Over six thousand Digitax customers successfully had their taximeters upgraded to the new 2009 tariff over the weekend of April 4&5 at the Millwall Football Club. Digitax started the upgrade process at 00:01hrs Saturday morning and worked throughout until 08:00hrs Saturday with a steady stream of night driver’s cabs being processed by the meter technicians who made sure everything went like clockwork. Day drivers had the opportunity of getting their meters upgraded on the Sunday, when the site was open from 08:00hrs until 15:00hrs. The weather was perfect over the weekend, unlike last year when snow came down and it was bitterly cold. Drivers had the opportunity to grab a hot drink and a bite to eat from the snack wagon, which was onsite for the duration. Mann & Overton took the opportunity to give drivers a chance to look over a TX4 taxi and take advantage of the latest price and finance offers available, with several sales being made.

A new late night marshalled taxi rank has been given the go-ahead for the City Of London. The rank in Cornhill is located outside number 77, which is opposite St Michael’s Alley will commence on Friday 8 May 2009. The Cornhill rank will be operational between 19:00hrs to 07:00hrs every day and Taxi Marshals will be at the rank on Friday and Saturday evenings between 23:00hrs and 02:00hrs with normal rank regulations applying at all times. The marshals will be responsible for the organisation of the taxi and passenger queues at the rank and ensuring that passengers are able to get a taxi as quickly and efficiently as possible. The rank is expected to serve the busy Abacus Bar situated at 24 Cornhill. Abacus has been a favourite venue for illegal minicab touts over the past months with a number of out touts forming their own rank along Cornhill. Clipboard Johnnies have also been operating from outside the bar.

The rank has been organised by the City of London Corporation, in partnership with Taxi Marshalls.com and the Public Carriage Office

OTHER MARSHALLED RANKS IN OPERATION

Beckenham
High Street (outside M&S), BR3 1AY

Friday and Saturdays 22:30 – 02:30

Bromley Town Centre
Market Square (outside Costa Coffee)
BR1 1NF
Friday and Saturdays 22:00 – 02:00

Cranbourn Street
(outside Aberdeen Angus Steakhouse)
WC2H 7AA
Fridays and Saturdays 22:00 – 03:00

Kingston Town Centre
Clarence Street
(outside of Oceana nightclub), KT1 1QP
Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays 22:30 – 03:30

Liverpool Street Station
(outside McDonalds), EC2M 7PR
Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays 22:00 – 02:00

Romford – Eastern Road
(outside OneThreeOne club), RM1 1NX
Friday and Saturdays 22:30 – 03:30

A hard-hitting DVD entitled London at Night, made by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) has been shown to the Public Carriage Office (PCO), Westminster City Council (WCC) and the Met Police TOCU. With undercover cameras filming the activities of the minicab trade in the West End, the LTDA produced the DVD to try and galvanise some action from those in authority. Outright examples of law breaking illegal touts in the West End make for a hard-hitting film. The undercover cameras travel along “hotspots” such as Wardour Street, with long lines of minicabs parked on double yellow lines, Charing Cross Road where even a pedicab has joined the long line of parked minicabs on yellow lines and outside Abacus on Cornhill in the City of London where the long lines of “ranked” minicabs are on both sides of the road. The touts are filmed outside Tiger Tiger in Haymarket, at Walkabout on Victoria Embankment, the Whisky Mist Club in Hertford Street where the tout is seen clearly, wearing a high visibility coat which is marked “Co-ordinator Licensed Minicab Services” with the website address of a minicab company. Another tout outside Crystal in Wells Street wears a jacket that states “Licensed Minicab Marshall”.  In response to seeing the DVD, Ed Thompson said: “I congratulate the LTDA on producing this informative DVD. It really brings home some of the late night problems which cabbies are encountering in central London.  It formed the main talking point of a constructive meeting hosted by Bob Oddy at Taxi House, involving TfL, TOCU, Westminster City Council and representatives of Unite and the London Cab Drivers Club.

“TfL, WCC and TOCU have started a 3 week operation to target some of the touting issues discussed at the meeting.”

Whether the operations result in enough touts being taken off the streets to make a difference remains to be seen but at least some action has been forthcoming thanks to the LTDA’s DVD, so well done to those involved.

