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

One Number Taxis... and Sovereign!
In the Chairman's Report (Jan Call Sign), Brian Rice mentions a "one number for all" radio taxi hiring number that is due to start in the new year. He goes on to explain briefly how it will work and how many radio circuits are participating. I have a question arising from what he has said. Brian, are you certain and therefore can we be certain, that all the participating radio circuits only provide a licensed taxi with a licensed cab driver to the customer's door when they phone for a taxi?
   Maybe Brian Rice could also take this opportunity to answer a question that I sent direct to him in June 2002. It is as follows:
   The letter that I have received from Sovereign Capital Ltd says that DaC have invested £5m in new technology and have had to borrow to do so. Maybe I have misunderstood what you have said over this matter. I remember you saying that it has been done from profits. Could you please confirm what is the correct position...
Steven van Gelder (C87)
Brian Rice replies: The answer to the first part of your question is 'Yes' only licensed taxis will be used. Surely Steven, you don't believe that anyone in the licensed trade would intimate they are sending a taxi when in fact they are sending a car? That would be misrepresentation?
Secondly, you ask if our new technology was purchased from profits? The answer is 'No'. A Mutual Trading Company such as ours does not make a profit, it makes a surplus. There is a difference. However, because I believe the company has been carefully managed with the 'new technology' being drip fed into our system over a two-year period, there has not been any need to negotiate any large bank borrowings, which had always been our long-term strategy. I bet I know what the next question is...!

John Saunders
Thank you for your kind words in last months Call Sign, they were a great comfort. Our sincere thanks also go to the drivers, staff and BoM for their kindness and support during these sad times. It was a great comfort to read how John's passion for his profession touched so many, especially from his 'contemporaries'. John shared many Control Room stories with us over the years - they were happy times for him.
John was a true gentleman and a wonderful father.
Thank you...
Ann and Kate Saunders

Thank You From Battersea Park
Just a short note of thanks for all the help you have supplied to us at Battersea Park. We have been operating in Battersea Park for ten tears now and never has the service been so good. May I wish you all a Happy New Year...
Steve Hegerty
Events Manager
Battersea Park, SW11
For how many years have we said that we could provide a far better service than the combination of minicabs and touts who used to flock to Battersea Park at going home time? Hands up if you remember the police stopping us going into the park with our for-hire signs on as entry was for "minicabs only"? Now we've showed them what the licensed taxi trade is capable of and they like it. So well done to Allan Evans and his team of Marshals and also to our drivers who have provided the outstanding service...Ed

Thank You From Virgin
For 18 weekends, starting on 10 August 2002 and finishing on 8 December 2003 as a result of
the work to upgrade the West Coast Mainline, Virgin Trains and Dial-a-Cab worked together to
provide an alternative transport service for Customers. We have worked together for a number of years, but this was a new challenge, providing taxis in the London, Watford and Milton Keynes areas. Thanks to the professionalism, excellent planning and working relationship between Virgin Trains and Dial-a-Cab, the operation was a massive success and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was involved.
Thanks are due to the Marshalling team and the 960 drivers who were used during the period...Ed

Democratic Magazine (1)
I think that your paragraph headed Democratic Magazine proves my point exactly. At no point during my conversation with Allen Togwell did I suggest that there should be no letters page, nor that articles should be bland and non-controversial. What I did say was that he was repeating second hand information relayed to him and because he could not confirm what he was told was true, he should not publish it. You have also proved my point; like Allen Togwell you have printed something without checking what was said. It was no secret who Allen Togwell was speaking to.  You could have spoken to me to confirm what was said. Why let the facts get in the way of a story...?
Steven van Gelder (C87)
It may not have been a secret to you, Steven, but I didn't know that he had spoken to you and neither would it have made any difference to my Editorial. Although I mentioned a driver who had spoken to him, I was happy to accept Allen Togwell's word, which like you, I read in his article (Jan Call Sign). I then asked a general question about what drivers would like to see in the mag. Why you should take such umbrage at that, I really can't understand...Ed

