Having a Pop at people on here serves no purpose, other than to get it off your chest and that in itself serves no useful purpose. Use this site to show what is happening, to demonstrate to a wider audience that which aggrieves you. When you have done this in as eloquent a manner as you can; e-mail the link to your ward Councillor, MP, Licensing officer anyone who should be taking notice, anyone who if they were doing their job properly would sit up and take notice. Make a list of people you would like to inform & educate and e-mail them on a regular basis, make them see how we feel, let them know it is preferable to protesting by blocking roads etc. If you do this often enough someone will take notice but if you do this and they come here and see a bunch of Taxi Drivers calling each other names they will fail to be impressed. I could call Ian Shanks names till I was blue in the face, but why? The actual problem lies in Licensing Policy, on enforcement and a failure by the Policy makers and licensers to acknowledge the workforces expertise in all matters Taxi related. Let them know your expertise and showcase it in an acceptable way. In short you have to impress! When you impress you gain recognition and respect, nobody ever got respect by name calling it just rubs people up the wrong way and that gets you nowhere fast. I hate to see this site going round in the same circles week after week, when it could be such a useful tool for everybody. Success stories have been portrayed in this site, Wolverhampton for one with their Taxi Marshalls. There have been other stories which should give food for thought but we always come back to the same thing and that could go on forever, Instead of achieving something good in a shorter period of time. There are photographs here which, if everybody were doing their job, it would not be possible to take these photos, somebody is being very lax, and somebody is not earning their £35,000 to £45,000 a year. Jobs involved in the overseeing of Taxis must be the biggest Jolly on Earth and we just let it happen. We all pay Council Tax, which is where these salaries come from so Educate those people on your list, and don’t just expect your association to do it; you work for yourself, look out for yourself and let your association back you up.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Well Said !!!! fully agree with you
you have to take a cynical view especially when it comes to ian & mr irwin i can remember a few years ago when the NTHCA tried to get it passed through the licensing committe for all new drivers to go through a training course to enter the trade, only to be strongly opposed by them ( ian & Irwin) saying it would restrict persons comming into the trade , of course the committe decided they where right, so what has changed now ?as it has been said money money money,but not for the driver.
Well once again a driver who knows more than he actually does !!
the truth was i we were fully behind the training as we have shown by doing ourselves since !! Paul’s drivers have done the btec my drivers are presently doing the newer NVQ version. and is anyone else taking the time effort and expense of doing it NO.
So i hope you don’t feel to much of a prat talking rubbish !!!
the problem with the council was they wanted drivers to have this qualification in place before they could actually become a driver and this would cause two weeks in a class room at cost in addition to what they already have to do which to me what just another barrier to attract new people to the trade !!
So there you go !
PS while i come on here a keep answering people wrong and sometime twisted ideas of what has really happened, what happens when i ask questions of such people as Mr Dodds or Andy Wahol asking them to be proven wrong by coming to my 10 x 4 office etc etc
they just go quite dont they. MEN or MICE
Money talks….. Government want all to have NVQ, training organisation gets £x pounds to train someone from the Govt, training agency gives taxi company £x pounds for each driver it gets to train, driver gets ?worthless? NVQ. Training company make money, taxi company makes money, driver just a ’shafted pawn’ in the whole game. as usual.
Happy days?!?!?
like i said if persons want to come into the trade thats great for every one including office proprieters but doing a course 1st wouldnt deter a person if it was in place before they got there license if they are serious would it,
@dick, you’re spot on! I have used these training company’s in the past and have been paid to cover the cost of putting staff on the course, which at the end of the day served very little purpose to the staff who did the course.
hahaha men or mice,
well ian it appears I am not the only one that is wrong (if i am), as i know metro have for a while, and was told today that ACE are also putting the drivers through the ‘NVQ’
it’s actually scary that this is discussed today on here, as only this afternoon a young lady and guy came up to the rank (firstly without introducing themself, showing ID, and the lady took 5 mins before she removed her satalite sized sunglasses) to tell us all that we should do the NVQ while its free or we will all have to pay £800 next year!!! that auld saying springs to mind, blood out of a stone.
well, i pointed out that this course is the most patronising qualification i have ever heard of, i mean they want to see us wash our cars! tell us how to greet a customer, and go with them in the car whilst they do a job, so they can see them with the customer!
