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Either write to Call Sign at Dial-a-Cab
House or email us at callsignmag@aol.com Fuel
discount card?
Sir
I am amazed that you are promoting a Texaco discount scheme
that involves direct debit payment from one’s bank account without
explaining the implications that one may have to convince the Special
Compliance gentlemen as to why such quantities of fuel have produced such
meagre income. HMRC may well have thought up this no-brainer themselves, but
it would be a wise move to consult one’s financial advisor – no, not the
wife – before committing to this scheme. Not, of course, that any upright
and honest Dial-a-Cab mincer would have to…
Joseph Batty (W90)
The Cayman Islands
Joseph, the terms of the card say that you can use it as little or as often
as you want. I’m happy to save the money and if anyone is interested in my
personal habits, then they are welcome to them. I am saving at least £1 a
day. So see you at the club old chap… Ed
And speaking of the fuel card…
Hi Alan
Just thought I would update you on our progress – we are
receiving a steady daily flow of applications and telephone enquiries asking
about Black Cab Fuels and our fuel card. Seems most callers are asking - is
this real? They can’t believe there are no charges and they get a discount,
especially with the recent rise in fuel duty. We have had some additional
editorial in Taxi Globe (we have posted articles on our website) and the
really good news is that we are getting more calls saying a friend has
referred them, so word is spreading.
Some of the online applicants seem to forget to post in their bank
details (we don’t take bank details over the internet) so this delays the
processing. Once we have the application and bank details, it takes a couple
of weeks to process and get the cards out as we have to get them embossed.
So as we launched in late June, things are beginning to pick up now in terms
of usage as more and more taxi drivers actually use their cards.
John Murphy
Black Cab Fuels
And more!
Thanks for recommending the Black Cabs fuel card. I’m saving around £10 a
week!
Bernie Silver (G08)
Our work?
Referring to fares as ‘our work’ really annoys me. The fact is that
it’s not and never will be ‘ours’ to own. David Kupler is right about the
Knowledge and that a shirt, tie and suit doesn’t turn you into a taxi
driver, but the only right the Knowledge gives us is that of plying for hire
- and if he thinks that means ‘all’ the work, then he's mistaken. If the
public want to use a touting minicab, then they will regardless of all
our protests. We need to show the public we are worthy and appreciate their
business and then maybe we will win them back. Just look at the amount we've
got back from Smiths and Abacus etc, but if we weren't in a downturn I bet
you wouldn't see one cab at any of those clubs. That’s the problem we face;
it is ‘our work’ only when we want it to be.
I believe this downturn shows that this trade needs change, it
needs to lose its arrogant attitude and offer a service rather than make the
public think we are doing them a favour. The circuits, I believe, have not
performed well. I'm one of the 27 cabs with the Dial-a-Cab phone number on
the door, but if the Board think it will generate more calls, then why not
make it compulsory to have it on driver’s doors? Private hire have never let
up in their fight to get signage, we currently have the right to signage yet
we don't enforce it. Why?
As already said, we're called Dial-a-Cab, but what’s the point? The
public see the name ie ‘dial’ yet see no number to dial. Change our logo! To
the public, what does a giant CCC mean? Make our logo stand out and make
every cab on the circuit have it. Go to Addison Lee and say you’d like to
drive a car for them but want no logo on the back; see how long you last!
The bottom line is that the whole trade need to become
more competitive, noticeable and available. A bigger downturn may see many
drivers shouting "it was our work" whilst going under.
Michael Beevor (N76)
Brian Rice replies: Wow Michael, what an interesting letter! You do realise
that some will say that it is a letter composed by me with your name on the
bottom! Am I being too cynical? Seriously, I do not disagree with anything
you say and find it extremely refreshing to know there are members that
think as you do. I know that most members do think as you, the only
difference is they will not go into print as you have.
