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Eight happy years, but…!
Can I start by saying I’ve been on DaC now for 8
years and am very happy; this isn't intended as a moan, just a few
suggestions to make everyone’s life a bit easier - although I may have a
moan at the end! I’ll list my suggestions first if that’s ok!
1. Double meaning instructions: I’ve noticed this is happening a
lot now, by this I mean Advise Arrival next to Make Own Contact
or Make No Contact next to Advise Arrival. I realise a lot of
accounts have standard remarks and the passenger may add instructions, but
it is confusing for us drivers.
2. Outer zone job offers: For example, when a job is offered in
W50C it will say something like Lady Margaret Rd, Sthll. Is it not
possible to state Southall? If a driver is not too familiar with the
area, he or she may not be able to work it out in time.
3. Cash and credit card jobs: Wouldn’t it be worth having a trial
where all these were unmasked between 7am and 10am? I think this may improve
coverage as I’m sure a lot of drivers are reluctant to do these jobs if they
don't know where they are going. I for one am and it could help both the
driver and DaC.
4. Tube strike days and ‘T’ jobs: Much has been written on these
subjects and I must admit I’m undecided on the latter, although I can see
the Board’s point of view. My issue is that on tube strike days, I think we
should inform all minicab accounts we will not take their work. It seems
that we are making them look better at our own expense. Also on tube strike
days, how about informing all of our clients that we will impose a £10
premium if the taxi is left waiting for more than 15 minutes? The reason for
this is that I believe a lot of passengers are now wise to the fact that
they may have to wait for a taxi, therefore they book it well before they
need it. This just makes a bad situation even worse by having taxis waiting
outside people’s houses / workplaces when there is work building up
everywhere.
5. Why is there no more talk of new terminals? I seem to remember
some mentions of new super-duper terminals with sat nav etc.
6. Why is the McKinsey account attributed with a T? If we share it,
shouldn't it be a J?
Now the moan! In my opinion the traffic is the worst it’s ever been.
Shaftesbury Avenue shuts and they close St Giles High St at the same time?
Westbourne grove shuts for 8 months? Soho is practically impossible to
access! I for one have changed my working hours to avoid sitting in traffic
for most of my shift and I’m sure I’m not alone. Surely most of our larger
accounts are just as annoyed as us about it as they must be losing fortunes.
Couldn’t DaC get together with some of them and make noises to the relevant
authorities? Just a thought!
Sorry if I went on a bit, but it’s my first letter to Call
Sign and I thought I’d get it all in one hit!
Richard Long (A06)
Keith Cain replies: Richard, thank you for your suggestions and I
will try to answer them as written…
1) I agree, these instructions are confusing but the problem is as
you have guessed.
The accounts are set up with default information, which primarily
applies to the account address. When picking up elsewhere, individual
passengers require different driver instructions. Unfortunately, the system
is not flexible enough to override the default instructions. Until such time
as reprogramming can be done to improve this, my suggestion is to
contact our controllers for guidance.
2) This problem has been with us since the implementation of the
data dispatch system in 1989. The reason for the abbreviation is the field
for entering this information is our dispatching zone, which comprises of a
maximum of four digits. I am given to understand that to alter this would
take a considerable amount of work and affect the basic functionality of the
dispatch system. It's priority is fairly low because of the number of trips
it affects, which are very minimal.
3) Showing the destination of credit cards to improve coverage
could have a totally opposite effect. In my long experience, those trips
that do not go very far would certainly not be covered, thus leaving us in
the same situation. This should be left alone.
4) Fortunately, tube strike days do not happen very often.
While your sentiments of the ‘T’ attribute are fine, the whole idea of the
attribute is for all members to make their own choice whether to accept a
trip or not. Before Christmas, I put into place with our controllers to
return each ‘T’ attribute trip to its car vendor if it was not covered
within a couple of minutes. This seems to work very well and conversations
with car firms have left them with a better understanding of how we operate.
