You can also email your letters to: callsignmag@aol.com

Subscription Increase
Well, happy Xmas to you and all, Brian! That was my first reaction to another subs increase. In your address to the members, you state that: "I believe you will understand why this increase is necessary." …Em…funny enough Mr Rice, I don’t understand it, so would you be kind enough to explain. In a nutshell, I have three main gripes with the new subs increase … 
   1. With £5million in the bank, no greedy shareholders (well, not yet!) and benefiting from being a Friendly Society, ie run by the members for the benefit of the members, we should be paying nothing in subs. or if anything just a minimal fee.
   2. Please, please don’t roll out the old chestnut about being the cheapest radio circuit in London compared to the others! One is owned by a far-east concern and the other does its own thing, so we are us – Dial-a-Cab. We should be an example of how a Friendly Society really works for its members and not just be "one of the pack" – so to speak.
   3. Why have the drivers had to take a decrease in their own wages?                                        As from next month, me and every other driver will have a larger chunk of our earnings taken away in subscriptions. Why? Has the BoM taken a decrease in their wages? Have the office staff taken a decrease in their wages? No and no, I believe is the answer. So why is it deemed acceptable for the drivers to accept a wage cut?
   With interest rates going up and Uncle Ken at TfL taking away our extras, it seems that DaC has just joined the club in extracting a bit more out of our hard-earned money! Bearing in mind that this announcement of a subs increase has happened at Xmas – ie a busy period - and with Sovereign still sitting on the fence, rumours that Alistair Campbell (Labour’s old spin doctor) was seen entering Brunswick House a few weeks ago seem to be more fact than fiction.
   By the way, to prove that I’m not a complete moaning old git, Happy Xmas to all drivers and staff at DaC.
Grant Davis (L39)
Brian Rice replies: I was just waiting for your obligatory letter Grant - and you never let me down. You are the nearest thing to a 'sure thing' that I know! Anyway, £5m in the bank? I don't know what you are on - but can I have some? At the time of writing we are around the £1.5m, but then I would not expect you to let facts stand in the way of your argument. Funnily enough we have only received 2 letters complaining about the increase, as all other members appear to live in the real world. I’m sorry if you don't like 'old chestnuts' but it still does not alter the fact that we are the cheapest radio circuit in London - including the increase. I think most of my members appreciate the fact that subs will be increased if the Board and I deem it to be necessary, hopefully the way things have picked up in the past few months, another increase will not be necessary for some time. Do you remember Grant, that last year made the first time for five years that subs had been increased, in fact, during that period subs were actually lowered! I don't remember any letters from you then. Hopefully, next April there will be a tariff increase as we have had annually since 1979, I take it that increase is ok with you, or is that different? Anyway Grant, there was an omission in your last sentence which I know must have been a mistake as you only wished a Happy Xmas to Drivers and Staff – what about me and the Board? I know you would not be as churlish as to leave us out deliberately, would you? Happy Christmas Grant to you and yours, you 'moaning old git'…

And the Other…?
After reading the Chairman’s report in the November Call Sign, I noticed that subs are on the increase. He said that it was necessary and that we as drivers would understand. But despite my four years working in mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch, I do not understand. Over the past two years, I have seen licence fees increase, the introduction of low fixed price jobs and a dramatic increase in cab prices. The result of that is that unlike the Chairman’s, my income has significantly dropped. By introducing a £6 increase per driver per month, you raise an additional £110K of aprox extra income per year. What is this money for? The Chairman says it is necessary, but necessary for what? We already have our new computer equipment, the offices are paid for and we have a surplus of £5million in the bank. If you are going to put the subs up, please give us a valid reason why...
Tony Lawyer (C51)
Brian Rice replies: I’ve just answered your friend Grant Davis, I now only need a letter from Mr C and I have the set! Where do the three of you meet to plan your letters to the magazine? You don't plan them? Well, the fictitious figure of £5m that you both come up with gives the game away. You say you worked for Merrill Lynch and yet a set of figures confuses you? Perhaps it’s not surprising that you don't work there anymore!

