Subs reductions
Hi Alan
I sadly think I will have to leave DaC soon as I am not even covering subscriptions nowadays. I officially retire in October, but like many will continue working - probably until I drop - because my pensions have dropped in value so much. I had hoped there would be some scheme that would allow drivers who reach retirement age to work part-time at reduced subs, but I am told this is not the case. I know I have not been on DaC long enough to qualify for the £1 per month, but I have recently met drivers who have left after many years on the circuit and it does seem a little unfair that it is 30 years or nothing to receive some benefits with subscriptions. A graded scale seems a fairer option. For every year served, a reduction when a driver reaches 65 perhaps, but they either have to or want to continue working on DaC part time. It shouldn't be too hard to work out a plan. Then at least DaC would be receiving some subs instead of losing drivers altogether and receiving nothing from them.
   I found myself considering that my wages were all coming from any street work I get. It does not make sense for me to worry about earning money just to pay subs with no benefit to myself. I do not want to leave DaC and as a person who has been on all three main circuits in my 26 years of driving a cab. I can honestly say this is the best of them all.
   Finally Alan, thanks again for your past help. I appreciate it very much...
Tom Reynolds (O85)
Brian Rice replies: I can sympathise with your predicament Tom, but as you can no doubt appreciate, any procedure that we adopt will prove unfair and unpopular to a small section of the membership. After all, everyone wants a system that suits them individually and there is nothing wrong with that. You want a sliding scale when a member reaches 65, but many members do not retire at that age, consequently their reduced subscription would prove a burden to the remainder of the membership and as there are three times as many drivers over the age of 70 than there are under the age of 30, you can no doubt understand my predicament. I believe the way we do it now is quite good and that is £1 per month subscription once you have reached 30 years service, it is nice and clean. Finally, I would like to thank you for your last three and a half years service and wish you well for the future, incidentally, I agree we are the best radio circuit.

Weekly credits?
Dear Alan,
Is there any good reason why we can't have our credits paid weekly? I realise that the payments were all over the place before we went fortnightly, but for those of us who do a reasonable number of credit trips and who are used to weekly payments, it can be a right pain, with cash flow becoming almost nonexistent at times. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking this and Mr Rice pointed out at the time of the change, the main people affected were likely to be those on weekly payments (I would guess that a lot of these are the same drivers who do a lot of credit work).
   I'm sure that no one would object to weekly pay and as we are a reasonably cash rich Society, it would be nice if we could change (back) to weekly. I have given fortnightly a fair crack of the whip before writing in the hope that someone else would do it before me! No one has so maybe it is just me after all! Seriously though, it is a problem sometimes...
Mick Davis (M14)
DaC Financial Controller Warren Smith responds: Mick, the issue of reverting to fortnightly driver payments incorporated many factors. These included standardisation of payment frequencies, the introduction of a fortnightly subscription deduction to coincide with the new payment frequency and liasing with the credit union for them to introduce a fortnightly deduction. Another factor taken into account by management, which does not affect the driver however, is the amount of administration time it took to produce what you get in front of you as a Driver Statement. For weekly paid drivers, there was at least one week in the month when a payment was greatly reduced or wasn't paid because the subscriptions deduction was applied, therefore only three were payments made in the month at most. If a Driver does a reasonable amount of credit work, then the introduction of fortnightly subs and credit union deduction evens things out and they should be paid every time. I can categorically say that most drivers that do credit work are paid every fortnight. You are right that Brian said the main people to be affected would be the weekly paid Drivers, but he only meant for the first few payment cycles. Once a driver was earning double, then that would rollover to the next payment and so on. He did not envisage any Driver taking more than a month to get their financial house in order. Changing to fortnightly payments decreased the administration workload considerably, going to weekly payments doubles that workload immediately. This is something that management does not want to see as it puts a strain on limited resources. I believe that nearly one year on, fortnightly payments have been a great success as the number of complaints received can be counted on one hand. I am sorry that this is not the answer you were looking for, Mick, but it's the only one I have, so I cannot see a change from fortnightly to weekly payments in the foreseeable future...

