Twitter can be fatal......By Thomas the Taxi.

Tweeting can be a fantastic means of communication, a Great way of making friends and company on lonely nights.

But please remember, It can be fatal to text and drive.

SPREADING MORE MAGIC 2nd – 4th October 2009

The Magical Taxi Tour will be leaving Canary Wharf, London on Friday 2nd October for a magical weekend in Disneyland Paris. This is the 16th annual trip being made by The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers, taking sick and terminally ill children, together with their carers and support staff, for a weekend of fun in the Magic Kingdom that is Disneyland Paris.

Every year special memories are made, thanks to the big hearted cab drivers who give their time freely to take part in the convoy. A huge amount of money is needed to make the trip possible and the Disney Committee work extremely hard to raise the necessary sponsorship. Despite the tough times the credit crunch has brought, sponsors have once again dug deep and made it possible for the trip to take place, bringing happiness to everyone involved.

For some of the children, it will be their first trip out of the UK and the excitement builds as the Big Breakfast send-off is hosted at Canary Wharf. This year, the Lady Mayoress of the City of London, Lin Luder, will cut the ribbon that marks the beginning of the weekend. The convoy of around 100 licensed London taxis will leave Canary Wharf, en route to Dover, where the P&O Ferry will be boarded for Calais. Down the motorway through France with a refreshment and comfort stop the convoy will cause some incredulous faces, particularly as the convoy is joined by police outriders from both the UK and France.

Once safely booked in to their Disney hotel, the fun will begin. A day in the Disney Park, followed by a Gala Dinner with many of their favourite Disney characters in attendance, will bring magic into the lives of these children. Phil Davis, Chairman of the Disney Organising Committee says: “Every year the smile on the childrens’ faces makes all the hard work and effort worthwhile. And it doesn’t just make the children smile – our drivers, support staff, ambulance drivers and paramedics, together with everyone involved in making the Magical Taxi Tour a success smile too. Our convoy will be around three miles long; it will include City of London Police escorts, London Ambulance NHS Trust vehicles and AA breakdown trucks and a contingency from the Gendarmerie Nationale starting the trip from Canary Wharf. Some of the licensed taxi drivers will be making this trip for the 16th time – such is the dedication of everyone involved in the trip.”

For more detail of the trip visit the website www.magicaltaxitour.com

Police Refuse to Uphold the Law

Tuesday night 25th of August, just before midnight. Berkeley Street, Mayfair, outside Nobu.
Two police officers are called by the restaurant to move cabs on that are forming an unofficial rank, taking back the work that is being stolen night after night at this location by clipboard men illegally touting on the pavement outside Nobu and the Funky Buddha.


I parked up in Stratton Street and stood by the two police officers. While I was there along with two other cab drivers, it became quite evident that a clip board man from the restaurant Nobu, was openly taking bookings on the pavement outside the premises.

I asked one of the police officers if he would observe with us what was happening right in font of him.
He replied that he was only there to move on the Taxis that were contravening article 33 of the Hackney carriage act (which he had on a piece of paper in his hand) and that he wasn't interested in any other offence that might be taking place.

As he was speaking, a driver of a Licensed PHV walked up to a customer leaving the Funky Buddha Night club and asked him if he required a TAXI. The customer was then taken to a PHV parked on the kerb outside the club and the driver walked up to the clipboard man and shouted out "Highbury Guv" at which point the clip board man stepped forward and started to write on his board. This action was in direct contravention of the Private hire act 1998 and according to PCO press release 19/09 constitutes touting, which is an arrestable offence.

All this took place in front of officer CW2969, it was pointed out by myself and two colleagues but to no avail, he flatly refused to up hold the law in the face of this criminal act. All he was interested in was moving on the licensed taxi's.


Just what is going on at these establishments?
Surely a criminal offence takes residence over a traffic offence?
Why are the police refusing to enforce criminal law?
How come when the restaurant call the police they turn up immediately?
When we call the police to move on the touts they don't come?

London has become a lawless city at night with the police taking virtually no action to stop these criminal acts taking place.
The public are being subjected to intimidation at the point of leaving venues, placed in cars with the drivers asking for exorbitant fares.
The rate of serious sexual assaults occuring in PHV's has increased, currently running at approx 8 including 2 rapes every month.

But still the police take no action.
In fact they are encouraging late night revellers to take these vehicles, just to clear the streets.
...................................................................................................

Don't let Assembly member Murad Qureshi see this!

Drive in, down the road to obscurity.....by Thomas the Taxi

What does the London Taxi Trade expect now that Mary Dowdye has issued a press release on the M4 Bus Lane saga.

