Issue 249 May 2017More trade stories than all the others put together
INSIDE
NEWSPAGE 11
LCDC ATTEND TAXIDEBATE AT CITY HALL
NEWS
ENTER THEDRAGONS’ DEN
PAGE 8
TRADE WELCOMESGEORGE TO STANDARD
PAGES 18 & 19
Seepages4-5
SSAADDIIQQ:: IITT’’SS UUPP TTOO
2 Issue 249 - May 2017
Published by The London Cab Drivers’ Club Ltd.
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Editor: Grant Davis
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The London Cab Drivers’ Club Ltd.
UBER RE-LICENCEAs many of you are aware, thelicence renewal for Uber comesup this month.
Over the last five years, we havewitnessed our Regulator abdicate theirresponsibility to the licensed taxi tradein allowing Uber to interpret the 1998Private Hire Act and then run theirbusiness how “they” wanted to.
We have all witnessed theintervention of both David Cameronand George Osborne in protectingUber and many of us still remembersquirming in our seats at City Hallwhen Leon Daniels spoke of Uberdrivers having the “on-off” insurance.
But surely Leon’s “pièce deresistance” was giving out JoBertram’s phone number to theaudience stating it was in fact Uber’sland line... and he’s still in the job!
The Club has proven that Uber
operated from their office atCaledonian Road for over a yearwithout submitting planningpermission (fFL requirement is that itmust be submitted in the first threemonths or premises closed).
On pages 4-5 you can see acollection of incidents concerning Uberover the last five years operating inLondon and if TfL feel they are still “fitand proper” then they have really lostthe plot. Uber are now getting driverslicensed in London and then runningamok across the country, destroyinglocal taxi businesses, whilst TfL sitthere like rabbits caught in theheadlights.
Sadiq, this is your call, and as I usedto tell your predecessor, BorisJohnson, if you think you can haveUber and us, you’re wrong and yourlegacy will be that of the Mayor thatdestroyed the world’s best taxi service.
Grant DavisLCDC Chairman
LL..CC..DD..CC LLEEAADDEERRSS NNOOTT FFOOLLLLOOWWEERRSS
Issue 249 - May 2017 3
www.lcdc.cab
WHO’S TELLING PORKIES?
Dear Mr Grayling
I am writing in connectionwith a recent answergiven by Mayor Khan inhis MQT in Londonregarding Private HireCap I presume by stating he islobbying Government thatwould be Secretary ofState for Transport, Iwould be obliged if youcould inform me, whenand how did that lobbyingtake place with yourselfand has Mayor Khan orany of his deputiespersonally maderepresentation May Ithank you for your timeand look forward to anyclarification.
Kind RegardsDanny O'Regan
Thank you for yourmessage. I have checkedtoday again, and thecurrent Mayor has madeno representations to meor to other ministers for aPrivate Hire Cap.
Best wishes
Chris Grayling
Dear Mr O'Regan
Since our previous emailexchange, I have seenthe Mayor's letter to me,and I will be replying to itafter the weekend. I knowthat this has been widelycirculated. However just to reiteratewhat I said to you, andthis was confirmed by awritten parliamentaryanswer from myDepartment on Thursday. We have checkedcarefully, and neither Inor any other ministerhas received arepresentation from theMayor or his deputyseeking a cap on thenumber of private hirevehicles in London. Therehave been meetings, andletters, about variousissues as he indicated inhis letter to me. But none of these haverequested a cap on thenumber of such vehicles.
I thought you might likethis confirmation.
