(10)

LETTERS CONTINUED

 Re the article written by Mr. Spiro (E79)

At long last I have discovered that there is another driver who thinks like me. I heartily endorse everything he states in his letter.

Having been on radio for fourteen years and paying monthly subs, I too expect something in return and the only way I know how to make it pay is to keep pushing that button. After all, let’s put it in its proper perspective. If a credit customer requires a service, whatever that service be, we at ODRTS provide an extremely fine service, that is why the credit customer is prepared to give 80p - £1.00 run-in and is quite prepared to pay the extra for waiting time.

A man on radio earns approximately £1.25p more than a man without radio. Why should we subside the public? They have been having cheap rides at our expense for too long. We are professional men and along with other professionals such as accountants, doctors, lawyers mechanics etc., we must be paid the correct rate for our services.

I will not do any job - cash or credit - which shows as a loss. Rightly or wrongly, that is what I think my services are worth. As regard Mr. Spiro finding that doing credit work leaves his wife short of cash, I find exactly the same thing, as I find that 50% to 60% of my take is credit. So if I may suggest he has a word with his bank manager as I have done and explain the position, and try to arrange a floating monthly ‘overdraft’ so that all the monthly payments are made irrespective of whether the office is open or not.

After all we 79s must stick together.

Yours sincerely, Stuart Gould B79

P.S. Thanks for all the effort put into News & Views Phil, carry on the good work.

 
Re the article written by Mr. Spiro (E79)

There are good sociological and economic grounds for agreeing with Brian Spiro (E79) that cab drivers all over the world are mainly motivated by money, (as there are few other incentives in the job). When this desire becomes greed, then I suggest that the condition is pathological and distorts one’s reasoning. I think that this is evident in Brian Spiro’s article and will try to answer his points one by one.

(1)     If being a board member is so lucrative, why has not E79 stood as a candidate at any of the AGMs I have attended?

(2)     As a cab driver of 22 years experience, I would say I enjoy a reasonable standard of living without doing the excessive hours he seems to do.

(3)     Most of the bills he mentions are either monthly or quarterly, couldn’t he use the credit system as a form of saving for these?  Has he ever thought of the time involved in collecting credits weekly and also complaining to board members and control room staff? He could be doing one to L.A.P. in this time.

(4)     He certainly has the option whether to press the button or not, but how does he react when he gets an ‘uneconomical’ job off the street? Does he ‘broom’ it, thereby adding to the cab trades poor image?

(5)     As for paying £17.00 a month to do the job that suits him, surely we have an obligation to our society and to each other to do the best we can. After all, this is a service industry.

(6)     As for run-ins. This society has to operate within the Home Office tariff structure and there are limits to how much of other people’s money it can give away. What happens when the job becomes ‘uneconomical’ for the passenger?

(7)     Most drivers obviously prefer credit work if the scrub figures are anything to go by.

Obviously Brian Spiro is under great financial pressure as we can see from his letter. All I suggest is that he reassesses his obligations, as even his sense of humour will not save him from the stress that is building up in him.

He looks a good candidate for an ulcer or heart condition.

David Morris (B25)