Regarding the logo, as I have stated in the past I have made |
enquires about changing our name and
logo, but have been advised that we have such a good name and such an
identifiable logo that we should not tamper with either, I must say that I
did find that research quite pleasing. Consequently, I was pleased and a
little disappointed at the same time.
All members fitted to DaC after January 1996 must carry our logo
and if anyone that was fitted before that date and does not carry our logo,
then they pay an increased subscription of nearly £40pm. I believe the
number of our vehicles that are not logo'd could be counted on one hand and
I also believe in the carrot and not the stick and ask all members to fit
our cash number to their vehicles.
However, I must point out that in the past many of our members were
not interested in cash work, a bit like the scenario you have illustrated
with the clubs. Consequently, a customer would ring and we would not be able
to cover the trip. That is counter productive, as the customer would then be
under the impression that we supply an inferior service and in turn, that
would have a bearing on our good name.
Finally Michael, thank you again for your letter. It is nice to
know that others think as I do and oh so pleasant to get a letter such as
this and not, for a change, be attacked! It gives the BoM and certainly
myself a little burst of enthusiasm during a period that has been extremely
worrying, although going by the amount the banks have increased their usage
of taxis recently - we have now passed the worst of it.
Best ever?
The September issue of Call Sign must have been the
best issue ever – and that includes all the trade papers as well. Our
magazine is always a good read, but last month’s was even better than usual.
The article by Keith Cain – Why drivers were expelled – was
excellent. Suddenly a clear and concise explanation as to why several
Dial-a-Cab drivers had all been expelled. Whilst sad that some drivers feel
a need to cheat the system, how they were caught made compelling reading and
I congratulate those involved in the time-consuming efforts that must have
been involved in catching these people. Surely any clients reading it must
have been convinced that in rare cases of any instance involving drivers
breaking rules, that they will be caught and appropriate action taken.
Two other points from that wonderful issue. Tom Whitbread in the
article about his appearance in the newspaper over the work he does for
children with Dial-a-Dream, he looked far too pleasant standing next
to a DaC taxi and with a big smile. I didn’t realise he could be nice! Then
on page 30, the Flashback article involving the Editor and his work
at St Josephs Hospice. He looks so young and handsome…what happened since!
Thank you again for a wonderful read…
Sid Nathan (K88)
I’ve come over all funny!!! …Ed
Fascinating?
I've just had the opportunity to read the latest issue of
Call Sign Online magazine. Once again I find it very
fascinating to read all about the failures, successes and yes, even fears
that the typical London cabby faces doing his (or her) job. I also find the
Letters to the Editor especially fascinating, as it seems these columns are
about the same worldwide. Sometimes it’s someone with an axe to grind or
maybe someone just venting an opinion - right or wrong. But keep them
coming!
Lloyd Powell
Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Hi Lloyd, you seem to be becoming a regular on the page you find so
fascinating! …Ed
Have the lunatics taken over the asylum?
Thursday 10 September saw the London cab trade return in numbers to
the Public Carriage Office in Penton Street, just 6 days after the
successful drive-in and picket carried out by the RMT’s London Taxis
Branch. The streets and pavements around the headquarters of TfL’s,
Taxi and Private Hire Licensing and Administration were taken over by an
incensed taxi trade protesting about a convicted killer being allowed to
join the Knowledge. Both protests were a result of a story that had been
rumbling through the trade for a few weeks. When it finally broke cover in
London’s Evening Standard even the most hard bitten drivers found it
hard to believe.
No one believes every London driver is as white as the driven snow
and every one of them can tell you a tale of someone they met when they were
doing the Knowledge who had a bit of previous and how they had been made to
sweat it out and wait up to 10 years before being accepted on the Knowledge.
Usually their indiscretions were fairly minor (by today’s standards, anyway)
perhaps of alcohol fuelled violence or pranks, but occasionally one met
someone who had done some time at Her Majesties Pleasure for a more serious
crime. These Knowledge students knew they would have a hard time on the |
KoL and it would take them a bit
longer than their peers to get out, but they accepted that.
