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Another New Year
It seems that I have only just finished my Chairman’s report for
December and the Editor is already chasing me for this January report! I
have to submit it in the second week of December due to the printers taking
an extended break over the Christmas period.
Consequently, at the time of writing I am unaware of how the final
two weeks prior to Christmas went, however it does look quite promising and
also the start of our financial year was an improvement over last year. The
first three months of our financial year showed an increase in turnover in
excess of £1.5million over the corresponding period for the previous year.
We can only hope this trend continues throughout 2011.
Age Limit
I have just learned that the Mayor has
decided the maximum age of a taxi in London commencing in 2012 will be 15
years and that around 1200 taxis are likely to be more than 15 years old by
then. Whatever the Mayor decided, there was bound to be a section of our
industry that would not be content with the outcome and obviously the owners
of these 1200 taxis will come into that category.
I believe it is almost impossible to argue against taxis in London
becoming newer and greener, however, it is how we arrive there that is
important and whether or not the trade can afford it.
There was much concern within the trade that the Mayor would
opt for ten years instead of fifteen and of course if he were to have gone
for that option, then I believe he would have had to introduce a scrappage
scheme as the trade could not have possibly have complied with the directive
without it leading to a shortage of taxis and a fall in the resale value of
vehicles.
The whole trade, led by the LTDA but with the exception of the RMT,
formed an alliance and all signed a proposal at Dial-a- |
Cab House to present to the Mayor why the fifteen-year rule
should be implemented and not the ten.
What was particularly encouraging was the fact that the whole trade
signed the document to present to the Mayor, something which showed a united
front to TfL - the first time that has happened since the LTDA and T&G
(Unite) left the Taxiboard around about 1997/98. I am hopeful this situation
can be repeated in the future, as I’m sure many of you are aware that I have
always believed this industry is far stronger with just one voice, instead
of the many we have had in previous years.
The manufacturers together with the radio circuits signed the
document for fifteen years when it could be argued that it was in the
interest of both these parties to have the age limit at ten years. Yet we
both voted (two manufacturers and three radio circuits) for fifteen, because
we believed that was in the best interest of the trade.
If anything is to be achieved in the future by the ‘association’ of
these various factions, then we must all agree initially that we should be
bound by the majority vote. I have seen all too often in the past,
organisations resigning from a collective body due to the fact that the
collective policy was perhaps against the interests of their own respective
organisation, so they resigned and went their own way. If we are to have any
credibility, this scenario should be resisted in the future.
As I stated earlier, you cannot please all the people all of
the time and those with cabs over |
fifteen years old in 2012 will not
be impressed with the latest decision, however there are many in the trade
that welcome the decision and feel the new legislation has not gone far
enough. These are the drivers that invest in new cabs and feel drivers with
older cabs are letting the side down. They feel that the public should be
travelling in newer, greener vehicles and there should not even be the
opportunity of hiring an older vehicle. I know we have many of those members
at Dial-a-Cab and I must confess to seeing the logic in both arguments,
after all the argument has always been that if the PCO pass a vehicle they
consider to be fit to carry members of the public, who is anyone to
contradict that view - irrespective of how old the vehicle is?
Contained within the press release from TfL is the news that as
from 2013 at the latest, all taxis will be required to have two full MOTs
tests every year instead of a once yearly overhaul, but these can be carried
out at local garages rather than inspection centres. That is all the press
release states on the subject of MOTs, however, there must surely be a third
inspection because as far as I am aware an MOT does not cover the general
condition of the inside of the vehicle, such as seats and headlining? I
believe an MOT just covers the roadworthiness of a vehicle. Consequently,
someone somewhere will have to check the ‘cosmetics’ of the taxi, although
this has not been mentioned in the press release.
And finally…
I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and I would like to wish
you and your families a very healthy New Year. Let us all hope the second
quarter of our financial year will be as good as the first quarter. If it
is, then it means that business is getting better…
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
