John Brumby - More Safe City taxi ranks for Melbourne's CBD

BORIS, HENDY, MASON. 
ARE YOU LISTENING???
Good, now watch this. Just to prove it can be done.




SO WHERE WILL THE MONEY COMING FROM?
By Austin Taxi.


On Thursday 5 May a meeting was convened by TfL/TPH, in attendance were representatives from the UTG and the major radio circuits.
John Mason informed the attendees that TfL/TPH had made a one million pound saving over the last financial year and this money is destined to go directly to enforcement with immediate effect.

Some cab drivers may say and about time too! 
But in reality this is money taken from Licensed Taxi drivers license fees etc has now found its way into a slush fund to tackle the out of control PH touting and sexual assault epidemic.

In all likelihood the vast majority this money could well end up as a nice little earner for police officers in overtime payments to tackle a problem TfL claim doesn’t exist! If this does occur we should view this as a back door payment for services rendered. ie:- The turning a blind eye!

Why not get the utterly useless agencies that subscribed to the now somewhat acknowledged failed policy of STaN. These agencies have been complacent in allowing this problem to escalate and should now be made to do their jobs properly and enforce the law. This money should be redirected somewhere else. Possibly the KoL, investing in the future of our capital city and the World renowned Licensed London Taxi Trade for the benefit of the general public and the next generation of professional cab drivers to come. Alas, TfL only invest in bus companies, I wonder why?

The touting and sexual assault problem belongs and should be billed directly to the PH industry! 
Billed by way of increased fees for PH licenses etc. This point was raised at the LCDC AGM last year by Mr Clayton Dylan. John Mason acknowledged this as a good idea and it was agreed that this would be an incentive for PH to clean up their act. 
The idea was duly noted by Helen Chapman; as usual F.A. was done to accommodate this idea and we have been shafted by TfL and Mason yet again. He just doesn’t deliver a thing.

Using money procured from licensed taxi driver fees in my opinion is not only underhand it is an insult. 
To our knowledge it is not known if any of this money will be spent enforcing checks on Licensed Taxis?

It was also announced that TfL intend to put the KoL out to tender. 
To which all of the trade attendees raised objections. They were asked to go away and submit their concerns and objections in a detailed report.

The outsourcing and tendering out of the knowledge has been tentatively discussed by TPH in the past. I believe this was a litmus test to gauge opinion. However, it was deviously left out of the consultation as TfL had obviously made a final decision on this matter long ago.

If the KoL is tendered out, it will further dilute our trade and enhance TfL’s plans of harmonisation. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! It was always inevitable that once the licensing was removed from the remit of the police the standard would drop. The present incumbents at TfL are incapable of managing LTPH. They have little to no understanding of our industry, nor do they care. They are civil servants concerned with policy, paper clips and come from industries renown for employing under achievers! 

A clear picture is finally emerging that John Mason and his fancy job title in reality means little. 
As was suspected by some, he is working to a clear agenda; and that agenda is to deliver TfL’s long held policy to legitimise and harmonise PH and Licensed Taxis to the best of their ability. Even if it is to the detriment to the general public! 
Mason will NEVER deliver anything of any real value to the Licensed Taxi trade; he can’t because he is there in name only, the decision maker is Peter Hendy!

John Mason once said when cornered about how well he sleeps at night with all of these sexual assaults occurring on his watch? He replied 
“I sleep very well at night, thank you very much!” 
Still if your are having trouble  John , Click here


I only hope these words come back to haunt both he and Peter Hendy, because metaphorically speaking they have both had a finger in all of the rapes and sexual assaults!


The UCGThe UCG are an umbrella action group consisting of disenchanted cab drivers from the various trade organisations frustrated by the dire inaction and incompetence of inadequate representation and leadership. However, many of the UCG membership are unaffiliated to any trade organisation at all.

The UCG are claiming that because of the relentless onslaught and actions by its members against the various authorities and the recent release of the new UCN (United Cabbies News) has prompted TfL and the other agencies into positive action, as a public inquiry is now almost inevitable.