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Either write to Call Sign at Dial-a-Cab
House or email us at callsignmag@aol.com
Only twenty years on DaC!
Thanks to O52 I am still on Dial-a-Cab! I, like I suspect most DaC
subscribers, have been thinking of a reason to stay on the circuit due to
the paucity of work and endless days of no jobs whatsoever after ten hours
shifts. The management said in the good times how wonderful they have
directed DaC and increased sales year on year in one of the longest bull
financial economies the world has ever seen. Then 1 heard the inevitable
admission I was prepared for:
Dial-a-Cab is a cyclical business. Did we just get lucky for ten
years? I, like all subscribers, am perplexed why when large numbers are
leaving, the very least the management could do is to not replace them with
new drivers. I spoke to one driver who said he had been barred because he
told them to find him work then he could afford to pay! Is this endemic? I
even rang up Drivers Services saying there was hardly any work and as I had
been on the circuit for twenty years how long before I could pay £1 like
Alan Fisher, our Editor? Another ten years came the reply!
Then something totally unexpected happened. Whilst waiting on the
Piccadilly rank, I was hit by a bus who did a hit and run. I caught up with
the bus driver, fortuitously a police officer made a report noting damage to
both vehicles consistent with an accident. Red paint chiselled the length of
my badly damaged cab. Travelling home thereafter, sick to the pit of my
stomach, I reluctantly asked voice man to put out a fleet message for
witnesses. Oscar 52 had witnessed all. Thanks Nicholas Fielding.
So there you have it. If you think you’re better off without
Dial-a-Cab, could you also require a witness?
Stephen Berndes (R14)
Thanks for the mention Stephen, cos if you’re asking for a loan,
then I should remind you that I also pay VAT on my one pound, so things
aren’t that wonderful! As for the business; looking at the 2009 Annual
Report, your assumption that any driver who leaves will be automatically
replaced is apparently wrong as our numbers are substantially down. Finally,
going back to me and my £1 subs, this was (I think) my fourth recession in
my 35 years on DaC and I cannot remember ever thinking that I should leave.
In addition to work and the occasional chance of a witness, there is also
the safety aspect. And as a final ‘finally’ I usually do around 6 evening
hours on the cab and even at this quiet time, I am still managing 4 or 5
credit jobs a day ...Ed
Copying?
Hi Alan
I'm trying to get in touch with a guy called Oscar who
used to regularly advertise in Call Sign for doing digital
transfer copies of tapes to CDs etc. Do you have a telephone number for him
or know someone that has?
Barry Ward (H16J)
Many drivers have used Oscar’s transfer services from tape to CD,
Vinyl to CD or Super 8 film to DVD etc. He can usually be contacted on 07902
246 354. The best time is usually after 4pm ...Ed
Er... where’s Martyn???
Dear Alan,
I’m sure by now that the error has been pointed out, but the
photo on page 23 of the February Call Sign is not of
Martyn Madden (Y97) but of (I believe) a now-retired driver who I knew
as Eugene. I never knew his call sign or surname but I think he has left the
circuit.
Michael Harris (F79)
Thank you Mike, but you’re right - I have already been castigated!
The first person to point it out could have been any of the 2000+ drivers or
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members of staff... but no, it had to
be the Chairman, who knew Martyn from DaC’s golfing exploits! I phoned
Martyn to warn him that when he opened the mag, he might become concerned at
how much he had changed, but that as compensation, Call Sign would
pay for any counselling he needed! Fortunately for me, Martyn’s only concern
was that the person purported to be him wasn’t ugly! ...Ed
Cheap tyres?
Hi Alan,
When we had a message on our terminals saying cheaper tyres
from Tiger Tyres, I thought as I’d recently gone and bought some that
it was just my bad luck a better deal would come along! Then when Call
Sign came out with the prices in - even with their pathetic £2 off
each tyre they’re still not as cheap as Universal Tyres. If you want to give
the fleet this info, then please do. I paid £72.42 for Michelins – that’s £6
cheaper than the Tiger discounted price...
Keith Hancock (R47)
Thanks Keith. My only knowledge about tyres is that they go between
the cab and the road and when I occasionally need a new one, I just go and
get one. I haven’t a clue how much they cost until I get the bill. The DaC
Credit Union passed on the info about Tiger Tyres because they are in the
same premises in Hackney Road and very handy to the City. Even more useful
is that DACCU members needing a set of tyres could – with a bit of luck –
take a cheap loan to pay for what has become an expensive pastime! They may
be slightly dearer than Universal, who have 15 branches, but their prices
are reasonable and their discount to DaC drivers is genuine ...Ed
"I don’t want to go but..."