firstly, many passengers dont wiosh to talk much, then there is those who you WISH you hadnt talked to!
secondly I’ll bet they dont come out at 2.00 am when I have some drunken passenger telling me i am not getting paid! or how hard they are!
thirdly, what happens if your a saloon car with the ‘examiner’ in the car and 4 lads want to go on a long journey! pass it back? i dont think so!
fourthly, how does someone who has never driven a taxi teach a guy with say 20 years experience? or 1 years for that matter?
theres no cost? yes there is, a guy i know at metro who did the course had to travel to sunderland every week, for 2 hours, who compensated the time off work or fuel?
it’s simple, i was given a badge saying that i am a ‘fit and proper’ person to drive a taxi, every year i renew this and now someone wishes to move the goal posts and tell me i will be out of a job, unless i attend a course to say i can do what i have been doing for x amount of years. i’ll wait untill newcastle licensing tell me i have to attend, and then if it’s the £800 bbeing mooted, i will show licencing my incommings and outgoings and they will plainly be able to see that it’s an impossible situation. will they then take my badge, and put me and my family on the street????? if thats the case then there will be 100′s of taxi drivers living in cardboard citys accross the country!
who were these mystrie agents? dont know, were they just doing the nice hack drivers a favour or were they out to make someone a few quid, i guess we’ll never know!
and ian,
i dont care about BLT, providing they do BLT work.
i am protective of my business and why not, you are of yours.
i am wary of someone who protrays themself as the messiah of the taxi trade, only to admit that he wouldnt do anything ‘unless it was to blt’s benefit’.
i am wary of someone who says the above, to only then put up notices in cars regarding bookings and insurance, and then advertises it on here before letting blt drivers know.
i am wary of someone who claims to not wish to harm the hack trade, yet fought for out of town plates and even arguably created the situation.
i am wary of someone who continues to try and find loopholes to expolit the above situation.
i am wary of someone who openly admits to taking on eu drivers due to cost, and probably profit and speed of the profit turnaround.
i am wary of someone who told us all that he was in london and gave us dailly insight only for mr savage to tell us that he wasnt there day 2 or 3, (see BBC interview)
i am wary of someone who writes a letter to the council with regards to parking regulation with concerns for the hacks. when that person only has (i believe) 4 hacks.
i am wary of a firm in which evertime its drivers (or customers JD&C) appear on here it seems nothing short of an advert, quoting prices, distances, saftey the works.
i can only say what i know your desk clerk told me to ‘see the driver’ when i asked if they could do the return from edinburgh airport.
i do know that after calling blt for a taxi outside ameens i was asked to walk to pizza hut as thats where we pick up!
i do know that blt, as are several other firms, some of the biggest and blatant flimpers in newcastle city centre.
these are just some of my thoughts and concerns ian, could you explain to me why i would need to come and ‘have a cuppa’ in your taxi office to ease any of these?
It will be free next year as well. It’s just bullshit to make money for them NOW!
you see also ian,
(i do this a lot, answer myself)
what you forget is Mr. Suleman doesnt come on here, neither do gateshead hack drivers or GH Central or the rest, so we cant put to them what we put to you. I do admit that sometimes you give us insight that we didnt know about, or how the system works, and for those occassions, thankyou. And I suppose we all have to admire you for being the only office owner to come on here respond to posts, not dodging (too many) questions.
but part of my other problem is ian, that you wish for the trade to stick together, one for all and all that.
but heres an example,
did you ‘conuslt’ the trade on the out of town saga? what if we were ‘all together’ would you have asked ph and hc drivers alike on whether to pursue this line? what if they had said no? my feeling is that you would have went with it anyway, cause its what made you, and blt, money.
looking into this a bit more i have found the following:
http://www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk/job-roles/qualifications/Taxi+Driver/50031284/EDEXCEL+Level+2+NVQ+in+Road+Passenger+Vehicle+Driving++qualification.seo.aspx
and:
http://www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk/job-roles/qualifications/Taxi+Driver/50031223/EDI+Level+2+NVQ+in+Road+Passenger+Vehicle+Driving++qualification.seo.aspx
now one has the certification end date 30/09/2012 and the other 30/09/2010, these dates are the last dates that a certificate can be issued by the awarding body. that means, if there is a deadline, thenm surely these cannot be intended at the moment to be around forever.
and what is the point in a ‘qualification’ that you cannot fail?
