Taxi Drivers

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Tue 28 Apr, 2009 9:31 pm

The council are terrified of the taxi drivers and daren't do anything that might upset them. The evidence speaks for itself.

Leeds-lad · Post by **Leeds-lad** » Tue 28 Apr, 2009 10:35 pm

If Taxi's were regulated and every taxi had to have a call log for all fares then this (edited) might have been caught.http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... 5211884.jp

Steve Jones · Post by **Steve Jones** » Wed 29 Apr, 2009 5:29 pm

Based on what taxi drivers claim to earn when appearing in court, I always asume they do the job for love of humanity<G>.

simong · Post by **simong** » Wed 29 Apr, 2009 6:00 pm

raveydavey wrote: The council are terrified of the taxi drivers and daren't do anything that might upset them. The evidence speaks for itself. It has long seemed to be the case to me: the lack of night buses is probably partially down to First, but Metro have proved that they can commission services in the shape of the free city buses, so it couldn't be beyond them to provide more regular late bus services.

Post by **chameleon** » Wed 29 Apr, 2009 6:33 pm

simong wrote: raveydavey wrote: The council are terrified of the taxi drivers and daren't do anything that might upset them. The evidence speaks for itself. It has long seemed to be the case to me: the lack of night buses is probably partially down to First, but Metro have proved that they can commission services in the shape of the free city buses, so it couldn't be beyond them to provide more regular late bus services. No chance simon - haven't you heard of the all-night pub licencing? Why on earth run a bus when nobody will want to go home until the morning services start?

LS16 · Post by **LS16** » Wed 29 Apr, 2009 7:45 pm

As an ex public hire driver ("Black and Whites") I feel I have to speak in the defence of the drivers/operators in some instances identified:The trade itself raised concerns with the licencing authority with regard to extra plates bing issued in Leeds as the feeling was that there was insufficient rank space or work - many new plates were issued on the condition that the vehicles had to be wheel chair accessible but no extra ranks of any significant size were added. The loss of the tender process for the airport HAS had a significant impact on the number of taxis in the city centre with the station the only rank in the city with a regular "high volume" turnover of passengers. The drivers have to PAY for the right to pick up at the station (when I left the trade in 2000 this was £200 per car per year). Before the buses connected directly with the station via New Station Street taxis were able to rank on the bridge over Neville Street and all the way along New Station Street.The authority and police also stated that their concerns were with provision of cabs for the "pub/club closing times" when there were insufficient vehicles and Private Hire were rampant in their total disregard for the law. With a wheelchair vehicle costing as much as £30,000 in some cases the result has been that to pay for the cabs which have a life cycle of a maximum of 10 years these vehciles are working all hours with drivers on shifts.Black and White taxis can be hailed anywhere in the city boundary but there is an "agreement" amongst drivers that fares will not be picked up in sight of a rank with cars/passengers on it. Technically Park Row could be deemed to be in site of the station but this was usually ok.Fares for Black and Whites are regulated by the council and metered, Private Hire can set their own fares and do not even need to be metered (I accept that some of the better private hire comapanies do this too). Fares are negotiated annually and do not take in to account variations in fuel prices in the interim. My insurance bill for my own vehicle with only me as the driver with a clean licence with full no claims was £3500 a year, I spent an average of £180 in fuel each week and "Radio Subs" to the company were about £50 per week thats a hell of a lot of overheads that people often fail to see, if the cab's not working it's still costing money. Fares may seem high but many drivers simply have too high expenses to make the killings people describe (much like plumbers some do well, the majority don't!)I agree that it is unacceptable to block public highways (Boar Lane etc) and warnings HAVE been passed to the trade with regard to this and the council ARE collecting CCTV footage and threats of suspension of licences have been made.Bear in mind also that a "Black and White" driver has to take the "Leeds Knowledge" before a licence is issued, private hire have to pass a simple verbal and driving test. Complaints about individual drivers can be addressed to the companies involved and the council offices. I have had cause to complain about drivers myself and feel that the authority ahve dealt with the issues fairly for all concerned.It is still illegal to negotiate a fare with a Private Hire driver before a booking is made - in fact bookings should be with the office at least 15 minutes prior to pickup in all cases. I used to carry a camera in my cab and take photos of them using "our" ranks and once got threatened with a knife as a result!All drivers and vehicles (irrespective of denomination) can be inspected by the authorities at any time (quite rightly too) and given a prohibition order - I am pleased to see that the authority have taken action against drivers with defective vehicles etc recently.Don't get me wrong, not all drivers are perfect, some of the cars are tatty to say the least. Just try to see the other side of the story though.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Wed 29 Apr, 2009 9:41 pm

simong wrote: raveydavey wrote: The council are terrified of the taxi drivers and daren't do anything that might upset them. The evidence speaks for itself. It has long seemed to be the case to me: the lack of night buses is probably partially down to First, but Metro have proved that they can commission services in the shape of the free city buses, so it couldn't be beyond them to provide more regular late bus services. There was a tiny article tucked away in the YEP last week that First are cancelling what appeared to be the last two 'Fightrider' buses due to a lack of demand.Can't say I'm surprised as they were a blooming nightmare to travel on and nowadays it seems that plenty of people are only heading home at 6am when the ordinary buses are running...

