IN THE NEWS
TENDRING CABBIES CALL TO REVOLUTIONISE INDUSTRY
Cabbies have been urged to join a “revolu- tionary” bid to shake up the industry in Clacton. The resort could get the district’s first cab- bie co-operative to put more power into the hands of drivers. The move is being spearheaded by Colin Bennett and Wayne Hearn, of Tendring Dis- trict Taxi Association. He claimed drivers would pay a fraction of what it costs them to be on cab firms’ books. Members would be owners of the co-operative and have a say in how it is run. Mr Bennett told the Colchester Daily Gazette: “We feel that in such hard economic times, it is the only way forward. Everyone will own a share in the
business so it would give the drivers incen- tive to work harder and better.”
The co-operative would need at least 30 members to jump ship from taxi firms to get up and running. The move could give cab- bies more bargaining power when negotiat- ing deals with garages for services. The co- operative could pass on some of the cost savings to pensioners in reduced fares. The project is in its early stages but could be up and running by Christmas.
Mmm...Best of luck to their new venture! The NPHA has always said there’s safety in num- bers, either in the form of a co-operative or a limited company - Ed.
TELFORD PASSENGERS FACE RIDE BAN BY PHV DRIVERS
More than 500 private hire drivers across Telford are drawing up a “blacklist” of trouble- makers who will be banned from using any PHV firm in the town. Bosses from Telford and Wrekin’s four main private hire operators - Diamond Cars, Central Taxis, County Cars and Ultimate Taxis - said drivers were sick of being verbally and physically assaulted by passengers. Graham Hoof, from Central Taxis, said staff at each of the company’s call cen- tres were also getting threatened.
The four operators, who all form Telford Private Hire Operators’ Association, will be drawing up a “black- list” of people who will
be banned from their services.
Mr Hoof told the Shropshire Star: “They abuse the cars by kicking them when they get out or ripping the interior, and driv- ers have been attacked in the cars and the office.
“Our drivers’ safety is paramount to us. We don’t want any driver abused or attacked. There are a lot of loyal and good customers out there that are very good and we enjoy taking them places, but the people caus- ing the abuse are creating a problem.” Mr Horler said: “Staff are being abused and we want to send a mes- sage to the public that the drivers are out there working really hard.”
SEVENOAKS FIRM’S PHONE LINES FRIED IN STORM
A taxi company was shut down for 36 hours when a vicious thunderstorm struck Sevenoaks last month. Victor Hire Taxis’ phone lines were com- pletely fried by a lightning bolt.
Jane Hatfield, sales and marketing director for the firm, told the Sevenoaks Chronicle: “It all went dark at about 4pm during the storm and for 12 hours after that we had no way of communicating - we usually have four lines in and four lines out, but every one of them was down. “It meant I had ten drivers out on the roads and none of them knew where they were meant to be.” However, even after BT’s help, the service
was still isolated. Ms Hatfield added: “We had to send the system down to Mar- gate and finally we got back in business at about 9.30am two days later when the phones started ringing off the hook straight away. “But before that, we had to divert calls through mobiles, which severely re- duced our service. “It was the most annoy- ing lightning strike ever, and the worst part is I reckon we’ve lost money and business because inevitably some passengers would have been unable to speak to us. “I’m not even sure the insurance will cover the damage because it’s classed as an act of God.”
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