Call Sign July 2004 - Page 15 - DIAL-A-CAB EN LA BELLE FRANCE

Ex-DaC driver Bob Woodford writes a regular column for Call Sign from his new home at Languedoc in France…

DaC Driver comes to Look
Well, I seem to be spending a lot of my time in back in blighty lately! A trip to Old Trafford to see my beloved Millwall win through to an F.A Cup Final in Cardiff, which were both awesome experiences – not to mention entirely unexpected of course! I’ll settle for watching UEFA Cup football on the continent next season. Oh by the way - sorry West Ham fans and my fellow Call Sign columnist Russell…!
Cab drivers and their families however, are still showing up for our ‘Fact Finding’ trips here in the beautiful Languedoc region. They see the best of worlds, the stunning mountain scenery, and the Mediterranean coastline. Ask Dial-A-Cab driver Peter Straighton (F31) about his trip, ask him about the entertainment on the last night too, perhaps no, on second thoughts best not to!
If you are looking for ‘Holiday Homes’ or ‘Retirement Homes’, there are still plenty of bargains to be had down here close to the Spanish border, but don’t hang about! Prices are starting to go upwards, which at the same time makes it a better investment opportunity than ever before. I know one cabby with a villa down here who has a week ranked up on Hyde Park Corner, followed by two weeks in the sun every three-week cycle.

Anyway, some things never change…
I’ll be back once more to work ‘Wimbledon Fortnight’ - my 14^th consecutive year of relieving tennis lovers of their hard-earned, oops, I mean providing a shared taxi service from Southfields Station to Gate 4 and return! I won’t be

DIAL-A-CAB EN LA BELLE FRANCE

Dac's Peter Straighton (F31) with Bob Woodford (left) while taking advantage of the four day 'house hunters' package.

providing that service in my old ‘H’ Reg though; I just sold it to a Frenchman for 3,000 euros, that’s about £2,000. If I went back with it to ‘Livingstone’s London, I’d probably only get about £400 on a good day.
The locals down here love my old London Taxi, which up until I sold it acted as a ‘mobile billboard’ for the wife’s Art Gallery (which also ‘doubles-up as an English Book & Video Library – I even managed to get a plug in when filming with the BBC for an episode of ‘Bargain Hunt’ recently)!
So why don’t owners of old London cabs export them for sale in France? Now there’s an idea…

Call Sign Readers in Languedoc …
Several Call Sign readers (see above) have already taken up our 4-day inclusive ‘House-Hunters’ package and the weeks are filling up fast. If you feel you could benefit from a fact-finding trip to the south of France, including introduction to a local English speaking estate agent, contact Charles on 0033 467 363 199 or email charles.trowers@tiscali.com

Au revoir…
Bob Woodford (Ex-P49)

OUTSOURCING OF DRIVERS MEDICALS PUT ON HOLD

The Public Carriage Office have said that plans to award a contract to Atos Origin for delivering a medical examination service for taxi and private hire drivers, will not now be implemented. The original agreement was subject to Atos Origin being able to satisfy PCO requirements in terms of cost, accessibility and quality of service.
Following consultations with trade associations - including Dial-a-Cab - and as part of pre-contract discussions, the PCO and Atos agreed that further talks would be undertaken to establish how the service would operate in practice. The result showed a more detailed analysis of the projected volumes of driver medicals for the contract duration and revealed a decrease in the estimated volumes set out in the original specification. Atos Origin then asked to review their original proposal - as the contract allowed them to do - and said that the

decrease in projected volumes would lead to an increase in the cost of medical examinations and reduce the number of proposed examination centres.
   In response, the PCO decided that the delivery of a driver medical examination service by Atos Origin would no longer a viable proposition.
   The PCO have added that the reasons and justification for their mounting a competitive tendering exercise still remain and that they are committed to looking at ways in which they can improve the delivery and quality of driver medical examinations.
   They added that they particularly needed to address aspects of the process that no longer meet the required ethical or business standards and will be again be reviewing options available for improving the service to drivers and the Licensing Authority.