on your computer. Scribble it in blood from your slashed wrists. Because if you don’t, that’s where you might be. This is the biggest event that is likely to happen in this industry for maybe yet another 150 years. It would be very nice to think that the end result was motivated by the heartfelt response from the trade, rather than the apathetic lack of it - and the input from those who have never driven a taxi or private hire vehicle. The Law Commission themselves have been travelling everywhere around the country, meeting all manner of groups. Wouldn’t it be mar- vellous if a local authority had granted them a licence for a week so that they could have tried it out themselves?!! The point is, come September 10th they will have a lot of paper to read, and they will have decisions to make. According to their questionnaires, there is a question as to what would be the best approach for determin- ing the content of national safety standards; in particular, should the statutory requirement to consult refer to a technical advisory panel. Now I wonder who might be on that panel. Would it be anybody from the trade, or just a roomful of lawyers. My mind goes back to the Trans- port Act 1985, which initiated the DPTAC Committee... which led on to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995... at which time a number of per- sons from the trade formed part of the Taxi Working Group of that Committee. But by 2002 all those from the industry had been removed, and after 15 long years the Act was repealed without ever having come into force. We now have had the Equality Act 2010 for two years - and nothing has happened there either. In your responses to the Law Commission, do make it clear that the future they plan is your future. Yes, I can hear you all muttering, “... if there is to be any future.” Well, it’s all down to you, folks. Get your act in gear and maybe we can influ- ence things. Sit and do nothing, and you’d better buy a crystal ball to guess what the future might be. Remember in replying, either to us or to the Law Commission directly, to include your evidence to back up any points you wish to raise. If deregulation is your only issue, then what evidence have you got to sup- port your claim that this is not necessary/disastrous/wrong? The Meeting of Minds has commissioned a survey on the results of deregu- lation from Ian Millership of CTS, a well known unmet demand survey conductor. If you have any evidence you could supply to him, then do contact the Association. Check the Evidence box opposite.
I hope my mailbox is going to be full. And I might even promise to pub- lish the results - as long as there are enough replies. If I get nothing, I’d rather not embarrass the trade. Those of you who were around in 1993/4 will remember the Green Paper, the last time industry legislation was even being considered for a review. No, we know it didn’t happen, because there was a General Election and change of political persua- sion, so our industry was given the shove in favour of banning fox hunting and forming quangos and voting in huge expenses. However, you may also remember that this Association conducted a trade ques- tionnaire at the time, and gained about ten times more responses than any other source, including the Government. Can we do that again please? There is so much more at stake now - such as your future.
So until next time sayonara. EVIDENCE
Come on, all of you out there in places like Swansea, Milton Keynes, Worcester, Merthyr Tydfil, Coventry, Chesterfield, Wirral, Wolverhampton.... You’ve always been in the forefront of the dereg- ulation/re-regulation fight. Where is your photographic evidence? For instance, how many parking tickets have you received while trying to get on a rank? Have you got a wheelchair accessible vehi- cle with a rank that is on the wrong side of the road, so that the ramp drops down into traffic? Photographic evidence please. One of the loudest cries across the country for the longest time has been: Too many taxis, not enough ranks. Photographic evidence of double parking/triple parking/feeder ranks and congestion caused therein required! Are you a private hire company with wheelchair accessible vehi- cles that are not allowed into bus lanes - as in Nottingham? Had to take tinted windows out? How much did that cost you? Had to take seats out of MPVs? How much have you lost in custom/income? Come on folks, it’s all there - and it needs to be in Tothill Street with the Law Commission, as soon as possible.
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