.

Will our leaders insure that the Bus Lane is enforced?
Will PHV drivers stop using it?
Will the forth coming slow drive to the Hogarth Roundabout have any effect other than "another bad press day for the trade".

We need the PCO to start doing the job we pay them to do and that is enforce the laws that protect our license.
The softly softly approach towards the private hire trade is now unacceptable.
No one is taken a blind bit of notice of these press releases.
Clip board Johnnies can still be seen touting outside of night clubs, PHV drivers can be seen day and night forming illegal ranks. Touting at mainline termini is at an all time high and spreading like a virus to underground stations.

We have the law on our side but it is impotent if not enforced.

In 2000 Addison Lee driver Harvey Phillips, was given an on-the-spot fine for driving in a Royal Park. After refusing to pay, he was convicted by magistrates of breaching the 1997 Royal Parks and other Open Spaces Regulations.
In April 2001Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court dismissed his appeal against that conviction.
Then in 2002, the High Court dismissed a second appeal.

It still stands that only black cabs can use the royal parks, PHV cars and vans are still banned, the regulations remain unaltered.
But on a nod and a wink from TfL officers the Parks police and the met no longer enforce this legislation, even after this case has been heard in the high court.

After the ruling John Griffin, chairman of Addison Lee,

said: "It seems that London and its judges are in love with the black cabs.

Well it seems that TfL and the PCO are in love with the private hire Trade.

Drivers should demonstrate at the PCO and TfL to get the carriage office back out of the hands of these people in TfL who are bending the law to suit their own agenda.

PCO Notice 27/09.........By Mary Dowdye.

A message to all PHV drivers and operators who are currently using the M4 bus lane.
From Mary Dowdye

M4 Bus Lane

Transport for London (TfL) and the Public Carriage Office (PCO) in particular have received a number of enquiries recently over the regulation and control of the M4 Bus Lane.
The Highways Agency (an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport) is the relevant highway authority for the M4 Bus Lane, and enforcement of the bus lane is undertaken by the Metropolitan Police.
As well as buses and motorcyclists the bus lane is available to all licensed taxis and is signed accordingly. Private hire vehicles, licensed under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, are not permitted to use it and drivers should be aware that contravening the prohibition is an offence.

Mary Dowdye
24 August 2009 Head of Standards & Regulations

..............................................................................................


Lets hope that Mary Dowdye took the time and trouble to send a copy of this notice to every PHV driver, as most of them do not have computers.

Many have received instructions from their employers explaining that as the bus lane is currently unenforced, they are to use the bus lane.
I recently spoke to three drivers who work for the biggest operator in the country and they told me they had received a letter from the CEO of the company that stated they were to use the bus lane at ever opportunity.

I have written to Sadiq Khan about the problem and amazingly he replied;
"It's not my area so have had to investigate. Highways Agency is working closely with the Met & TFL to enforce the bus lane, to ensure that only emergency services, buses, licensed taxis and motorcycles use it"
So there you have it. The Minister for Transports area is not actually related to transport issues.

So perhaps he would like to inform us just what he is minister of then.


...................................................................................................

Just noticed that Mary Dowdye is no longer the deputy head of the PCO. Looks like there has been a shake up at the PCO.

No News is Good News?... Not For the Taxi Trade.... By Jim Thomas

What a week for the "Best Taxi Service in the world, second year running".
This "No News Week" started with BBC talk show host, Big George supporting a biased article calling for London's Taxi drivers to have their working hours capped.

After reports of a MINI CAB driver being involved in a serious accident after working for 13 hours, Big George drew a parallel with London taxi drivers who may be out from their home for 10-12 hours a day. The presenter never once mentioned that many drivers work split shifts, with tea stops, long dinner breaks or sometimes just getting away from the heaving metropolis by visiting the Inner Circle Regents Park. The fact that many of these so called long day men wait for hours at a time, on ranks at stations and the airport was never mentioned, because it would have killed his argument stone dead.
George, like most other radio presenters, jumped on the band wagon and took a swipe at the Licensed Taxi Trade, because he knows we are easy targets and all the phone lines will light up, on nights when he has no decent topics to discus.
George's argument was debated strongly all night long, as angry drivers phoned in to put their point over and defend their working practise.
The attack from George was un-researched and uncalled for by this self proclaimed, so call friend of the Taxi trade and has resulted in London's Taxi Drivers boycotting the show, (until Friday at midnight when walk the walk with John Kennedy is on)

The next surprise was the attack in the London Daily news.
It seems the owner of this on-line paper John Kapolti, had listened to big George's show, on which he is a regular guest and formed such a strong opinion about the matter he posted a scathing attack on the trade that night.
Again completely un-researched full of supposition and completely unnecessary.
Read the full story here

Time after time the drivers of the London taxi trade are castigated by the media, as we are all lumped in to the same basket as private hire drivers. Radio presenters, reporters and editors make comments about a so called cab driver, never taking the time to explaining that the driver is actually a PHV driver and the myths proliferate.
We have just seen the departure of the head of the PCO, who could see no difference between Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers, to him we were all the same.

