Richard Has To Pay £205, to use Hoover in Total Garage!

Around 10:30am, Tuesday the 27 July, I pulled in to the Total petrol station on Stanley park road Carshalton. I put my cab next to the Hoover as I usual like to Hoover it out before I start work. I popped next door to the chemist to order my prescription and then went in to the petrol station shop to get a token for the Hoover and some cold drinks. As I was going in, a man approached me and said;

“Is that your cab?”

“Yes” I replied.

At this point I look across at my Taxi.

“I've been clamped” I said in horror.

“Yes, by me!” he said.

“But I'm a customer and use this place all the time "not anymore I might add

“You left your cab” he went on “so you got clamped”.

He then wrote a ticket out and stuck it on my clamped Taxi. He then demanded I should pay the fine immediately, with card or cash and his manner was quite intimidating. He was abusive and very menacing so I called the police and then my wife, who has a credit card.

By now he had become very animated, waving his arms about he said;

“If you don't pay soon, the fine will increase from £205 to £350 pounds, as I will call for a tow truck”.

My wife turned up first, as we live local and then to my surprise he started filming us with a camera. My wife asked him to stop filming as we were not even in the petrol station, but he became abusive and said (with the camera off of course) “I do what t I like”.

At this point the police turned up.

The officers seemed to be on my side but explained they were powerless to stop this protection racket. They managed to calm the clamper down and then told me that this was the third time that morning, they had to do this with this very same guy and it was only eleven o’clock!

We then were given the choice again to pay cash or credit card so we decided to pay by card. The clampers card machine failed to work and after four attempts, he advised us to "Go and find an ATM and pay cash".

The police said “No you have given them a choice, so card it must be”. It went through in the end (surprise surprise) but I was £205 pounds lighter.

Let this be a warning never park, even if you are a regular customer, at Total petrol stations, because they will clamp you. I for one will never use TOTAL PETROL STATIONS again.

I have phoned Total customer services who as yet, have not had the decency to return my call.

By the way the clamping company was London parking control .BE LUCKY ALL Richard

TfL/Westminster Partnership, Achieve Gridlock Weekend...By Thomas the Taxi

Congratulations are in order and must go to the planners and traffic managers of Westminster City Council and their partners in crime TfL. Weekend nights in Londons West End have finally become an utter nightmare. In a bid to bring Piccadilly traffic back to the free flowing thoroughfare of the 1960's, this world famous junction has been given a new contra flow bus lane, which was meant to ease the traffic around several small streets behind the Circus. Unfortunately, their "computer model" never showed these enthusiastic young planners that, in the late 70's, the central island was moved a few meters south to form part of the southern pedestrian paved area. A major factor in the congestion that followed.

The invention of bendy-buses and yellow box junctions, have caused elementary pinch points in key areas around the West End, with the pedestrianisation of Trafalgar Square being the straw that broke the camels back. Whereas the heart of the West End used to revolve around Piccadilly Circus, the new lay out has moved the central hub, to the small island that houses the statue of Charles 1st.
The strategic value of this small island has been shown by the "No To Bike Parking Tax" lobby who have regular drive-ins around the statue, which bring London to a complete standstill. Another major contributory factor is the eastbound bus only lane into the Strand, which causes another bottle neck as traffic queues wait to turn right into Duncannon Street.

Most of the congestion has been engineered in a bid to make the congestion charge look absolutely necessary. But this has brought with it an unforeseen problem of a huge rise in pollution levels at certain points where congestion is at its worst (Marylebone Road, Cromwell Road). Stakeholders and partners of TfL have dug theirselves into a giant hole and won't let go of the shovel. If these people worked in the private sector they would be out on their parochial arse.

But in the end it's us who have to pay the price for the giant mistakes of these bozos. The City planners have bought London to its knees and in two years time, one of the worst offenders will be asking London to give him a second chance. Well you don't have to wait two years for my answer "No thanks Ken".

In The Name Of Progress?....Thomas the Taxi

TX1............... ..........TX4

Over the past 15 years, in a bid to keep up with the new technology, my partner and I have changed our vehicle every three years.
With an exorbitant price tag and high pressure sales technique, you would have thought that this vehicle, offered to the London Taxi trade would, be the best value for money, with the most up-to-date accessories, have the most fuel efficient engine, be widely accepted by all concerned parties and meet all future emissions standards for years to come.

With their profits we would hope that the manufactures would be investing in future technology to make this vehicle the envy of the Taxi world.

Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case. The TX1 was in my opinion one of the best Taxi's every produced in this country, but the TX11 was fraught with problems of reliability. Now we have the TX4 which has seen major engine fires, fuel consumption worries and has lead the way to Mercedes finally getting a foot hold into the Taxi market in London (the Jewel in the crown). But the problem doesn't end their. The retail outlet responsible for the supply of the TX4 has now acquired a horrific reputation for unreliability and poor performance.


Problems I have encountered myself include having an unsupervised apprentice, carry out a 20,000 mile service that led to engine oil leaking out which very nearly blew the engine up. They refuse constantly to change a faulty clock as in their opinion, loosing ten minutes a day is within their tolerance range. A badly squeaking electric window can not be lubricated and can only be fixed if it fails completely. My car port is covered in engine oil, power steering fluid, gearbox oil and anti freeze staining. New radiators, steering boxes, high pressure hoses and other failed engine parts means a constant loss of time in trips to the garage.

But it doesn't end there In the past 15 years my fuel consumption has dropped by nearly a third to an all time low and my VED has become astronomical. Although my vehicle is supposed to have the most up-to-date emissions standards, I actually pay double the price in road fund license as a twenty year old Fairway.

An now we find out the manufacturers of our well loved icon, are investing in a future proof, hybrid petrol engine for a completely new concept vehicle.
But not for us... for the Private hire market.

We all saw the picture in the trade media of the TXN and thought that's a funny looking taxi, surely its too small inside.
But like all concept vehicles the body shell is meant to mis-lead. When this vehicle becomes available in 2015 it will have a larger body shell more like the TX4, without the iconic for-hire sign and will be aimed at the very lucrative national Private hire market.


Well there's loyalty for you...

Anonymous Comment...?

If anyone listened to Peter Hendy,on Nick Ferrari,[LBC] yesterday he as good as said,they wanted to finish us off. A guy named Jonathon phoned in (I guess it was the same one who spoke so well about the LTDF's demo's) he was given short shrift by Hendy. Not word for word but it went something like; "I have no time for people who earn their living off the public and then have demos that inconvenience them by blocking London". Asked why he said they would meet with them then refused, his reply was;
"We already meet with the LTDA,LCDC,UNITE and wont WASTE the public money meeting anyone else, unless they can prove they have at least 5% of the trades backing and can prove it.
I guess he was talking about the LTDF and the RMT, but the big one for me was he said; "The trouble with THEM,is they are all so divided".
He also said how well the police are doing tackling the illegal touts!!! Yeah that one confused me as well and I am sure Jonathon will back this up and make a better job than me. But the way I read it was; "Shut up your a bunch of Muppet, who can't even agree with one another". Now if I thought that, then so must some of the public.

Editorial Comment by Jason Byrne:

Lets not forget that this man Peter Hendy has, in the past, shown no respect whatsoever for the Licensed Taxi Trade and has been the sole instigator behind Ken Livingstones agenda to HARMONISE the two completely separate trades into a New York styled Taxi and Limousine commission.
Both Hendy and Livingstone spent time in New York looking at the Taxi industry and were impressed with the excessive budget generated by the American set up.
Lets also not forget that at a meeting of the London Assembly Transport committee, when told by Assembly member Peter Hulme Cross that the Taxi trade was unhappy, he said
"The Licensed Taxi trade is never happy. Their troubles are imagined and they should get out more often".
This answer was greeted with nervous laughter from the other members of the Transport committee. Councillor Hulme Cross went on, "They feel not enough is being done about Private hire cars touting outside hotels and night bars" and Hendy replied, "Its because they have taken their money by 9 o/c and gone home. When you come out of the Grosvenor House at midnight you cant get a black cab, they wont rank up there".

In Conclusion:

Peter Hendy

So this is the type of attitude the Transport Commissioner has towards the licensed Taxi trade! A man who has shown contempt for cab drivers and is bent on destroying our trade. The only reason he will deal with Oddy is because he has bought him off with the promise of Honours further down the line.

John Mason
Mason was hand picked to front for Hendy in the completion of Livingston's agenda.
I'm afraid Mason is just a puppet. He has no power to resolve our problems, so we have to stop trying to deal with him.




What the future Holds
Just found out today that LTI are developing a hybrid petrol engine, low emissions cab the TXN, (wait for it) for the Private hire market....
Haven't heard the UTG mention this although we did see pictures of the funny looking prototype, we assumed it to be for the Licensed taxi trade. More smoke and mirrors. 
It is said to be available to Private hire drivers by 2015 and is aimed at a national market....JB.

Dizzy's vision of The Bike Hire Scheme

Expect to see more of these in a street near you soon.