Due to my TXII starting to cost me money with daily problems, I
have decided to get rid of it. But this is where the problem begin. I have
had enough of owning a cab with all the expense and worry that goes with it
and have decided to rent a new TX4 for a year or so to get rid of the worry
and expense. But this means I have to come off Dial-a-Cab, which I love
being on. Is their ever going to be a time when DaC will allow rented cabs
in top condition to be accepted? I am having to leave and really do not want
to at all. If I ever decide to buy again, I will be straight back. But until
then - unless rented cabs are to be accepted - I want to wish all the
drivers and the staff of a truly great circuit, the best of luck for the
future...
Andy Allen (K46)
Hi Andy, have you thought of renting a cab from someone already on
DaC and becoming a journeyman? Just ask Allan Evans or Shelagh Adkins to
enquire via the driver’s terminal if anyone wants one. There is usually
someone willing to rent but I should warn you that as a journeyman, your
long service record would cease ...Ed
Wonderful DaC driver!
As very long standing clients of
Dial-a-Cab, I am hoping you will be able to help us. On Wednesday 16th
December we ordered a cab from DaC to collect us from 18 Carlyle Square SW3
at about 8.30pm to go to Lucios Restaurant in Fulham Road. When we arrived
at the restaurant, my husband, who is not very mobile as he suffers from
arthritis, had an accident while getting out of the taxi. His left foot
slipped forward on the wet road and his right leg, which was still stuck in
the cab, caused him to fall out of the taxi. Unfortunately, when he was
helped up by our cabbie and a passer by, he simply could not move his right
leg, which was stuck in a bent position and completely useless.
Please don't panic, I am not writing to sue or complain! I am
writing because this taxi driver was just WONDERFUL! After he helped my
husband up and helped to get him seated on the floor of the taxi, he stood
out in |
the rain and held an umbrella over my
husband for at least 45 minutes or more until the ambulance came! When the
ambulance finally arrived, I looked at the taxi meter, expecting to see a
very large amount on it only to find he had stopped it when we arrived at
the restaurant. I wanted to give him a huge tip in thanks for his kindness
or to pay extra for all the time he had stayed with us, but he simply
refused to take anything saying he was very happy to have helped us. So I
now would really like to contact him to thank him personally.
I have also been told that you can commend a taxi driver to an
association/guild of taxi drivers. I would also really like to do this if
you could help me by supplying these details as well as our cabby’s name and
address. We have travelled all over the world a huge amount and I know that
we in London do have the very best and finest cab drivers in the world and
this man is one of very best of them.
To finish the story, my husband ended up having to have knee
surgery the following day and spending 5 days in Chelsea and Westminster
Hospital. He also had to have his leg in a splint for 6 weeks. However, what
with Christmas and the terrible weather we have had and being snowed-in in
the country, it is only now that I have got round to writing to you. In this
present world when everyone is always complaining, I really would like to do
the opposite. So if you can give us any help to do this I would be most
grateful. After all, the week before Christmas must be so busy and our
lovely cabby could have done lots of other jobs instead of staying and
helping my husband.
Thank you for the excellent service that Dial-a-Cab gives...
Tara Elliot
Chilton Foliat, Berks
The driver concerned who maintained Dial-a-Cab’s name as always
being the best was David Fisher (A59). DaC Chairman Brian Rice responded
personally to Mrs Elliot...TX4 brakes
Dear Alan
I have been experiencing a problem with the brakes on my TX4. I
have recently spoken to LTI customer services department and they say they
are not aware of the problem, but have advised me to take my cab into my
service dealer and their engineer will come to have a look. The problem
occurs when the engine is cold. When you apply the brakes, the pedal
collapses and you lose braking effort - but only for a second and the pedal
then comes back up. But sometimes the pedal vibrates, the cab shakes and the
engine cuts out.
I have spoken to other drivers who have experienced the same problem and
would ask them to phone LTI and tell them about it so that they will then be
aware of it.
Alfred Cook (A62)
Camden PCNs
I read in an issue of Call Sign that if a council
make an extra charge when someone pays for a PCN via a credit card, that the
ticket becomes null and void. I paid one from Camden and when I told them
about the article, they offered to pay back the 1.3% admin charge but would
not cancel the ticket. Are they right?Kevin McKenna (S36)
I asked Barrie Segal who wrote the original answer. He told me that
while other councils have agreed to refund the PCN when an admin charge was
added, Camden decided instead to go for a judicial review to appeal against
that decision. He said that in his view the charge is illegal and until the
review result is known, anyone who has receives a PCN that includes an admin
charge for a credit card payment, should go all the way to adjudication.
Most doing that have been successful. If you have already paid, then all you
can do is wait for the review result and if they lose, claim your £60 back
...Ed |
