The Cab Driver From Hell!                            Thank you for including my “Credit Ride from Hell" article (May Call Sign). I must say that reading the article in the magazine has definitely improved my sense of humour and now I can see the funny side! Please compliment Jery for his interpretation of the lady in question, the likeness is uncanny!  
   I have included my attempt at this month's crossword ready for inclusion in the winner's draw should the answers prove correct. Hope springs eternal.
   May 1 also take this opportunity to congratulate you on Call Sign and ensure you the magazine is read by all the family, even the retired members and it is the envy of the many friends I have in the trade who are not on our circuit. Please continue to spread the word.
   Regarding your ‘Personal Point of View’ on page 10, I agree whole-heartedly with your comments. I can never understand why people will continue to knock and try to smash anything which causes them to display such heights of jealousy. The current Board has proved over the years to be extremely successful, both for the Society and all the membership in general. May they long continue to do so.
   The only fear I have is in the future should any of the present Board decide to stand down or be replaced. Where does one look to replace them? The search and responsibility for the future of the Society must be done very, very carefully. Indeed our search must be for men of integrity and at all times, a deep sense of humour. The London Cab Trade has many such characters in its midst, so let us hope that the right ones are members of Dial-a-Cab to carry forward this Society and achieve

the successes to come.
Roy Webb (Dan 42)
Thanks for the letter. I’m
afraid you weren’t one of the finalists in this month’s crossword, but then again neither were 443 others!…Ed

Just Wondering About Nuala!
I am a reader for regular times of your magazine on the Internet. I drive a taxi in Poland and for us there is nothing to read, but I have found your magazine of which I am interested for London taxis. I also like to see more of Just Wondering lady, Nuala. She has lovely face and would make for me a lovely friend.
Andrze Kildynski,
Krakow, Poland
Sorry pal, I’m not too sure about your motives. Besides, Nuala doesn’t go in for Pole dancing! …Ed

Crash Repairs…
After my recent crash, I would like to thank Shelagh and Nuala for all their help in getting me back on the road and also for the beautiful flowers that were sent to my house. My wife loved them! Many thanks…
Gerald Ward (G53) 

Unusual Hobby?
As a taxi enthusiast, it is with interest that I regularly read the online version of Call Sign. It is always an enjoyable and informative read. I am based in Liverpool and there are no regular trade magazines available. I find this both surprising and disappointing when you consider that Liverpool has Britain's largest taxi fleet outside of London.
  I do believe that my hobby is extremely unusual, but I collect all sorts of taxi paraphernalia as well as taking photographs of taxis and recording their details. I’m looking forward to visiting London for the first time later this year to see how the world's finest taxi system runs.
   One thing that impresses me a great deal is the professionalism shown by Dial-a-Cab, both with their customer operations and their excellent trade magazine – Call Sign. This clearly is the ultimate in radio circuits, far greater than any that operate in my neck of the woods!
   The main reason for me contacting you is to ask a favour. I would be extremely grateful if you could send me a hard copy of Call Sign to add to my collection of taxi trade magazines.  If you could, please send me an email letting me know whether you are able to do this, I will forward you my postal address.
   Many thanks for your time and interest.
Ross Campbell 
The Wirral, Merseyside
   Thanks for the letter, Ross. I cannot put you on the mailing list but have sent you our latest issue together with several European taxi magazines that I doubt you have seen before. Incidentally, Ross has a very interesting website at taxipix.fotopic.net …Ed

Salieri Visit
I recently visited the Salieri Restaurant that you advertise in Call Sign and we really enjoyed our meal. Not only was the service excellent, but the attentive staff were very friendly – something most unusual in London restaurants. The food was plentiful, delicious and served up within minutes of our arrival and ordering – very important when you have tickets to visit the theatre afterwards.
   I would certainly recommend the Salieri and of course, don’t forget to take your badge or Bill to get a whopping and genuine 25% discount! That more than paid for the theatre program, popcorn and an ice cream in the theatre!
Gerry Dunn MBE (S84)
Thanks for letting us know Gerry. If any DaC drivers visit the Salieri, don’t forget proof of your DaC membership and also to tell your passengers how good they are …Ed