Best wishes
Chris Grayling
4 Issue 249 - May 2017
SADIQ... ARE THEY REALLY FIT AND PROPER?In the latest publicrelations fiasco to hitUnicorn champion Uber(the company remainsthe most valuableprivate company in theworld at a valuation of$68 billion), just daysafter it emerged that thecompany was allegedlyengaged in sexualharassment according toa disgruntled employee,and shortly after a videoleaked showing UberCEO having a meltdownwhile being driven in oneof his own vehicles, theNYT reports, citing
current and formeremployees, that Uber
has for years engaged ina program to deceive
authorities in marketswhere its service was
being resisted or bannedby law enforcement.
www.lcdc.cab
Uber Used "Secret" Greyball Tool To Deceive Authorities
TfL’s John Mason - who responded to Uber’s Ryan Graves
Uber drivers are accusedof sexually assaulting orraping customers almostthree times a month,according to new figureswhich have outragedrape campaigners.Freedom of Information
data obtained by TheSun newspaper revealed32 assault claims weremade against employeesof the taxi-hailing app inLondon over the pasttwelve months, equal toone every eleven days.
Uber drivers accused of 32 rapesand sex attacks onLondon passengersover the past year
asdfgasfadfs
Hacked Uber accounts sold on darkweb for more than credit card detailsas users complain of 'ghost rides'Hacked Uber accounts are being traded on internet black markets and fetchinga higher price than stolen credit card details as cybercriminals turn theirattention on charging phantom rides to unsuspecting users.The deep web has seen personal information, banking accounts and, morerecently, Netflix and PayPal logins being sold by cybercriminals for a merepittance. Now, the hottest property in illegal trading on the murkier parts of theweb is the account details of Uber users, which can be picked up for just $4(£2.80). While this is less than the cost of a sandwich it's still far moreexpensive than stolen credit card details and it has quadrupled its price in justunder a year.
Issue 249 - May 2017 5
SADIQ... ARE THEY REALLY FIT AND PROPER?
www.lcdc.cab
Two gay men were picked up in London'sCovent Garden neighborhood by an Uber driveron New Year's Day, only to be kicked out of thecar after the driver saw the two kissing, reportsITV.It was about 8 p.m. New Year's Day when CoryWatts and Jordan Sloan, both 23, got into theUber driver's car after requesting a ride viaUber's popular and occasionally controversialmobile app.Just minutes after picking up the couple, thedriver allegedly pulled over and left them by theside of the road."We were kissing and cuddled next to eachother, when a minute or two after picking us uphe pulled over and told us to get out," Sloan toldITV.Watts admits to getting "a little hot-headed" withthe driver, who he said told the couple he takesgays for rides all the time, but that they "don'tnormally do this."Uber says it has suspended the driver pendingan investigation, adding that the company hasno room for homophobia."Uber does not tolerate any form ofdiscrimination either by our partner drivers ortowards our partner drivers," an Uberspokesman told ITV. "We opened aninvestigation from the moment we learned ofthis unacceptable incident and have been incontact with the rider to extended our sincereapologies and get further information."Uber has weathered critical media coverage inrecent months, including news that it used theapp's location function to track customersbetween rides and that one of its executivesplotted to smear journalists who have reportednegatively on the company.Last year Uber hired Obama media guru DavidPlough as an adviser. The company is worth anestimated $18 billion.
Gay men ‘kicked out’of Uber for cuddlingon New Year’s Day Issue 235 December 2015 / Ja
nuary 2016
More trade storiesthan all the others
put together
INSIDE
NEWS
NEWS
CLARKSONSLAMS UBER
PAGE 5
WILL CYCLESUPERHIGHWAY
BURY BORIS?
PAGE 10
LEYTONSTONEKNIFEATTACK:MANCHARGEDWASUBERDRIVER
PAGES 6&7
ELEPHANT AND
FARCICAL!TRAFFIC CHAOS
Seepg 3
Issue 237 March 2016
More trade stories than all the others put together
INSIDE
NEWS
NEWS
LCDC MEMBERDELIVERS - IN THEBACK OF HIS CAB!
PAGE 7
TFL DIRECTOR’S CARCRASH LBC INTERVIEW
PAGE15
PAGE 8
WHATDOESITTAKE?
