The views expressed in this column ain
Scotch Crank
My column appears to be achieving critical review in Edinburgh, which if I actually cared, I suppose I’d take as a compliment. Unfortunately the critical acclaim comes from a crank, a person who during one year was opposed to taxi delimitation, and then the next was totally in favour of it. This same chap appears to have written to Edinburgh CC opposing a recent fare increase application, whilst being blissfully unaware that the costs of running a taxi, due to the horrendous price of fuel and with
effectively means running a taxi costs more than ever before. He and his cohort now complain about a lack of trade for taxis, with private hire seemingly taking over the place, whilst at the same time criticising every Hackney radio circuit within the City, yet he still maintains that more taxis are needed on the streets of Edinburgh. This guy is truly the cab drivers’ champion.
He is actually on record as stating Edinburgh’s policy of managed growth led to the rape of a female who mistakenly got into a private car driven by a salivating rapist monster who was masquerading as a taxi / private hire driver. That’s nice for the headlines Wee Jimmy boy, but he doesn’t actually have any proof that taxi related rapes are actually more common in either regulated or deregulated areas.
For some sad reason the Edinburgh press love this guy, he’s a regular star in the local press, blaming ECC and managed growth for everything. We have those kinds of cranks down here too see Jimmy; in fact every area has a crank that writes into a local paper each week complaining about anything and everything. Of course, in taxi talk we allow our cranks to have columns. See I do have a sense of humour, don’t I Bernie me ol’ Cockney sparra!
The Magic Roundabout
It would appear we have a new government consisting of both Tories and Liberal Democrats, I wish them all the very best to be honest, they are in the same position as the cab trade, no money to do anything. The Minister of State for Transport is to be Philip Hammond, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge.
Hmmmm....bet he knows lots about taxis, which admittedly, puts him in the same league as the previous 100 transport ministers.
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’t those of the National T
The above aside, I quite like David Cameron’s decision (call me Dave) to appoint Theresa Villiers as a Transport Minister, I don’t particularly care if she’s never been in a cab in her entire life, in actual fact, she could tell me taxi deregulation is a really good idea, and I’d believe her and would still be dribbling, Phillip couldn’t do that, indeed, if Phillip suggested such a thing....he could go phooey.
axi Association
money heading in my direction I’d be driving a Maybachm not a Skoda with a sadly disappointing gearbox. I can actually report that in 20 odd years involved in the taxi business in Carlisle I never actually received any tender for the type of work they could give me; perhaps this is a reason why their taxi bill is so big?
Taking the P
Also in the DfT are MPs Norman Baker a liberal democrat, and Mike Penning, who’s a conservative.
It is too early to tell what the new administrations plans for the cab trade actually are, I feel a little like a prisoner on death row waiting for a call from the state governor. I only hope the government follow the lead of the Con-Lib run council in Birmingham, as reported in the last issue.
The poorest taxi driver in Oxford?
Helen Russell, who was laden with bags of groceries, was left waiting for another cab after an eagle eyed taxi driver in Oxford spotted her groceries contained alcohol. Bearing in mind that 95% of passengers carried across the country on a Saturday evening are 90% proof, I suggest the cab driver concerned, who refused the fare on religious grounds, should perhaps seek a new occupation (see elsewhere in this issue).
I have to learn
It would appear that my beloved county of Cumbria has a University, not only this it actually spends money on Taxis. Unfortunately it doesn’t spend its money with me, and that’s a damned shame. The university, which is £30m in debt, paid £470,000 in taxi fares in the period leading up to December 2009. With that kind of
Carlisle is my home City. Having been born here, driven a cab here for probably too long, I can say some of the public we have to pick up are complete idiots. The other Saturday evening a young ‘lady’ who was admittedly worse for wear, liked my vehicle so much she chose to urinate on the rear seat. As I explained to my old southern friend Bernie May, I realised it was piss when I put my hand on the damp patch and smelled it. I was perhaps hoping it would be an alcohol pop things the kids like these days, smuggled into the cab and spilled, but no it was piss, and I know what piss smells like because I used to keep ferrets.
This leads me on to a colleague of mine who was attacked a few weeks back. The driver was assaulted and had his car stolen. A certain councillor on a certain committee responsible for Crime and Disorder was actually heard as saying he didn’t think the council should give funding to taxi drivers for
Cameras.......they don’t give funding to pubs. This was despite Police and licensing
gobshite councillors expenses, or a set fee for duties they hardly ever attend, but there you go. Perhaps the good councillor should speak to my colleague , or any other cab driver who has been subject to either abuse or physical attack..........unfortunately he can’t speak to those doing our job who are dead, but Derek Acorah’s appearing at the Sands Centre this month, so perhaps he can. Of course the good councillor doesn’t actually have a clue about the responsibility the public have placed in him, or more to the fact the risk a cab driver takes with every hire, if he knew that, he’d keep his stupid BIG trap shut. Alternatively, perhaps the councillor would give me his address. I could go round in a drunken stupor, eat a kebab, trample it into his carpet then piss on his DFS sofa, we could then argue about 30p...
The Casey Column
By Wayne Casey
(LL SC SW)
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