Democratic Magazine (2)
I cannot believe that some drivers feel that Call Sign should join the castrated 'in house' propaganda rags that are turned out by the other radio circuits. Do these drivers really believe
that our clients are shallow enough, or fooled by the sort of platitudes that these papers turn out? Alan you should feel proud of OUR paper, so should the Board, who have resisted what must have at times been an almost overwhelming temptation to exercise a censorship policy. A healthy exchange of views between the drivers and the BoM over the years has ensured that we (DaC) have become the market leader in London. Sure the other circuits may claim higher turnovers, but we make money and have not followed a policy of buying work at any price.
   I believe that debate has strengthened DaC. One of our main competitors stifled any form of debate and eventually was sold-out by the people running it to a foreign company just to
ensure that they were not returned to driving a cab for a living. If a British-based operator had taken over, it was odds on that they would all have been replaced.
   I also agree with your stand on the AGM. We should never have accepted postal voting, but that should not deter members from attending at the Brewery.
Whilst mentioning the Brewery, like Lydia Foulkes I also attended the RADAR "People of the Year" Awards and as always was very impressed with how the people who many would not blame for not being happy with their lot, show an attitude to life that puts many able-bodied to
shame. One thing that did cast a shadow over the event was on leaving. I was asked if I required a Taxi. Due to the nature of the event, I expected that the venue would have arranged for
one of the radio circuits to provide wheelchair accessible vehicles - known in London as Taxis. However, when enquiring where these taxis that they were touting were, I was pointed towards a number of four door saloons sitting down the yard.  Perhaps we should consider taking our business somewhere else for next years AGM, just as they have? Incidentally, it is illegal for Private Hire to rank anywhere - even on private land if they can be seen from the Public Highway.
Eddie Lambert (V27)
Thanks for the letter Eddie and the kind words. Can I just emphasise one point. I never said that we should never have accepted postal voting, I said that I voted against it but accepted the democratically arrived decision of the membership. I just wondered where all those who voted against postal voting were, because there were certainly more than of them than those who turned up last year. The PCO have been informed about the minicab problem at the Brewery. It could affect a PH company's licence ...Ed

AGM Attendance
With the AGM only days away, I shall keep my fingers crossed that the attendance will be higher than in previous years, at least since the introduction of the postal ballot. I have to admit that I do not possess a 100% attendance record where the AGM is concerned and I know that it is a far more attractive proposition to vote from your armchair accompanied by all the comforts of home, than to trudge out on a cold winter's day. But I always think that voting for existing or new Board members at an AGM makes attending more important then ever. With such future issues as the possibility of a change of trading from a mutual to a plc, I think it imperative that we know what the views and opinions are of those standing for office. If we allow apathy to dictate, then you may find at a later date you have not got what you would have wanted. So please make the effort to attend and who knows, you may even have some fun.
Brian Cohen (C81)
I agree with every word you say Brian. Where are all these people who keep telling anyone
who will listen that "...it's OUR Company?" If it really is your company, then take an
interest ...Ed

A Dripping Message to the Chairman...?
Ok, so which drips okayed the equipment that is allergic to we drips? I wonder if the drips at LTI will ever find a solution for us drips? Because of some drips' mistake, why try to pass the financial burden on to us membership drips? Being a drip once yourself, Mr Chairman, surely you understand that we drips have enough to worry about with the present situation. I mean no offence, but I feel you will send us all dripping mad...
P.R.Thomas (B27)
Brian Rice replies:
I trust you had a good Christmas and New Year, Paul and whatever you were on, please let us all know because it seems like pretty strong stuff! However, the point I was making was that some members do seem to be neglecting the equipment in their vehicles and water damage is just part of that problem. 

