Editorial comment
Itʼs Wednesday – it must be Salford World Exclusive! Imminent relegation Firstly, the private providers must be taken out
One of the Doom Twins has an auntie that loves
of Newcastle United affects the
of the equation as Wayne quite rightly states,
nothing better than a good funeral, so much so
personality of star columnist shock
and the trainers/tutors must be working taxi
any funeral will do, and she has developed a
Our star columnist, Mr Wayne Casey LL SC NTA
drivers, (yes we know that there are taxi drivers
disturbing habit of ʻcoffin chasingʼ - even more
and Bar, appeared to have his (educational) that have taken the NVQ shilling, who have
disturbingly it seems to be catching. So whatʼs
knickers in a twist in last monthʼs Casey Column mysteriously become EX-working taxi drivers!!).
our little perversion? Well itʼs council delimitation
(see page 34). For the record we agree that
meetings, and weʼve been to more that we
Secondly, classes must be tailored around taxi
NVQ/Btec have little or no relevance to the
can collectively shake a stick at - profoundly
driver hours and at a location that is convenient
working taxi driver but the bad news is that the
depressing, but point us in the direction of the
for the drivers. For example: if a training course
government, councils, NHS etc disagree, and to
next one please!
was taking place in Cheltenham, race meetings
do an Ian Paisley (Casey Says Neverrrrrr!!!) is a
would be taken into account when planning a
touch pointless, but since when did pointless stop
The latest one was Salford, and for the sake
cab drivers screaming, moaning, and howling
course, to ensure that cab drivers can still earn a
of accuracy it was a pre-delimitation meeting,
at the moon? We wish we had a fiver for the
few bob in the busy periods. Finally, if the trade
because the council - as they were at pains to
amount of times a cab driver has said: “Iʼve been
took charge of training, perhaps taxi drivers
point out - have not made a decision (yeah right!).
a cab driver for 50 squillion years, what do I need
could learn something that IS relevant. If the taxi
As soon as you enter the hall, Groundhog Day
trade doesnʼt need to be educated because they
kicks in; the same speeches from the rank and
a qualification for?” it may be true, nevertheless
know everything, why is it that so many drivers
file: “Iʼve just bought a new cab and thisʼll ruin me”
it doesnʼt hold water when you consider that
“Where are we gonna rank up”, being answered
the government want ALL occupations to have do not realise that they cannot charge more than
by the a councillor who knows sweet FA about the
a vocational qualification, therefore does the the tariff sheet within their controlled area for
trade but has been programmed what to say by
taxi trade believe that it should be treated as instance. Recently, we had an email from a taxi
the licensing officer, who for all the world looks just
a special case? Perhaps the taxi trade should
driver who stated that the definition of a taxi is a
like Grima Wormtongue (with apologies to anyone
challenge this imposition in court, maybe the
vehicle fitted with a calibrated meter (err…no), or
that didnʼt get to see Lord of the Rings) skulking in
NTA has got a few grand that it wishes to donate
the large number of private hire drivers and taxi
the background.
to the barristersʼ benevolent fund, because if
saloon cars who have family and friends on the
we say the magic words ʻBournemouthʼ or even
insurance, but mind you, they do take the plate
Without wishing to be the even Doomier Twins,
ʻDarlingtonʼ Iʼm sure that R Wayne will put the
we say to the Salford taxi trade, sorry boys, we
cheque book away. To all readers baffled by the
off when the missus is driving so thatʼs alright
wish you all the best with your fight but we donʼt
last sentence, the taxi trade took court action
then isnʼt it? (err.. once again, no). ʻFit & Properʼ
hold out much hope. Slightly off the subject, we
against the imposition of DSA driving standard
Person, balance of probabilities, the importance
would like to wish a fond farewell to the outgoing
and Btec as a council policy in Darlington and
of being in a trade organisation and the protection
Numero uno of the Department for Transport, Mr
Bournemouth respectively, and the outcome was
it brings, we could go on and on. It would appear
David Farmer who is due to step down later this
the trade had their legs severely slapped by the
that the parlous state of his beloved Bar Codes,
year - we only think itʼs a crying shame that he
courts on both occasions. has had a negative effect on the temperament
stepped up in the first place, but we hope that
on our equally beloved star columnist, just to
his successor will put an end to this delimitation
We believe that taxi training, like death and taxes, reassure him, when they disappear through the
nonsense once and for all. Either that or maybe
is inevitable, and it is in our interests to shape the trap door of the premier league, itʼs not the end of
we should stop going to the funerals. type of education that is delivered to cab drivers. the world, it only feels like it.
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