Cockney Rebel...er reject, but
not as rejectable as some
As we havenʼt heard a dickey bird from the when their software problems have been carried assuming the position much longer and somehow
Carriage Offi ce regarding the questions I asked in out? When some of the TX4s had their work done neither will a lot of drivers I have spoken to.
the February issue of taxi talk I thought I would try on their taxis regarding the potential fi re in the
again. I will keep on asking the same questions engine bay, they were made to place a sticker on Can we compete or should we assume the
until I get some sort of answer from either John their windscreen. Toyota has received complaints
position yet again?
Mason or Mary Dowdye. Given Mary Dowdyeʼs from drivers over the way the brakes feel when
According to one Chairman of a taxi radio
track record with the taxi trade I wouldnʼt hold your used on bumpy or slippery roads. Repairs are
circuit, ʻwe cannot compete against Private
breath on an answer... I certainly wonʼt. liable to take months. In Japan owners of the
Hire.ʼ Compete against what!!! Addison Lee are
Prius are reporting brakes that are less effective
mopping up the corporate accounts and we have
In the last issue I should have mentioned on icy roads. Letʼs hope we donʼt have any snow
no one attempting to counteract the problem. I
the examiners so I will do so this month. The or ice on our roads in March because as I write
donʼt care what lame arse excuse they have for
examiners at the Carriage Offi ce are entitled to this in mid February itʼs actually snowing outside.
losing the trade millions of pounds in revenue to
an environment of complete safety. They are hard Apparently, the insurance is not affected on
private hire but it has to stop now. If these radio
working people who do a good job but surely they these cars but I wouldnʼt like to be in the back
circuits cannot re-claim the work on price then
are under pressure enough with so much paper of a Private Hire vehicle and more to the point a
something is seriously wrong. Pricing in the taxi
work and political correctness which is beyond Toyota Prius and an accident happens and the
trade is cheaper than private hire but when you
the call of duty without the added complication braking system or the throttle is found out to be to
have the astronomical extras heaped onto the
on whether they should sit with a schizophrenic blame. I honestly cannot see that the insurance
back of the job, that the driver never sees, then
who might or might not attack them if his companies will honour the policy once they are
is it any wonder all the circuits are losing work.
appearance goes wrong. If they are cajoled to do informed of braking problems that has caused an
Addison Lee charge for a cash job to Heathrow
the appearance with a threat of dismissal then TfL accident and some swanky American (or English)
Terminal 3 from Chiswell Street £91.70. Pay
could be on a massive hiding in the courts if an lawyer has been injured. They could quite easily
by credit card and the price remains the same
attack should happen. sue not only Toyota but the company hiring the
however there will be a £3.50 administration
car to them. Is there a safety problem or not? Will charge. Iʼll do those all day long for that price
1) John Warboys the former taxi driver jailed for it be criminal negligence if someone is maimed or because in reality a taxi is far cheaper. Iʼm sorry
life last year for drugging and sexually assaulting God forbid killed because of faulty brakes? ladies and gents but if your radio circuit cannot
women passengers over the last six years compete on the prices you charge on the meter
could have been stopped in 2007 when he was Shame the Carriage Offi ce couldnʼt afford the with the admin costs, then either they should sort
arrested and questioned about an assault on a same leeway to many hundreds of taxi drivers their sales people out, because I donʼt believe
19 year old woman. Why did John Warboys not who had their livelihood in tatters when the 56 they have suffi ciently rained sales teams in place,
fl ag up to the Carriage Offi ce and Mary Dowdye plate TX4s were ordered off the roads at a drop or they should get out of the market altogether.
and why did it not come up on his CRB check? of a hat due to safety reasons. Furthermore, This might be their game plan so they can earn
every TX4 manufactured after the 56 plate was higher profi ts from cars on the circuits. Taxi
2) When the schizophrenic who killed his wife, (and also recalled for certain fi re proofi ng under the drivers should take this problem in hand now and
call it whatever you like he did kill her) was on the bonnet. One law for the taxi trade and another for complain to their boards or Managing Directors.