Are Complaint Appeals Tough Enough?
In the January Call Sign, Allen Togwell answered a letter from Dave Ellis (J11) concerning drivers who exceed permitted run-ins and wonders why "...not one (other driver) has been prepared to take positive action by reporting details of perpetrators." Perhaps I can put forward what I consider to be the main reason - the penalties faced by the driver are so insignificant that it is considered to be a waste of time...
   I have been a member of Dial-a-Cab since 1978 and have found it to be an excellent circuit that provides drivers and customers with a fine service for 95% of the time. The wide base of small and large clients and fine reputation was built up over the years by drivers and management largely before I joined the circuit.  Our advanced technological systems have been introduced more recently. This has all been maintained through the back-up of the Board, the staff at Brunswick House and the drivers working courteously and honestly with quality vehicles. On the few occasions when there is cause for complaint, it is dealt with via the set procedures and Complaints Officer. I have been asked to sit on the Complaints committee on three occasions and together with two other drivers sitting at the time, listened to cases carefully and have considered whatever the reported driver has to say. If we find the case proved, then the range of penalties we are able to impose is very restricted. There is a warning, suspension of one, two, three or four weeks, or expulsion. The driver can then lodge an appeal that is heard by Board members. The sentence can be upheld, reduced or increased. Invariably the sentence is reduced.
   Over the years, I cannot recall seeing a sentence that was increased. This indicates that Board members are out of touch with the wishes of the ordinary drivers who sit on the committees and hear the cases in the first place. Perhaps Board members just wish to appear as nice guys, especially with elections approaching?
   Work has been slow over the past year, but when I hear of drivers arriving with an excess amount on the meter, I know that this can easily lead to the loss of an account and a further reduction in our work. Likewise, when drivers book into a zone in order to catch a job that should first be offered to closer vehicles, then they are stealing my work whilst also causing the customer to wait longer than necessary for a cab. I consider these to be serious acts. Not much different, in effect, from a driver putting his hand into my money bag and helping himself. Perhaps a 3 or 6 month suspension would be more appropriate rather than 2 or 3 weeks. By reducing the sentences of Complaints committees so frequently, the Appeals Board are indicating that they do not really consider these to be serious matters. Hence the reluctance of drivers to make the effort to report offences when they are seen.
Laurence Kelvin (W88)
Brian Rice replies: I know that you have written your letter with honest intentions and the best interests of the Society at heart, however Laurence, I believe you are mistaken. We pride ourselves on giving an excellent service to both clients and members alike - in my view the best in the business. When a Complaints committee sits, it consists of three members who pass judgement on their peers. At a later date, a second Complaints committee will hear complaints against another set of members and so on, month after month with the possible problem being a lack of consistency. One committee could be very lenient and the second extremely tough. If a member receives a suspension or expulsion, he has the right to appeal to the BoM. I always sit on that Appeals committee and believe they are always conducted extremely fairly with, very importantly, a degree of consistency being brought to the proceedings. I am not for one moment advocating any change in our Complaints meetings, because they are extremely fair to all parties - something that I am very proud of. In your letter you suggest that at an Appeal, the sentence is always reduced. Well Laurence, you've had me thumbing through past issues of Call Sign for the results of Appeals meetings and the facts are that in the main, sentences are upheld, particularly expulsions, after all if a member is expelled he might as well appeal as the sentence cannot be increased. Most members accept the suspensions that are issued by the Complaints committee, the ones who disagree and feel that they have had a raw deal go to appeal and rightly so. Sometimes the appeal committee agrees with them and the sentence is reduced, sometimes we do not agree with them and the sentence is upheld or even increased - but above all, whatever the outcome, it is fair. In your letter you state that DaC is an excellent circuit and I totally agree, one of the reasons is fairness to members. I believe we have the best, most honest and transparent Complaints procedure in the trade. Long may it continue...

A Beijing To London Thank You...
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Call Sign for its support and for following my Beijing to London taxi ride throughout the project. It was the very professional way that Call Sign put everything together and told of what was an unbelievably epic journey, so enabling people to share my experiences, which will remain in my heart forever.  This I thank you for from the bottom of my heart.
Tony Arnold (F03)
Thanks for your kind words, Tony. My thanks also go out to you for promising to keep in touch and actually doing so. I've never heard so many Chinese answer phone messages as I did during your three-month trip, but on those many occasions when I managed to beat the Chinese phone service and actually got through to you or John, I had this huge feeling of envy when you told me where you were at that moment - on top of the Great Wall of China, driving through a Mongolian Village, meeting the real Santa Claus etc, etc. And whenever you phoned me and I had to excuse myself from whomever I was talking to at the time "...because I had a call from China on the line!" Wow! My thanks also goes to your co-driver from LTI, John Rula, for emailing me a stream of excellently taken digital photos taken across a dozen or so different countries. I received so many emails from around the world about your trip after a taxi driver in San Francisco, Charles Rathbone, saw the first article in Call Sign's on-line version and put a message out in a world-wide taxi drivers Internet list. Your fame, Tony, is well deserved. Perhaps you can write and tell us what normality felt like when you got your first taxi trip after returning? ...Ed