Post by **chameleon** » Thu 30 Apr, 2009 12:09 am

raveydavey wrote: simong wrote: raveydavey wrote: The council are terrified of the taxi drivers and daren't do anything that might upset them. The evidence speaks for itself. It has long seemed to be the case to me: the lack of night buses is probably partially down to First, but Metro have proved that they can commission services in the shape of the free city buses, so it couldn't be beyond them to provide more regular late bus services. There was a tiny article tucked away in the YEP last week that First are cancelling what appeared to be the last two 'Fightrider' buses due to a lack of demand.Can't say I'm surprised as they were a blooming nightmare to travel on and nowadays it seems that plenty of people are only heading home at 6am when the ordinary buses are running... Seems we think alike Davey

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Thu 30 Apr, 2009 1:43 pm

LS16 wrote: As an ex public hire driver ("Black and Whites") I feel I have to speak in the defence of the drivers/operators in some instances identified:The trade itself raised concerns with the licencing authority with regard to extra plates bing issued in Leeds as the feeling was that there was insufficient rank space or work - many new plates were issued on the condition that the vehicles had to be wheel chair accessible but no extra ranks of any significant size were added. The loss of the tender process for the airport HAS had a significant impact on the number of taxis in the city centre with the station the only rank in the city with a regular "high volume" turnover of passengers. The drivers have to PAY for the right to pick up at the station (when I left the trade in 2000 this was £200 per car per year). Before the buses connected directly with the station via New Station Street taxis were able to rank on the bridge over Neville Street and all the way along New Station Street.The authority and police also stated that their concerns were with provision of cabs for the "pub/club closing times" when there were insufficient vehicles and Private Hire were rampant in their total disregard for the law. With a wheelchair vehicle costing as much as £30,000 in some cases the result has been that to pay for the cabs which have a life cycle of a maximum of 10 years these vehciles are working all hours with drivers on shifts.Black and White taxis can be hailed anywhere in the city boundary but there is an "agreement" amongst drivers that fares will not be picked up in sight of a rank with cars/passengers on it. Technically Park Row could be deemed to be in site of the station but this was usually ok.Fares for Black and Whites are regulated by the council and metered, Private Hire can set their own fares and do not even need to be metered (I accept that some of the better private hire comapanies do this too). Fares are negotiated annually and do not take in to account variations in fuel prices in the interim. My insurance bill for my own vehicle with only me as the driver with a clean licence with full no claims was £3500 a year, I spent an average of £180 in fuel each week and "Radio Subs" to the company were about £50 per week thats a hell of a lot of overheads that people often fail to see, if the cab's not working it's still costing money. Fares may seem high but many drivers simply have too high expenses to make the killings people describe (much like plumbers some do well, the majority don't!)I agree that it is unacceptable to block public highways (Boar Lane etc) and warnings HAVE been passed to the trade with regard to this and the council ARE collecting CCTV footage and threats of suspension of licences have been made.Bear in mind also that a "Black and White" driver has to take the "Leeds Knowledge" before a licence is issued, private hire have to pass a simple verbal and driving test. Complaints about individual drivers can be addressed to the companies involved and the council offices. I have had cause to complain about drivers myself and feel that the authority ahve dealt with the issues fairly for all concerned.It is still illegal to negotiate a fare with a Private Hire driver before a booking is made - in fact bookings should be with the office at least 15 minutes prior to pickup in all cases. I used to carry a camera in my cab and take photos of them using "our" ranks and once got threatened with a knife as a result!All drivers and vehicles (irrespective of denomination) can be inspected by the authorities at any time (quite rightly too) and given a prohibition order - I am pleased to see that the authority have taken action against drivers with defective vehicles etc recently.Don't get me wrong, not all drivers are perfect, some of the cars are tatty to say the least. Just try to see the other side of the story though. How does the Airport get around the 15 minute rule with their private hire deal? Make people wait?£3.5k a year in insurance is steep but so is Private Hire cover. It may be illegal to negotiate a fare but in reality drunken people with residual money from a night out want to know how much they will be paying, this is simple practicalities. You say you might spend £180 a week in fuel but while you are using fuel you are being paid for the fare so this is no different to any profession involving motorised transport.I can't help thinking that I've flagged cabs down in cities all around the UK and never in Leeds, and i have lived here most of my days. I've had many a cab not stop as it was on the way to the rank though. To me it defeats the object of having Hackney Carriages. It's as if there's a gentlemen's agreement to join the back of the station queue.

simong · Post by **simong** » Thu 30 Apr, 2009 1:53 pm

raveydavey wrote: There was a tiny article tucked away in the YEP last week that First are cancelling what appeared to be the last two 'Fightrider' buses due to a lack of demand.Can't say I'm surprised as they were a blooming nightmare to travel on and nowadays it seems that plenty of people are only heading home at 6am when the ordinary buses are running... I think I must be getting old then... I've more or less stopped going out in town because I have to get the last bus at 11:25 or pay £15-20 to get home. A bus after midnight would work for me, and they're not unknown in other parts of the country.