Who Are the Mugs (Part 3)
I would like to reply to Mr Frankel's and Mr Fisher's letter and comments in April and May’s issues of Call Sign. First off Mr Frankel, learn to read; my name is BEEVOR, not Beaver as in the little rodent you have so typically interpreted me as. Your comments are both inaccurate and inappropriate and in my opinion, somewhat bigotry. For someone who calls himself a genius, it is somewhat surprising you cannot differentiate between the two. Please allow me to educate you, you pronounce my name BEE-VOR. It is an Anglo Saxon name
meaning to live by or near, it also partly derives it name from Belvour, a place in Leicestershire. So as you can see, no connection with little furry rodents. The motto of the name is nil desperandum (never despair). Unfortunately I don't think I can uphold this motto with you!
   With regards to your letter, I do not speak for you or the trade and am not under the impression that I do, unlike you who seems to do for the more ‘senior drivers’ (April Call Sign). I would never do this, especially if they displayed your type of attitude when raising a few points. You have made a similar point yourself in April's Mailshot with regards to emissions and Steve Norris's exclusive interview. But with all due respect, what he said was just sound bites. It’s easy for him to say what he said as he didn't get elected, neither had he a chance of being elected. And you seemingly agree with the man who was alleged to have said that the London taxi trade is a relic of the dinosaur age and needs to go. However you do agree that senior drivers will find it “unprofitable,” “unrewarding” and will be “working much harder to earn the same money.” And you again “speak for the senior driver” by saying something many of you will be loathe to do. Well sorry Stanley, but it looks like senior drivers will have to work 5 or 6 days and up your hours by about 4 a day or return your badge. You thought it was a joke about not being able to make a living? It aint so funny now, is it Stanley? So welcome to the 21st century of cab driving. I have an idea - why don't you accompany me to the Carriage Office so that when I ask for my £20 flag drop, you can ask for a senior driver waver on a new Euro III conversion. That sounds just as reasonable to me, but then again as you say, you can come and go as you please, can't you Stanley?
   I would also like to pick you up on your comments about Heathrow. Do you seriously think the charge is to park? So you wouldn't mind then if Paddington charged you £3.50 to “park on their feeder rank or Kings Cross, Euston, Victoria etc? But don't fret Stanley, you will get £1back from the passenger!
    I did take over 3 years to do the Knowledge, something I’m not ashamed of and I congratulate you in only taking 12 months, you must have studied very hard. Well Mr Frankel, I have news for you; Queen Victoria's dead and times have changed! Not only have times changed, but so has the cab trade and it not as solitary and as lucrative as in your early years. And definitely not a 3-4 day a week job with £50-60 airport rides thrown in. The words minicab, Addison Lee and Blueback spring to mind.
   I started my April letter with the responses and attitudes I get from other drivers, all I did was write a letter on what I thought and believed and you made a mockery of my name and judged my intelligence because you did the Knowledge quicker. Thank you Mr Frankel for being the perfect example of what I was talking about…
   Mr Fisher, your end of letter comments in April's mag did seem to me to display a touch of
hypocrisy, which was surprising because didn't you phone me and ask me to do a whole article and take my photo for the mag saying I raised some very good points? Or was your negative comment more due to the fact I did not wish to take part in your photo shoot after all? Mmmmmm…I guess I will never know!
Michael Beevor (N76)
You’ll never know? Of course you will Michael, because I’ll tell you! You wrote a very interesting piece for the April issue and I thought it could have gone in as a separate article, but if you look at the back issues you’ll see that I like to put the driver’s photo with any article, much for the same reason that I rarely use “name and address supplied” letters – people tend to disbelieve them! You kindly posed, but then said that you didn’t want the photos published – rather a waste of time for my photographer who had arranged to meet you, but it was your choice. So I decided to put it in as a letter. Nothing was cut out and it read exactly the same. My view on it hasn’t changed either – I thought you made some good points, but surely in such a long letter (to give you an idea, it contained 967 words as against 745 in your current letter with the average letter containing around 300 words), surely you couldn’t expect me to agree with every sentence? I do still think this is a great job and that comparing it to an electrician who may have to travel 30 – 40 minutes to get to a job and then go back afterwards, is pointless. But I published your views, that’s what Mailshot is – a forum of views. It would be rather dull if we all agreed 100% with each other’s views and I hope that you will continue to write in. As for Stanley…well he is Stanley and speaking of him …Ed