Then the final insult of the week. Unelected Labour Party London Assembly member, Mr Murad Qureshi, tried to steer the public away from the Licensed taxi trade, toward a badly enforced, badly regulated and highly irresponsible Private Hire Trade. Mr Qureshi call for the phasing out of black cabs which he said were the worst polluters in the capitol.
Mr Qureshi has since apologised and said his comments were taken out of context and that he was actually calling for the mid-term inspection to be reinstated.
Mr Qureshi also said he thinks Rickshaw bikes are fun and that the only reason there has been a death in San Diego, where a rickshaw bike was crushed under a truck, was because the passengers weren't wearing seat belts.
He was also one of the Assembly members, who thought it would be a great idea to save the planet by turning off the very expensive air conditioning in city hall and opening a few windows. This was soon dropped as workers start to pass out with heat exhaustion.
Read more about this story click here

John Kennedy has put together another Email template for you to make a protest over the actions of this Assembly member who seems to represent no one.
Go to www.ltcpr.blogspot.com and make your protest today.

Angery Tiger Crouching Touts....by Thomas the Taxi

Things get heated, on the new TAXI rank outside Tiger Tiger.



The drivers outside Tiger Tiger, illegally rank and tout here every night

After speaking to them it seems they truly believe they have a license to use this rank, that's what they have been told by the PHV operators at this establishment.
One Mini cab driver said to me,
" We both have the same license, we can both use this rank".

The drivers need to be told by letter as most do not have a computer, although they should have been informed of their operational rights when they first applied for a PHV license.

We must ask the question why has this establishment been granted an operators license in the first place?

It is situated on a 24 hour bus lane with a licensed Taxi rank (hackney carriage) for 9 vehicles which takes up the whole block in front of the club. The PHV drivers have to break the law to pick up passengers here.

There are plenty of empty licensed taxi's ranking and passing this club 24 hours a day.

What do they feel they have achieved by granting this establishment a PHV operators License?

Next time you find yourself in the Haymarket empty, come and join the LTDF and Tweetalondoncab action team. Put on the new rank and help take back our work.

M4 Bus Lane:- Implemented 16 Jan 2001... By Thomas the Taxi

The most misunderstood piece of traffic engineering this country has ever seen, has got to be the M4 Bus Lane. Just the mention of it causes motorists blood to boil. Once referred to as John Prescott’s private bus lane, it has now become the source of frequent rants from Terry Wogan and Jeremy Clarkson.

The idea of the M4 bus lane was actually dare I say it, a display of sheer genius by a lateral-thinking planner at the Highways Agency.

For many years the M4 heading into London was a victim of a lack of joined up planning. It approached the city from the M25 and Heathrow Airport as a standard three-lane motorway. But from an arbitrary point between junctions 2 and 3 it narrowed to two lanes, losing the hard shoulder just where the road gets to its busiest point, the dreaded Chiswick Flyover.

In a bid to avert this bottle neck the planner pushed back the point where the road reduced to two lanes to junction 3, where a large amount of traffic leaves the motorway. The transition to the flyover ceases to be a problem because there are a consistent number of lanes across the whole section. Instead of painting white chevrons in the third lane it was turn into a bus and taxi only lane the first one ever on a motorway in this country.

A recent Highways Agency study concluded that the bus lane was a success - not just because it moved buses and Licensed Taxi’s faster toward central London, but it resulted in more reliable journey times on the M4 for all road users because it removed one of the worst bottlenecks on the route. The M4 bus lane is here to stay - and with good reason too!

Where the whole thing falls down is that the Highways Agency has of late, refuses to enforce the bus lane and now, we have a free for all with all manor of private hire vehicles using the lane. These poorly trained PHV drivers, some working on foreign licenses, whose eyes seem fixed to their sat-nav’s and mobile phones, join and leave at differing points along the length of the bus lane causing buses and taxi’s many problems. This has become a highly dangerous manoeuvre that needs to be stopped before a fatal accident occurs, not after.

