Black cabs?
I recently received a date, time and place to pass my taxi, which was a week before I had booked it in at the garage who look after it for me. I phoned to cancel the appointment and the lady asked if it was a black cab? Now that was like a red rag to a bull, because my present one is a nice red! So when I said no, she said that is what she was told to ask because that was what was shown on her screen.
   I think it is about time that all of us put a stop to the phrase black cab because it is both misleading and also very untruthful. However, whilst all from the Mayor down are using it, I think I will go and find a brick wall and talk to that, because I will get more sense from it!
   Have you noticed in East Enders that when they phone for a taxi, a car with a roof sign pulls up? Now that is misleading! Has somebody in the BBC got a downer on our trade? The same goes for newspaper reporters who do not check their facts when they write about private hire drivers and call them taxi drivers or cab drivers. One of the proudest days of my life was 17 July 1957 when I was handed a Green Badge with the words cab driver on it. So it goes to say that nobody else, unless they have a Green or Yellow badge, should be called a cab driver.
   What I find strange is that nobody inside our trade really cares.
   Can I also add a comment re the letter in Call Sign from Yaqub Rafiq (April Mailshot). I think that we are very lucky that only our badge number goes onto the printer receipt. When I travel abroad, I always ask for a receipt so I can check how the fare differs from our own. The most expensive was in Aurhuss Denmark and the cheapest in Beijing. All of them show the cab number, time the trip started and ended, the distance and in some cases waiting time ie stopping at traffic lights.
   From a very grumpy 70 year old (but young at heart)…
Stanley Roth (Y53)
   Stanley, you are wrong when you say nobody cares. I have gone on about it for years, Stuart Pessok, Editor of TAXI has gone on about it for years, the only difference being that Stuart still believes in it, whereas the last time I wrote about it (April 2006), I quoted a DaC driver who had changed his mind on the expression "black cabs" after a conversation with his passenger, who had come out of JPM. It also changed my view – albeit only slightly. The article read:
   "Why," the passenger asked, "does the most famous and respected taxi business in the world throw away its biggest advantage?" He went on to explain to the DaC driver that the expression "black cabs" can and only does apply to London Taxis and that so far as marketing was concerned, you could not put a value on it. "Black cabs," he went on, "are known all over the world as referring to London Taxis and you lot want to get rid of it! You must be mad! Look how many tourists coming to London are advised to use black cabs only?"
   He also went on to query why we were using different colour taxis when black is the traditional colour?
   I still agree with you (and Stuart), but as much as it irritates me to admit it, I also think the passenger has a valid point as well. We have become ‘black cabs’ – like it or not. If anyone wants to add to the debate, feel free to write in …Ed

To Cabtivate or not to Cabtivate – ask the Chairman!
Since reading the article in Call Sign about Cabtivate last year, I was interested to know more. I made further enquiries as I was about to buy a new taxi around October / November 2006 and the income generated from Cabtivate would go some way towards the taxi repayments. On the surface, it seemed to be a much better financial deal than Cabvision.
   I did quite a bit of research, including speaking several times with Cabtivate’s MD, Mr Greenhalgh at his office in Glasgow. He was helpful in answering all of my queries, however, I still had a nagging feeling that all was not well. Having to pay approximately £4,000 to lease the equipment did not sit happily in my mind - or in my wallet!
Knowing that the cab trade is quite insular, I phoned Brian Rice and asked if he knew anything about Cabtivate. Brian said he would make enquiries. At the same time, news of the imminent release of the TX4 was filling the trade press, stating that it would have headrests on the centre partition and confirming what I had seen on a previous Call Sign / Virgin Trains
sponsored trip to the LTI factory in Coventry last year (thank you Alan Fisher).
   Considering that the Cabtivate system was located on the centre partition behind the driver’s head, it seemed to me to limit the future success of the company. On pointing this out to Mr Greenhalgh, he pooh-poohed my deduction. Yet another alarm bell rang for me.
   The next day, Brian Rice called me as promised. After speaking with Brian, I was left in no doubt not to continue with Cabtivate. Thanks to Brian’s speedy and informative response, I am now £4,000 better off.
Malcolm Levan (F24)
   I passed your letter on to Brian Rice. He mentioned something about half of £4000 but possibly forgot to tell you! …Ed

PCO, SGS and Taxi licensing…
Further to your notices in Call Sign regarding taxi vehicle licensing, which have been very helpful, here is my experience of the whole fiasco over the past few weeks - and I’m still waiting for an appointment. Below is a copy of the letter I sent to TfL for the PCO but which has yet to be acknowledged…
Philip Smith (G51)
   Phil’s letter to TfL is below. He doesn’t appear to have been the only DaC driver to have had problems with the changeover – especially as the PCO cocked up with the actual changeover dates. SGS finally got Phil’s details on 4 April, but the earliest appointment he could get was 20 April in Hanworth! Considering he lives in Bexleyheath and that would be almost one month after his plate had expired, not too satisfactory. Deptford wouldn’t have been bad, but that failed to open on time. Phil was given the impression that slots would be made available for drivers who could not get an appointment at the PCO in March, but that it just didn’t happen. The PCO now say everything is running well …Ed

Phil Smith’s letter to the PCO/TfL
Dear Sir,
   I’m writing to let you know of the saga I’ve been having trying to get an appointment for the licensing of my cab. My plate ran out on 29 March so I went to my garage to book the cab in for its overhaul. KPM told me that I should have received a letter from SGS with an appointment and to come back when I received said letter. For one reason or another I don’t pick up the trade papers as I work nights and do a lot of radio work. So I

Response from TfL re Phil Smith:
The Public Carriage Office held extra licensing sessions in the evenings and on Saturdays throughout March and drivers whose licenses expired during that period were given priority for appointments. Over 1,860 licensing sessions were available (roughly the same number as would be available any other month), exceeding the number of licenses expiring in March, and 1,740 licenses were renewed. These licensing arrangements were well publicised, with two PCO notices published - one in January and one in February - advising drivers what they needed to do. We recognise that this is a period of transition and where drivers have had genuine problems, we are happy to help. The PCO has offered to issue a temporary licence plate specifically to those vehicles where the licence expired between 1 and 31 March 2007 and the PCO had been unable to process the renewal application prior to the transfer of the service to SGS. These temporary plates allow drivers to continue to work as normal until such time as a full licensing inspection can be arranged. Anyone requiring a temporary plate should contact the PCO contract management team on 020 7126 1638.
   We did contact Mr Smith as soon as we received his letter and we understand that he has now made arrangements for a temporary licence plate to be issued.

