Call Sign December 2007 - Page 5 - Ł1000 FOR PARKING ON A RANK?

DaC driver gets frightener from the PCO! Christmas for many is the season for merriment – and shopping! As licensed taxi drivers, we have the advantage of being able to drive into town and avoiding the congestion charge (we won’t tell if you don’t)! However, once in town the problem of parking sees us looking for the same few spaces that other motorists too are searching for. So the temptation is there to leave the cab on what we try to convince ourselves is a rarely used taxi rank. But a shock was in store for one Dial-a-Cab driver when he asked the Public Carriage Office about that very subject. In return they sent him part of the 1853 Cab Act (subsections 19 and 21) and he was shocked to find out that the fine which can be levied is up to Ł1000 – something we have never heard of before. The section that David	Ł1000 FOR PARKING ON A RANK?
	Baker (D22) was sent and which shocked him read: It is a requirement within these regulations that the drivers of the first two cabs on a rank, or portion thereof, must be with their cabs and available for hire immediately. A cab must not be left on a standing, or portion thereof, unless the driver is willing to be hired. The penalty for breach of these regulations is set at Level 3 (Ł1000). The PCO ended by advising David: "Please adhere to these regulations whilst operating as a Motor Hackney Carriage Driver and be aware that fellow drivers may wish to rank where unattended cabs are parked." Drivers who park on shelter	Parking on a taxi rank to do your Xmas shopping could cost you Ł1000! ranks are just selfish and if we say that some ranks are no longer used, we will lose them and one day when things are not so busy, we could regret that. The answer is please, please do not park on a taxi rank. But Ł1000 fine? That is just ridiculous…

Will New Year’s Eve grind to a halt?

With many attractions announced for the capital on New Year’s Eve, all of it could be ruined due to a strike by London Underground’s RMT Union members.The New Year will be seen in by a fireworks display at the London Eye, organised by the Mayor of London in conjunction with Visit London. Mayor Livingstone told Call Sign: "London is one of the best cities in the world to visit during the Christmas period and the New Year’s Eve fireworks display is world famous. It is one of hundreds of attractions taking place in the capital during the Christmas and New Year period, which make London the most exciting city in the world."
   London’s display is produced by award winning London based experiential communications agency, Jack Morton Worldwide and renowned pyrotechnician Chris Berthonneau.
   Its popularity means it could get very crowded and it might not be possible to enter the viewing area once capacity has been reached. There are plans for it to be screened on BBC 1.
   People are being advised not to bring their cars into central London and to use public transport instead, whether working during the day or going out in the evening as road closures are being put in place earlier than last year – from 6pm.
   The Mayor added: "If you are going home or going out on New Year's Eve, public transport is the best way to get about. Because of road closures and planned improvements at Victoria station and Liverpool Street, we will be advising people not to drive in and to plan their journey in advance. Public transport will be free."
   Against that, the RMT Union have announced strike action on Sunday 8 and Monday 9 January, but following a London Underground visit to ACAS to discuss new issues raised by the RMT, the union responded by immediately threatening a further escalation of the strike action for New Years Eve itself!
   London Underground told us:
   "The issue in dispute is not about safety and does not involve job losses. It is an attempt to rewrite an agreement reached with the RMT and TSSA unions which the RMT itself previously hailed as groundbreaking."
   If the strike for New Year’s Eve were to go ahead, it would provide an impossible strain on the taxi trade for an already-busy night and one that would cause many problems for Dial-a-Cab’s regular clients who would be relying on us…

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