With 25,000 all London Taxi drivers paying their license fee every 3 years, it doesn't leave enough over for adequate enforcement.
OK not a lot we can do about founding the exorbitant wages paid to top brass at TfL and LTPH.
Personally I don't believe they have no money, I believe they have no will.
But lets not waste time dwelling on something we cant change, lets call their bluff.
9000 drivers currently pay £18 a month and get little more than a new lanyard and diary.
So would you be willing to pay approx half that to fund more enforcement. If you would they would have no excuse.
Just think about it:
 |
| Enforcement for 36p a day |
But why should we pay on our own, after all its not us that causing the problem. Lets make PH drivers pay as well.
Approx 70,000 PHV drivers.
If we all paid the sum of £10 a month by direct debit, directly to LTPH enforcement fund, we would be raising £1m per month, £12m per year. That works out at just 36p per driver, per day.
This would fund an army of enforcement officers with a fleet of transport who could operate on a 24 hour basis 7 days a week. Plus a 24 hour hot line so driver could report any illegal activity.
36p a day would see the streets cleared of the lines of illegally plying for hire minicabs.
Obviously the number of PHV drivers would decline as the work they steal from us dries up, but the drop off rate wouldn't be too dramatic. We forecast somewhere in the region of 10-15%. This still leaves a substantial amount of revenue to fund the scheme.
This new finance would also provide funding for the set up of long awaited new Taxi ranks, like the excellent new rank on the corner of Bear Street and Charing Cross Road.
Perhaps to help with initial funding and set up costs our 3 yearly license fee could be spread over the 36 month payment scheme, which would bring our direct debit to £20 per month. It would mean no more huge bills every 3 years. But we don't want to over complicate the scheme after all it is TfL we are dealing with after all.
Ed Thompson once famously said, in an interview with BBC news:
"Black cabs are the only ones who can ply for hire. That's the way it is and that's the way its going to stay"
At present, this statement is another LTPH LIE
Well now Mr Hendy/ Mr Mason, you've got the chance to make this statement come true.
Editorial Comment:
Truthfully, would you notice a direct debit of £10 a month coming out of your bank account, I don't think so!
For this scheme to work the enforcement officers would have to be trained to the highest standard in Hackney carriage and Private hire law. We don't want officers like the enforcement team who turned up at Tiger Tiger and told the touts they could quite legally sit and wait to become hired in the 24 hour Bus Lane/Stand come Licensed Taxi rank.
If you wish to debate this issue please you the comment box below but -please stick to the subject matter of the article.
TtT.
The suggestinon sounds workable to me,
ReplyDeleteIf we want more enforcement then it is more than probable and perhaps only reasonable that ALL ltph licenced drivers contribute to the pot.
For discussion;
I would suggest that any inital fee set does not increase year on year at a greater rate than inflation.
I would suggest that 50% of costs are matched by tfl.
The regulations regarding satelite offices , vehicle apps and the like ( a mine field) would need to be sanctioned in law prior to make it tenable.
sorry, I totally disagree,
ReplyDeleteI'm not paying again for something that I'm already paying for
I would have thought that part of the LTPH Authotity's remit MUST be, to do the job that they have been put there to do ie to issue Licences & to see that, the users are not in breach of the terms
surely the Licencing Authority ie LTPH MUST be held accountable that the Licences they issue, are used correctly
I'll keep saying it:
we must hold these VERY HIGHLY PAID incompetents, to account
TK 13
Personally, I think it an absolute liberty that we should pay for our own enforcement.
ReplyDeleteWe pay our licence fees and taxes, so any enforcement should come in the package.
HOWEVER, if it means that I will have the offer of paying £10 a month for some sensible and trained officers to allow our battered old trade to survive....then yes, where do I sign ?
8829 Semtex
£120 extra a year, would free the trade from a lot of its problems, but should it be down to the taxi trade to pay for, the much needed Enforcement?.