All clients, as you know, have terms & conditions with us. It would
be for the sales team to decide if implementing this type of charge would be
damaging to securing the account. From my experience, clients often remark
that the whole idea of paying over and above the meter fare for having an
account facility is to ensure during certain times, for example adverse
weather, strikes, terrorist action etc, that they get a cab regardless.
5) New Terminals? This project is still ongoing. The Board have not
given this a high priority status because our poor signals need to be
resolved much sooner than implementing a new terminal.
6) The McKinsey account is shared with a car company and not
another licensed taxi firm. That's why we have a ‘T’ attribute.
Where possible, we do talk to relevant authorities about general
conditions in and around London. We hope that our approach of being
gentlemen is accepted and does go some way to express the frustration of not
only our members, but the whole trade. If you were to ask, do they listen to
us? The answer is I don't know.
I hope these answers have been of some help to you…
Mo Abed-Alaziz and his FX3 |
Just read the article on Mo
Abed-Alaziz (N09) restoration of his
Manchester FX3 (Feb Call Sign).
Excellent story and certainly good PR for the LVTA
(London Vintage Taxi Association). I remember Mo, as he bought the cab after
a
successful bid on eBay. I emailed him and suggested he should join the LVTA
and he did. I was delighted at the time and still am! He is a member with
courage! I believe he has more old-timers including, I think, a Beardmore.
My best wishes to all on Dial-a-Cab…
Hans Dooren
LVTA Membership Secretary,
HollandWheelchairs and insurance?
I've asked this question before, but I think we need a definitive answer
now. I have just renewed my cab’s insurance and whilst there asked what
their policy was on the carriage of wheelchair passengers should they not be
correctly strapped in and in the event of an accident - be it even a non
fault one? How would they deal with it?
They said under no circumstance should I carry a wheelchair
passenger who was not strapped in with the supplied LTI straps, rear facing,
their belt on and the chair’s brakes fully locked. In the event of an
accident and they were not correctly strapped in (in conjunction with PCO
and LTI requirements) and the passenger was injured - be it my fault or not
- I could be held responsible, even grossly negligent. This also may in
turn void your insurance and leave you open to a claim, which your insurance
might not cover.
They also said never to allow the passenger to say they don't mind
being side facing as this kind of verbal confirmation would never stand up
in law. So as you know, a taxi only really takes a standard size chair in
the correct method and many of the newer adapted or electric powered chairs
only fit into a cab facing the side. So my insurance company said that if
the wheelchair did not fit in conjunction with the PCO / LTI requirements,
then you shouldn't really carry it.
I have spoken to no less than 7 people at the PCO to ask how I
would stand on refusing a wheelchair on grounds that it couldn’t be taken in
the correct method? They don't know what their policy is! It seems funny
that they know exactly where they stand on things like tissue boxes on the
rear parcel shelf and logoed tax disc holders, but for something with such
serious repercussions as this, they have no clue. So could I have DaCs
policy should I refuse an accepted job for a wheelchair on the grounds that
it cannot be placed in the cab correctly?
Michael Beevor (N76)
Thanks for the letter Michael. Allan Evans has been in touch with
the Policy Standards dept at the PCO on behalf of Call Sign and has
been promised an answer – hopefully for the next issue …Ed
Not earning enough?
Pleeeeaaassse, Alan, tell me what I am doing wrong. Whilst doing an £8
minimum account ride from E14 to E14 in the early hours of last Thursday, my
passenger informed me that many of my colleagues earn over £70K per year and
some even top £10K. He seemed quite surprised when I told him that my
earnings were nowhere near that. Could this drastic shortfall in my earnings
be due to the fact that I very rarely work on Sundays?