Coming down Fulham Palace Rd this morning, the traffic jam was horrendous. As we got to Lillie Rd, I could see the reason.

The road ahead was closed. A mangled up pushbike lay in the middle and a cyclist was being loaded into an ambulance.
I've no idea what happened but this one cyclist had created an almighty shitload of congestion and pollution.

Times this by 20,000 more on our roads soon and we really are in for a treat.
The people who run this city really do have their head up their jacksy.
They have 24,000 fully qualified professionals who are skilled at moving people around, and they are doing their best to stop us.

Open the roads up, give us full access to ALL bus lanes, give us a cleaner cheaper vehicle, and let us get on with it.

I wonder if David Cameron is aware that within a few short years the Taxi trade will be gone?

Barmy Boris Bike Hire...Don't laugh it's just cost you 114.3 million...By Thomas the Taxi

TfL have announced that cyclists will have to wait till the end of next month before they can take part in the barmy new bike hire scheme.

A spokesperson from TfL has said that only pre registered members will be allowed to trial the scheme and use the bikes from a week on Friday. TfL chiefs are worried they won't be able to meet demand, as not enough cycles will be ready by then. Plus problems have already been encountered with the new docking stations and some (Marylebone Station) have already been vandalised.

The original intention of letting anyone hire a bike with a credit card has had to be scrapped, for fear of the bikes being stolen and shipped abroad to places like Africa where there is a huge demand for these stolen bikes. It has been noted that in the first three months of launching the scheme in Paris over a third of the bicycles disappeared.

Cyclists groups expressed disappointment, as it is revealed that only half the 600 docking stations will be ready by the launch date.

“Come September, most of the tourists and visitors to London will have left. It seems they are stalling for a while as they try to install all the docking stations around town.”

Balcombe Street rest rank blacked out

Docking stations, which each hold about 20 bikes, have begun springing up around central London. We are also seeing Taxi ranks disappearing in a bid to facilitate docking stations as around 100 sites had to be abandoned or were refused after battles with borough councils.

Today's announcement means that only cyclists who have already registered to become a scheme member, will be able to use the bikes next week.

TfL says the bedding-in period will allow Serco to analyse where bikes are hired from and ridden to, allowing cycles to be moved to high-demand areas, and to cope with any teething problems.

For every action there is a reaction. The poor motorist will be at the blunt end again as Boris's Cycle super highway opens fully. Already we have seen confusion at a major junction (Stockwell round-about) which has been turned into a slalom course, with traffic fighting to avoid middle of the road paved areas.

It should also be noted that no safety equipment such as helmets, gloves knee pads, or even bicycle trouser clips, will be available to the casual hirer. Shouts of "the Snail in the ginger beer" will probably be heard in the corridors of the Palestra building.

When the first few fatalities involving drunken tourists, who have no previous biking skills, hit the courts and TfL are sued for millions by upset relatives, will this scheme then be scrapped? Will the taxpayers of London (you and me) be left to pick up the bill, AGAIN?

Travis B Writes: 'The Snail in the Ginger Beer Bottle'

What's this all about?

Well back in 1932 a landmark case came to court for damages Donaghue v. Stevenson that ended up in the House of Lords.

The issue (in short) was that A, had bought a bottle of Ginger Beer and gave it to B, who then swallowed the snail that lurked inside.

Ginger Beer Ltd's defence was they owed no 'duty of care' to B, as they had sold the bottle to A and the contract is between them only.

In an historic ruling that still holds and is quoted every day in the courts, They lost so the principle of 'Vicarious Liability' was enshrined.

So what's that to do with me?

Well if you are thinking of putting on the 'Golden Fares' Rank and the many Marshalled 'opportunities' that seem to be appearing quite a lot, just remember this;

• If the Marshal puts a job in obviously worse for wear, who trashes your cab etc. They (The Marshal etc) could be held liable by you for the damage caused.
• 
  
  
  If you get bilked and cannot trace the bilker, after the marshal has said 'she/he's OK Driver', again you can go after the marshal, their employer (LTDA/TaxiMarshalls.co etc) and likely TfL and Westminster, as they all have a duty of care to you as a person affected by their action, errors and omissions.
• 
  
  
  If the ride complains to the PCO about the fare etc; again the marshal and those responsible for them are in the frame as well.

I quote Lord Atkin from the case stated:

"You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who then is my neighbour? The answer seems to be persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called into question"

So there we have it, this as well as the legality of collecting 'compulsory donations' for the ride, the legality of charging more than the meter', is it a Public Hiring or a Private Booking?

