Diesel comparisons
On searching the Call Sign archives recently, by
chance I came across an article by our Editor under the heading
Diesel rip-off, which at the time was 65.9p a litre! On
seeing that piece (dated November 1999) and being conscious of
the hike in fuel prices since then, I was curious to compare the
present day’s cost of fuel against earnings to 1955 when I got
my first car, and particularly to the 60s when I got my Green
Badge. I was surprised at the result…
The car in question was a second hand Ford Popular, which seemed to
go forever on a single gallon of petrol. But the next car I had
was a huge Humber Super Snipe, followed by a V8 Pilot, then a
Wolseley 680 which was an ex police car, then a Sunbeam Alpine
and lastly during that period came a white convertible Armstrong
Siddeley with running boards and white rim tyres. All second
hand of course, and if any of Dial-a-Cab members remember
those cars, they might also remember how heavy some of them were
on fuel. Especially the Armstrong Siddeley, which had a
pre-select gearbox and averaged 15 mpg.
I was loathe to drive it any further than from where I lived in
Camden Town up to the Tottenham Royal dance hall and only then
because the car was a magnate for ‘pulling’ the young ladies!
Petrol in the ‘fifties was 5/- (25p) a gallon and I was earning
around £3.10s a week. Records show that the cost of petrol was
the same in 1956 as it was throughout the 1960s. I’m not sure
what diesel cost in the 1950s, but I do remember in the
mid-1960s buying a new Ford Capri 3.0 Ghia and petrol was still
5/- a gallon. I was running my own business during that period
as well as driving a cab and diesel then was 4/- (20p) a gallon.
The average earnings at that time were £15 per week compared to
today’s average earnings of £450 per week.
Now this is the interesting part. Back in 1965, the average weekly
earnings could buy 75 gallons of diesel. Today the average
weekly earnings buying diesel at the price some garages are
charging as I draft this article of £6 a gallon, would be
exactly the same - 75 gallons!
Cost of clothes…
Another interesting fact is the comparison with the cost of
clothes. In the 1950s during the Teddy Boy era, I paid
£70 for my Edwardian drape jacket suit with velvet collar, 20
times my weekly earnings. Today you can buy a very good top of
the range M&S suit made in Italy for less than half of an
average weekly wage, proving that looking scruffy has nothing to
do with wealth. And I refer not to the cab trade in this
instance, but to people in general. One only has to look at the
standard of dress of those appearing on TV. Can you imagine
Trevor McDonald appearing on TV in the state some presenters do
today? On several occasions I’ve seen one presenter unshaven,
hair in a mess, wearing no proper shirt, tie or jacket, just an
unflattering T-shirt and a pair of |
jeans. How a man who regularly
appears in front of millions of viewers is allowed to present
himself in that manner is beyond comprehension, especially when
he claims to earn over a £1million a year. Yet for all that
money, he evidently doesn’t feel his job or his viewers are
important enough for him to look sensibly dressed. What is
concerning is the influence that has on young people? How much
respect will they - or anybody for that matter - expect to
receive if they think it’s cool to go to work looking as though
they’ve been sleeping rough amongst the homeless? To think that
in the 1930s on BBC radio, men had to wear dinner jackets just
to read the news!
Cash and credit card charges
Following details in my last article about joining the Met
Police with our own mailshot in an attempt to generate more cash
work, I have had a number of drivers tell me they refuse to
cover cash work or credit card work off the radio because they
feel uncomfortable with the extra charges. Personally I feel
their concerns are unfounded and they are losing out on valuable
income. I can understand instances where a driver has run-in
with the full £4.20 on the meter and perhaps with a bit of
waiting time, what it adds up to at the end of the journey. This
being the case, if they feel that concerned, there is the option
of running in with less on the meter or even setting the meter
on arrival. It should be remembered that people who use credit
cards for any service expect a surcharge of some description and
those surcharges are clearly stated when they use the phone or
internet to book their cabs. And as for the £2 booking fee on
cash trips, this shouldn’t be a problem being that it’s clearly
displayed on the fare chart for the passengers to read. If truth
be told, I think the majority of drivers are quite happy to
accept these charges, but simply don’t like asking for them.
A few also said we shouldn’t accept cash bookings, because the
driver loses out when there is a no-show. This is a gripe I’ve
heard for years, particularly from those who have this peculiar
perception that they should be compensated whatever the
situation. For example, if they are pulled off a trip to the
Airport, a scrub equivalent to what the fare would have been
should be given, or if they run for an As Directed trip
and discover they have travelled further to the pick up than
where the trip was going, they should be compensated. The ear
bashings I’ve suffered when hearing these gripes! I’ve tried to
explain that with certain work there is an element of risk -
especially cash trips when there is a no-show. |
It’s a gamble and if the
passenger has gone, so the gamble didn’t pay off. Is that not
what gambling is? Maybe I’m wrong, perhaps in future when I’ve
put my 50p wager on the Grand National and as usually happens,
my nag goes a**e over tip at the first fence, I should ask for
my money back…! Bilks
And talking of losses, for some odd reason I’ve heard of a
number of instances recently of drivers being bilked - not
drivers on our circuit, but from conversations I’ve had with
drivers of cabs I’ve hired off the street. I’ve no idea whether
there has been a sudden surge in bilking or whether by chance I
just happen to hail the very guys that had been turned over in
this manner. In all the years I’ve had a badge, I can honestly
say I have only been bilked just once. It was close to midnight
when I picked this person up near Shepherds Market. It was dark
and I couldn’t tell whether the passenger was an aging fille
de joie or a guy in drag! I was told to go to a block of
flats in Kentish Town and when I got there a deep voice in the
back of the cab - high pitched when we started off - asked me if
I would like the fare paid off in kind, or words to that effect.
I began laughing and the poor soul got quite offended, accusing
me of being an ungrateful git and stomping off in a huff, which
made me laugh all the more. It was only when I drove away did I
realise that I hadn’t been paid!
Seat ads
For those of you that would like a bit of colour to brighten up
the back of your cab as well as advertising your Society, why
not pop into Roman Way or the drivers entrance at Dial-a-Cab
House and collect a set of our new stick-on tip-up seat ads. The
ad colours and their common connotations - should any deep
thinkers ask - are associated with happiness, friendliness,
optimism and energy. Plus the all-important reminder to those
passengers that might moan about the cost of the fare, that
where else can 5 or even 6 people travel for the price of one?
Prostate Cancer awareness campaign
Continuing with the Prostate Cancer awareness campaign, some
great news has just been published on tests for prostate cancer.
Especially for those who are reluctant to have the PSA tests
because of a fear of needles. The latest tests are not only
twice as accurate as the present PSA tests, but all it involves
is a quick urine sample instead of a needle jab to extract
blood. The other advantage is that the urine test can be done at
your local surgery and results can be given within a few
minutes, saving weeks of anxiety waiting for hospital results.
This new test is not yet available, but will be later in the
year
Allen Togwell
DaC Marketing |