We have recently seen the accidental publication of a string of internal emails from TfL, that shows the whole situation is a result of passing the buck. The head of the PCO Ed Thompson, has admitted that where he comes from, "there is no difference between private hire and hackney carriage taxis, they are all just taxis".

This statement stunned the whole of the Licensed Taxi Trade and is probably the reason behind his recent removal from the post.

The problem still remains that the bus lane is not being policed and we must now take this to a higher level, above the Highways Agency and the Metropolitan police and look to the Transport Minister in charge Sadiq Khan.

Join with us today in our new carry on complaining campaign. Go to the LTCPR site where you will find a template email to send to MP Sadiq Khan. Also you can send to members of TfL, the PCO, your local Assembly Member and MP. A list of addresses can be found under the Template email.

The Tiger Taken Back....by Thomas The Taxi

In the early hours of Saturday morning, drivers from the on line Taxi forum LTDF joined by colleagues from the Twitter group Tweetalondoncab, assembled in St Jame's Square.


At precisely 2 am, after a quick call to Westminster Parking Services the convoy of London Taxi's made their way to the rank outside the night club Tiger Tiger.
On arrival they were pleasantly surprised by a friendly warden who had moved on the touts.
After speaking to this warden and explaining the situation regarding the rank, he photographed the taxi board and said he would be explaining the situation to others back at his office and hopefully there will be no more confrontation regarding Taxi's using this new rank.



It was a most fantastic event to witness. The drivers proudly went about their normal business of providing the public with an affordable safe means of transport.

Its about time the licensing authorities sat up and had a revue of the way these so called satellite offices are abusing the licensing system and ripping off the public by charging exorbitant fares.


Photos By Stef.

Bob Crow's Visit to the Royal Oak Taxi Centre....By Thomas the Taxi

Back on our streets again!.....By Thomas the Taxi

Quite some time ago, the Metropolitan Police in partnership with Westminster City Council, had a clamp down on illegal electrically propelled rickshaw bikes.

The high profile swoop came after a horrendous accident, where a bike powered by batteries went through the plate glass window of a restaurant, travelling at over 30MPH.

All Rickshaw bikes found to be using the assistance of large car batteries to power the vehicle, where deemed illegal on the spot and were taken off the road there and then.

Now with the threat of a voluntary licensing scheme by Westminster Council looming, we are seeing more and more of these death traps appearing back on our streets.

Very shortly, the very same Westminster City Council, who helped take these death traps off the road, will be providing these monstrosities with there own bays in the West End, where they can rank up and tout for the custom of unsuspecting tourists and night revellers.
Members of the public are to be hood winked into thinking that these vehicles have been certified as safe by the council when in fact they are highly dangerous. Its a complete miracle that know one has been killed yet.

The Licensed Taxi Trade is currently opposing a bill going through Parliament that will see these vehicles given a cloak of respectability. This must not be allowed to happen at any cost.

These dangerous contraptions must be banned before some one is killed not afterwards.

Whats Going On in the Burbs?

This clip was taken from a post on the LTDF taxi forum:

"A guy I know works Kingston as a yellow badge.
He was telling me that at a certain time on a Friday and Saturday night, the taxis are told to move off the station rank whilst a kiosk is opened up and the PH chaps are then allowed to park up ready for the nights pickings."

Is this seriously how bad things have got in Kingston ?

Are we kidding ourselves that things won't escalate to that level in London ?

Reply:

"Its already here, have a look at Smiths and Fabric on a Friday/Saturday night"

This was a response from another driver:

"Would you please tell your mate that works Kingston, that it is every night, NOT just Friday and Saturday."

So now, through lack of action by the drivers themselves and with no proper representation by their trade bodies, the yellow badges are getting the same treatment we face every night in Central London, with the ever increasing ranks of scabs all over the capital and in the suburbs.

This problem will not go away on its own. You the driver, are the only one who can get something done, no one is going to do it for you, while you carry on working.

Apathy killing our trade?

M4 Bus Lane Fiasco, PHV Drivers Receive Message from Company Head.

It has been rumoured that a certain head of one of the biggest Mini Cab companies in Europe, has given instructions to all his drivers via their in car terminals, that they are to use the M4 bus lane at every available opportunity.

Questions that need to be asked.

Are the people that run this company, that are encouraging their drivers knowingly to break the law, fit and proper persons to hold a license as private hire operators?

Have their drivers been made aware that they are breaking the terms of their private hire license?

Have they been made aware that by driving in a this lane they are not authorised to drive in, their insurance could be void?

Are their paying passengers aware that their safety is being put at risk in this way?

