AGM
Another AGM has come and gone and I must
say that I thought it went very well.
There were just over 100 members present
and for the most part it was all very
good humoured, but then again it should
have been after the excellent results
that were returned last year!
As you are probably aware, the same BoM were returned, but I would
personally like to thank all members
that submitted their name for
consideration at the AGM to become a
Board Member. I believe there is a full
report regarding the AGM elsewhere in
the magazine.
Tariff increase
There will be a 3.2% tariff increase on
the 14 April and as a matter
of interest, I thought some of you might
be interested in how the figure was
arrived at. Each year the authorities
have a list of ‘index components’ that
are used in the calculation, basically a
‘shopping basket’ of assorted costs.
These include such things as vehicle
cost, parts, tyres, servicing, fuel,
insurance and even the Knowledge. This
year, some of the index components
actually had a negative impact on the
changes in tariff, for example fuel and
insurance costs both decreased during
the past year.
The total of the index components contributed 0.79% to the total
cost and as the average national
earnings increased by 2.37%, the
combined total was 3.16% - which was
rounded up to 3.2%. Incidentally, the
same formula is used every year.
Private Hire and
Northern Ireland
You may remember that several months ago
I wrote about the position in Northern
Ireland whereby it was suggested that a
trial was going to take place allowing
Private Hire vehicles ply for hire off
the street, but that the only vehicles
that could use a rank would be vehicles
that had |
wheelchair accessibility.
I’m led to
believe that there are something like
300 taxis in Northern Ireland with 2000
Private Hire vehicles, with only Private
Hire being on radio and not the taxis.
Although there is not a limitation on taxi licences, it was always
envisaged that the community could only
support 300 taxis. I am now led to
believe that Orders will be issued and
‘rubber stamped’ by Parliament to allow
this scenario to take place. ‘Orders’
apply to Northern Ireland and not Bills
as we have here.
The responsibility for licensing in Northern Ireland falls to the
Department of the Environment (DoE) and
they were in favour of a two-tier system
(so they say), however, a public
consultation exercise was undertaken and
the public were in favour of a one-tier
system. I am not aware of the questions
that were asked or indeed how they were
asked, most of us being aware that
depending on how the questions are
asked, enables you to come up with the
any answer required! It will certainly
be very interesting to see what actually
transpires in Northern Ireland and what
effect it may or may not have on us here
on the mainland. I will keep you
informed of the situation should other
developments unfold.
Largest account and
marshals…
I have had several letters and emails
regarding our largest account; there is
actually a letter in this edition that
applies to that same account. It appears
that our client is having a trial with a
Private Hire company - who has |
always serviced them – in
which
the PH company supply them with more
cars in the evening and also supply them
with a Marshal to supervise the pickups,
as indeed we do.
This stems back to last November when our service was severely
stretched and the client decided they
would endeavour to give more work to the
Private Hire company in an attempt to
improve their service. Now it seems that
some of our members - and indeed some of
our Marshals at that account - appear to
feel alienated by this latest attempt to
commandeer some of our work and do not
wish to service the account.
What you must realise is when you are at the top, there are always
those that wish to bring you down and
what we must do is try even harder and
improve our service even more, as I am
convinced that the Private Hire
companies cannot compete with us for
service unless you all have a fit of
pique and allow them to have the game
all to themselves. It is simply a matter
of who is going to crack first? I know
for a fact that at this moment in time
they are taking between 20-30 trips per
evening from that account on reduced
rates and supplying a Marshal. They
cannot sustain this forever - unless you
capitulate and let them have everything
for themselves. Then, obviously, it
would have paid off handsomely for them.
Remember, everyone is a good Captain in
a calm sea
Lydia leaves…
Our former
Sales Manager, Lydia Foulkes, has now
left our employment and gone to work for
a Private Hire company (not the one
above). I would like to thank Lydia for
her contribution during the past five
years and wish her every success in her
new role. No doubt our paths will cross
in the future…
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