What got the trade to protest at the PCO was that a man who had
strangled his wife in 2000 had been accepted by the leading lights of the
PCO and TfL as suitable to become a London Taxi Driver. They found it even
harder to believe that he had been diagnosed as a Paranoid Schizophrenic and
had escaped a murder charge on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He
had been detained at a secure unit until released after two and a half
years. It seems that after his release from the secure unit, that he applied
for a Private Hire Licence and was turned down. He appealed to the Crown
Court and they upheld the first refusal, but a few years later he reapplied
and was granted a PH licence. He then applied to go onto the Knowledge and
was accepted. The PCO were then handed a Get out Of Jail Free card,
but incredibly they chose not to use it when in June of this year he was
cautioned by the police for assault. A TfL spokesman said: "The man made us
aware that he had received a caution for assault. As a result we suspended
his Knowledge appearances for one month and warned him that if he came our
attention again, he would not be allowed to continue taking the exam."
Jeroen Weimar (the man said to be head of TfL but which is doubted
by many who think that in reality, John Griffin of Addison Lee really runs
TfL) said: " The independent medical opinion is that this man poses no
danger to the public." This statement was made only a day before the
headlines in two of London’s freebie evening papers carried the story of
another paranoid schizophrenic who just three hours after been discharged
from a London mental health unit, killed a friend and then cooked part of
his brain.
Medical sources claim that part of the illness is that the patient can feel
the reason they feel the way they do is down to the medicine that are
compelled to take and is the cause of their illness, and they often develop
manipulative practices to fool those in charge of their cases into thinking
they are responding to treatment, when in fact they are actually
deteriorating and becoming dangerous again.
As I write this, there are rumours going around that the man has
now decided to drop out of the Knowledge, but his has not yet been
confirmed. The PCO/TfL have announced that they are to undertake an enquiry
into the issue with two former employees coming in to undertake it. The RMT
feel that this is not good enough. We have no direct argument with this man,
just the system that allowed him to start the Knowledge. I’m not so sure
that the Private Hire trade will be over the moon that he was able to get a
Private Hire drivers licence either, but that up to them to take issue with.
The RMT feels that this move to have an enquiry on this one issue is not
good enough. We want a Public Enquiry into the running of the PCO in its
entirety. This case is just one example of how it’s felt within the London
hackney trade that they (the PCO) are not Fit for Purpose. Ever since
the control of London’s taxi trade ceased to by run by the Met Police for
public safety and became a political plaything of the GLA and TfL, there
have been many decisions taken for reasons other than public safety. We will
now be starting a major campaign to bring about this enquiry.
Eddie Lambert (V37)
Chairman RMT London Taxis BranchThanks to DaC…
Two days ago I stayed in the office until late and asked reception
to call me a cab on my way home. Reception booked a Dial-a-Cab taxi and
during the ride I enjoyed a courteous and entertaining conversation with the
driver, who later proved to be an extremely kind and professional person.
What happened is that I accidentally forgot my bag in the cab, leaving all
my credit / debit cards, ID, keys, driving licence, gym / office and other
passes behind, in addition to some £200. It is just unimaginable what kind
of hassle, waste of time and red-tape I would have had to go through if I
had lost my bag.
Even before I realised what had happened, approximately 30 minutes after I
had stepped out of the cab in front of my home, Suzanne Campbell from
reception called me saying that the cab driver was there with her and had
just handed over my bag. I obviously asked Suzanne to let me have a quick
word with the cab driver to thank him for his admirable honesty and
civility, but also wanted to let you know about the cab driver's exemplary
behaviour in those circumstances.
When I checked my bag, I confirmed that everything was in there and
that it was perfectly intact. I don't remember the name of the cab driver
but I am really very grateful to him.
Francesco Lione
Cravath Swaine and Moore LLP
Thanks for letting us know, Francesco. We can tell you that it was John Gay
(V36) and it’s no more than you would expect when you use a licensed taxi
…Ed |