Wrong Month...
I really enjoy reading the on-line version of Call Sign, however I encountered a problem today when I visited your website. I attempted to view the December 2002 issue of Call Sign but unfortunately when I clicked on the December icon it linked to the November issue. Could someone please correct the link?
Tim Hanson
Scottsdale, Arizona
Sorry Scott, I don't quite understand how it happened unless my computer man, Vince Chin, over-celebrated on New Year's eve! Fixed now though ...Ed

AGM Candidates Lacking in Views?
I thought I would write to you after reading the January Call Sign. It appears that this year's candidates for the Board of management seem to be lacking in views, ie how they feel about issues such as plc etc or any other issues that would do their election campaign some good.
   Having a picture and a past CV may tell us what the candidate has done previously, but it does not tell us what he would do if he were to be elected. Even politicians have to disclose their policies and say how they will help their constituencies if elected!
   So what's the difference for our candidates? This is even more relevant considering only a handful of drivers will attend this year's AGM. Maybe it is a case of vote now and see what they can do after they've been elected! Please publish the views from all the candidates on all issues so that the "stay-at-home" brigade can vote knowing what the candidates views are and not whether they can call upon him/her if they need plumbing or electrical work done!
Anthony Lawyer (C51)
Thanks for the letter Tony, if you read my Editorial on page 3 together with the letter below yours, you will discover the reasons...Ed

And From the Other Perspective...
Thank you for your consideration with regards to not allowing the revision of any of the CVs appertaining to the forthcoming AGM while I was away on holiday. As you are aware, my wife and I went away for a week to Tenerife on 7 December. I feel that I had defined my CV in the correct manner by giving you information about myself. If I were asked to have written my views and opinions regarding the Society, I would have done so. If I would have come back from holiday to discover that all the other prospective BMs had given an address speech, I feel that this would have been to my disadvantage.
   Thank you once again for your consideration in this matter.
Steve Shaller (R75)

Howard's An Upside-Downie Too!
Thanks for the copy of Call Sign that was redirected here to Australia via our old UK address

New Terminals
After having had the new terminal for 2 years, I think I can now comment on them and I can't say they are better then the previous one. Sure, they look the biz with the colour screens and map system etc, but compare the 2 speed-wise and the previous terminals were light speed ahead.  With the new ones - and this is from experience - when the system is under pressure you run the risk of being booked-off zone because the system does not acknowledge your signal ie 'accept' or 'reject' so what I would like to know is whether the speed will improve or are we lumbered? This is not an attack on the Board or anybody else; I am just concerned that this equipment is not up to the job.  It's no good saying they are computers and you have to wait, because if my computer was this slow it would end up in the bin or possibly with a cracked screen - Brian are you reading this!
Terry Wright (P39)
Thanks for the letter Terry. See Keith Cain's Top Floor News for more on the subject ...Ed

Commendation...
On December 26, I received a phone call from a passenger commending one of our drivers. As passengers expect a good service, they rarely phone to offer praise and I cannot remember a passenger speaking quite so highly of one of our drivers before. The driver was C02 and the passenger was delighted with the route taken, the driver's attitude and his all-round professionalism. I thought it was worth letting Call Sign know.
Becci Townsend
DaC Night Shift Telephone Supervisor
Thanks for that, Becci and well done Keith Singer (C02) ...Ed

Why...?
I am writing concerning the Dec 2002 article in Call Sign entitled "Transport for London Guests visit Brunswick House." After reading the article twice and looking at the accompanying picture, I realised that all was not what it seemed because standing on the Chairman's immediate right was a Mr Graham Lambert. The reason I mention this and bring it to the membership's attention is because Mr Lambert works for Delgro (ComCab) and he is in charge of their Special Needs / Westminster accounts (88's).  Why was this not mentioned in the article? I find it quite strange bearing in mind the Chairman's reply to a letter in Call Sign to Mark White (also in the Dec issue) who dared to ask him how many subscribers there were on the circuit. He replied: "It is sensitive information and not something I would like our competitors to know." Well, there you go, a member gets the short shift whereas our main competitor gets the red carpet treatment!
   Finally, can the Chairman explain to me and the rest of our members who have found it harder and harder to earn our living, his economics re our latest subs increase? I know that he will bleat on about value for money and that it is still cheaper than our competitors, but watch my lips...  I don't care about the others!  What they do and what their drivers tolerate is up to them. We are (and I hope always will be) a non-profit making Friendly Society run by its members for the benefit of its members, because when you look at the figures, they say work down by 18% and subs up by 10%. The two do not add up...or is it just to bump up our figures on the balance sheets for our prospective buyer?
Grant Davis (L39)
"Watch your lips?" I seem to remember an ex-US President using the expression but I don't remember it meaning too much in his - or Monica's - case! I'm proud of the freedom Call Sign has in presenting a letters page where drivers can ask any questions and more often than not, get an answer. But it cannot be 100%...
Believe me, Mark White isn't afraid to ask a question, he didn't have to "dare" to ask anything. He asked a particular question to which the answer was considered to be not in DaC's advantage to put into print - and as you make the point that it is our company, why the problem? You only need to ask a Board member to get that particular answer...
Graham Lambert was at the TfL meeting at Brunswick House representing the organisation formerly known as JRTA - now known as the London Taxi Network. Did you expect him to be asked to wait outside while the TfL guests were shown around the building? ComCab representatives (and RTL come to that) have been here many times just as DaC personnel have been to their premises many times and also been shown around. Giving someone a guided tour of BH shows the pride we have in our company, but doesn't mean that we are compelled to tell them all our business.
As for the subs increase, why did you not ask the same question when for several years the subs didn't go up at all because we were so successful? Surely they must go up sometimes, otherwise we'd still be paying 15 shillings a week! ...Ed

