Call Sign November 2008 - Page 28 - THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TOM WHITBREAD

We have seen over the past few weeks the state of England go down once again to a country that waits until we are in a crisis before politicians stop fighting at the trough of free gifts and do the job they are paid so handsomely to complete. At a time when taxi work is rapidly in decline, we have nearly-new taxis bursting into flames. These are taxis that owners need to be fit and on the road for the maximum number of hours, so they can earn a decent wage. These taxis were allowed to catch fire for weeks - if not months - before the makers saw fit to do a recall and try to ascertain what the problem was that endangered the lives of passengers and drivers. I saw a few of these taxis after they’d burnt out and it sent an ice-cold shiver down my spine when I saw the damage that could be inflicted within minutes - the flame that shot through the dashboard and melted the steering wheel and the immense heat that melted the meter housing so that it dripped molten plastic down onto the driver’s seat and armrest. Even when they were recalling the taxis and rubberstamping their paperwork to allow them to go back on the road, they still didn’t know what was causing the problem. So drivers were going back on the road worrying about the lack of work and whether they’d be able to pay their weekly bills, with the added worry of whether their engine would burst into flames. Then we have drivers who are putting money away each week or month into a pension fund, expecting that when they reach retirement age they will be able to live in a comfortable fashion. But once again the politicians, bankers and city dealers have put paid to that by some decidedly dodgy dealings. We should have seen this coming; how many times have you picked up these dealers from the city or the island, out of their minds on drink (or something else)? These same dealers with their loud mouths and foul language who think that dropping their trousers in the middle of a main road is the height of comedy. These are the people who now want us to feel sorry for them because they have lost their jobs. It’s on a par to feeling sorry for some greedy estate agents who have suddenly found it hard to sell one house in two weeks - now it’s payback time. It was only a few weeks ago the government were saying there was no money to be found to help the elderly with heating problems through the winter, or to purchase drugs that could help ease the pain for cancer sufferers. Strange investing habits? Yet suddenly, when the friends of politicians are in trouble - those same friends who pump money into the coffers of the political parties – and need bailing out, then money is no object. Billions of pounds are suddenly found, but will that make sure that these bankers become more prudent? Of course not, they will still waste money on far-flung parties. I wonder who will be the next to lose his job, but be given a million pound golden payoff? Over the past year, have you had occasion to contact your local council and complain about a service they should have been providing but could not fulfil those obligations due to cutbacks and lack of cash? Then suddenly you read they had thousands, if not millions, tied up in bankrupt Icelandic banks. Perhaps I don’t see things as others do, but if the money is from British tax payers, why it is not invested in British banks where it can provide more jobs for British people? Do politicians not realise that the more people you put out of work in England makes less income tax you are able to collect? So if you keep allowing migrants to come	Another batch of views from Tom. These do not necessarily reflect the views of DaC… THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TOM WHITBREAD
	into the country, where are you going to find the money to house them, provide them with medical treatment or educate their children? Due to the problem with the postage of Call Sign magazine two months ago, some of you may have missed my suggestions for helping out with the problems we are now encountering. Get rid of these useless plastic hobby-bobbies and use to money to hire competent typists (not two finger typists who the PC correct idiots say we must employ) to type up the paperwork for serving police officers. The officers would arrest a felon, take them back to the station, dictate his statement and other paperwork to a competent stenographer and the time saving would be enormous. You could then use police officers on light duties to do the interviews and ongoing paperwork. Maybe then we would not need a big advertising campaign to introduce a non-urgent telephone number for the police (0300 123 1212). We already have one. But when you dial 999 and tell the police operator that two thugs are breaking down your front door to steal property and inside the building are young men and women who could get injured by them, the police turn up 8 hours later. That is after a further telephone call to ask if it is urgent. That is fact. So why do we as licensed taxi drivers have to suffer, to the point that we do not think that we are getting any protection from the police, banks or politicians? Well it is our own fault because we either voted for the party in power, did not give the party we voted for enough verbal support to convince others of the advantages if they changed their vote, or we were just too lazy to get off our backsides and vote. And if that is the case, then we cannot complain if we are badly treated while we sit around just talking and the PC correct and human rights brigade are out there organising themselves to feather their own nests. They know that if they can bring in stupid new laws and create non-existent jobs, it will take the sensible taxpaying individuals years to overturn them. That’s why we’re in such a mess! In the Borough I live, Hackney, we have been told that the European court are not following up on taking shopkeepers to court for using the old, tried and tested pounds and ounces. But Hackney PC correct workers are still wasting taxpayer’s money by taking a Ridley Road stallholder to court for not using the metric system. This is a Borough up to its neck in debt, with a Mayor that swanned off to the Olympics with about 30 of his colleagues just wasting more money. So to try and recoup this waste of money, they have to make up the shortfall. So it’s more CCTV cameras and traffic wardens out to catch any taxi driver who might stray into a wrong bus lane or stop to help an elderly disabled passenger into her flat with shopping. If you believe I shouldn’t be voicing my opinions in this taxi driver’s magazine, then you are wrong because all these points come back to stopping you earning a decent living for you and your family. You must remember that a licensed taxi is a luxury item to the normal working public, so it	is on top of the list for being given the elbow due to lack of money. So when the city dealers who are losing their jobs are gone and their employers are looking to cut back further on expenses, if a private hire company offers them a better deal, they’ll take it. It’s no good shouting about how much it costs you to run a licensed taxi, some companies could not care less which vehicle it is, so long as it has a wheel on each corner and eventually gets them from A to B. There are more and more migrants driving private hire cars, these people do not have a decent grasp on the English language, which enables their employers to exploit them by paying meagre wages. If they pay below average wages, then they can go into our clients and give them good rates for journeys. We used to be regarded as the best in the world at our chosen profession, but now many companies are looking for any way to save money and are not worried about the shortest route or the safety of the vehicle they are travelling in, just that they arrive at a lower price than a taxi. If you are still unsure if this is the case, look which shops are getting more customers - Aldi and Lidl -and see who are losing customers - Marks & Spencer. Others that are thriving are the Ł shops and in Dalston we even have a 98p shop! These always have a steady stream of customers. Burying heads in the sand? So don’t just think of today, as taxi drivers have been doing for years, burying their heads in the sand and saying don’t worry it will just go away. No, it won’t! You only get back what you put in, so without your input to make officials do what you want and to stop them wasting your hard earned cash, make your voice heard. Will any of the garages start to drop their prices as drivers extend the length of time between services and hold onto small repair jobs? No, the big garages are still looking at Ł120 an hour labour charges - and that includes the mechanic’s tea break! The only good news I’ve been given over the past few weeks is that some of the theatres have been offering Dial-a-Cab taxi drivers free seats to some of the best shows in town. As I have said before, these seats can have a value of Ł50 or more. But of course you still get the greedy ones. These drivers go in and try to grab as many tickets as possible to take aunts, uncles and neighbours, thus depriving other hard working taxi drivers of a free night out. And of course those aunts, uncles and neighbours are not going to tell passengers and visitors to London if a current show is good or bad. So the show does not get the audience it should and closes. The fallout is that you do not get the passengers coming out of that theatre OR any free tickets. This is exactly what I was saying earlier in this article; the greedy drivers motto of grab what you can and pull up the ladder because I’m alright. Those drivers do not think of the future, it was exactly the same when minicabs were first introduced and it is those same drivers who today claim that minicabs are stealing our work. No, no, no! It is the taxi trade who did not want to do the bread and butter work over the past twenty years that lets private hire thrive. Have a good month and I hope you earn enough to cover all of your bills. Tom Whitbread DaC Board Member

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