Answers on the back of a £5 note to…
Ian Skeels (J74)
Ian, I trust you mentioned to your passenger that according to The
Sunday Times (and as you don’t work that day, you have plenty of time to
peruse it), he probably earns over £1.5million per annum! His answer would
have been interesting! …Ed
Dear Aunty Alan…
I need help and I need it now! Ever since the 40
jobs per month rule has been enforced, I've tried hard to meet the quota,
hanging around in the depths of SW4 in the early morning to give me the
start I need and most months I made the numbers – perhaps only just - but I
made it. When the incentive was announced and the job numbers were upped to
100, I started to sweat a bit, but was sure I could do it. Then the rear
axel came adrift, which also coincided with the overhaul. It became an
uphill struggle from then on and I failed miserably.
Depressed and on the brink, I waited for Call Sign mag to
arrive and cheer me up, but all it's done is to make things worse… 600 jobs
in seven weeks! I'm suicidal. At the start of this letter I asked for help,
so tell me: Do I need to do days or nights or both?
Worried from Maidstone (or Colin Lewis N55)
Dear Worried, I can understand your frustration knowing that
everyone else is better than you. But fear not because things can always be
worse – I’m just not sure how! Wish your axel better…Ed
Xmas incentive headlines?
The headline on the front of the February
Call Sign magazine read as: "No wonder Brian is smiling, he has just
given away £½million!" Perhaps it could have read: "No wonder Brian is
smiling.....he has just found the trophy cabinet for Queens Park Rangers!"
Richard Barford (R39)
Hi Richard, how’s your trophy cabinet? I seem to remember a £35,000
‘Gold’ spec TX2 winging its way to you after Christmas 2006 BT (before TX4)?
Bigger than QPR’s I’d bet! …Ed
PCN victories!
Greetings all PCN warriors! I'm pleased to
announce two recent victories over the heavies at Westminster council.
Following their concession to me over the ticket issued whilst on DaC
business in Soho Street, BANG! Westminster suffers a
bloody nose as the infamous PCN in the Carlisle Street cul-de-sac is
defeated. Then, before they can recover, BIFF! A black eye
in the shape of another cancellation. This time, it's personal as I could
have spent £120 on the most expensive can of drink in history after getting
caught outside Sainsburys in Mortimer Street.
Both of these were drawn out affairs requiring lots of nerve whilst
receiving various communiqués designed to make the old bottle go. The bottom
line is that so long as you communicate, you will be fine. When you make
your appeal, you will generally be rebuffed and sent a green form known as a
Notice to Owner (NtO). I made a mistake here as I tried to reply by
email in the same way as my initial appeal. No good! The appeal section of
the form itself must be filled out and sent back. I was then sent a red
letter in the form of a charge notice threatening me with county court
judgements. This forced me to contact The Parking |
and Traffic Appeals Service (P.A.T.A.S.) to whom I made a
formal request for arbitration. To cut a long one short, I was given a date
for a hearing at New Zealand House, Haymarket, but just over a week before
the hearing was due, a letter was sent informing me that Westminster were no
longer pursuing payment of this PCN.
The Mortimer Street situation was exacerbated by me forgetting to
return the NtO. This resulted in me receiving another charge notice followed
by a letter from First Revenue Assurance, a debt collection agency! I
don't know what scared me more, this letter or the reaction of my Missus!
Communication was
key. I contacted them to explain that I was in a dispute, which was ongoing.
Unfortunately, it was too late to stop a letter from Northampton county
court, but I contacted the court and spoke to a very nice lady who advised
me to fill out the appeal section on the court letter, get it witnessed by a
policeman or at a county court and send it back. This had the effect of
removing my case from the legal system, meaning that Westminster had to
start again from the beginning which I guess was the straw that broke the
camels back in this particular chase. Eight, Nine,
Ten..........You're Out!
It only goes to show; so long as you communicate, whether
it be with the council themselves or any other third party they set on you
such as debt collection agencies or even the court, you will be
fine! You just have to know that they are bullies who only pick on
those who don't stand up! So I'm telling you: Stand up!
Just remember, if you're on a job then DaC will back you!