Stan (Not) the Man?
With regards to Mr Stanley Frankel (K46), or is it Jack as in I’m alright Jack? Right, so you’re the man that tells everyone it takes a year to do the knowledge and every ride out to the airport averages £50-£60? No wonder we taxi drivers are seen as rich and arrogant. I don’t remember Mr Beevor asking for a £20 flag drop, but I do think a £2.20 drop is an insult to my intelligence - let alone yours. I believe that it’s drivers like you that are responsible for giving the general public the impression of us that they have. For example, my neighbour the taxi driver does 3 rides out of Heathrow a day at £50-£60 a go and is back at home in time for tea and countdown!
Cheers Jack. “Carry on” the good work!
Nick Steventon (J65)
I’m not sure that I’d mention Stanley and Countdown in the same letter! …Ed 

Parking in the City of London
I have today (June 1) received a PCN from the Corporation of London for a parking contravention on May 3 in Old Bailey (Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force). This PCN arrived on my doormat 29 days after the alleged offence. After checking my records, I found I was on an account job for one of our clients at the north end of Old Bailey and was waiting outside the account address. A camera operator observing pictures from a roadside camera recorded the “offence”. Fortunately for me, the PCN will be covered by DaC, but my concern is for how long can DaC afford to keep paying £50 fines for what could be every job picked up from the two account addresses in this part of Old Bailey as they are both on this restricted area. My other concern is about the amount of time passed before receiving the notice, no photographic evidence is supplied with the PCN and with a four week delay, most of us I think will have forgotten any details that could help in the case of an appeal.
   What can be done to put a stop to us at DaC having to subsidise the Corporation of London every time we service this and similar accounts in the city of cameras in the future?

Bill Kibble (K86)

See response to the letter below …Ed

…And Everywhere Else!
I’m prompted to write to you after watching BBC's Whistleblower programme about dodgy parking attendants. It seems that different boroughs have different rules as to when a ticket can ‘legally’ be issued. It all seems a bit confusing to me, for example I’m led to believe that some boroughs allow you to stop for 5 minutes and others for 6 on a single yellow line. In addition, some boroughs will allow motorists returning to their cars to escape a fine if the ticket is not actually yet on the vehicle. We’ve all heard wardens say: “You are to late, I have entered the details into the system.” We then accept the ticket (well I do anyway), but I now hear that legally this is incorrect. I would like to suggest, if possible, that you print an article in Call Sign explaining in easy terms the allowances for each borough, ie Kensington/Chelsea 5 mins on single yellow, 2 mins on double etc and ticket not legally binding unless printed and placed on vehicle etc. I hope you get my drift and hope you don’t think I’m a bit cheeky by suggesting you do all the hard work, but I think it might be interesting reading.  
Gary Johnson (P28)
Cheeky? Of course not Gary! Whilst your suggestion makes good sense in a perfect world, the one we live in isn’t quite so perfect and neither are the timepieces of the Parking Attendants! Your 5 minutes may not be the same as theirs, so any “chart” would be useless. However, as Camden seem to be our biggest “enemy” when it comes to parking, I asked them for an official viewpoint on taxis waiting, picking up and setting down. This is what their press office told me…
   “Taxis are permitted to wait for so long as may be necessary to enable the passenger to get in

or out of the vehicle or to load or unload their personal luggage.
Essentially taxis can only stop whilst a passenger is getting in or out of the taxi. If it is clear to the Parking Attendant that there is no visible sign of a passenger or the taxi driver, then they
would be entitled to issue a PCN instantly. Hackney licensed cabs are also permitted to pick up or drop off at bus stops, however, private hire cabs are subject to the same enforcement action as any other vehicle with regard to bus stops. A twenty
minute 'observation time' is applicable to commercial vehicles undertaking loading/unloading on single or double yellow lines but is not applicable to vehicles dropping off or picking up.
    In order for a PCN to be valid, it must be either affixed to the vehicle or handed to the driver. If a parking attendant is physically prevented from issuing the PCN it is still legally valid.”
   My interpretation of that would be that if you are waiting to pick up your passenger in a no parking zone, then do an AAR and so long as the warden can see you, then you are “picking up a passenger” and entitled to wait. And did you read the use of their word instantly? That might answer your “5 minute” question. However, Gary, if I’m wrong then I’m not going to pay your fine! …Ed