ReplyDeleteSadley I believe it is, TfL don't want us, that's obvious, even to our more narrow minded collegues, they are not going to spend any more money on us, for example TfL's budget for taxi rank maintainance,last year before the budget cut was £41666, after the cut it was £14500 a massive reduction, this year 2012 TfL's budget for taxi ranks is just over £5000. Where's the money gone you might ask, I have an idea, you've been getting them through the post, this week.
So yes, as much as it gauls me to say it, if we have pay to save our trade, then we should, TfL certainly aren't going to.
Think it over, its not a hard one to contemplate, I'm just sorry that the people who should be looking out for us seem to be the ones set to destroy us.
My name is Mike Tinnion. What's yours
what are we asking to be enforced? day drivers will not want to pay for it as it does not effect them, night drivers may be willing but how many are there that work the clubs where most of the touting happens.
ReplyDeletewhat is the law with sat offices, are they legal? would more enforcement actually change anything? unless the law is changed there is no reason to swamp the city with officers trying to catch out an ilegal tout working oxford st at 4 in the morning.
It would be fantastic if our licence fee included enough profit with which to divert towards enforcement.
ReplyDeleteThe matter remains that it is not so, and in light of a seemingly lack of available funds with which to to pay for extra enforcement then our options are limited.
Further,
the law and ltph interpretation of taxi law needs clarifying before an idea such of this is workable, for example;
Why should taxi drivers have to pay towards enforcement in light of the rapid proliferation of ph satelite offices?
Is enforcement going to deal with bent hotels?
The list goes on but in short we need to know what we would be paying for.
Partial self funding is an idea to be discussed, do we want to pay for it, NO....but what are the other options for funding enforcement?
Lets talk about subsidies for a moment here,
ReplyDeleteThe buses - subsidied.
The trains - subsidised.
The motorists (US) are NOT subsidised.
Road users raise £34 billion pa into the govt coffers yet only £8 billion gets spent on the road infrastructure. Effectively we could argue that road users subsidise public transport users to the sum of £200 each.
Now lets move onto Taxi drivers, we are NOT subsidised and until such a time arrives then funding for any enforcement that we so desire will NOT be forth-coming.
Have we been requesting extra funding for enforcement, yes we have, have we been banging our heads against a brick wall for the years past, yes we have. Have we got anywhere?....No we have not!
Is it time for a different game plan....Maybe!
Give me a grand a week, powers of arrest and a van, and I will do it myself !
ReplyDeleteIt frustrates the life out of me watching these cowboys carry on.
Absolutely two bob, mate !
8829 Semtex
Totally disagree for drivers to pay extra funding for enforcement. The remit of TaPH was only as a Licensing Office. Any drivers stepping out of line would have been dealt under current regulations by them and penalties are in place.
ReplyDeleteAny offenses committed come under responsibilities of Police. All offenses are already written into the Country's Law. Some are criminal as touting, fraud, others are breach of regulations.
Nevertheless all are responsibility of Police to deal with. The Enforcement Officers would be in essence branch of Police dealing exclusively with scabs and taxis. Its already staffed by some officers nearing their retirement and not interested in rocking the boat and making life more difficult for themselves. TtT has mentioned it on Forum some time ago.
As there already exist a force to deal with crime on all levels we need to ensure that the people responsible issue relevant orders.
After all the 'non-policing' and ignoring what is considered minor crime leads to break down of fabric of our City and escalation in crime.
Simco
1. Would I give the biased and politically motivated mob at Palestra one penny? NO!
ReplyDelete2. Would any PH driver want anything changed and pay for it? No!
3. According to the Mayor, LTPH are doing a good job so they dont need the money!
Sorry Editor, Not me.
OK Travis
ReplyDeleteSo we do nothing
Nothing will change
We know we already pay a fee but it's not enough for enforcement
The mayor is not going to give money while he can still buy bikes
So we do nothing
Ivejust worked out who you are
WELCOME BOB ODDY
Might be an idea if they wanted to enforce the laws. they obviously don't.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a matter Mark, can't you sleep!
