36 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
JANUARY 2009
AWARDING ACHIEVEMENT GOLD MEDAL FOR
KNOWSLEY FIRM GIVE A
GREEN BRENTFORD TAXI FIRM An environmentally
friendly taxi service came out on top during a recent awards cere- mony in Brentford. PHTM readers may recall that we profiled eco-award winning company greentomato- cars in our August edi- tion. Greentomatocars won the Industry Lead- ership category at this year’s Energy Saving Trust Fleet Hero awards.
The category awards the “test in class” of the UK’s privately managed fleets and was given to greentomatocars in recognition of its suc- cessful business model and pioneering green brand.
Jonny Goldstone, man- aging director of the firm, told the Hounslow Guardian: “It reflects the hard work that everyone involved in the business has put in.
Broadland are urged to complete customer service qualifications under a new gold badge scheme.
The Norwich Evening News reports that driv-
ers from 1st Goldstar Taxis, Enterprise and Canary Cars currently complete an NVQ Level 2 in Road Passenger Vehicle Driving as part of the government’s Train to Gain scheme.
“We strive to operate the most environmentally friendly and innovative fleet in the UK, whilst ensuring our customers benefit from the highest levels of service.” The combination has enabled greentomato- cars to grow its fleet from just four cars, when it was launched in Ham- mersmith in March 2006, to 90 cars. All vehicles are Toyota Priuses.
BROADLAND GOLD BADGE SCHEME Private hire drivers in
Broadland District Council intends to issue gold badges, in place of the standard photo badge, to drivers who complete the NVQ and accompanying BTEC qualification.
WORTHING DRIVERS GIVEN BADGE
Worthing private hire and taxi drivers have been presented with a certificate and a special premier driver gold badge for passing their level 2 NVQ in road pas- senger vehicle driving. The Worthing and district Advertiser reports that 29 students were assessed
over six to eight weeks by PDM Training and Consultancy Ltd, of Andover and covered many aspects of the way drivers do their job - like customer care, passen- ger transport, disability awareness, regulations, safety and route plan- ning.
Until recently, govern- ment funding for the taxi and private hire trade was not available to any great degree, because the majority of drivers are self-employed, but regulations have now changed and money is available for qualifica- tions like this.
DAVID AND GOLIATH PERFOMANCE A tiny Knowsley taxi firm
ran multi-million pound national businesses close in a UK-wide transport competition. Choice Taxis, part of Radcliffe Taxis, was nominated in the GoSkills Awards Com- pany of the Year category with Scotrail, First Group Buses, Loth- ian Buses and Servisair. The award recognises firms which have engaged with training and development and Choice was placed a close runner-up behind Scotrail.
According to the Liver- pool Echo, judges praised the firm for
Left to right: Radcliffe Taxis’ Mike Radcliffe, ex rugby star Scott Quinell and taxi driver Terry Parkinson
their David and Goliath performance.
Their drivers have achieved the BTEC qualification in trans-
porting passengers, which covers equal opportunities, disability awareness and cus- tomer care.
BASINGSTOKE DRIVERS GRADUATE
Taxi drivers across the borough are celebrat- ing having gained a BTEC certificate on a training course intro- duced by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The qualification in Transporting Passen- gers by Taxi and Private Hire was gained by 89
taxi and private hire drivers licensed by the council.
This is the first time there has been a recog- nised qualification for taxi driving.
The course covered areas including cus- tomer care, dealing with emergencies and incidents during a jour-
ney, and transporting children and young people.
The Newbury News reports that a formal presentation evening was held at the civic offices in Basingstoke last month and the cer- tificates were presented by the mayor George Hood.
BIRMINGHAM DRIVERS POLISH UP CUSTOMER SKILLS
New opportunities at Leicester College
Partnerships, Projects and Innovation Road Passenger Transport (Taxi) Trainer/Assessor £22,857 – £24,243 per annum
(Temporary for 12 months) Following the success of the Leicester Taxi project there is an exciting opportunity to help deliver the training and assessing of NVQ 2 Road Passenger Transport (Taxi) and other vocational short training courses.
D32/33/34 or A&V qualification is essential and a broad range of taxi driving experience is required.
Interviews will be held on 12 February 2009. Quote Ref: 802/0809
Closing date: Monday 19 January 2009.
For further information and an application pack, please visit
www.leicestercollege.ac.uk or call 0116 229 5552 quoting the appropriate reference number.
Leicester College is proud of its friendly and supportive working environment. Employee benefits include final salary pension, training and development, flexible working and good holiday entitlement. The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Leicester College is an Equal Opportunities employer.
Taxi and private hire drivers in Birmingham have been picking up more than just fares fol- lowing the launch of a new scheme.
They are going the ‘extra mile’ to offer top notch customer service by collecting new quali- fications through a government-backed skills service.
The new 12-week train- ing programme, accessed through national skills service Train to Gain, ensures that cabbies can offer their passengers ‘added value’ over and above a safe journey to their destination. Providing access and assistance to people with disabilities, keep- ing vehicles clean and comfortable and safe handling of heavy lug- gage are some of the areas covered by the weekly two-hour ses- sions at South Birmingham College’s Construction Centre in Bordesley Green.
Birmingham has around 1,500 licensed hackney carriage driv- ers and more than 5,000 licensed private hire drivers. Already, 200 drivers have either completed or are currently taking part in the scheme. Drivers work towards an NVQ and BTEC cer- tificates at Level 2 - qualifications equiva- lent to five good GCSEs - while support in key skills such as lit- eracy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages is also available. Taxi driver Mohammad Pandhair, aged 47, from Erdington, who has been in the trade for nine years, told the Birmingham Mail: “Some people think taxi drivers are second class citizens. This training, and the qualifi- cations that come with it, mean we have a sta- tus, recognised by the public and by employ- ers. We have
knowledge, skills, pride in the job we do and we have certificates to prove it.” Keith Selvey, assistant director for transport at South Birmingham Col- lege, said: “For many visitors, a taxi driver may be the first person they speak to after they arrive in Birmingham. “First impressions count, so it’s important the right support is available to help drivers access the skills they need to give a high quality, reliable service to customers of all needs, over and above the ability to drive safe- ly from A to B,” he said. Birmingham City Coun- cil’s licensing committee chairman Cllr David Osborne, added: “Investing in public transport is key to Birmingham’s contin- uing success story, and that includes investing in the skills drivers need to collectively present a modern, world class service.”
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