knowledge did his conviction fl ag up and why was the private hire eh? Once again we got shafted The admin charges are far too high and that is
he given a licence to drive a private hire vehicle. Did by the PCO boys. the only reason private hire are gaining work. We
this personʼs CRB fl ag up to Mary Dowdye? as taxi drivers should remember that competing
Assume the position again boys. is a two way street. Itʼs laughable when you hear
3) Was this personʼs fi le taken from its usual A prototype electric Mercedes Vito could be on so many tales from the clients in the back of the cab
place and put in her offi ce and kept away from the streets in the foreseeable future. Eco City when they tell me and many other drivers across
the examiners at the Carriage Offi ce at any Vehicles said the electric version of the black cab London how bad private hire are in the metropolis.
time? Also, were the examiners ordered to test should be able to travel 120 miles on a single No-one complains that the private hire driver is
this individual for the knowledge even though charge. It doesnʼt mention any sort of price but taking them the wrong way because they know
concerns might have been raised about their own my guess is anything from £55 thousand pounds. itʼs a fi xed price job. Maybe fi xed prices should be
safety at the Carriage Offi ce? How much I hear you shout. Considering the introduced into the taxi trade. At the end of the job
electric vehicle would not have to pay any road in a mini cab itʼs the same price no matter which
4) Why do taxis have to display the Alpha tax and you wonʼt have to put any diesel into the way he was taken but one thing is for sure itʼs
Numeric Number but Private Hire do not? cab then I wonder if itʼs actually not badly priced. universally expected that the private hire driver will
Addison Lee have no number showing, neither In my opinion anything over £55 grand then it go the wrong way so the client doesnʼt complain,
does a company called Global who have an wouldnʼt be viable. Of course we could get out of because they either donʼt want to get the driver into
advert of the world across the side of the car. The the emissions fi asco and insert a petrol engine in trouble by reason of they are earning peanuts, or
Green Tomato company have their logo on every the next generation of cabs but that would be too the company does nothing anyway so they donʼt
panel of their cars but I fail to see this Alpha easy. As for a range of 120 miles on the electric see the point in complaining.
Numeric Number. cab, it would be a good buy for someone who
doesnʼt mind sitting on the back of a recovery Itʼs that title again, assume yet another
Assume the position boys. truck every night because the cab has run out of position.
It might have escaped your notice but as hard charge. The Mercedes Vito has taken off quite well Iʼve been hearing about a couple of cases where
working taxi drivers who generate millions for with the trade and indeed a cab like this is perfect TX4s are off the road because of the lack of spare
the trade as a whole we are fi rmly at the bottom for fi ghting back for the work that private hire have parts. One driver has a braking problem and
of the food chain. Many drivers are waiting taken away from the taxi trade. Itʼs a step in the according to the service agent, the parts are not
to hear what is happening about any sort of right direction for the cab and the driver but I canʼt available. Another has a heater problem. In fact,
compensation when they had their TX4 cabs help feeling that we are assuming the position his heater hasnʼt worked since just after Christmas
taken off the road because a handful of cabs too easily and allowing everyone to tell us what and I wondered why he was driving around
caught fi re. Now we have in the Private Hire the we can and cannot drive. Iʼve lost count on how London dressed as if he were going up Mount
potentially dangerous situation regarding the many listening programmes have been arranged Everest. His heater doesnʼt work at all and he is
brakes, or lack of them, on the Toyota Prius. Will by certain makers of taxis but to be frank if they are waiting for spare parts that are apparently arriving
the Carriage Offi ce insist that every vehicle is listening to what the driver wants then maybe they at the end of February. He should be frozen to the
taken off the road as a precaution? I donʼt think ought to get someone at the meeting signing for the seat by then. So what has caused a problem with
so. To be fair to Toyota they have recalled 8,500 deaf. When they are really serious about the cab spare parts? Are they now made in the UK or are
Prius cars sold in this country. The cars need driver and what they deserve in the vehicle they they coming on a slow boat from China? Answers
replacement software to control their braking drive maybe it could be that even I would buy a new on a postcard please ladies and gentlemen...
system. Will any private hire Prius cars be cab. But, and itʼs a big but, if they donʼt get their
compelled to have a sticker on their windscreen acts together right across the board then I wonʼt be Copyright Bernie May 2010
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