And Speaking of Mark White...
The Chairman had me a little confused when he said he couldn't understand exactly what was meant by needing to protect the Members interests from a predator/competitor should there be a hostile take-over in the future. In my original letter, I did say that a leisure/fitness chain had been subject to such a bid, so it's not as if these things don't happen. Again, I'm not sure if the company is the chain connected to Sovereign. I wasn't sure if Brian was talking 'tongue in cheek' pulling my leg, but thinking back to his "advice" that if drivers didn't like the outcome, they could "walk away," I realise that he is serious. '
   In the January issue, Call Sign reported that a bid for LTI had been made. It said:
   "The bid has come during a difficult trading period for LTI - in fact, one of its slowest periods since the original formation in 1948." (55 years).
   In it, you speculated that "...If the sale goes ahead, we can only wonder whom the purchaser might be?" (Friend or foe?).
   At a time when the Manganese Bronze Chief Executive tells us that; "New vehicle sales are slowing and we have had to put our production back", it would seem that LTI are in an
extremely vulnerable position (despite the speculation pushing the share price up). Whether the sale of LTI will be profitable to its shareholders depends on the price they paid originally, but
they may not have much of a say as to who the new owners are. Under adverse trading conditions, companies find themselves in positions that result in their shares being traded either to reduce losses or raise necessary capital. We are not Sovereign Capital's only interest and maybe they could find themselves over-stretched? Difficult trading conditions, leaving a company in a weak position, could lead to a sale. Only a fool could think that it might not happen to us!
   Due to the date of the AGM having been moved from November to February, DaC is almost into the second half of its next financial year. The Chairman previously reported that
turnover is down 18% on the previous year. As he gets monthly updates, can he please give us news on our position now?
Mark White (B86).
Just to clear one point up Mark before I pass you over to the Chairman, you quoted me as saying (quite correctly) re the LTI bid: "...If the sale goes ahead, we can only wonder whom the purchaser might be?" However, you missed my next sentence that I had hoped would give a subtle hint as to what I believed was happening. That sentence read: "...Perhaps even a Management buyout?" Recent news suggests that I was right ...Ed
   Brian Rice replies: It appears Mark, that on all issues you have used the worst-case scenario. You mention trading shares - what shares? As I understand the situation, if a company buys a controlling interest in another, there are not any shares involved unless the purchasing company has shareholders of their own, or the 'purchased' company is listed and has shareholders. If I made you an offer for your cab that you could not refuse, you would sell it to me - where are the shareholders? There aren't any, as it is a deal between you and I, however, if several people have an interest in your cab and several people are financing me, then and only then are there shareholders involved. I do take your point that if someone bought DaC and then got into financial difficulties, they might look to sell, but that is a worst-case scenario. We are talking about hypothetical situations that neither you nor I know the answers to and as I have stated before, people can only speculate.
   Regarding the position of DaC and our turnover, as you will read in the Annual Report, up until the end of August 2002 our turnover was down 17.7%. Since that date and the start of a new financial year, our turnover to date is UP 11% on last year - lets all hope that we can continue with the progress.

February 2003 Call Sign Home Page

Powered by NetXPosure