Warning on parking
I recently received a £100 PCN whilst being parked on the north side of Finsbury Square (the City Road side) at 3.30 in the afternoon. I was waiting for my passenger and although there is a marked out bus stop that takes up much room, I was careful not to park in it. After 30 minutes I was scrubbed off. The PCN gives several possible reasons as to why you feel you had to stop there, one of which is being "on hire." Even then there is no guarantee that my appeal will be accepted, as the CCTV will not catch sight of the passenger due to the scrub. So be careful out there. Perhaps I am being paranoid, but remember, just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you!
Sid Nathan (K88)
   Well I think they’re after you, Sid! …Ed

Receipts and badge numbers
Thank you for publishing and responding to my letter re badge numbers on printed receipts April Call Sign). In your response you said: "Whilst I have not heard of any complaints brought in the way you suggest..." May I refer

House of Commons account
It was disappointing to hear that we've lost the House of Commons account. We've given them a good service over the years. Nothing's perfect and there has been the odd glitch, but overall we can be proud of the way the account was serviced. But what was particularly galling was the way in which it was lost. Having tendered with a modest increase to reflect the tariff increase, we had the rug pulled out from under us with Mountview undercutting our price by a reported 50p per mile. How on earth can this be good for the trade? Whilst acknowledging that we work in a competitive market, how do Mountview expect to cover the work at £2.80 per mile on tariff 3? It remains to be seen how they manage it, but what's the betting that we see cars in Old Palace Yard doing OUR work? Surely the time has come for the Licensed Taxi circuits to come to a consensus on price. This way we can be judged on the service we provide. If our service levels drop and we subsequently lose accounts, so be it, that will be down to us. Until such consensus, our clients will continue to play one off against the other with the only loser being the driver. BoMs, CoMs, Sales Executives - call them what you will - do not see a reduction in their salaries or call-in rates because they are offering cut price deals, the only ones who lose are the life-bloods of the circuits, the drivers, who continue to see their operating costs rise but are expected to work for less.
   But maybe, just maybe, if the circuits can get their act together we can stop this ridiculous policy of maintaining the services levels of minicabs by covering the work they can’t. Let them struggle and when their customers complain then we can offer our services and tell them what they tell their customers - that service comes at a price. It’s bad enough being shafted by the Licensing Authority who seem hell bent on putting more and more obstacles in our way, but to see our own who think we can work for peanuts is particularly disappointing.
Paul Jenner (L19)
   Brian Rice replies: I think you know my sentiments regarding the topics you have raised, Paul, that's why we didn’t go in with cheap prices. There is also a problem with getting all the circuits to agree – it’s called a cartel and is totally illegal. Having said that, I couldn't possibly see the other two circuits agreeing even if it were legal, because as you know, they both operate with cars!

Ranking in E14
I am new to the circuit and would appreciate some advice on Canary Wharf rank (E14C). I was recently ordered to book off from this rank as I was not physically on it even though I was second cab from point. Am I on the rank when I put on to the rear part or do I have to wait until I reach the front part, which holds four cabs before I book in? If it is the latter this does not make sense for the following reason. Suppose there are no Dial-a-Cab taxis on the front part and a job is sent out. Who will it go to? Will it go to cabs that are somewhere else in E14 or even farther away? This cannot be good for the customer or for our reputation if they are in a hurry and see DaC cabs on the rear part of the rank, but none of them are for him. Could you please advise me of the rules regarding this rank or indeed any others where this problem could arise. I suspect the driver in front of me who should have been number one thought I was trying to jump the queue and I wasn't.
Tom Reynolds (O85)
   Tom, welcome to DaC and Call Sign. The answer to your question is that both portions of the rank on the left side of the roadway are classified as E14C. Cabs parked on the right (where it says no cabs to wait) cannot book in! It sounds as if you booked in too quickly and was asked to book off to allow the cab in front to get that position …Ed

Last year … this year… next year?
In last month’s Call Sign, the Chairman wrote that in the first five months of the current financial year, our turnover has increased by £3.4million – 19% up on the same period last year. However, in the same issue and in reply to a letter I wrote to Mailshot, the Chairman claimed that the increase in turnover going to our members this year through Concierge will be in excess of £11.4million. This would mean £6.3million more, an increase of well over 100%. These figures seem to indicate that Concierge is being expanded at the expense of all other business.
Brian Cohen (C81)
   Brian, I’m not sure if your letter is a wind-up, but surely you realised that the response Brian Rice gave you last month was totally made with his tongue firmly in his cheek! You asked him how much of his estimated Concierge increase to £15 – 20million this year would go to the drivers in taxi work? His comment referring to crystal balls as being the latest in technology was supposed to give you a hint that it was impossible to give an answer as the clients hadn’t yet phoned! Surely his answer of £11,426,394.20p would have given a further clue!
   However, whatever it is, are you complaining that Concierge is giving us too much work? …Ed

May 2007 Call Sign Home Page

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