got around to contacting you. We wonder if you remember us,
the two Terrys; Mr Terry and 'Lady' Terry? You have not changed at all in
those 15 years since we last saw you!
We are now Thurrock Licensed Taxi drivers and have been for
over 6 years. We have our own Taxi (a Ford Mondeo), which is a Thurrock
licensed Hackney Carriage. We call ourselves Thurrock Taxis and live in a
house in Stanford Le Hope. We are still together and still happily
married! How is life with you, Ann? Do you still work nights? Are any of
the people we used to know still there, drivers and telephonists? Perhaps
Ann could let us know...
Terry and Terry Lindsay
Thurrock Taxis, Essex
The two Terry's details have been passed to Ann. If my memory serves me
right, Terry Lindsay met his Terry while they were both working at
Dial-a-Cab and ended up getting married. Altogether now... aaaaahhhhh ...
Ed
Darlington And London?
The main purpose of this letter is to just add a little to the Darlington
story and the station situation overall (Editorial, October Call Sign).
On Friday October 11, the Market Inspectors Department - under
which Taxi Enforcement falls in Darlington - paid a visit to the Station
at the request of Adrian Blacklaws who is running the office for TaxiBank
in Darlington and is described as their National Operations Manager. The
purpose of their visit was to expel from the rank any taxi driver who had
not paid for the privilege of providing a service to the public. As
the station is private property, which both GNER and TaxiBank have always
been quick to point out, the drivers refused to take any notice of them
and continued to work the rank. They then left explaining that they were
"...just following orders." If London drivers feel that as the
main termini are not run by the TOCs (Train Operating Companies) but by
lately Rail Track and now Network Rail, that they have nothing to worry
about, then they need to think again.
New Street, Birmingham, is part of their portfolio of
stations and drivers are paying there. If we the drivers let them, it
would not be too hard to put smart card operated barriers at the entrance
to most of the station ranks and then charge drivers a single annual fee
for a card enabling them to work the stations. We must be ready to support
the drivers up the line when - and if - the call comes. Hopefully, just
the knowledge that the drivers WILL support their fellow hackney drivers
from outside London will be enough to hold the status quo whilst the Union
continues it's political campaign towards "Free and Open Access"
at all Transport termini.
Eddie Lambert (V27)
Thanks for the update Eddie, I agree that many London drivers are not
taking the matter seriously. In addition to being a DaC driver, Eddie
Lambert is also the Branch Secretary for the Central London T&GWU (Cab
Section) 1/230 branch ... Ed
The Battle Against Private Hire
I am a night driver on Dial-a-Cab and I believe that the fare
tariffs introduced last November are fair and reasonable, but I feel that
tariff 2 should apply after 8pm and tariff 3 only after 10pm. I have
discussed this matter with many passengers and the vast majority were of
the opinion that tariff 3 would not be unreasonable if applied later in
the evening as stated above. It is worth remembering that the old 60p and
90p extras mean that the real increase is effectively less than passengers
think:
Tariff 2 = Maximum of £3.20 more than tariff 1, less the 60p
we used to get, means the passenger now pays a maximum of £2.60 more.
Tariff 3 = Maximum of £5.60 more than tariff 1, less the 90p
we used to get, means the passenger now pays a maximum of £4.70 more.
By the way, Brian Rice stated (Call Sign September, page 38)
that private hire are charging £13.20 for a 6 mile trip. He went on to
say that this is slightly more than half our rate between 8pm and 6am.
Surely this is incorrect? If our rate for the same journey is
£17.40, then the private hire rate is 76% of our rate?
The other problem with the metered fare tariff is that it is
top heavy and simply too expensive for any medium to long distance journey
eg outside the M25. You only have to look at the list of charges posted in
the back of your taxi to see why we are now almost totally excluded from
being offered these rides. After 6 miles (£17.40 tariff 3), the metered
fare is £2.55 per mile for all miles above six. If this were adjusted
downwards to reflect something nearer 'market rates', I feel confident
that we would be in a position to recover some of this lost business.
Suggestion:
£2.55 per mile between 6 - 12 miles
£2.40 per mile between12 - 20 miles
£2.25 per mile for all miles in excess of 20.
We all know how quiet it is out there at the moment, but we
can also see that private hire are becoming more and more prominent at our
account customers premises. We have no divine right to this work, we must
provide a high level of service and we must have a tariff that is
customers premises. We have no
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divine right to this work,we must provide a high level of service and we
must have a tariff that is
fair and competitive in the market place. Most passengers are, I
believe, willing to pay a premium for a black cab, but not at any price.
Most of us would agree with the comments in Call Sign several
issues back of our late founder-Chairman Bonnie Martyn. He thought that
our trade needed a new organisation which most of us would want to join,
merging all the good bits of the LTDA, LCDC and the T&G. An
organisation with strong leadership and a strong voice, an organisation
that would seek the views of, listen to and represent all its members. I
get the feeling that most of us are just hoping that everything will sort
itself out and that the work will still be there tomorrow.
Our future and the future of the licensed taxi in London is
threatened more now than ever before. We need to heed the wake up call or
we may eventually find ourselves joining the dodo...
John Able (M31)
Thanks for the letter John and for obviously putting so much thought into
it. However, I disagree with some of it. You say that you believe the
"new" tariffs to be fair and reasonable, but surely it matters
not one jot whether you or I or anyone else believes that, it's what the
customer is prepared to pay that matters.