TARIFF ANDCREDIT CARDUPDATES
See pages3, 4 & 5
6 Issue 249 - May 2017
Dear Silka
Re -Uber Britannia Ltd, 2 Leman St E1 8AF
I am writing to formally reportand request an investigationin to which I believe is anunlicensed operatoroperating in London
Uber Britannia has over 40provincial operating licences - Iwill give an example of one oftheir operations
In the licensing Authority ofSlough Uber Britannia wasgranted a licence to operate at18 Stoke Road Slough SL25AG, they currently haveSlough registered drivers andPHVs so currently meet anytriple licensing criteria forbooked journeys in or outsideSlough boundaries,this mayinclude trips in London
I attended the Uber Sloughlicensed premises (Regusserviced office) only to be told"they are not here,they onlycome here occasionally andeverything is done in London"
I contacted Slough licensingdepartment and was told theyare fully aware the office is notmanned, I inquired how canthey possibly accept anddispatch bookings from thatlocation, the response wasunder 1976 LCMPA there is norequirement for acceptance totake place at the licensedpremises (that has also beenconfirmed by other licensingAuthorities see attachedresponse from Cambridge) theonly requirement is to providebooking records whenlicensing officials attend at aninspection
My belief is that Uber Britanniais accepting and dispatchingbookings at their registeredHQ office at Aldgate Tower 2Leman St London E1 8AF
1, it is quite apparent they arenot accepting & dispatchingfrom local offices (this iswidespread nationally) theLCDC have conducted visits toa handful of licensed premisesto confirm offices are notmanned
2, In Uber terms andconditions (under bookings) itstates trips are monitored fromthe "REGISTERED" office &operating centres (operatingcentres are only referred to inlegislation in the 1998 LondonPH act & only apply toLondon),see attached
3, Uber Britannia applied forplanning lawfulnessP2014/5049/COL whensituated at 21 Caledonian RdN1 (previous registered office)where they stated to IslingtonCouncil they are an app basedTaxi operation and driverswork remotely to the site (seeattachment)
4, Uber Britannia share officeswith Uber London Limitedwhere we are to believe theyhave mechanisms/computerequipment to accept anddispatch PH bookings for theiroperations
I must reiterate if UberBritannia bookings areaccepted in London this wouldbe compliant to local licensingauthorities (this has beenconfirmed)
Obvious conclusion is UberBritannia are accepting anddispatching PH bookings at
their registered office in Aldgate(unless there is no operatoracceptance & dispatch butfacilitated by the driver,thiswould violate all legislation) thisI believe is illegal and is incontravention of the PHV(London) 1998 Act
The 1998 act 2.(1) states
No person shall in Londonmake provision for theinvitation or acceptance of, oraccept, private hire bookingsunless he is the holder of aprivate hire vehicle operator'slicence for London (in this Actreferred to as a "London PHVoperator's licence").
Under the act it clearly states"or accept" unless he holds aPHV operator licence inLondon, this would be the case(unlicensed acceptance UberBritannia hold no Londonlicence) even though they mighthold licences provincially, this isprimary legislation
It is possible that UberBritannia (Slough) areaccepting in London thendispatching to a Slough PHVfor journeys that emanate andconclude within the MPS area,this would be a virtual Londonoperation
I would also like to add if UberLondon Ltd are aware orassisting in this possible illegalactivity it would surely bringinto question their Fit & Properstatus
I look forward to your responseand any investigationconclusion.
Regards Danny O'ReganLCDC
LL..CC..DD..CC LLEEAADDEERRSS NNOOTT FFOOLLLLOOWWEERRSS
LCDC REQUEST INVESTIGATIONINTO UBER BRITANNIA
Issue 249 - May 2017 7
8 Issue 249 - May 2017
On the 2nd May George Osborne started yet anotherjob... I think it’s his sixthM at the Evening Standard. I donot have to tell you what this hideous man has done toour trade, but for a group of drivers in the Proactive ITA& DDD, this event was not going to happen without thetaxi trade telling Gideon exactly what we thought of himand his Chumocracy pals!During the very loud and raucous protest, the Daily Mailjournalist, Guy Adams who had written the great articleslaying bare to the public the whole “Chumocracy” scandalwith the former PM and his chums, came out to see forhimself.With coverage from ITV news, BBC, LBC and all other majornews outlets, this protest should not be the last in raising theissue of Government interference with Uber and TFL andafter the election, we need to go back to Theresa May andask her what she is going to do about our situation, as it maybe a thing of the past for them, but we are living with theiractions every day of the week.