Touting problems in the West End have promoted one would be cab driver to set up a petition on the No 10 website.  Billy Gould is currently doing the Knowledge of London and sees the problems the touts are causing and has asked the Prime Minster to help the taxi trade to put a stop to the illegal ranking outside clubs and bars in central London.

Billy says: “Please help with this petition, it will be on the No 10 website for almost a year and we would hope to get all the drivers, all their friends and family to sign it. Ipersonally, will be printing cards with the petition address on and handing them out to interested customers.”
If you want to sign the petition, you will find it at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/blackcabsunite/

A consultation is underway to get views on allowing Private Hire Vehicles (PHV) into the parks. The Royal Parks Regulations currently prohibit any vehicle that is “constructed, adapted or in use as a trade vehicle” from entering the Royal Parks unless they have express permission to do so, or legitimate business in the Parks. The only exception is for Hackney carriages (“black cabs”) licensed by the Public Carriage Office (PCO), and this is on the grounds that they provide a service for visitors. However, as Private Hire Vehicles in London are now also licensed by the PCO a consultation is under way to amend the regulations and allow them into the Parks on the same terms as are already allowed for black cabs. This change if it goes ahead is intended to benefit potential visitors – including the disabled who receive subsidised travel in PHVs – without making a significant difference to the volume of traffic in the Parks. Prior to the introduction of the licensing regime, PHVs had been largely indistinguishable from private vehicles, which made it difficult for to enforce. Enforcement is now much easier as PHV’s are more distinguishable. If you have a view on Private hire entering the Royal Parks you can send your comments to: Consultation@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk

Or write to: Consultation – Regulations Review, The Royal Parks,

The Old Police House, Hyde Park, London W2 2UH

Closing date for comments is 1 May 2009.

Head of Projects and Developments, Alan Matthews will depart from the PCO on 1st May 2009. Dave Stock, who is currently Head of Service Delivery, will then take responsibility for the delivery of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing and inspection services. Ed Thompson, Taxi & Private Hire Director at the PCO announcing the news said: “The core services are delivered, under contract, by SGS United Kingdom Ltd. Since the contract came into effect in April 2004 this contract has been managed within the PCO by Alan Matthews as Head of Projects and Developments. However, as a result of planned organisational change within the PCO, Alan’s current post as Head of Projects and Developments will cease with effect from 30 April 2009. The PCO Contract Management Team, under the day-to-day responsibility of Ray Biggs, will now report into Dave Stock. This change will not affect the standard of service delivered to taxi and private hire licensees.”

Alan Matthews was closely involved with the transfer of taxi testing at Penton Street to the SGS centres.

It’s all over the country that cab drivers have been hit by a decline in passengers since the credit crunch began. In Lincoln, the taxi trade have proposed to run a new ‘Pound into Town’ scheme. The cab drivers proposal which would allow people to flag down a cab as it returned from dropping off a passenger on the outskirts of the city, and pay only £1 per person for a journey back to the station is under consideration by the council. Normally the cheapest single bus ticket for a comparable journey is around £1:80. The council’s licensing committee will be deciding on allowing signs promoting the scheme to be placed in cabs. Drivers hope to start operating the scheme as soon as possible.

The Royal Automobile Club Foundation has welcomed the news that the Government at last looks set to tighten the regulations on ‘cowboy clampers’. Responding to the Home Secretary’s move to consult on toughening regulations on wheel clamping firms, the director of the RAC Foundation Professor Stephen Glaister said: “After more than a decade of campaigning on behalf of irritated car owners, the RAC Foundation is heartened to see that at last the Government is taking seriously the huge problem of ‘cowboy clampers’, a problem we hear about on an almost daily basis from distressed motorists who contact us for advice.”

“We are pleased to see the Government is looking at almost every area of concern we have about private clamping. We would also urge the Home Secretary to make it illegal for clamping firms to charge motorists on private property any more than they would pay in penalties on the public highway for similar infringements”.