PH and dinosaurs???
Hi Alan
I hope you have space to print my views in a forthcoming issue of Call Sign. Much has been spoken and written about re how to win back some of the work we are undoubtedly losing to PH and I don't wish to labour the points previously made. I have held my badge for 9 years (on DaC for around 4 years) but it was blatantly obvious from the moment I started driving that the cab trade needed to modernise. Gents, we are not being pulled around by horses anymore, yet to listen to some of the rantings in Call Sign (and other trade papers) you wouldn't believe it. There are too many dinosaurs in the trade. We have helped create the PH situation ourselves. Is it any wonder that hotels, clubs,

banks etc use cars when they see the behaviour of many drivers who still refuse work when ranked up outside those same clubs / hotels / banks. Every morning people hail cabs opposite the private rank at The Hilton, Kensington because they can't get one of the 3 or 4 cabs ranked up there to take them to Paddington or Notting Hill. Cab users are astounded that this type of behaviour still exists, yet many of our drivers play into the hands of PH. I mean lets face it, what hardworking lawyer or banker wants to get into a J reg Metro or K reg Fairway? Personally, I’d be embarrassed to pick a passenger up in any cab more than 6 years old. What must the senior exec think when he gets into a 20+ year old vehicle? The situation is exasperated when a senior banker orders a DaC taxi and a 15-year-old boneshaker turns up to take him from the City to the Dorchester. He can pay the same money and get into a car that’s less than a year old and travel in some degree of comfort.
   We have lost lots of trade not only because of competition and restrictions on budgets, but because there’s a hell of a lot of drivers unwilling to drag themselves into the modern world. There are thousands of drivers out there who still do not take credit cards and sulk when their passenger wants to pay with a £20 note. Too many of our trade are willing to moan and groan yet do nothing to improve firstly themselves and secondly the trade. Yes, we may need to change some of our pricing and practises to compete, but we also need to bring the fleet and its equipment up to date to give us any hope of keeping up with the competition. I have often asked myself why the trade is so much against change, but having recently taken possession of my Vito, a large number of my passengers are asking me the same question. For years our garage waiting rooms have been full of discontent about the quality of the product we’ve been forced to buy, we now have a far superior vehicle to drive so let’s get the cab trade into the modern world and prove to Londoners that we are not going to let the PH industry outdo us.
   I love the work I do (both street and account) so please do not keep dragging the trade down. If you don't like the trade anymore or the radio circuit you are on, then leave and see if you can do any better elsewhere. Keith Holbrook (T92)
Thanks for the letter Keith. Whilst I agree with your sympathies regarding old cabs, what you also have to remember is that if PH drivers had to buy their own vehicles, they would be returning to the old rust-bucket syndrome. Being as rich as John Griffin must help! As for the rest of your letter, you are 100% right. The ‘problem’ with the Ken Hilton drivers was going on even when I drove days – and I gave that up in 1976. It’s the belief that if you don’t get an airport, then your day is a failure. Yet we have lost so many of those airport trips because of passengers who no longer use taxis at all – let alone for LAP. How many of those former passengers were at one time waiting opposite the Ken Hilton and were refused, so now only use us when they have no choice? It is a self perpetuating disaster syndrome. As you infer, money is probably a factor but it’s the service that often lets us down. Anyone can provide a brilliant service when it’s quiet but it’s when busy that people remember who provided the service they needed.
   And speaking of John Griffin, for those who haven’t heard, his Addison Lee company were recently awarded £4 million government contract to provide taxi services from within the M25 to the Department for Work and Pensions, the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The contract also allows other central government departments and local authorities to join should they wish to do so. It reminds me of the quiet evening of Tuesday 6 April – just after the Easter holiday weekend. I was hailed outside the Wigmore Hall by a young lady who asked if I would take her to Herne Hill as the previous three drivers had refused. So, yes, while we say no to passengers, the opposition are cleaning up. And the Herne Hill job? Yes, it went £28, which she was happy to pay ...Ed

