REFECTIONS BY NPHTA BOARD MEMBER TODAY’S PANDEMIC:
A THROWBACK TO FORMER TIMES?
On the 1st September 1939 Germany invaded Poland which led Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Not that I was around in those days, but on the 31st August 1939 my parents got married. After a spell of rapid army training in Catterick, North Yorkshire my father went over- seas, luckily re- turning at the end of the war. There was no inter- net, mobiles or any of the communica- tions we take for granted in the age we live in today. So concerning is the spread of Covid-19 pandemic to life, we hope it will not last for a length of time. The National Ser- vice (Armed Force) Act which was passed by Parlia- ment on the 3rd September 1939 imposed conscrip- tion on all males aged between 18 and 41 who had to register for service. Men who were medically unfit were exempt, same as those in key industries and jobs, such as baking, farming, medicine and engineering. Women between the ages of 20 and
34
30 years were also liable to be called up, when in 1941 Parliament passed a second National Service Act which included unmarried women and child- less widows. If you were a Lon- don cabbie in the Second World War, you could join the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) and your cab would be convert- ed into a fire fighting unit. These cabs were manned by a team of firemen and the driver being an experienced cab- bie, on many oc- casions was at the scene of the fire before the larger engines arrived, simply because the driver knew all the short cuts! The cabs were fit- ted with ladders on the roof, buckets of sand for smother- ing incendiary bombs and small pumps to
suck
water from pails. Hoses were stored to the left of the driver, usually where customers' suitcases were sit- uated. The most important piece of equipment was the large water pump trailer, attached to the back of the cab which had all the fittings and fire
Photos courtesy of Philip Warren and Malcolm Linskey from the book of Photographic History of Taxicabs.
fighting equip- ment that could be set up anywhere. Cabbies received £1 17 shillings and 6 pennies per week for the cab and £3 a week for their services as drivers. Today’s pandemic is a public health crisis, which will most
probably
cause a recession that could become a financial crisis. We are unlikely to face World War II casualty rates but
we fully under- stand the un- precedented times we are living in. It is of concern that taxi and private hire drivers who mainly live from hand-to-mouth have been told by the government to claim benefits
which can take five weeks to
come
through (changes are being made to help self-employ- ed persons). Whilst we stay at home to self-isolate, or do not go out because there is very little work, it should also be noted that
restrictions on the availability of taxis and private hire vehicles may have a negative impact on passengers’ safety by increas- ing the use of un- licensed, unvetted and uninsured dri- vers and vehicles. I cannot speak for the rest of the country, but the city of Southamp- ton as I write this article, it is a ghost town. Southamp- ton airport is virtually closed, cruise ships are tied up in the docks with a skele- ton crew on board and railways are cutting back on trains; these are dismal times. It has been wel- coming to see the Chancellor Rishi Sunak meeting with the unions saying the govern- ment will do whatever it takes to get us through this. That assis- tance should be a bail-out in the form of a grant and not a loan. Let us hope that this happens sooner than later.
Ian Hall, NPHTA Board Member and Chairman Southampton Hackney and Private Hire Association (SHPHA) Southampton hackney and private hire drivers in our city
www.southamptonhackneyassociation.co.uk
MAY 2020
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