Let's assume that your figures are accurate (and we all know that
waiting time makes a big difference - a five minute wait and there's
around £6 on the meter before you start) and that the average night fare
now costs around £4 more than it used to. A fairly large user of
Dial-a-Cab's service doesn't just have one extra £4 a week to pay, they
may have used 60, 70 or more cabs during any one evening. So that gives
their invoice a possible extra £300 a night. Multiply that by 5 gives you
£1500 a week plus a lesser usage over the weekend (say £200 extra). Then
you have the driver's gratuity tagged on plus DaC's admin with which any
radio taxi organisation survives. You are looking at an extra £8500+ per
month. So by your figures, that account could save £2100+ a month by
using private hire, this at a time when large companies are laying off
staff. My figures are my own guestimate, but I believe that is just one
reason why private hire are being seen more and more at our accounts. You
then consider whether we should lower the long distance rates, but in my
view John, that is too little too late. Those who start using PH will not
suddenly say that our fares are reduced for longer trips. A gesture such
as that might save those long trips we still have, but it won't get back
any from clients who now perceive us to be too expensive. In any case,
even your reduction figures still make us more expensive than the
opposition. Sure we deserved the increase, but it wasn't the right time
and doing it all in one fell swoop, plus amazingly accepting a further
increase on top in summer was just plain stupid. At least that's my view
as a driver.
As for the new organisation, it is just pie in the sky. Will Harrods and
Selfridges merge just to give their customers a better service? I don't
think so. The problem we have is that 65% of drivers do not belong to any
trade organisation let alone a super one. I agree with your sentiments
John - I've probably wished for it myself at times - but other than the
occasional "support" your dream will never come true. How can
any group listen to its members when at a meeting, just 20 turn up. There
are 23,000 of us, how many would attend a meeting by a super-organisation?
...Ed
Taxi Newspaper, LTI And "The People's Court"
Dear Mr Fisher,
You will, I am sure, have seen and read the latest issue of TAXI
newspaper. This published a 'People's Court' feature regarding one of
LTI's customers. Stuart Pessok, the Editor, gave me the opportunity to
respond in a limited number of words, which I duly did. Naturally, I
expected my response to be published in full. To my great surprise, my
full response was NOT published - in fact, my last two paragraphs were
deliberately omitted.
I give you the opportunity to see my full reply so that you
can judge for yourself as to why TAXI would want to censor my response.
The paragraphs omitted refer to our repeated invitations to the LTDA to
sit around the table with us, as many other representative driver groups
have willingly done this year. The LTDA is the only organisation to have
refused.
A press release about our 'Listening Programme' with driver
groups was issued to you earlier
this week. It is an ongoing programme, which has been of enormous benefit
to all the parties involved, and a second round of meetings is already
being set up. The programme is aimed at obtaining more
customer/driver input into the developments of our products and service.
Yours sincerely,
Nicki Websper
Sales & Marketing Director
LTI - London Taxis International
The following is a copy of the letter sent to TAXI Newspaper by
LTI's Nicki Websper
Mr Stuart Pessok
Taxi Newspaper
Woodfield Road, W9 2BA
Dear Mr Pessok
I refer to your letter of 19th September to Trevor
Hattersley, regarding Mr Mohamed
Abed-Alaziz and your 'People's Court' column.
We are aware of the details of this case and would re-emphasise
that customer satisfaction remains a matter of the highest priority for
us. However, it is not the policy of LTI or our dealers to discuss
individual customer issues in public. Instead, we treat each case
individually by dealing direct with the customer concerned.
LTI has also been running a 'Listening' programme this year
with a wide representation of taxi-driver bodies in the UK, which has been
hugely beneficial to both sides in terms of discussing driver, passenger
and product development requirements.
Our invitation to the LTDA to join this programme and forum
remains open.
Yours sincerely
Nicki Websper
Sales & Marketing Director
The section above in italics is the piece referred to in Nicki Websper's
letter that TAXI did not publish. Information on LTI's Listening Program
can be found elsewhere in this issue...Ed
Handy Ad
As my son Alex (N05) is on DaC, I often have a read of Call
Sign, but I don't think I have ever written to a magazine of any kind
about an ad before! But I must make an exception in the case of an ad that
has appeared several times in Call Sign that comes under the title of PC
Needs Repair? It advertises someone called Mike who comes to your home to
fix your PC. I had been having an ongoing problem with my computer for
some time and dreading the usual dismantling, taking the unit to a PC
repair shop and waiting for the phone call to tell me that it's ready and
how much. It was always more than you expected. This time I took a chance
- and it is a chance if you don't know the person or company involved. I
saw Mike's ad in Call Sign and phoned him. He came to my home the
next day, repaired my PC quickly and efficiently and the cost was less
that I had expected and certainly less than had I taken it to my local
repair shop. Hopefully I won't need him again, but if I should have PC
problems, I will be phoning Mike.
Anna Constantinou
Bethnal Green, E2
Article in The Times
I suppose you are aware of The Times (anti-taxi) article on
October 17. I hope our organisation will make a complaint to the Press
Complaints Commission. A number of drivers are doing so on an individual
basis.
Maurice Haben (G17)
Brian Rice has written to The Times. See his Chairman's report on page 4
...Ed
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