ReplyDeleteI'm watching Stirling lines and your worst nightmare.
Why the change of tact, what have I done to you.
You have my number.... Call me.
Be very careful when making threats on your Chrome browser using windows 7, on a resolution of 1366 x 768, with a Talk talk IP adress
ReplyDeleteMark!
Your not as cleaver as you seem to think
I think Sherlock has summed this one up perfectly. If we do nothing constructive then the out of control touting issue will carry on. If this was an option then it would give the trade real hope that something could at last be done to stop the unlawful touts.
ReplyDeleteWhat fool thought up this idea??? Why has no name been put to it?
ReplyDeleteUpholding the law ought to come out of the public purse.
The authorities turning blind eye to law breaking is folly. Breaking the law in small instances leads to more breaking of the law. New York’s idea of zero tolerance was born out of small lawbreaking leading to habitual law breaking.
Far better to educate ourselves on criminal behaviour and fight the blind eye to touting with evidence that it will be to society’s determent that blind eye policing will lead to an increasing lawless society and keep putting this point to all and sundry.
By the way did Tesco’s have to pay to get the police involved with Anthony Worral Thompson’s fancy for free cheese and wine?
Anon 15:20
ReplyDeleteIt twas I and I did put my
Mark on tbe bottom
TtT unlike yourself.
It's all very well having principles but your pricked ain't getting any results. We don't live in New York and TfL ain't interested in zero tolerence
This was an idea that would give TfL no excuse to keep saying they have no buget
The Mayor won't pay, no ones offering to pay and principles won't pay.
So let's all just bury our heads back in the sand and give up then, ay least you won't have to pit your hand in your pocket
You may not have a job for much longer but it won't cost you any more money.
TtT (Jim Thomas)
Well Sherlock, I aint Bob Oddy!
ReplyDeleteMy point is we already had the largest price increase in history when TfL took over the licensing and they wasted bundles on the identifiers.
Mason gets 150K and we all pay taxes (INcome, VAt, Fuel Duty), lets get some value for it!
Whilst we are on the subject of Bob Oddy, Email him and ask him to donate his 24K he gets from TfL!
Let us all know the reply please.
It wasn’t plain it was you TtT as you made an editorial comment that was separate to the main body.
ReplyDeleteYou miss the point regarding New York. The way the trade ought to work it is that New York’s Mayor has concern for New Yorker’s suffering from lawbreaking and London’s Mayor does not.
Cab drivers have to put their hands in their pockets too many times to maintain their licence and cab. Cab drivers also pay their community charge that includes a charge for policing. So your idea that there is yet another charge that should be levied on cab drivers doesn’t work for me.
Bob Oddy will never donate a bean from his own pocket to anything.
ReplyDeleteOver 20 years he's been gen sec and he's never done a thing that doesn't have a pound note on the end of it.
All you LTDA members have given him a life of luxury while he shafts you.
How much longer are you going to continue doing so?
I would gladly donate a tenner a month for more enforcement, but only to a private company and not TfL.
ReplyDeleteThey are the biggest crooks out of the lot.
Maybe it might be an idea to open up the British Transport Police coverage to more than just the railways and to cover other transport problems. We as Taxis are British Transport after all and they are a ready made police force.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent idea. I knew eventually some one would come up with a gem
ReplyDeleteSimple, but then the best ideas always are :-)
The problem here is that British Transport Police are funded by train operating companies, network rail and LuG (tfl).
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is demonstrative of how tfl/ltph are responsible for funding extra enforcement (taxis), and maybe it clearly demonstrates how we should indeed raise funds by some form of self-funding?
There'a an element of truth in what I post and it frightens the shit out of you all. You are right Jim, I should sit back and watch the little egotists exchange the banana skin the trade is sliding on for a pair of sledge skis.
ReplyDeleteToo many Walter Mitty's posting absolute BS on here and the forum. You tried propaganda and censorship in the past and look what it led too !
Good luck Jim.