Dongles!
AS part of the last upgrade to driver’s terminals that took place last October through till March of this year, we included the fitting of a piece of equipment (Dongle) that reads the taxi meter at certain times throughout the trip. The readings now show the amount on the meter when the driver arrives outside the pick up address and the amount showing when the trip is cleared. Other than clearing a Westminster or Borough card trip, a station or theatre surcharge trip or a minimum fare journey, drivers must not overwrite the meter reading to clear a different amount unless authorised by the call centre controller.
   From reports that are run on a daily basis, we can see a small number of drivers are not obtaining permission from the call centre to do this. Those drivers have been asked to come in to Brunswick House and give an explanation to the Complaints Officer as to why they have not followed the instructions that have been printed in previous issues of Call Sign Magazine.
   In order to ensure that all drivers follow the correct procedures, my report again focuses this month on run in amounts and meter readings.

Call Centre Chat

Run Ins
To avoid any misunderstandings, let me remind you that the run in amount of £3.80 is the maximum amount of money that can be displayed on the meter either when a driver arrives at the pick up address on ASAP trips, or the amount that is permitted at the time the pre-booked taxi is required. It is not a compulsory amount of money that a driver can charge for each trip undertaken through the despatch system.
   It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure the £3.80 is not exceeded when they arrive. If a driver misjudges this and it appears he / she will arrive with more than the correct amount, it is their responsibility to reset the meter. If by resetting the meter, an amount of less than £3.80 is showing, then

this is the run in that is charged and any difference must not be added on to the meter fare at the end of the journey.

Close to the Pick Up
The same applies to a situation where a driver accepts a trip when very close to the pick up address. In these circumstances and as the distance travelled means that you will not reach the maximum run in amount, any short fall must NOT be added at the end of the journey. On these occasions, drivers must travel directly to the pick up address. Neither does it mean that you should hang around somewhere to get more money on the meter before arriving.
   From now on, should we find that a meter reading has been altered and an explanation has not been entered onto the trip information by a controller, then that individual can expect to give their reasons to the Complaints Officer.
   We do realise that the above only applies to a small number of drivers, but as we all know, it takes just one driver to lose an account…

Keith Cain
Driver Operations
Call Centre Manager