The "Ultimate" Letter
Thank you for the prominent article you wrote about my recent unfortunate experience with the newly designed diesel pumps at the BP Service Station in Vauxhall Bridge Road (Nov Call Sign: BP Ultimate costs DaC driver £300). However, there was one consolation I found in this sorry episode.
   Reading through my RAC membership information booklet, I found out that although their breakdown van would only take the taxi to a garage and not me home, they would reimburse me the taxi fare for a journey up to 10 miles on submission of a taxi receipt. As I had taken a taxi home and of course asked for a receipt, I sent it off to the RAC and this morning received a cheque for £22.
   In the grand scheme of things, £22 is not a great deal but every little helps. So it is worth remembering RAC Road Side Recovery at Home Membership can bring a little relief to a painful experience.
Terry Hamston (B24)
Thanks for the info Terry. You will read in this issue about conditions the AA have regarding the towing of vehicles - including taxis - that have been involved in an RTA.
   This certainly seems to be the RAC’s month against the AA …Ed

Lost in a Taxi…
I would like to send grateful thanks to your company for your efforts in locating and returning a package to me following a cab ride to 61 George Street on October 15. In my haste to leave the cab, I left behind my purchases for the day and later thought them to be lost forever. Not so! Thanks to a quick phone call and fax to your company through our apartment’s management company, my story does have a happy ending. The package was located and returned to me some days later. I wish to extend special thanks to the Dial-a-Cab driver who delivered my gifts to my London address. At this writing I do not have his name, but I am hoping that my words will somehow find him and he will know how much his efforts were appreciated. As mentioned, I thought I would never see my recently bought gifts from that day, but was later delighted to have everything restored to me once again.
   I've learned my lesson; now I take a quick look backward before departing a cab to see if all packages are with me. I've also learned that London is filled with thoughtful citizens.
   Thank you again, again and yet again. My friends will hear about this with my recommendation to look for the Dial-a-Cab logo when visiting London.
   Wishing you the best for the winter holiday season ahead.
Carol J.P.Griffith
Ohio, USA

London v New York
Last month I had a short holiday in New York and on arrival at JFK, the first thing I did was to get into a taxi. Now I have heard several stories over the last few years about the rude New York taxi drivers often being recent immigrants, with little or no English and absolutely no geographical knowledge! So it was with a little trepidation that I entered the Yellow cab at the aerodrome and gave the name of my hotel in Manhattan to the driver.
   I need not have worried at all. Although it was a fairly small hotel, the driver knew where it was and how to get there. There was a clear sign in the cab saying that there was a fixed fare of $35 from JFK to Manhattan (tolls and optional tip extra) and this is all the driver asked for. My Korean driver spoke English well, was friendly and helpful. So much for all the myths. More interesting was a customers' charter, parts of which I quote…

As a taxi rider, you have the right to:
Direct the destination and route used;
Travel to any destination in the five boroughs of the City of New York;
A courteous, English-speaking driver who knows the streets in Manhattan and the way to major destinations in other boroughs;
A driver who knows and obeys all traffic laws;
Air-conditioning on demand;
A radio-free (silent) trip;
Smoke and incense-free air;
A clean passenger seat area;
A clean trunk:
A driver who uses the horn only when necessary to warn of danger.
   Refuse to tip if the above are not complied with. If you feel your rights were violated by a taxicab driver, please file a complaint.
   According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission rules, drivers are not allowed to use cell phones or any communication device, hands free or otherwise while operating a cab.
   Take your receipt. 24-hour Consumer Hotline 311.
   This Charter was clearly visible in each vehicle as well as the medallion number of the driver.
   In addition to walking many miles each day and using the Subway, I used taxis frequently and found that the fares were less than half London prices. Yes, I know that fuel is much cheaper, but that alone does not account for the large difference. The public transport was cheap and restaurants about half London prices, with service always being at least 80% better wherever I went. Each taxi ride I took was in a clean cab with a friendly driver. Last week I mentioned to another driver that because of the competition from minicabs, we ought to try to give a better service to the public. He was most hostile to this idea, was rude to me and said that he was not going to be nice to punters and was only going to try to take as much money as possible. He was an oldish, grumpy, unsmart driver with a matching grubby taxi. Unfortunately, he was also a Dial-a-Cab driver waiting next to me at Lincoln's Inn for an account 
customer. We have to admit that those silver cars outside Cabot 

