Mailshot is your chance to tell the
subscribers of Dial-a-Cab exactly what you think. Complaints, compliments or just to write
about Call Sign.
This is YOUR paper within your magazine....
You can also email your letters to: callsignmag@aol.comFARE INCREASE AND CURRY
In June’s Call Sign, you passed comments on the tariff increase this year and I feel
unable to let the comments pass without adding my own views on the subject. The increase
in fuel prices are taken into account when the tariff is increased so we are no worse off
however high the price of fuel goes. As the calculations are based on an automatic
gearbox, it might be worth considering a manual the next time one buys a Cab! We have
learnt from bitter experience that an increase is essential every year, otherwise in real
terms our income will decrease and there is no way to recover the loss in future years.
The sometimes small annual increase has served us very well for many years now. The tariff
as it stands today offers a fair return for us the drivers, and it does not seem to deter
the customer from using our services.
There are many in the trade who say the flag fall is too low and that it
should be much higher. We cannot have an increase in the flag fall and have an increase in
the running meter. All that matters to us is what the passenger pays when he gets out of
the cab, not what the meter says when he gets in the cab. "What about the silly £2
job" people say? This has to be looked at in two ways. Firstly, if you have been
sitting on a rank at an hotel for 30 minutes and get a job round the corner, clearly this
is not profitable. The problem with this job is not that it goes round the corner, but
that you have waited 30 minutes to get it. Secondly, if you have just set down, the same
job will suit you just fine. It is always better to have the increase on the running meter
however small it may seem at the time.
In your piece headed Curry and Bombs, you have forgotten one very important
fact. The nuclear stand-off between East and West produced the policy M.A.D. which has
served the world well. Why should this not work between India and Pakistan? By the way,
most Indian restaurants are owned by people from Bangladesh and they do not have The Bomb.
So I, for |
one, will carry on eating curry.
Steven van Gelder (C87) Perhaps I was a little rash with my advice re curry
houses, but however well the MAD policy worked (Mutually Assured Destruction), for two
adjoining countries to test 11 nuclear devices shows a gross disrespect to the rest of the
world. And I speak as someone who has been too close for comfort to an underground test -
Nevada Desert, 1978 when I was 32 miles away from a low calibre N-test and thought that I
was experiencing an earthquake! That was just one! No one need bother telling me that 11
much higher powered underground N-tests haven’t caused any permanent damage to our
planet and may quite possibly have caused the appalling earthquake in Afghanistan where
thousands died and many more became homeless. Okay, soapbox closed! Back to the cab
business…Ed
GUTTER PRESS
I have to tell you that the broad sheets are not immune to the hypocrisy of the tabloid
newspapers, and I never said that they were (June Mailshot). I am sorry that you think my
use of the word ‘whores’ to describe these so-called journalists is too strong.
However, I think that it is fitting for them and I am proud to disagree with their
pernicious views and attitudes. As for me probably insulting the intelligence of 80% of
the reading population, all I was doing was making a detached observation of an undeniable
process. No, when it comes to insulting the readers intelligence, the gutter press has no
equal. So I stand by all I said in my previous letter about these whores.
Now, I am glad to see that you agree with me in your latest Editorial that
something is seriously wrong with the tariff. Well, it is up to the rank and file
journeyman to put a negotiating team in place that will put up a proper fight on the
trades behalf which involves a long and critical look at some of the trade’s
"most acceptable" representatives as Ron Colman would say.
That brings me to Ron Colman’s letter in Call Sign (June). You know I
should not be surprised if Ron did vote for the |
PLC conversion. It is his lack of
a logical, factual argument, his personal attacks on anyone who disagrees with the
"…most acceptable" policies of the BoM (which some awkward people find to
be against the interests of the subscribers and for the interests of possible
shareholders). Yes, Ron says they should "…have some sense knocked into
them." A real Democrat is Ron. Talking about "trouble makers", what about a
BoM that is obviously at odds with it’s own members over the failed PLC conversion
vote that could easily have jeopardised the earnings of each subscriber if the hijacking
of our Society had gone through?
I am enjoying our correspondence, Mr Fisher and I thank you for printing my letters. As usual, I await your reply with interest.
Stephen Martin (Y85)
You may not like my reply this time, Stephen. I think that your personal attack on
Ron Colman - a fellow subscriber - just because his views differ from yours, would be
appalling at the best of times, but for someone who is constantly talking about the
‘gutter press’ I think you have just demonstrated perfectly what the term means
ie ‘if you don’t agree with my views, then we don’t want to hear yours so
keep your mouth shut’. In addition to that, why should those who supported the change
to PLC stay quiet while the antis smirk? The vote was lost and that is that, but reading
your remarks, you would think that it was a 90 - 10 split rather than closer to 50 -
50…Ed
INFORMATIVE COLUMN
May I say how much I enjoy reading Bernie Pressman’s column on Mind
Your Language. I remember his previous Call Sign column on the History of London which I
also enjoyed. Could he recommend any books on the above two subjects, please?
David Marks (R22)
Bernie Pressman tells me that most of the Mind Your Language column comes
from bits and pieces he has picked up over the years and he knows of no book that carries
that type of information. As for London history, Bernie recommends The London
Encyclopaedia (Macmillan £25)…Ed |