Cab trade welcomes George to ES...
www.lcdc.cab
Issue 249 - May 2017 9
www.lcdc.cab
On 7th May UPHD issued astatement calling for‘conditions’ for TfL to applyto Uber’s relicensing -without a doubt this isJames Farrar’s main priorityat the moment, in fact theonly other person apart fromUber employees whoseemed to accept theirrelicensing was SteveMcNamara, who infamouslyrecommended the tradeshould only appeal AFTERthey had been relicensed(seems to have changed histune recently due to memberpressure).We all know that the hugeincreases in RTAs that wehave seen are as a directresult of the Uber app, in factwe are seeing PHVs on theirroofs on an almost weeklybasis now combined withpedestrian and cyclist injuries.Uber is cutting a bloody swathethrough London.Low pay forces drivers to worklonger hours to earn even lessmoney and perpetuate thesleazy ‘bottom line’ model.Peter Blake and HelenChapman were asked at theClub’s AGM last year “if theysaw any problem with a driveron unfamiliar roads interactingand staring at a phone tonavigate?”No surprise they declined toanswer.James loves throwing aroundthe 117,000 PH number tojustify his arguments - fact is60,000 are relatively new to theindustry combined with Uberschurn rate (rumours estimatethat only 4% of drivers are stillworking for them a year later)how many are actually fulltime?As discussed previouslyworking part time would notgenerate enough income tojustify the financial expenditureof Hire & Reward insurancealso carving up one full timejob into a tax credit, statesubsidised business model isnot ‘job creation’.James goes onR “Re-licensing of Uber only oncondition of respect for workerrights under the law” statingthat TfL should apply the ‘fitand proper’ operator’s criteria.James goes even furtherR“controlling working hoursalone cannot work as it wouldpush drivers into bankruptcy”and he also mentions“unscrupulous operators”. Heignores Uber’s litigious natureversus authorities - they don’t‘respect’ workers they are justa expendable commodity that
they will exploit as much asthey can, (as the GMB casedemonstrated).There’s only one unscrupulousoperator and that is Uber,James is disingenuous to saythe least, he has a blinkeredcherry picking aspect to whatUber does, he ignores the ZeroHour contracts, tax and VATavoidance, predatory pricingand the attempted nationalmonopolisation of the Taxi andPH industries to fit his own ‘Prorideshare’ agenda. All thisbefore we even mentionUber’s regulatory avoidancetool ‘Greyball’ (this in itselfshould have caused Uber’slicence to be immediatelyrevoked).He even goes as far as tobundle in Addison Lee with hisarguments (funnily enoughanother GMB legal case in thepipeline), AL provide thebrand, car and driver supportAND follow TFL’s operatorsrules.
Uber’s growth is in fact closing
down any employmentalternatives for the ‘poordrivers’ James claims torepresent, and by supportingthe Uber platform drivers are infact exacerbating their ownmisery, ensuring they becomethe only show in town.No mention of the dangers ofworking excessive hours orindeed the basic premise of notknowing where you are going,not having done an advanceddriving test combined with thedangers and challenges ofplying for hire / instant hail orwhatever TFL are calling it thisweek at Ubers behest.UPHDs whole remit seems tobe primarily about validating‘rideshare’ and driver’s welfaresecond.James wants his cake and toeat it, he now ‘reluctantly’agrees to the English languagetest as it “reduces access to
vulnerable labour” but ignoringthat this is a demographic thathelps makes up the 117’000and who finessed their licencesvia dodgy language, medicaland topographical tests(franchised out by TFL so thatthey could process the volumeUber needed to capture themarket and cleverly distancethemselves from any criticismswhen the process was found tobe open to abuses, how manyof these compromised centresprocessing was retrospectivelychecked? I remember PeterBlake and Helen Chapmanpoint blank refusing to look at itor give any reasons)Ragainignoring that Uber literallywants anyone to drive for thembefore they are replaced byrobots. Professional driversobviously would deem Uberspay too low and realise thebusiness model doesn’t stackupR but that’s OK Uberdoesn’t want professionals itwants mugs to make them25% whilst using VentureCapitalist money and dodgy
Tory lobbyists to pave the way.“Existing licensees must beafforded incumbency rights sothey do not have the rug pulledfrom beneath them”, where isthe drivers accountability?Ubers shadiness is welldocumented, when do thedrivers fess up to making astupid decision rather thanclaiming ignorance andvictimhood?