DaC Chatroom
In response to Roy Martin’s (R42) request to have an Internet chat room or notice board to discuss all sorts of subjects, I believe an alternative answer would be to attend the AGM on Sunday 8 February 2004 at Chiswell Street, if you do not already do so. Even though it is not made compulsory to attend such an event if you have already voted, it does give a better insight to how DaC is run and to put a name to the faces. You can even ask a Board member a question that has been niggling you and not wait a whole month to get a reply. You can catch up with old and new friends without having to dash away in the cab. I always used to enjoy the gathering of over 800 drivers. You do not have to stay for the whole duration, but a couple of hours would not do any harm. Allen Togwell is right when he states you can air your views through Call Sign, but it still would be great to see almost everybody attend and not to lose such a gathering of friends. As they say, it’s your circuit…
   Secondly, to solve the on-going problem with non-DaC or suspended drivers being unable to use their on-board terminals, a simple answer would be to have a cover similar to those on out of order parking meters. It would then be obvious to the client when they approach the cab.
Russell Hall (G44)
If the AGM is that good Russ, perhaps we should sell tickets rather than give them away! …Ed

Fighting the Touts – Breaking Point!
Like many other disillusioned Taxi drivers, sometimes it really does feel like you are swimming against the tide day in and day out. If it isn’t the touts, it’s the Pedicabs and if it isn’t them, it’s the newly found threat of the Private Hire driver who now comes calling to take our work. Like everyone who drives a cab in London, especially at night times, one word comes to mind – well two actually – ‘a joke’.         Touting …a joke, police enforcement …a joke, issuing of 40,000 temporary licences …an even bigger joke (I wonder if they issued temporary badges to those on the Knowledge…?). It seems that everyone is having a laugh at our expense. So after seeing touting carried on by our PH brothers, I thought that enough was enough! If you read the two enclosed letters, you will see my point. I am vehemently against licensed Taxi circuits using cars on their circuit. In my eyes, once a minicab, always a minicab. You would not expect Chelsea or Arsenal to employ a player who, although he wasn’t up to their standard, was just cheaper – would they?
   So come on drivers, sit up and do your bit, because sitting back and ignoring what is going on
does not help anyone. If you see a PH driver touting, take his number and description, time and place and get a letter sent out either personally or from a Taxi organisation, because I believe in the end that it will be our very own laziness and apathy that will lead to our demise.
Grant Davis (L39)
Well done Grant. I’ve had several rows with minicab drivers and on not one occasion has another Taxi driver stopped to help. Just moaning helps not one jot. I remember taking a photo of a tout in London Wall and being threatened by him when he realised what had happened. In the meantime, licensed Taxis just drove past. The two letters Grant mentions are reprinted below. Grant is on the Management Committee of the LCDC…Ed

To Ms Ludivia Capelan
General Manager, Brunel Cars
Dear Ms Capelan
Further to our telephone conversation I would like to confirm to you the events that transpired in relation to one of your drivers. On Friday 4th July between 11.00pm and 12.00pm at the junction of High Holborn and Endell Street, London WC2, I observed silver ‘A class’ Mercedes car, which I now know to be a vehicle owned by your company. At the side of the road I observed a male person hail my cab, but the driver of the Mercedes (the registration number you already have) pulled into the kerb and after a brief exchange, the driver allowed the member of the public to enter his vehicle and proceeded. The driver was a black male aged between 20-30. I had an exchange of words with the driver about his actions as they fall under the auspices of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and was told in impolite language to mind my own business. It is regrettable that one of your drivers should resort to this kind of behaviour, especially in view of the current licensing situation at the Public Carriage Office, who I am sure, would take a dim view of touting. I trust that you will be able to take the appropriate action to ensure that this does not happen again.
Yours sincerely
Grant Davis

Dear Mr Davis,
Thank you for the information you forwarded to us reference one of our brucar drivers on 10th July 2003. The information was very helpful and as a result of which the Company put into force its own disciplinary procedure with the driver in question. Just to inform you that prior to any formal disciplinary hearing, the driver concerned resigned his position with the company. The company does take the allegations of touting for any of our drivers very, very seriously.
   Once again we do thank you for your help and assistance in this delicate matter.
Yours sincerely
Ludivia Capelan