Can you claim back the 'marshals cut' as a business expense or add it as an extra? are yet more unanswered questions that appear daily.

We understand the LTDA are running it at their members expense at first, including the Yellow Badge Members, Knowledge Students and the few out of town members who cannot use it, Of course they were all asked at the well advertised and attended branch meetings.

After that, its run by a self funding collection (by who and accountable to who?) in the future with all the questions as above.

Of course TfL have thought all this through (they have you cynics!), The LTDA have now entered into a business arrangement with TfL, the very authority they often have to represent members against. Is this a conflict of interest?

Answers please Mr Oddy and Mr Mason direct to the Anderson Shelter.

'Now where's that bottle opener!

A Rogues Gallery perhaps!...by Jason Byrne.

Martin Low had the cheek to turn up with John Mason (who is also in need of a bit of contrived positive PR), for a Photo shoot outside the Royal Courts of Justice.

Most of the London Taxi trade would be happier with him inside the Law Courts, answering charges of demanding money with menaces and victimisation of the working Taxi driver.

Low had the cheek to turn up to be photographed with a group of imposters carrying a sign for a rest rank, after years of raking in revenue for Westminster council by blatantly victimising Taxi Drivers who have had to answer a call of nature.

Of late, Low, Westminster Council's Transport Commissioner, has initiated a time limit of 2 minutes to drop off or pick up passengers in a bid to shore up the councils flagging budget after he and other council officers wasted millions of pounds of residents money in failed parking schemes (currently under investigation). Most drivers though, will have a copy of PCO press release 44/06 where Ken Livingstone (As Mayor) said;
"Taxi drivers have as long as it takes to pick up or drop off customers".
This release should be used to appeal against the new unreal time limit in the event of a PCN.

The Taxi Trade has been crying out for rest ranks for over 30 years. After giving over most of the kerbside in the West End to thousands of mini scabs and rickshaw bikes, this has to be seen as the worst consolation prize ever.

Drivers have emailed the Anderson Shelter stating their utter disgust at trade representatives who lined up along side these two uncivil servants. Neither have shown any concern at the state of the Taxi trade in London and have done little more than encourage touting and lawlessness amongst the Licensed and unlicensed Private Hire fraternity.

The

Suzy Lamplugh Trust

blames the set up of satellite offices and subsequent mini scab ranks outside for the increased incidences of rape, currently running at over 140 reported cases annually.

(figures also shown on The Havens.org)

It can be assumed that the real figure including unreported rapes and serious sexual assaults is very much higher.

Instead of turning up for publicity photos these men should be hanging their heads in shame...

Martin Low,.

How come hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers have suddenly started getting ridiculous PCN's and yet every evening, thousands of Licensed Private Hire vehicles are allowed to park on 24 hour bus lanes, Bus Stands, loading bays, double yellow lines, block entire roads and in certain places, where space is at a premium, park on zig zag lines?

John Mason.

The man who said he was going to come down hard on unnecessary red tape when it comes to compliance with satellite office inspection, the man who was made a fool of by the doorman at Nobu, has announced in TfL press release 21/10, that his officers will no longer just turn up unannounced. They will in future, actually make an appointment that suits the holder of the operators license and be given two weeks notice. Plus the nice man from TfL will actual phone to give them the heads up when they are coming.

In fact the man who said he doesn't have the budget to enforce the laws applicable to satellite offices has put together another highly paid post of "Operations Scheduling Manager" better known to us as "Jobs for the Boys".

Strapped for cash, no money for enforcement, thousands in administration and HR made redundant and a new highly paid, quite unnecessary post suddenly springs to light. (So that's where our money goes)

Licensed operators will now be given up to two weeks notice of a surprise visit from the compliance officers. I suppose thats to give them time to hide any evidence of contravention? If they don't catch anyone, then its not reported as being a problem...Joe Royles tactics I presume!

Taxi cabs however, will still have to go through the indignation of being stopped on Bayswater Road, Charing Cross Road, the Strand and Chelsea Bridge Road though.

Its funny how these compliance officers can't arrange inspection at Satellite offices out of office hours ie; 8-4pm, but when it comes to black cabs, they can find the overtime for 20-30 officers to man the badge and bill stops, mentioned above.

Editorial Comment

TfL press release 21/10, you have to read it to believe it...Bob has and as a member of the TfL board and on the surface transport committee will have agreed in principle to this release...Jason Byrne

I cannot see these two civil servants, who only seem interested in their pay grade, lasting the year out. It hasn't gone unnoticed that they have made a complete hash of their privileged positions...Julian Maguire.