Now I have pointed it out checkout Farrars movements andcomments, pro rideshare at allcosts.He is the most unconvincingUber driver since ‘HomeHouse’ member Steven Rowe.How many members doesUPHD have, how are theyfunded, how is Jamessupporting himself?His wife is American and helived there for several years,
doesheworkfor
Uber, LyftR.DidiKuaidi?Who is he really and why is heappropriating Uber driver’sproblems?
James Farrar wants our jobswithout our training and costs,now he wants numbers
capped via regulatorythresholds to protect Uberdriver’s earnings?This is why we should be verywary of James.Allocate by vicinity / non pre-book is taxis domain. Wecannot have taxis and PHacting identically with PHsubsidised by VC monopolymoney and ever decreasingroad space cannot support thisburden, neither can transitproviders with decliningrevenues, James likes to alsomention the £25 million a yearTFL ‘make’ from PH licencing..fails to mention it’s a stickingplaster on freefalling bus andtube revenues or increasinggridlock.Basic premise of working for ahuge company is that they willalways look for maximumproductivity / yield at the lowestcost and yet James is a virtual
cheerleaderfor Uber.He also ignores the fact that fordecades PH drivers workedvery happily for smallercompanies that understood thelocal dynamics (supply anddemand of their local markets).Fact is my trade is borderingon being economicallyunviable, by supporting Uberyou have destabilised theentire industry nationally(350’000 workers plusancillary support).Ubers only allure for thecustomer is the pricing,professional drivers existed inboth tiers before their arrival.Non surge is why customersuse Uber and by oversupplyingdrivers Uber keepspassengers costs down by‘flooding the circuit’.Fewer drivers’ meanspotentially surge which is theantithesis of Ubers allure,James knows this, every manand his dog knows this.James has a combative us orthem rhetoric, Taxis follow therulesRwhy are our jobs notmentioned, why is it OK for PHto flout rules, what about ourfinances, our burden of costs,Black cabbies bankruptcies orfamilies?Another worrying aspect fromUPHD of late is their attempt toweaponise Trevor Merralls ill-advised foray into politics andto portray “25,000 mostly whiteBritish taxi drivers” as pseudoracists to get Rideshare avoice as a ‘stakeholder’ at theTFL table.James is out for James,certainly not PH drivers andcertainly not for this industry, ifyou are a PH driver lookingfor representation UPHDshould be the very last placeyou look.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABAHT…
James Farrar of UPHD
10 Issue 249 - May 2017
TfL Pension Fund ('TheFund') has appointedBlackRock to manageliability-driven investing(LDI) and passive equityportfolios totaling £3.8bnassets.The £1.6bn LDI mandatewill include measures toprotect the Fund frommarket uncertainties,including inflation as well asinterest rate and equityvolatility, whist havingmeasured exposure to riskto achieve excess positivereturns. The Fund's £2.2bnpassive equity exposure willinclude investments acrossa range of index funds. Theprimary objective is for theFund to hold sufficientassets to meet its memberliabilities.
This new mandate followsan initial £100mcommitment made by theFund into the BlackRockRenewable Income inMarch 2014 - a UK-focusedfund that invests in onshorewind, offshore wind andsolar projects - which is partof a strategy to introducenew asset classes into theFund's alternatives portfolio.Stephen Field, FundSecretary of TfL PensionFund, said: "We have a dutyto our Fund members toensure we employ the bestinvestment solutions andconsider all possible marketrisks and opportunities.BlackRock is a key partner,helping us to navigatechanging market conditionsto deliver the outcomes we
require for our members."Andy Tunningley, Head ofUK Strategic InstitutionalClients at BlackRock said:"These are demandingtimes for pension funds andwe believe the varied risksthey face are best managedby understanding the truedrivers of the underlyingasset classes. We lookforward to bringing togetherthe best of BlackRock'sinvestment and riskmanagement platform todeliver the best outcomesfor the Fund members."The Fund has over 82,000members with assets of£7.3bn as at March 312014, across multi-assetindex strategies, enhancedindex funds, bonds, globalequities and alternatives.