Taxi Text Service for the Deaf?
Anna Constantinou, who I believe has written for Call Sign on the problems deaf people have in using taxis, has suggested I contact you to see whether taxi companies would consider accepting SMS cab bookings? Such a service would be very helpful to deaf people and enable them to call for a cab wherever they are, independently without having to look for an accessible public payphone or to ask a hearing person to make the call on their behalf. The calls could be verified by the taxi company replying to the SMS and we very much hope that your Chairman, Brian Rice, will give positive consideration to this request.
Ruth Myers,
Chair, Telecommunications Action Group (TAG)
Brian Rice informs me that DaC will indeed be providing a text service in the future, however it will have to take its turn, as there are other programmes that are equally as important …Ed 

DaC Twins Link up with Lost Family – Thanks to Call Sign!
I am pleased to advise you that Herbert (C83) and Kurt (B80) have made contact with relatives in both America and Argentina who have been looking for us for over 40 years.
   You will probably have by now been advised of the Call Sign Magazine link by Joe Davidson in New York. We would wish to convey our sincere thanks to Nuala (DaC Driver Services) particularly from Dan Mayer in New Jersey, for the very helpful manner in which she managed his original enquiry
Herbert Goldschmidt (C83)
You can read the story elsewhere in this issue …Ed 

Lenny Bell
I was very sad to read about Lenny Bell (Call Sign on-line, April). We would come across one another from time to time and have a chat, he was also one of the drivers that I trained at  Dial-a-Cab. Please pass on my condolences to his family.
   Your article about expensive London was an eye opener! My sister-in-law and her family are planning a trip to the UK in 2006, so I was able to give her an idea of what costs to expect! We are now in autumn here in Oz, which means night temps of approx 10c and days of around 27c. I saw on the net recently that you had a day temp of 27c and it's summer!
   We are now renting a house nearer to my garage. It is a 3-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow on 3/4 acre with a swimming pool. for A$250 (£100) a week. A stark contrast to UK rents! My eldest son is paying the same for a one-bedroom house in Abbots Langley!
Howard Sales (ex-A11)
Queensland, Australia
You couldn’t send the bungalow over here, could you? …Ed

Congratulations Poppy
May I congratulate Poppy in her piece in the May edition of Call Sign regarding fear of immigration. I think she speaks for the silent majority on this one; it is so easy to blame immigration for all the problems we encounter in society. We should be proud to say we welcome immigrants and as she says, they do the poorly paid jobs we don't want to do. Her words were a joy to read at a time of very negative debate on this subject. Well done for publishing them.
Michael McRedmond 
London Taxi Finance
Like all Call Sign contributors, Poppy has the freedom to give her honest views and she never fails to do so! In October 2003 she wrote of the plight of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli “spy” who was sentenced to 11 years solitary confinement for telling the Sunday Times about Israel’s secret nuclear arsenal in 1986. He had been a technician at the power station in Dimona, but left with photos of the underground nuclear reprocessing plant and followed his conscience. Four weeks after Poppy’s story, the national press became interested! …Ed 

Running for Work?
There I was one afternoon in Ropemaker Street, drinking my coffee and being halfway through my copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica while hanging up for a job in EC2, when a job appeared on my terminal from a back-up zone to pick up at Lower Thames Street going to SW1. The job was 14 minutes old and had a £3.80 run-in. I would have had to restart my meter several times to get there while struggling through the afternoon traffic. I wondered about going to voice and asking for a premium, but knew the request would be declined so I rejected the trip offer. This type of thing is happening time and time again. Obviously the BoM have instructed dispatchers not to give drivers any incentives to cover the work because they feel that we should cover it no matter what. If DaC are doing so well as reported in Call Sign, why is it not in our best interest to get the work covered as in the good old busy days when we certainly used to get premiums / increased run-ins? Why not now? It’s like dangling a bottle of milk in front of a toddler and then snatching it away!
   My other point is regarding new accounts. I read Lydia Foulkes article in the last issue. She stated that we should look out for trips that said “new account” on the job offer, so I looked out for them with eager anticipation. The first two I received with “new account” on were both from clients that we had had for a long time (AXA and BP). Why are existing accounts coming up as new accounts? The next time I’m offered 75 London Wall, will it say new account? Or is this a ploy to make us look busier than we are?
Brian Cohen (C81)
Lydia Foulkes replies: Many thanks for taking the time to write, Brian. This year we have seen our fares increase by 5.4%, are you proposing that we increase the run-ins further because I really do not believe that new customers would wear this? Our service is already 'premium' in a very competitive industry. I’m delighted that you have raised the point regarding new accounts. I was unaware that all new accounts are being highlighted and as you rightly point out, AXA and BP are long standing customers that have obviously just opened additional accounts for a division or location perhaps. I will try to ensure this does not happen in the future.
   We recently went live with AMV in NW1 - a £700k account, Bircham Dyson Bell (£150k) over in Victoria, while Withers in Holborn (£60k) is now up and running, just to name a few. I am pleased to report that both Natalie and I are very busy developing other large accounts, sometimes it takes clients time to make their decision and it can be frustrating not to be able to tell you about those. However, as I said, it is a big decision for a customer to change supplier and I do not want to jeopardise any future accounts by 'bragging'. Rest assured we win business because we offer excellent all round service, so I would ask that you continue to support the radio and not reject any trips. 