The glorious weeks of The Chelsea Flower Show, The World Cup, Wimbledon and the F1 Grand Prix are now over. Its back to struggling to find rank spaces as the summer holidays start to bite. There is much discord in the Taxi Trade and more frequent demonstrations are in the offing. Harsh words from Julian and Jason but I must agree, It has been a complete shambles and its time for a new broom to sweep it all clean... Thomas the Taxi.

Tiger Tiger, Waste of Time, Scabs cant read....By Simco.

Drive-by Spies: CCTV cars issue £8 million in fines in just 12 months

This one wont be issuing fines for a while.

New research conducted by Big Brother Watch - the non-partisan grassroots campaign fighting intrusions on our privacy and freedom - reveals that 54 CCTV Smart Cars operated in 31 local councils in Britain, caught and fined at least 188,000 motorists between April 2009 and March 2010.

Top lines from the research include:

• There are currently 54 CCTV Smart cars patrolling 31 local council areas in Britain.

• CCTV Smart cars have made councils at least £8,069,714.67 in fines in the period 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010. This is equal to £322,788.58 for every council operating a CCTV Smart car, or£187,667.78 per car.

• In the same period, CCTV Smart cars have been involved in thepunishment of at least 187,993 motorists.

• The average cost of purchasing a CCTV Smart car is £40,547.83, however the majority of councils (22 of the 31) lease their cars from private parking contractors. Given the high return in fines from these cars and the contracts, Big Brother Watch is concerned that the spread of the CCTV car is being fuelled by private contractors for commercial reasons, and by councils for revenue raising purposes.

Research conducted by Big Brother Watch has revealed that there are now 54 CCTV cars patrolling 31 local councils in Britain. Of these councils 25 have provided data on the use of their CCTV Smart car, which records that in total, mobile CCTV in the UK issued just under 188,000 fines in the period 1st April 2009 - 31st March 2010, totalling a staggering £8 million in revenue.

Big Brother Watch is opposed to any increase in state surveillance, particularly directed surveillance - sent out to catch people and raise revenue rather than any intention to make the streets safer. This concern is heightened because 22 of the 31 councils lease their CCTV cars from private parking contractors, who make no secret of the vehicles' usefulness in making profits. The evidence in our report suggests that the spread of the CCTV car is being fuelled by private contractors for commercial reasons, and not in any effort to reduce dangerous driving.

Dylan Sharpe, Campaign Director of Big Brother Watch, said:

"The CCTV Smart car represents a very dangerous escalation in Britain's surveillance society. The vehicles are sent out to catch people and make money, with road safety only an afterthought. £8 million is an eye-watering amount to take in fines in just 25 councils. It is surely only a matter of time before more councils start using these cars. The Coalition Government must act now and prevent that from happening."

To see if your local council has a CCTV Smart car, and the amount its made in fines - take a look at the full report by clicking here.

A Warning from the Taxi Driver... By Steve Emment.

I have not taken a taxi in London in years. They are pretty expensive. But a delayed flight and a series of meetings forced me to take the good old London Cab rather than the good old London Tube.

After having paid the driver, I asked for the receipt, collected that and shoved it in my pocket as I rushed into the building for a security check for the next meeting. Later, in the hotel, I took out the crumpled receipt and saw, to my surprise in bold capital red letters:

WARNING
And below that, in black letters:

Every year in London there are 100's of rapes and
sexual assaults and 1000's of robberies
committed by unlicensed minicab drivers.

Then in red again, this time not in bold capital letters:

Don't become a victim
only use a traditional licensed taxi

And again in bold capital (but smaller font size) red letters:

REMEMBER NO TAXI SIGN MEANS IT'S NOT A TAXI.

The Taxi was written in the logo that adorns the black taxi cabs of London.

Source. The Honest Truth by Ajit Dayal.



Editorial comment. Mr Dayal you say that London's Taxis are expensive and you compare us up against the London Underground. But in many cases we are cheaper than the Tube as we can take five passengers for the same price as one.
Plus what price do you put on the safety of your Wife, Mother or Daughter?
Last year in London there were 140 of rapes, including male rape in Licensed private hire vehicles. Also there are 1000's of robberies from tourists and travellers. (Figures supplied by The Havens Website)
These receipt pads were issued by the PCO some years ago and most are long gone and forgotten now. This was one of the PCO's better idea's and should be reintroduced.
Lets hope that people become more educated with the increase in publicity of these events, that happen all too frequently in minicabs.
And if you would like to help! please sign our petition to get Black windows banned from Private hire Vehicles.
TtT.