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Making My
Month!
Well
I have to admit to feeling rather pleased with myself! The last issue of Call Sign contained a seven-page report of the Dial-a-Cab Annual General Meeting – a report that took me three days to compile, not to mention the painstaking writing and recording at the meeting itself. Boring and dull – they were the good parts!
But the response from drivers has made it worthwhile. Let’s be honest, we all like a bit of praise occasionally, but I almost felt embarrassed at the number of drivers who have come up to me and said how much they appreciated the report. So to those of you who took the time to phone or tell me personally, my thanks, you helped to make my
month!
Whilst on the subject of the AGM, several drivers have asked why the AGM report was missing from the on-line version? Well, all DaC subscribers have the right to know what went on at Whitbread’s Brewery whether they attended or voted by post. However, I wasn’t so sure about non-members, so I took the decision that the report would go out in the hard copy only. Rightly or wrongly, it was my decision and I have to stand by
it…
Minicab Signage and the Other Side of the
Coin?
Last month’s Call Sign gave a report on the decision by Mayor Ken Livingstone to, as of March 8 this year, ban any form of signage from minicabs. The licensed Taxi trade as a whole joined in and showed their delight at the decision – perhaps with the exception of
TAXI whose only apparent thought seemed to be to unjustly claim responsibility for the
Mayor’s decision. The obvious reason for everyone else’s delight was because it meant that those unscrupulous car drivers, who would have plastered their vehicles with “minicab” advertising in order to pretend they were legitimate, were now stymied. But there are always two sides to every story and no doubt there are some PH drivers who would have only used signage for the purpose it was intended, however Call Sign has no doubt that the majority would be tempted to say “yes” if approached by a passenger waiting for a licensed Taxi and if they thought that they would be unspotted. The PH ‘bible’
– Private Hire and Taxi Monthly – has predictably come out
against the decision. If you don’t know Editor Bryan Roland’s |
excellent magazine then take it
from me, this is no 40-year-old John Bull printing set effort, but a high-class, professional mag. The cover of their March issue has the bold headline: “Ken Grants Rapists Charter.” They compare the Mayor’s decision to his
“Know what you are getting into” campaign from last year and ask in so many words HOW a passenger can know what they are getting into if there are no markings on the vehicles? They ask why the Mayor didn’t allow a corporate logo on the London cars to emulate the rest of the country?For page after page – allowing far more space than any Taxi magazine could hope to give any subject – the subject is dragged on and on and on and the complete Act is also published. Proprietors of PH companies have their say and just as predictably, condemn the Mayor’s decision. George Walker is on the National Private Hire Association and also represents the view of South London PH firm Blue Anchor Radio Cars. Mr Walker wrote et
al:
“We all know the dangers of the touts and we have more reason to hate them over anybody else as we are always blamed for their actions and the dangers they bring to the public. But who made the danger? Who made us invisible? By making us invisible, who really encouraged the touts? We all know the answer:
THE BLACK CAB TRADE AND THOSE WHO PANDER TO THEIR
PROPAGANDA.”
He seethed with anger, he says, when spotting yet another “black cab” notice. This one was the LTDA poster in Waterloo, which stated: WE WON AGAIN - NO SIGNAGE FOR
MINICABS!
Mr Walker ends by writing: “Signage is a basic safety net that will protect those who are being attacked and abused by the people imitating the legitimate trade. I object to this inadequate signage with all my heart. It really is a rapists
charter.”
Diana Kendall of Kendall Cars in Croydon is one of many others who joins in by saying et
al:
“I though PH licensing was about protecting the public, not protecting the rapist…” There you have it. According to our know Editor Bryan Roland’s excellent magazine then take it |
know Editor Bryan Roland’s excellent magazine then take it
signage would amount to a
rapist’s charter, whereas the PH side are claiming that by NOT
allowing signage, the Mayor has created a rapist’s charter. Call Sign’s view is that the decision is 100% correct, mainly because too many of the minicab trade could not be trusted to abide by the correct legislation if allowed signage. We may now think that we have won our biggest battle, but the opposition are not about to lie down…
TXII Update
My sincere thanks to all those who have wished me luck with my TXII. It seems that since my purchase, the decision on whether to ease the ‘Conditions of Fitness’ that could allow alternative “taxis” into the London market, has been delayed. Surely a
coincidence…!
As for the cab, so far I am delighted! I’ve been listening to the rumours about “problems” and I’m delighted to say that they seem to be just that – rumours. It isn’t noisy and it doesn’t vibrate! But I’m keeping a look
out…
Good Bye
Jamie?
With Jamie Borwick finally doing what he said he’d never do - sell his majority shareholding in LTI’s parent company Manganese Bronze - the trade may have lost someone rather special.
Jamie is rich, powerful and a most definite ‘blue blood’, being heir to the Lord Borwick estate on one side, while his wife comes from the Lord McAlalpine building stable on the other! Jamie pocketed £13.7million from the MBH sale and safe to say that he doesn’t need the taxi trade. But therein lies a tale because Jamie – for all his wealth and shrewd business acumen – loves the taxi business and especially the cab itself. Not for Jamie to tell people how wonderful the vehicle was in order to get a few extra sales – he genuinely loved
it.
In my dealings with Jamie Borwick, I have always found him to be extremely knowledgeable about the trade and excellent company with never the slightest hint of snobbishness. When invited to tour Brunswick House, he accepted without a moments thought and spent several hours here taking an interest in all aspects of our company.
I suspect that this trade hasn’t seen the end of Jamie Borwick and that the goodbye is just temporary, but in the meantime good luck and could you lend me a tenner until Thursday?
Alan
Fisher
callsignmag@aol.com |