LCDC QUIZ MIKE BROWN OVERTFL PENSIONS WITH BLACKROCK
Dear Grant,
TfL and the TfL PensionFund
Your e-mail to theCommissioner dated 13April 2017 has beenpassed to me. Mike hasasked me to respond toyou directly.
The TfL Pension Fund isgoverned by TfL TrusteeCompany Limited which isa separate entity from TfLand is managed by its ownboard of Directors knownas Trustees. The trusteecompany directors havefiduciary responsibilities
governing the way they arerequired to run the pensionfund.
The TfL Board includingthe Mayor of London, haveno direct control or decisionmaking authority nor can itdirect the activities of theTfL Pension Fund, this is amatter solely for theTrustee Directors.
The TfL Pension Fund hastotal assets in excess of£9.5 billion as at 31December 2016, and hasappointed , having takenexpert advice from its ownindependent investmentadvisers, a number of
external investment firms toinvest the Fund’s assetsinto particular assetclasses. The total numberof investment firmappointments from the 31March 2016 Report &Accounts total 31 with 40individual investmentmandates covering allasset classes. Allappointments aremonitored closely andchanges made whennecessary.
Blackrock InvestmentManagement (UK) Limited(as at 31 December 2016)manage for the TfLPension Fund 5 individual
mandates. These includeindex tracking , liabilityhedging assets and equityoptions and commodities.The Fund also has aseparate agreement withBlackRock InfrastructureFunds plc in respect of arenewable energyinfrastructure mandate.
The Fund has published anumber of documentswhich contain the fullbreakdown of investmentsand appointed investmentfirms and are availablefrom the TFL Pension Fundwebsite(www.tflpensionfund.co.uk)particular documents would
be the Annual Report andthe Statement ofInvestment Principles. Inaddition, full details of thepension fund’s investmentsand appointed managersare reported each year tothe Annual Members’Meeting of the Fund.
The Fund is satisfied that ithas appropriategovernance arrangementsin place and that no conflictof interest arises in the waythat you suggest.
Kind regards
Stephen Field
TFL RESPONDS TO CHAIRMAN’S EMAIL...
Issue 249 - May 2017 11
Last month UKIP LondonAssembly hosted a seminarat City Hall to debate thefuture of the London TaxiTrade.
The seminar was a questionand answer session with apanel that includedrepresentation from trade orgs,taxi apps, taxi drivers and TFL.On the panel were Grant Davis(LCDC), Caroline Pidgeon (LibDem Assembly Member),Geoffrey Riesel (GETT),London Taxi Driver and UKIPMember Scott Kimber, PeterBlake and Helen Chapman(TFL).
The session, hosted by UKIPLondon Assembly MembersDavid Kurten and PeterWhittle, began with eachmember of the panelintroducing themselves to theattendees and giving anaccount of their role within theirorganisations.
Helen Chapman was first upand gave a description of herrole within LTPH. She saidTFL have been spending timetrying to raise standards withinPH. Unfortunately, some ofthese proposals will never seethe light of day as UBERchallenged them and won inthe High Court. In addition, shesaid wanted to deliver a brightfuture for the taxi trade. Thisparticular statement met withsome cynicism, by drivers inattendance, as her tenure overthe last seven years, has seenour trade endure a gradualterminal decline.
Grant Davis gave an excellent,passionate assessment of thetrade’s dire situation. Hehighlighted the level ofcorruption and collusionbetween UBER, thegovernment and seniormanagement at TFL. He
mentioned that the trade simplycould not afford the newelectric taxi, (forced to buy nextyear) due to TFL allowingUBER to operate as a pseudotaxi service. He stated that TFLhave simply abdicated theirresponsibilities as a fair andimpartial regulator.