Owner-driver Jas Shergill in Coventry has taken delivery of his new Vito Taxi from local Coventry dealer Gerard Mann Commercials, which is now supporting the new vehicles. Jas, who has been a taxi driver for seven years, says: “I was impressed by the superb manoeuvrability and fuel economy of the Vito, along with its modern styling and the enormous amount of space and comfort it offers to passengers and drivers alike. The fact that Mercedes-Benz has a reputation for quality and reliability that is second-to-none, which is an added bonus.”

The Mercedes-Benz Vito taxi has created more than 50 jobs in Coventry as well as safeguarding many others. Two Coventry companies are also playing a key role in its success story. They are one80, which has designed and developed the Vito Taxi, and Penso, which has been contracted to assemble vehicles at its state-of-the-art production plant. Penso employs 72 people, 50 of whom have been taken on within the last year and are assigned specifically to turning out the new Mercedes. Its factory is now working flat out, while the Vito Taxi’s launch has also safeguarded many other jobs at parts suppliers across the West Midlands.

The research and development work undertaken by one80 is key to the vehicle’s popularity. The company’s technicians designed and engineered an innovative steering rear axle that makes the Vito every bit as manoeuvrable as the LTI black cab with the famous 25ft turning circle. “We’re delighted with the success of the Mercedes Vito and it’s particularly pleasing now to have sold our first vehicle in Coventry,” declares Roy McMaster, Head of Sales & Marketing at one80. “Not only is this city a key market for taxis, it also remains the home of the UK’s motor manufacturing industry.”

Acknowledging the fact that the LTI taxi is also manufactured in Coventry, Mr McMaster continues: “One of the criticisms I’ve heard is that this German taxi is coming along and doing a British company out of jobs. Well, we’re a British company ourselves and we’ve brought new jobs to Coventry, as well as putting new business the way of numerous suppliers across the region.”

The Vito Taxi is currently being ‘rolled out’ across the UK, via a network of specially trained suppliers, based on the existing Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealer network – Gerard Mann Commercials is among the first of these.

Image Caption: Jas Shergill took delivery of his new Mercedes Vito Taxi from Gerard Mann Van Sales Manager Eddie Humphries, left, and Roy McMaster of One80

In the latest issue of London taxi trade newspaper Taxi Globe, Martin Low, Director of Transportation at Westminster City Council, has written an article entitled “How Westminster Council Is Making It Easier For Taxi Drivers To Park And Use Public Toilets” but it would seem Mr Low has actually missed the point of the numerous complaints and concerns made by cab drivers and his knowledge of the law regarding taxi parking and ranks is non existent.

For drivers it’s so much not the finding a loo that is so difficult but finding somewhere to park that is within easy distance of a loo and making a payment that is uncomplicated. Low said: “We understand finding a suitable place to stop and use a toilet can be difficult for taxi drivers in central London so we are always looking for ways we can help. We have 33 bays specifically for taxi drivers with a special charge of just £1 per hour, compared with charges to other motorists of up to £4 an hour. This is in addition to the 174 ranks in 130 streets across Westminster where there is space for 828 taxis and they can use one of the Public Carriage Office’s 84 shelter ranks in seven locations near public conveniences and refreshment facilities.

“In the last two years we’ve created six new parking bays just for taxi drivers and two more taxi-only paid parking places are on the way in Shepherd’s Street near to the Piccolo Bar used by some drivers. Drivers can also use one of the 7,000 paid parking bays in Westminster if they pay the charge.”

Westminster City Council reports that it spends £3million a year maintaining its 53 council-run and leased toilet facilities, including 12 temporary units placed outside in the West End every Friday and Saturday night. There are now more public toilets in Westminster than any time in the last 20 years. For the cab trade, it also needs to address the parking. Even when a driver can find a parking space, he then needs a mobile phone and credit card to pay for the space. Drivers just need somewhere to park for a few minutes without the worry of getting a parking ticket.

Editor: Well Mr Low certainly shows his ignorance regarding the laws that govern taxi drivers.  Taxis are not permitted to park on taxi ranks, this is an offence. Paying for parking in Westminster can usually only be made by credit/debit card or by phone, not exactly easy when you don’t own a mobile phone or have a credit/debit card. The coin operated parking meters in both Paddington Street and Bolsover Street have both been taken away and the only way to park is by making payment by card or phone or risk a fine!