The 2006 AGM
It’s that time of year again when the
Annual General Meeting is due and no
doubt you are all aware that this year
the date of the meeting is set for 11
February, 11am at the Brewery in
Chiswell street.
I would like to remind you that if you do not attend the meeting,
then you must vote by post! If you fail
to attend and do not vote by post, then
a fine of £50 will be imposed. It would
be nice to see as many of you as
possible at the meeting, with the
turnover from the past financial year
having been our most successful ever.
Dirty tricks campaign…
In August, I would have been a member of
Dial-a-Cab for 33 years and I am also
currently in my 11th year as
Chairman, so you would have thought that
I would have become accustomed to the
antics of a few of our members - and one
or two outside of our membership! But
no, their behaviour just never ceases to
amaze me!
Over the years, the names and faces may change, but their morals
and principals remain the same –
abysmal! Each year we have the ‘silly
season’ as we approach an AGM. However,
this usually becomes worse every other
year when we have an AGM where Board
Members are elected – and that scenario
applies this year.
It would appear that the recipient of their wrath this year is Tom
Whitbread. You probably remember Tom
writing an article in Call Sign
last July describing a
corrective procedure he had undergone to
clear two blocked arteries. This wasn’t
a heart attack, just a medical
procedure.
I remember speaking about the procedure to him at the time, because
I had undergone the same course of
action eight years previously. Tom
wanted to write
the article to allay any fears that
members might have had should they need
the same procedure in the future – it
was hardly a secret! |
Then in
December, someone forwarded his article
to the PCO with a request that his
‘Bill’ be terminated as he was not fit
to hold a licence. Was I surprised? Not
in the slightest, because the same type
of people (albeit with different faces
and names) had done exactly the same
thing to me eight years previously. What
is it that makes some people act like
this?
But it doesn’t end there. Perhaps as a ‘back-up’ should their heart
attack ploy fail to rid DaC of Tom, they
are also distributing literature
endeavouring to discredit a charity of
which Tom is the Chairman – can you
believe it? I just cannot understand the
lengths some people will go to in order
to discredit a Board member in the hope
that he will not be re-elected at the
next AGM. This is politics right out of
the gutter from people that have a
personal vendetta or who are
endeavouring to get a foothold in our
Society.
There is one thing that I would like to put on record. I have
worked with Tom for over 12 years and
can say without contradiction that he is
one of the most honest people I have
ever met. Love him or loathe him, what
you see is what you get…
Exterior signage
and the PCO
I attended a meeting a few days before
Christmas where I was informed that on
22 December 2006, the PCO had forwarded
their recommendations regarding exterior
signage on Private Hire to the Mayor.
It is anticipated that the Mayor will endorse their |
recommendations. However,
at the time of writing I do not have any
idea what they may be, but I am prepared
to have a guess and I believe there will
be some sort of compromise, as the
private hire industry wishes to be
permitted to have ‘all over’ signage,
whilst the taxi industry wants to keep
the status quo (licence plate on front
and rear screens).
When the authorities first submitted the consultation document, I
felt they had already formed an opinion
in favour of the private hire industry.
But as the taxi industry put forward its
case on safety grounds, because we felt
the signage would confuse the public and
they would see it as a means of
authenticity, I felt there could be a
softening of the attitude by the
authorities. I believe the authorities
will probably allow signage on the back
windows, but that’s all. So why have I
come to this conclusion?
I know the Mayor is in favour of private hire using bus lanes and
also setting down and picking up on red
routes – but how can they be easily
recognised? The simple answer is to
allow signage on the back of the
vehicle, probably the windows, so the
vehicle could be easily recognised by
cameras and the authorities and equally
as important – by other motorists!
If private hire were allowed to use bus lanes without any signage,
then other motorists would just follow
them into the bus lanes. I anticipate
that as a first step, private hire will
be allowed to pickup and set down on red
routes – what do you mean they do that
already!
At present they could incur a fine, but in the future with the
above scenario they would escape any
fine so long as they are recognisable to
the authorities – and once that is
sorted out, my guess is they will be
allowed to use the bus lanes – we will
have to wait and see!
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