Roman Way
Re the fleet message saying that the Roman Way is now open for us long suffering nightmen later into the evening. Firstly, the service was very much improved - both quick and efficient. I thought this was the cure to all my problems until the very next evening when I was booked off EC5 zone for not being able to accept or reject a job offered. Please, no more upgrades until you sort the signal problems out…
Michael Lester (L74)
Brian Rice replies: I‘m glad that you believe things have improved at Roman Way, Michael.  However, I am sorry to learn that you were 'booked off' the Finsbury, but if you care to remember that even when we were on voice the cab on the point of the Finsbury was told to 'move up' as the despatcher was not receiving him. Unfortunately, it is a problem that we have always had in that area - and I am sorry to say, will probably always have. However, that does not mean that we are not endeavouring to rectify the situation.

An Open Letter to Brian Rice
Dear Brian
I am writing to you today in the hope of some answers concerning DaC and our affiliation with Private Hire.
   In your Chairman’s Report prior to the AGM, you stated that because DaC did not have the financial burdens of running a car company, this helped us to stay in a more healthy position. When you consider that one of our competitors has recently revealed losses of some £800,000 for their new executive car company, this statement made complete sense. So imagine my surprise when in Call Sign Magazine you stated that because one of the car companies on Concierge was under-performing, you feel that the way forward is now for us – yes, licensed Taxi drivers – to pay for the formation of a PH company.
   Please, Brian, can you explain to me why the 360° turnaround and also, why would DaC drivers want to fund more opposition? Surely as Chairman of DaC, should you not be trying to put work into the backs or our taxis?
Grant Davis (L39)
Brian Rice replies: Grant, you do have a funny way of misunderstanding what people actually write! I can understand the spoken word being misheard, but when things are
in 'black and white' it can be re-read so that the true facts are obtained from the article. I agree that I have always resisted calls to start a car company with the financial burden that might incur and I know you will agree with that sentiment. However, what I actually wrote in the Chairman's report was that 'some' and not 'one' of the car companies were under performing and then wrote - and I quote: “Consequently, perhaps the time is approaching when we should have our own DaC Car Company so that we have control over the service that is provided to the customer?” Grant, the
quote was a question  - it finished with a question mark. It was not a statement. There is a big difference. I then went on to add, and again I quote: “Not only would it be good for Dial-a-Cab, it would also be good for the few 'cavemen' that we have on the circuit!  After all, they would then be in a position once again to make personal attacks on me and perhaps even start another petition.” Enough said…!

 I’ve Won a Telly!
On behalf of my wife Pat and myself, I’d like to thank Alan and all at Call Sign for the 42inch plasma TV that I recently won. The only problem I had was in having to knock down the dividing wall between the dining and living rooms to enable us to appreciate this wonderful prize. However, once the final RSJ is installed, I feel sure that we will spend many-a-winter’s night appreciating this marvel of modern technology!
Thank you once again
Terry Hamston (B24)
You can read how Terry won the £1400 TV elsewhere in this issue …Ed

Going to Voice
When on earth is the voice channel going to be sorted?
David Brett (P93)
Allan Evans replies: David, apart from suffering from the normal glitches of over- crowded radio frequencies, the voice channel as a whole is reasonably fine and there is no recent record of voice related problems. As regards your taxi, I would suggest that you visit Roman Way and have the wiring and aerial checked.