taxi talk mailbox
Dear Editor...
We regularly receive copies of your magazine delivered to us by a to ply for hire, and as the Hospital trust has marked an area for taxis to wait, it
London Taxi Driver, Mike Hughes who lives in Worthing Sussex, and as would seem reasonable to assume this can be used for hackney carriages to
local Hackney Carriage drivers we are always interested in what goes ply for hire. This area is marked ʻTaxis Onlyʼ, which is also an indication that
on in the rest of Britain. Bernie Mayʼs article in your June edition (Issue private hire cars should not park there or tout in that area.
189), page 50, section entitled ʻReclaim your workʼ really touched a
nerve with our drivers. We thought you might be interested in a case in There is an area away from the entrance for parking for a short while
our location, which the authorities seem unwilling to act upon. I enclose for the general public, which would allow for pre-booked work to be
a letter (below) to our licensing offi cer and copied to other relevant undertaken e.g. picking up contract work. Otherwise, if a member of
authorities and will let you know what, if any, response we get… Keep up the public had pre-booked a private hire car, it usually pulls up at the
the good work. entrance and does not have to wait for their customers. When dropping off
customers they should pull away from the entrance immediately to allow
Nigel Silveston Company Secretary Wortax Taxis for other visitors to pick up or drop off and then they could not be accused
of touting.
Mr. A. Armstrong,
Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Offi cer, There is only a small number of private hire cars who abuse this area but if
Worthing Borough Council, this were to be policed properly and the private hire warned generally that this
Portland House, (Licensing Unit) behaviour is unacceptable here or anywhere within the Worthing Borough it
Richmond Road, Worthing, may stop the practice without any need for prosecution. Although if this was
West Sussex. BN11 1HS not heeded it would be expected that Worthing Borough Council would bring
the full force of the law to bear on those responsible. Whilst mentioning this
Illegal Touting by Private Hire Cars at Worthing Hospital, Lyndhurst Road, type of offence it has been noticed that private hire cars are also waiting in
Worthing. the drop off zone at Worthing railway station and also within reach of the taxi
rank (especially Saturday and Sunday mornings) and have also been seen
11
th
August 2009 driving onto the rank to pick up customers that are waiting for taxis. Again this
practice is unacceptable and requires fi rm action by the authorities.
Dear Mr. Armstrong,
As you do not consider that this is within your jurisdiction, this letter will be
Mr. Moyes, in his capacity as a Director of Wortax, telephoned you copied to all the relevant authorities for their comments and to the author of
yesterday afternoon to complain about the above subject. He wanted to the article in the magazine ʻtaxi talkʼ.
bring to your attention an article in a recent edition of ʻTaxi Talkʼ, a national
trade magazine, and its contents. He also brought to your attention the Yours sincerely,
criminal law regarding the illegal touting of private hire cars – Criminal
Justice and Public Order Act 1994, subsection 167. I enclose copies of Pp The Directors of Wortax
both of the above for your further perusal.
Copies to:
You stated that it was a grey area and not in your jurisdiction, but from the Mrs J. Marsh - Chairperson of W.B.C. Licensing Committee
evidence it is felt that it is within your jurisdiction and that you should act to Mr. G. Fabes – Vice-Chairperson of W.B.C. Licensing Committee
uphold the law. It is considered that although Worthing Hospital is private Mr. D. Bowen - Head of W.B.C. Department of Environmental Health
property and there is a notice on the entrance in Park Avenue (South) to bring Mr. S. Jones – W.B.C. Taxi Licensing Inspector
this to all entrantsʼ attention, the public are allowed access and therefore Mr. M. Richards – Chief Constable of Sussex Police
Section 167 subsection 6 applies and it becomes a ʻpublic placeʼ under the Mr. S. Barwick – Worthing Taxi Association
terms of the Act. However, Subsection 3 allows licensed hackney carriages Mr. B. May – ʻTaxi Talkʼ magazine
Dear Editor... Dear Editor...
I would be interested to hear from any taxi
I am writing in response to the London Green Badge Taxi Driver, in last month’s issue, who stated that he had
owner that may have an old cab that he
been sitting on the rank at Euston station when a wheelchair passenger approached the cab on point –
is willing to donate to preservation. I am
a brand new Mercedes – which then “took off like a bat out of hell”. If he happened to witness this spectacle
looking for an FX4, Fairway or Metrocab
on Saturday, 18th July at around 12:15pm, then the wheelchair passenger in question was none other than
that I can restore / preserve for the future.
yours truly.
I intend to use the cab for events such

as trade shows and hopefully childrenʼs
I had just alighted from the train from Liverpool and made my way to the taxi rank. I joined the queue with
outings. With older, traditional cabs being
fi ve other parties ahead of me, so I looked down the waiting cabs and realised that I would fi nally get to ride
replaced with newer models - and no
in a nice, shiny new Mercedes. Once I got back home the following week, I thought I could then put fi nger to
doubt soon ʻalternativeʼ taxis - I feel that
keyboard and type an account, that I was sure would be glowing, of my passenger experience in this newly-
introduced vehicle, which I would then have sent to your good self. Imagine my chagrin when the driver,
it is time to ensure that the history of our
instead of pulling forward, exiting the vehicle and assisting me to get in, practically fl oored his accelerator. He
trade is preserved. If any owners have a
shot up the exit ramp so quickly, I was surprised when I didn’t hear the squeal of tyres nor smell burning rubber.
cab that they would be willing to part with -

for a good, genuine cause - then can they
The Fairway driver next off the rank, who was extremely friendly, helpful and accommodating, was just as
please get in touch with me...
perplexed as I was as to the behaviour of the Mercedes driver. He also agreed with me on something that I
have known for quite some time: whilst most taxi drivers are more than happy to convey wheelchair-bound
Ross Campbell - 0785 256 1368
passengers such as myself, there are still some who will, regardless of the vehicle they are driving, refuse to do
Liverpool Taxi Enthusiast & Trade Historian.
so. Manufacturers and converters can supply the most technologically advanced vehicles in the world, but until
Age and condition of cab not too
they bring one onto the market that ensures the driver never has to lift his bottom off his seat, no matter who his
important, but a running cab would be
fare is, there will always be that group of drivers with the “I don’t do chariots” attitude.
preferable. Iʼd like to try and get the

cab into the trade press and will make
After all that, though, I actually have some sympathy for our Mercedes racing driver. I don’t know how long he
a donation to the Liverpool Taxi Driversʼ
must have been sitting on the rank, slowly inching forward until he reached the front. In today’s economic climate,
Children In Care Outing Fund one would have thought that any fare would have been welcomed with open arms. What a shame, then, that he
missed his chance to take me south of the river, to Waterloo station, and earn himself £15 – not exactly an RTFC
Thanks for your interest... and keep up job! I wonder how long it subsequently took him to earn that much. Oh well, maybe next time hey.
the good work. Best trade magazine
there is. LeccyKev Wirral
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