The PCO and TfL have been made aware of what is happening and have done virtually nothing to put an end to this problem.

Everyone is passing the buck, this has to be sorted out soon, it is making a complete mockery of the law.
.

Breaking news flash... our man on the scene, Sponge Bob

Today armed robbers escaped from a robbery on a Bond street jewelers, after arriving in a Black cab.
Police believe the reason behind the black cab, was that somehow they found out it was cheaper than using Addison Lee.
An inspector from West End central said he had investigated and its true "Black Cabs are cheaper"!

Posted from my iPhone

Bob Crow to Visit the Royal Oak Taxi Center...by Thomas the Taxi

General Secretary of the RMT, Bob Crow, will be visiting the Royal Oak Taxi centre on Wednesday 12th August at 2.30pm, to talk to the drivers about the everyday problems we face with Private hire and the licensing authorities (TfL/PCO).
If you have any questions you would like to discus with Bob, just turn up next Wednesday afternoon and put them directly to Bob.

The RMT London Taxi Branch is now the second biggest representative body in the Licensed Taxi trade and is on course to becoming the biggest.

Tiger Tiger, Ticket Ticket.........By Thomas theTaxi

Last night, just after midnight, I phoned Westminster Parking Services, on 02078 234567 pushed option 5 and asked to have the six touts removed from our rank outside the Tiger Tiger bar and restaurant.
It took four goes.
1st go; Cut off after 1 minute.
2nd go; Cut off after 3 minutes.
3rd go; Left on hold for 15 minutes.
4th go; Asked to speak to supervisor, was told they would send some one round to remove the touts.
I made my way back to the Tiger and got there just in time to see the warden clearing the touts off our new 9 cab rank. As I pulled up to put on the new rank, the warden who had taken advice from a group of PHV touts standing outside the club, came over and preceded to issue my taxi with a PCN, he said that I was parked on a bus stop.
I tried, in vain to get him to read the board, but to no avail, he gave me a ticket.

We have been told by the PCO that as the traffic order is in place and the board is up, the rank is now ours to use. So I will now contest this ticket on the Internet. Follow the blog and we shall see, just what Westminster City Council have to say about this matter.

It will be interesting to get this matter cleared up once and for all.

A question thats been on my mind about the photo's the wardens take;
Do Traffic wardens "Flickr"?

Shaftesbury Avenue Bus Lane Sign Amended...By Thomas the Taxi

If like me your still waiting for a reply from Martin Lowe, you can relax. The original sign put up in error, has now been amended.

Mind you, it would have been nice to have been notified about this by Martin Lowe!
Perhaps now he would like to explain why his traffic wardens refuse to enforce the parking restrictions outside Tiger Tiger in the Haymarket.


The floor is all yours Martin.....

Sent from my iPhone

Another Saturday Night's Contempt........by Thomas the Taxi

Saturday Night, Outside Babble on the corner or Berkley Street, Berkley Square.

Mini scab touts, no longer content with forming an unlawful rank behind the licensed taxi rank, now they illegally tout on our rank as well.
As people leave they are asked by the clipboard Johnnie, "want a Taxi sir/Madame" and are walked to the cars where they are intimidated to use the illegal touts. Most passengers believe that this is a perfectly legal form of behaviour by these scabs and actually think we work hand in hand.

People will get into the first available mode of transport when they leave and as the Taxi rank is badly sited we lose out on our rightful hiring, with the full knowledge of the PCO who, by their actions, are encouraging this illegal behaviour.

The Strand West bound.
Police officers from the TOCU squad, pull over Licensed Taxi's, on behalf of the PCO, and give the vehicles a thorough going over.
This is the manpower they say they haven't got to police the touts.
Was this operation mounted in revenge to the publication of the e-mails send by mistake to our RMT Heathrow rep.?

Another Saturday Night's Contempt in the Haymarket; Click here

Photo by kind permission of Cabby David.

Paddy cheer's us all up......on "Tweetalondoncab"

Friday night/Saturday morning , just before 1am recieved a "tweet" from Paddy Onions:
.
"no I'm off tower bridge, there's room for cabs ( on Tiger Tiger rank) and just called wcc (Westminster City Council)"
.
"he said how long have the cars been parked there,........... I said at least 5 years".

If you want to complain about tout mini scabs parked on cab ranks you can phone the Police on;
0207 437 1212 and ask for officer to attend in the same way they attend at NOBU's,
or you can call Westminster council on;
0207 823 4567 press option 5 and ask wardens to attend, ticket and remove illegally parked scab cabs.