Call Sign December 2005 - Page 31 - DRIVER OPERATIONS - UPDATE

Hello ladies and gents…
The Christmas tree is up at Trafalgar Square and once again the festive season is upon us. It comes around so quickly and is the time of year when our service is in such great demand and when it stretches our resources to the limits. The year has been extremely busy so far and December will certainly test us all. There have already been many events requiring your assistance and the Marshals will be calling on you all to keep up the great support that you give us. They are there to help you, please make every effort to help them as well.
Battersea Park is on-going and many of our valued customers will be relying on Dial-a-Cab to take their staff to and from their Christmas functions. Please remember that these clients are with us all year round and not just over the Christmas period. Many of you are already extending your working day to gain credits towards January’s

DRIVER OPERATIONS - UPDATE

incentive draw and needless to
say, any additional time that you work outside of these hours will greatly help the coverage. There will be many cash and account functions, so please keep up the good work. It really is much appreciated.

Parking
Parking restrictions are greatly adding to our problems. Bridges and tunnel closures magnify the problems, while road closures in and around the busy areas create havoc and make our job almost impossible. It is very important to inform clients if you are delayed and I would ask you all to send a delay message if you are going to arrive late on a trip through the system. It not only informs the customer, but also prevents you arriving to find that the passenger has already left because he or she was uninformed and unable to wait.

Signals
This time of year there are many reasons that cause the data system to run slower than normal. Many more trips are entered, more drivers are working at busy

times and many more messages are
sent through the terminals. The Board of Management are doing everything possible to improve the signal responses and we are now trying to add another base station to add the capacity and spread the signal width over a wider band, which would then help take the pressure off of existing channels. It is impossible to obtain new radio frequencies and almost as hard locate a new site in which to add a base station. We are currently testing an alternative site nearer to Heathrow, which we are told may solve some of the problems in this area, but it is by no means certain that a closer site would automatically improve the situation. We will continue to devote as much time as possible in an effort to find a worthwhile solution to an ongoing problem and believe me, we are leaving no stone unturned.
Can I finally wish all of you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I am sure this Society will go from strength to strength…

Allan Evans Allane@Dialacab.co.uk

LTI WIN LEICESTER APPEAL
LTI Vehicles, and Leicester taxi operator, Swift Yellow Cars, have won their appeal in the law courts against the introduction of alternative taxis to the city. The appeal was launched after Leicester City Council decided to license taxis produced from converted vehicles instead of maintaining the use of purpose built London-style cabs. LTI Vehicles and Swift Yellow Cars argued that the Council’s move went against the Council’s own Conditions of Fitness regulations for taxis. Commenting on the Leicester case, Sales and Marketing Director for LTI Vehicles, Matthew Cheyne told Call Sign: "We believe in high standards in vehicles and service and we will defend any attempt that threatens to weaken those standards. We feel it is right and proper that any proposed changes should go through a comprehensive process of consultation and evaluation. That obviously did not happen in this instance.	Cab Direct's E7 can't be used as a taxi in Leicester
	We are not against competition, in fact we welcome it, but that competition should meet the agreed standards. Without regulation that is adhered to, the industry is opened up to lower standards and safety levels for the public. It can lead to confusion over what is and what isn’t a taxi, with London being a clear example with Pedicabs and Tuk Tuks trying to present themselves as taxis. It will also lead to a loss of work for licensed drivers to the taxi touts." The hearing agreed that the licensing authority went against its own Conditions of Fitness for	Taxicabs, which state that certain conditions have to be met for a vehicle to be allowed to ply for trade on the street. The licensing of two Peugeot E7s and changes in what colour vehicles had to be appeared to go against these conditions. In the case, heard on 23 October, the judge agreed that the council should have a proper consultation with all interested parties, including passengers, disabled groups, environmental groups, Cab Direct and LTI Vehicles before there could be a change of licensing conditions. In the meantime, the existing Conditions of Fitness needed to be met.

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