Taxi and Private Hire Show – and Dial-a-Cab?
I recently visited the "Taxi and Private Hire show". Amongst the exhibitors at the show were a number of companies offering despatching systems. Would it not have been feasible for Dial-a-Cab to have been there? Why are we not selling our service outside London to owner-drivers?
   There were some very new and innovative methods of putting a customer in touch with a cab; text messaging via a mobile phone and credit card payment also by mobile phone. Maybe you and the BoM can investigate whether any of them would be suitable to enhance/improve our service to customers? Text messaging would certainly go hand-in-hand with the Internet and remove some of the burden from the Call Centre.
   On another stand, there were ‘meet and greet’ boards for sale. There were two types, either of which could be personalised with the Society's logo. The more basic one retailed at around £15 while the other, a more sophisticated type that actually lit up via a battery pack, was around £50. The proprietor was extremely keen to do business with the licensed London trade but in particular with the radio circuits. He said that bulk purchasing would obviously reduce the price

 substantially. I feel sure that his product would be useful to drivers and improve an area of the service that is offered to customers.
   It might be some thing that the BoM would consider purchasing if they had an opportunity to view (there is a web site that offers a demo at www.briteboard@aol.com). It might be possible to give one to every driver, just as jackets have been in the past?
   Alternatively, you might contact the supplier and take an order via the magazine. Enclosed are his advert and the sample that he gave me. Maybe you could offer it as a competition prize after you have used it to show the BoM and any promotional use.
   Also in attendance for their first time, was the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Enclosed is a booklet about a new directive from the Health and Safety executive, which apparently has implications for both owner-drivers and companies. Perhaps you or the BoM could speak to them and find out in detail how they affect us? Their spokesperson told me that they are the number one trainers for chauffeuring companies and would be interested in running a fleet course for Licensed London Taxi drivers. Surely this would be a positive marketing tool for Dial-a-Cab and the Licensed Taxi trade (if not Dial-a-Cab, the PCO or CHCD could run a course? Isn't that something the Taliban for London might be interested in sponsoring, or was our "Dear Colleague" letter just 'window-dressing'? Over to you Ken!
Mark White (B86)
Brian Rice replies: An interesting letter Mark, you certainly gave me some reading to do with all the booklets you enclosed with your letter to the Editor. I will endeavour to answer your points one by one starting with our despatching system. Yes, we have an excellent despatching system, one that I am very proud of. However, marketing our system to other companies is something that I have looked at. The companies that might be interested in our system would not only include Taxi and Private Hire companies, how about the Ambulance Service and the Fire Brigade? Then of course there is the man that comes round to repair your washing machine or television, all these vehicles have to be despatched. But in the vast majority of cases, the amount of units that are purchased by any one company are tiny and as you stated in your letter, there are several companies specialising in this field. That would be very difficult to compete against as most companies do not require a system as complex as ours. However, that is not to say that our system cannot be stripped down - something that I have spoken to Real Time Concepts about in the past. As for selling our system to minicab companies, it is also something that might be contentious for some of my members; I think you will probably agree with me on that point.
   Regarding text messaging, we were the first in our industry to investigate text messaging to order taxis, however, the overwhelming majority of our client’s accounts are so complex with authorisations, references, matter files, cost centres and job numbers etc, that the use of text messaging would be inappropriate. Also the vast majority of people who text the most are the younger members of the public and dare I say that they are not the market that DaC specialises in. The big users of our service are the type of person who will have to fumble about for their reading glasses in order to send or receive a text. They are unlikely to want to do that when they can just dial a number in the memory of their mobile phone. However, I do know that one of our competitors takes text messaging and it has proven to be an unmitigated disaster, therefore I am delighted that we made the right decision! It would appear that at the current rate of usage, it will take our competitor about 120 years to recoup their expenditure in setting the system up – so certainly for the present at least, that is not something that we are interested in, but who knows about the future?
   Regarding the 'meet and greet' boards, yes I agree they are very nice and we have enquired regarding the bulk purchase of 2,200. The current cost of £14.99 each, I think you will agree is prohibitive and an expenditure totalling almost £33k is unacceptable. Let's see what price they come back with - nothing like the 64p that we pay for our current boards I’d wager! I also happen to believe that the best thing to draw a client’s attention is a large London Taxi with our logo on it. When our logo has drawn the client’s attention, then a board with their name on it in the window is usually sufficient.
   Surprisingly, there are very few scenarios where drivers meet clients away from their vehicle.
   I must say that the IAM booklets were very interesting, but sending our members on their courses - well, I'm not sure about that. I believe that the PCO driving test is fairly comprehensive and I do not believe that they would pass a candidate unless they were satisfied that were safe to transport members of the public. Again, I can only speak from my own experience, but I have always found the standard of driving from my point of view as a passenger in a taxi to be excellent. If we think about it logically, why wouldn't it be, as taxi drivers will spend a minimum of eight hours a day behind the wheel and of course, they become extremely proficient at what they do.
  