Black power or black empowerment?
Dear Alan,
Having read your February Call Sign Editorial and more recently the article by Louie Christian (A48) (April Call Sign), I have a few issues of my own concerning the use of the word Black. I should first probably state that I was unfortunate enough to come from an age and environment that was ignorant of the feelings of people of colour and consequently could, at times, be openly racist to anyone perceived as foreign. Consequently, I have for most of my adult life had an inner battle not to be racist and I try to treat everyone the same. I am truly thankful and pleased that my children do not have the burden of any racial bias and have many friends of different colours and nationalities. That said, being around in the 1950s, to call a person of colour Black was classed as being derogatory as were many other words of description. You referred to someone as being coloured.
   We then came to the era of Black is Beautiful and it was no longer accepted to describe someone as coloured. Even though to describe someone as Black is now the accepted word, for some unknown reason I have always felt a little uncomfortable referring to someone as Black. For very many years I have looked after a very nice man from Africa, who I run around when he is in London. Although he refers to himself as a Black man, I still tend to describe him as an African man. On the other hand, I have never had a problem saying the word Black in any other context when in his company. I use to despair when reading some council was to ban a nursery rhyme such as Baa, Baa Black Sheep so as not to upset Black children. When I discussed such things with my friend, he would just laugh and say that the black children back home also recite and are taught those rhymes. I would justify it as PC gone mad, white liberalism, and we would agree that Black people would not care less.
   So I was dismayed to read that Louie, (if I may call him by his first name) wonders if you and I imagine that we readers feel the same way about the use of the word black when it is associated with negatives? He quotes black ice, black clouds, black day and then states: “No doubt, because it is a part of the English language, it seems perfectly normal?” Louie then suggests we ask ourselves “...is it normal?” He goes on to ask if we have ever seen black ice or a black day and then for some unknown reason, he suggests that perhaps this is what McPherson meant when he stated inherent racism, finishing by stating that “much of the White population would not see anything wrong with the use of these words. However, to much of the black population, these terms are highly derogatory.”
   I would like to say that as far as not seeing black ice, neither have I ever seen a black man, or a white man. I have seen lots of people with different shades of brown skin, as I have seen lots of people with pale pink colour skin, but never black or white. So if people want to be called either black or white, I should have no problem whatsoever, but to then imply that I, as a so-called white man, should not use the word Black in a negative term as it could offend a black person, is frankly just plain stupid and I would imagine just as offensive to Black people as it to me. Is Louie really saying we should stop saying things like black ice in case it offends? Would saying “my bank balance is in the black” be OK? That cannot be a negative, can it? I accept that Louie knows more Black people than I, but he can’t possibly know the feelings of the majority of the black population. Where did he get the evidence for such a claim? I feel he has done an injustice to Call Sign’s readership, he has planted a seed that they should now fear whenever using the word Black in a negative context. I should first check that no black person is in earshot so as not to offend them. Up till now, the word was innocent, unfortunately I feel Louie has now demonised it. I am sure, Louie, that you have experienced a white person asking what your profession was and on replying “taxi driver,” they have responded in all innocence if you meant a “black cab driver” followed by a look of

embarrassment thinking they may have offended you when maybe you were not in the slightest bit offended because you knew exactly what they meant.
   Do we really want a society that is scared of saying everyday words in case they offend? Louie also defends the Black Power list as not a form of inverted racism, saying there is nothing wrong with a white list, but he must know this could never be. There is a Black Police Federation - the name suggesting that white police are excluded. What if they were allowed to have a White Police Federation? That would suggest blacks were excluded, but they are all British Police so why make divisions because of skin colour? As far as the Black Power list goes, why could they not have called it something like, The Afro/Caribbean Power List? There are many white people from Africa and the West Indies. Louie says they need such awards as  black people are unlikely to be in the top 100 influential UK List, but is that not demeaning the ability of black people? There are many black people in very high and prominent positions within the UK, also quite a few at the very top of the list are from an ethnic background. So given time and there will be black people up there. Louie also says the award for Mr Lynch is for being black and good at his job, Why on earth would someone be given an award for the colour of their skin? Did not Martin Luther King, in his historic I have a Dream speech say his four little children would not be judged by the colour of their skin? 
   Louie’s main concern for defending the reason for such awards appears to be for young blacks to aspire, and a need for aspiration and role models to look up to, yet Louie as a well read man had never heard of the winner, Mr R.Lynch, so I would ask how many black kids have and how many kids black or white would choose some rich businessman as a role model? It is more likely to be a sports person or pop star, but ultimately what is sadly missing from so many is a Father. I personally do not like being labelled white, I refer to myself as British / English, or half-Scottish (when Scotland do well)! I believe it would be better if skin colour was used for description only. When we see our young athletes beat the rest of the world, whatever colour their skin may be, are we not proud that they are British? So instead of ' black empowerment' should we not encourage 'British empowerment' and install in them that they were fortunate to be born in and to live in what was the greatest country in the world and that no one person born here is more British / English than any other whatever their skin colour may be. By all means they should know about their roots, but first and foremost they are British and should be taught the history of why it was Great. And as they are the future, it is up to them to help put the Great back into Britain.
Ian Connelly (T49)