After all, you are helping the Society by helping yourself! Every ticket you
hand into Driver Services is an invitation to the powers that be to take
your photo again and again. It's a numbers game and whilst DaC are paying,
those people are winning! And if you're not on DaC business? Well, hey, war
is a dirty business! If it's OK for them to fine you whilst you are being
paid off or assisting some poor old lady who depends on us to get her to the
hospital, then I say it's OK to invent a disabled customer to have taken
into a building whilst the heartless warden was looking on! Or to say that
the warden specifically said he would give you time to quickly empty
your bladder and yet you still came out only a minute later to find him
writing a ticket whilst laughing like a cartoon baddie! It's not an ideal
way to go about things, but to me it's self-preservation!
Thanks to all of you who signed Anthony Mitchell’s petition.
Anthony and I presented at least 1000 names to Lee Scott, MP for Ilford
North. Will it do any good? I honestly don't know, but he is on our side!
One thing’s for sure, nothing will really change whilst cuddly Ken is in
charge! So shout out loud to the multitudes! Vote Boris!
Be Lucky, Be Strong!
Martin Hizer (M47)
Well-done Martin! There is now also a petition on the Number 10
Downing Street website which must be worth 2 minutes of anyone’s time (see
elsewhere in this issue for details). As for my PCN while stopping briefly
to use the toilet at the northern end of Queensway (page 22 Feb Call Sign),
after writing to Westminster and the Mayor, that has now been quashed. If
you feel a PCN has been unfairly issued…APPEAL! Also write to the Mayor. He
may well say it isn’t TfL’s area, but that doesn’t matter. The response is
all you need - and to let him know how we feel. If enough did it, word might
get around …EdThe Editor…and Jimmy
Greaves???
I know this isn't Dial-a-Cab related and you can rap me over the knuckles if
you like, but having just bought the latest Tottenham Hotspur monthly mag
(Hotspur), I found inside a photo of Jimmy Greaves from late 1961 being
mobbed by several young Spurs fans - one of whom (clutching a newspaper)
looks suspiciously like your good self as you would have been around 15 or
16 at the time, so it fits!
And knowing you're a Spurs fan yourself anyway, I had to ask . . .
is it you?
Robert Richland (N94)
Thank you Robert! Not content with giving my age away, you
associate me with being something of a geek! Apparently it was me! …Ed
Xmas incentive
I don’t work particularly long hours but decided to work longer and harder
to try to earn some Christmas bonus. I was aiming for £500 but fell well
short as credit work dried up as drivers took every job on offer. I managed
to earn £230, which was ok, but I’m writing because Brian Rice said that two
drivers took £2500. I find that absolutely amazing! To achieve this amount
they would have had to do the equivalent of aprox 12 jobs every day for the
51 days consecutively and bearing in mind that the last two weeks of credit
work was skinny, it certainly must have taken some doing!
Anyway, I was happy with my £230 and didn’t even need a dentist!
Martyn Madden (Y97)
I beat you by £100, Martyn! I think you should bear in mind that
the vast majority of drivers picked up amounts between £100 and £750, but
some really set out to capitalise by working more than just a few extra
hours and did up to 20 account rides in a day! However, you are talking
about two drivers out of well over 2000. I’m not sure if either required a
dentist afterwards …Ed
An apology!!
One morning last week, one of my fellow DaC drivers let me out from Dean
Bradley Street to turn right onto Horseferry Road. I duly thanked him for
his courtesy and continued along Horseferry Road via Artillery Row
roundabout and then into Rochester Row. Just short of Vauxhall Bridge Road,
someone hailed me and I stopped to pick this person up only to be hooted and
subjected to the finger treatment and silently mouthed words of derision. I
had not noticed that the cab that had let me out of Dean Bradley Street had
followed the same route down Rochester Row as myself. If I had noticed that
he was still behind me, I would in all decency have passed the hailing
person and signalled to the following driver that it was
only fair for him to have the fare. If that driver reads this letter, I wish
to apologise to him profusely and say that I honestly did not realise that
he was still behind me..
Well said Roy …Ed |
