Usually, when writing my Chairman's report for Call Sign, I tend to keep within the scope of Dial-a-Cab and try not to get involved with trade politics, voice my views or ask questions that could possibly be viewed as contentious. Then I thought: "Why should Tom Whitbread corner the market!" So here goes...
   I'm sure that you are all by now probably aware that the unlicensed trade will shortly become licensed with offices gaining the respectability first and the drivers licensing probably following sometime next year. To coincide with this, there will be an extensive reorganisation within the Public Carriage Office regarding the testing of new candidates - in fact there will be major restructuring throughout the PCO with the likelihood that it will be transferred to the new Greater London Authority (GLA) as soon as that organisation is formed.

New Computer Age 'KoL' Candidates
As regards the new candidates, it is very probable that some of their testing will be done on a PC and not by an examiner and that they will have to pay a fee to take the Knowledge of London (KOL), after all, why should drivers that have already qualified have their licence fee kept artificially high when eighty per cent of candidates that enrol on the KOL, fall by the wayside? I can't think of one other examination in this country that students can sit without paying some sort of fee.
   There has already been a study completed by a company of consultants who have interviewed all the interested parties - including Dial-a-Cab - and I have to say that I am in favour of introducing a fee for all the different types of

testing that is carried out regularly by the PCO. After all, we pay fees now to renew our licences or have our taxis plated, so why shouldn't, for example, the advertising agencies pay to have vehicles approved to carry their livery? It all helps to keep costs down. And before anyone says anything, I'm not advocating a change in DaC policy towards liveried cabs, I'm just making a point.
   The amount of time that it takes at present to do the KOL is in my opinion too long. There is no reason why a candidate who is committed should take much longer than twelve months to do the Knowledge. Equally, I do not believe there should be a purge to let many more 'knowledge boys' become qualified all at once because we all know that the first thing they do is to head for the Hilton in Park Lane and ply for hire!

New Type of licence
There should certainly be a supply and demand criteria employed. How about a new type of licence that is clearly displayed on the windscreen, blue, red or whatever colour that only applies to south of the river with the addition of Waterloo?
Let's put the cabs where they are needed, lets plan the future of the licensed trade. Just because things have always been done in a

certain way, it doesn't automatically make that way right.
   We all complain about the amount of touting that goes on in the West End at night and that the Police are not vigilant enough in removing this menace. Quite true, but perhaps we should all be lobbying to have the taxi night tariff reformed in order to entice more night drivers on to the road. If the licensed trade was there in abundance, there would not be a market for the touts.
   As a final thought on the subject, the Birmingham City Council does not test drivers anymore as to their competence in navigating Birmingham, they have passed that duty over to the local taxi drivers association.

DEUTSCHE BANK
In the last edition of Call Sign, there was an air of mystery regarding the identity of a new account that I described as the largest in the UK in terms of taxi usage. I can now name that account as being the Deutsche Bank. I could not name it at the time for several reasons, none of which were pertinent to Dial-a-Cab, but as a courtesy to the account themselves and to our other valued clients Bankers Trust, who were the bank being acquired.
   With the nervous nature of the big city institutions and the financial papers filled with details of the-then proposed acquisition, it could have been seen as not being best business practice. I hope that with your support and coverage, this new account will be with us for many years to come. It will put a tremendous strain on our resources between 2100-midnight, so if any of you can alter your hours slightly to accommodate the new account in addition to our existing clients, our company can only benefit.

Brian Rice