This is the unit that most amazes me,
A/103/4027 – Deal effectively with difficult passengers:
for WE ALL know that EVERY situation is different, there is no procedure, is there? if there is please tell me! if a situation is getting out of hand, and the police are called we ALL know sometimes they dont turn up till 1 hour later, so whats the answer? or is that the case, this is a nvq of which the questions dont actually have an answer so therefore you are unable to fail???
i had a guy in the car last year, who was doing the nvq with the hgv drivers, he said that is was going to be compulsory for the taxi drivers to do it, and he would hopefully be doing it. I gave him a few scenarios, that we’ve all had, pukers, runners, aggressive, no money, people who wet theselves and have no money, people who tell you which way to go then tell you youre going the wrong way! etc etc …
…he couldnt give me answers, was more astonished that this type of thing goes on in taxis and ended up admitting that it was nothing more than a money making spin from the eu.
can i also just say, why doesnt the government do this if they are concerned about public saftey or attudes of drivers:
the nvq, we’re lead to believe costs £800, ‘free’ at the moment, but no doubt the governments paying some agencie …
… for around £400 (i believe) you can have cctv installed in your taxi, it’s proven that where taxi cctv is installed, attacks on drivers and passengers go down. the councils, if they wished, could check cctv in the event of complaints or attacks, and the police likewise. the council could remove vehciles from the road whos cctv does not work properly, and deal with those who tamper with it.
the government SAVE £400 per taxi driver, the public and driver are safer.
With reference to the NVQ comment,IF a driver takes the course,and I`m told you cant fail it,(jury`s out on that 1),passes it BEFORE the Government decide to make it compulsory,for ALL drivers,not just newly licensed ones,the drivers or companies don`t pay for it…HMG pays,presumably through our taxes.HOWEVER,once it is compulsory to do the course,drivers and/or companies will have to foot the bill.
Having done half of mine,so far,i agree some questions are downright stupid and a lot are vague,but as im not paying….what the hell.
As to a driver having to travel to Sunderland to do it,at his own cost,to be honest,I find that hard to believe unless he asked to do that for some reason.The guy I`m with has so far gone out of his way to meet me…if anyone was incurring travelling cost….HE is.
The course is supposedly to make us look less like a `rabble` and more proffesional,(I shall reserve judgement on that),BUT if it works,anything is better than nothing if it creates business.
Whilst on the subject of qualifications in our trade,the next one on the horizon is the DSA (driving standards agency) advanced test for taxi drivers.
Don`t all laugh gentlemen and ladies,mark my words,IT IS COMING. The idea is that coach drivers,bus drivers,in fact any drivers that come into contact with the public,will be required to do it,road safety and all.
If done NOW,or in the near future,BEFORE it is made compulsory,you don`t pay…HMG pays…..think about it.
along with the nvq`s will no doubt come the working directives governing the hours a taxi driver can work , you can bet on that…
it isn’t just about the NVQ John. Nationally, anyone who doesn’t have a level 2 qualification is entitled to free further education, which is what these NVQ’s come under. So it will remain free if you do not have a level 2 qualification, ie/ 5 olevels or 5 GCSE’s at grade C and above.
ok dick,thanks for that…admit i didnt go into the small print,just what i was told by the `tutors` doing it with us and at last may`s taxi exhibition.
In that case,what about people like myself who have qualifications abouve that…ie..city and gulids in engineering and the like…..does that excemt them.
if you are qualified at level 2 or above, then i think you should (strictly speaking) pay for any further education. But I am sure they would say, just don’t say anything, no one checks….
john mate, i’m only repeating what i was told on that one, i will see the lad tomorrow and get back to you on that. i still think it’s patronising though. hell, why dont we send mr brown on a nvq in how to run an economey, cause he’s clearly forgot!
or maybe our licencing should do a nvq on the laws of the taxi trade.
I hate politics,but it is not just mr brown who is to blame as lets face it mr blair is lapping it up like a lapdog(poodle)theses days and so is bush!!So what the f££k happened to the labour party,the so called voice of the people!!!!!
They screwed us all!
I wish screaming lord Sutch was still alive!The loony would get my vote tomoz.
John Smith rip