Call Sign May 2011 - Page 20 - MARC’S EARLY MORNING PCN!

MARC’S EARLY MORNING PCN! Is that how to get rid of the touts???
We’ve often wondered about the difference between those Dial-a-Cab drivers that work "very late" compared to those who work "early mornings?" Marc Turner (R97) works late yet is often still out at 5am when others are just signing on. So while some drivers are still rubbing their eyes at the thought of another day stretching out in front of them, Marc is thinking about that last job to go in the direction of home. So it was in the early hours of Thursday 16 March. It was just coming up to 3.15 in the morning and Marc spotted a few people getting into taxis outside the Whiskey Mist club in Hertford Street, just around the corner from the Park Lane Hilton. So he decided to "dwell" for a few minutes to see whether anyone else would come out. Marc told Call Sign: "Because of the ongoing tout problem in the area, the police never bother us when we provide	unofficial ranks at that time of the morning. They are happy to see people getting taxis, rather than having to hang around until one comes along with the possibility of a tout appearing on the scene. Over the previous few weeks, there had been a number of uniformed and plain clothed police in the area specifically looking for touts and they seemed happy to see taxis waiting - provided, of course, they didn’t block the road. I	have yet to see them move us on." But even though the police were happy, Westminster Council – via their camera above the Metropolitan Hotel – obviously weren’t because they sent Marc a Penalty Charge Notice timed at 03.13am! "It makes you wonder," said Marc as he told us that he would appeal the PCN, "on the one hand we are assisting the police by providing an excellent service, while on the other Westminster are penalising us for doing so!" Call Sign believes that Stratton Street also has a 24 hour cctv camera. Marc is currently on the 10-week LTDA Krav Maga course and joked that perhaps he could practise his newly learned martial arts skills on the camera operator – while at the same time wondering whether in PCN operator’s language, 03.13 is working very early or very late!!!

And 12 hours into the day…

WESTMINSTER STRIKE AGAIN!

Westminster photo of Gerry waiting on a single yellow line while his passenger went into the chemist

This time it was 3.13 in the afternoon and DaC driver Gerry Tobin (L32) was heading towards Kings Cross Station as his passengers had a train to catch. There was a mother, her three-year-old son and the grandmother The traffic had been horrendous and Gerry was struggling to get there when suddenly one of the passengers asked if there was a chemist on the way as they needed something urgently for the young child.
   The cab was in Wigmore Street, so Gerry stopped close to John Bell and Croyden on a single yellow line. The mother got out and said she would be "just one minute." But one minute turned into several and Gerry became concerned about getting a PCN and suggested they moved around the corner, but the grandmother was concerned her daughter and grandson wouldn’t find them and they’d miss their train. So Gerry waited, the passenger returned several minutes later and Gerry got them to Kings Cross with literally just minutes to spare.
   The passengers were very grateful and Gerry soon forgot about it - until a CCTV generated PCN fell onto his mat.
   "I wasn’t too worried," Gerry told Call Sign, "as I felt sure that Westminster Council would understand and after all, it wasn’t a double yellow line, just a single one."
   Gerry wrote down all the details including the age of the child, but they rejected his appeal. He has decided to go for a personal Arbitration appeal, but told Call Sign that whilst he understood getting the PCN, he failed to see why Westminster act in such a heartless way having felt certain they would cancel it after reading the details.
   "What did they think I should have done," he asked quizzically? "I had a very young child and a grandmother in the cab and they were concerned that the child’s mother might not find them if they looked for a legitimate parking space. According to Westminster, Gerry should have looked for a ‘pay and display’ parking bay as single yellow lines only allowed taxis to set down or pick up.
   Gerry’s last word? "Maybe the CCTV operator’s grandson will one day need something urgently from a chemist. Then he’ll understand why we do what we do…"

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