Checking up on gratuities...
Having made a comment about possibly getting rid of the 10% gratuities added onto account rides in the April Call Sign, I decided to keep a check myself and found that at the end of the day after adding up my cash gratuities that the tips came to less than 5% of my takings. When I check my credits, I don’t take into consideration any tips, so I do not think we will not be much worse off by dropping the gratuities – especially if it gets us more work.
Ivor Belkin (C97)
Thank you for your honesty Ivor! ...Ed

Fares - the other point of view...
Hi Alan
I had to write this because sometimes I just can’t understand how people think. I read the letter by David Martin (J72) in the April Mailshot and fair enough, everybody is entitled to their opinion... so here’s mine. First and foremost, the run-ins: David is saying that we should lose it and run in for nothing, but why would you do that? If you do, say, 5 radio jobs in one day you would have just lost around £20! And no gratuity? That’s another £10 a day - around £30 so far! And why would I go to Heathrow for £45 in the rush hour when it is a £60 or £70 ride? That’s another £20 gone! It seems like he is saying that if you can’t beat ‘em, then join ‘em. No way! That’s not the attitude we need, we should stick by our guns, otherwise what’s the point in doing the Knowledge? I might as well go and buy a Datsun for £2000 that costs me very little to run and become a minicab driver. The price of taxis will be going up next year by £2000 and the new Vito by even more. Petrol is going up as well and it seems like everything is on the up, yet David Martin wants our fares to go down. Please get real mate, we’re not a charity, these are multi-million pound companies you are dealing with and most of the people you are taking home are probably earning treble what we do, yet you want us to cut our wages and drive around for nothing. Even my local minicab firm charge a £3 runin. We’re in London, not some third-world country, so let’s stand by what’s right....be proud of what we do and don’t give in to these people. Remember, we know what we are doing - they don’t!
Paul Dacosta (L68)
I agree with many of your sentiments, Paul. I believe that it will begin to get busier later in the summer and that we will be in demand again. While I’m not necessarily against reasonable fixed prices for airports and late-night trips, I don’t think a general scything of fares would be in our long-term interests. That doesn’t mean that we can’t compete in price. Arriving with £3 to £3.60 means that if the passengers come down reasonably quickly, then there won’t be any shock amounts on the meter. I’d also like to see more accounts using the Aspect phone system, where it takes just seconds to get a response.
   I spoke to LTI and they have no plans so far as raising prices is concerned, let alone by £2000. In fact their aim is to cut the TX4 price by getting more parts from China. But generally speaking, the sentiment of us being the best is one I agree we should play on ...Ed

Cars v Taxis
This is the first time I have ever written a letter to this magazine, but the despair I feel with the erosion of our work has inspired this momentous event. Ok, let’s assume cars are cheaper. If we control the cars, why not first offer the job to the DaC fleet? At 2pm there is a trip from Jermyn St to LAP fixed at £55; if no one wants it, then pass it on to the cars. Alternatively, at 2am, Ropemaker St to Basildon fixed at £80. Again, if no one wants it then pass it on to the cars. Board members must realise there is no such thing as cab and car work, it has to be less rigid. I’m not paying subs to fatten the wallet of car drivers. If this does happen, we must keep our mouths shut. If we carry a banker, do not tell him what an a-hole he is even if it is true! Finally we need a Board passionately committed to the product it is selling. Is that this BoM? I am yet to be convinced...
Stephen Field (F68)
Brian Rice responds: Who said we control the cars? We don't, the customer does! You must remember that we only have Concierge in five of our larger accounts and they are the only accounts where we handle their ground transportation - there is not one other account in our database that requires us to send them cars. I think you will agree Stephen, these five are our largest accounts, so what makes you think they will accept a taxi when they actually ask for a car! If you believe we can actually dictate to a client and tell them they can only have what we say - then we would not have that account for very long!
   Finally, to accuse me and the BoM of not being passionate; I don't know if you have put that in for effect or you actually believe it, I hope it is the former! During my stewardship, we have acquired Deutsche Bank, Citi and JPMorgan, three of our largest accounts and three of the largest in London, please don't insult me by telling me I am not passionate about DaC - just look at our achievements!

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