I have also read the booklet you enclosed about the Health and Safety (Road Safety). As you are probably aware, Mark, we operate a policy for our employees regarding Health and Safety whilst they are at work and I have found that in recent times, more and more of our clients require our policy regarding Health and Safety. However, the book that I read on the subject was more concerned with Health and Safety for employees that drive for a living on behalf of a company - and I stress the word employee. They advise on driver training and vehicle purchase etc, something that is beyond the remit of DaC. What they are basically saying is that you should have a trained workforce (drivers) and spend time over the choice of vehicle they drive, which in their opinion (probably correct) would cut down on the number of accidents. Being an old cynic, I can see why the IAM would want to send drivers on fee paying courses, I wonder if they know of any good reputable organisations that run any? Of course Mark, I do agree with you that anything making roads safer places must be supported.

Give Me Back my ‘Clear’ Button!
Don’t get me wrong, our data terminal is the best in the world and the new facilities on the latest version are very good, but I would forego these to go back to the old version purely on one lost feature - the "Clear Key" on page 1. I cannot believe this has been done. Within seconds of driving out of Roman Way, I thought the taxi drivers equivalent of "oh no" and by the end of the evening I was very frustrated with this loss. This would be a minor software change to what I, and believe many other drivers will see as a major facility change in the operation of the terminal.

1) Remove "No" button on "Print" screen on credit card jobs.
2) "Voice Req." and "Address" to be pressed twice to activate.
3) Gen Code "Print details" feature.
4) Don’t wake blank screen option on fleet messages option.
5) Can’t delete a message until 5 sec. old.
1) Signal strength meter.
2) Access map function from "sign on" screen.
3) Software version displayed on "sign on" screen.
4) "Long wait" to be promoted to the first gen. code screen.
5) Latest version of "A-Z".
6) "Where am I" (GPS/Map) function.
7) Active key not to change to an inert not another active key. e.g. Arrival, On-board.
Alan Nash (A95

Hello Mr Numbers. Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much! Yes, it does mean having to tap the screen one extra time, but I have been told that the ‘Remarks’ button was necessary due to drivers not reading their extra details on ‘Page 2’. You now cannot press your Arrival button or AAR without reading Remarks (if applicable).
   As for your suggestions, they have all been passed over to Tom and Debbie Carter for possible future upgrade inclusions, however, for anyone who would like to offer practical suggestions, the best thing would be to tell Keith Cain who would then, if thought prudent, send Tom Carter a mobile software requirement.
   I’ve also taken the liberty Alan, of adding one extra item to your list. A ValRos button, which you would press on Feb 14 and the terminal would then dispatch one dozen red roses to a driver’s wife / girlfriend! A very Happy Christmas, Alan, to the best "Numbers" man in the game…Ed

Steve Norris "Love In?"
   After reading the Steve Norris "love in" that was November’s Call Sign, I thought I should urge caution to my fellow drivers with regard to Mr Norris. It would appear he can now promise us the world, but somehow managed to give us nothing when he was Minister of Transport for London! But crucially, as long as he threatens to scrap the Congestion Charge, then he will not get my vote. This particular turkey won’t be voting for Xmas!
David Brett (P93)
That ‘love-in’ David, was DaC drivers expressing their point of view. The fact was that yours now makes the first anti vote I’ve had against Steve Norris …Ed

Big Thank You…
On the 15 November, The Taxi Driver of the Year Charity Fund held their annual Dinner Dance and the awards were presented. What was nice was seeing new and old faces enjoying themselves.
   On behalf of my Committee, I would like to thank the Chairman, BoM and Dial-a-Cab for their sponsorship and continued support.
Russell Poluck MBE (T55)
Hon Chairman

December 2003 Call Sign Home Page

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