Taxi Driver of 10 years, ScottKimber spoke of the damageTFL have done to the tradefrom a driver’s perspective.Scott described that drivers areexperiencing their outgoingsrising, whilst their incomesdiminishing, undercut by unfaircompetition and predatorypricing. Scott unable to see aviable future within the tradehas since trained to become atiler, forced to leave the tradehe loves. He added that tradeorgs should call a boycott of thenew electric taxi. Notsurprisingly, David Hollier ofLTC, took issue to this. MrHollier stated that a boycottwould not benefit the trade. Healso would not reveal the costof the vehicle, which is still asecret within the echelons ofLTC, and does little to endearcab drivers to invest in one ofthese vehicles, even if theycould afford too.
Geoffrey Riesel of GETT spokeof his 45 years within the cabtrade. He said selling RadioTaxis to GETT was the“smartest move he had evermade”. However, he did not
elaborate what was so smartabout it, leaving those listeningto make their owninterpretation. Geoffrey, felt theneed to tell the audience thathe “could retire tomorrow” butwants to put something backinto the trade. He said that thetrade must adapt to the currentmarket (doing fixed price faresrather than metered ones?).He did make some goodpoints; scandalous PH doesnot have to have permanentHire and reward insurance andsolutions urgently needed forLondon’s chronic congestion.
Caroline Pidgeon spoke of herlengthy hard work andcampaigning on behalf of thetrade, such as the GLA “FutureProof Report” produced twoand half years ago. She saidthat the Mayor’s action plandoes not go far enough. Sheexpressed the lack regulationof apps (particularly UBER) byTFL that have a detrimentaleffect on health and safety ofdrivers and passengers.Furthermore, she suggestedthat TFL should make it acondition of a PH Operatorslicense; they provide basicemployment rights and fair payto drivers and not exploit them.Caroline revealed that she haswritten to the InformationCommission Office toinvestigate TFL and thegovernment. This is in relationto George Osborne interveningto change the PH regulations
to benefit UBER. DowningStreet stipulated there hadbeen no contact with City Halland TFL on this, emailsdiscovered via FOI’s by LCDCshow this is not the case.
Peter Blake was the onlypanellist who did not give thecourtesy of an introduction tothe audience or explain his rolewithin TFL. It did not gounnoticed, as an attendee laterpulled him up on it. Blake’sexcuse was, he would haveonly repeated what HelenChapman had said previous.
Many taxi drivers and tradereps stood up and fired a seriesof excellent questions, whichwere generally directed at TFL.
Drivers from other licensingauthorities such as Southendwere present, to explain thatTFL light touch regulation ofPH is now inflicting damage ontheir livelihoods. PH Driversfrom all over the country arecoming to TFL to be licensed,aware they have a fast track,relaxed licensing system.Providing them with theopportunity to work where everthey wish, avoiding anycompliance.
The subject of UBER’s re-licensing was raised, but HelenChapman was not willing todiscuss it, as it would in heropinion, go against the dataprotection act.
Peter Blake was asked somepertinent questions directly. Hewas cross-examined on thelevel of training, newlyappointed Compliance Officersreceive and what powers theyhave. He did not know. Hewas queried how long doestheir training last, he answered“quite a while”. Staggering hedid not know these importantpoints, considering TFL haveappointed approximately 200CO’s over the past year.
The other question put to himwas, are TFL a business or aregulator. If it is a business,what is TFL’s appetite for a capon PH licenses with so muchincome generated from them?He gave a vague reply thatTFL wear a number of hats, butin terms of Taxi and PH, theyare a regulator. For themajority of cabbies this isdifficult to believe, consideringTFL has sold approximately50k PH licenses over the lastcouple of years.
To summarise it was a livelyand interesting debate andthanks to David, Peter and theirteam for organising it and beingsuch fantastic hosts.
The debate may not haveachieved anything but it wouldhave shown those inattendance who were not taxidrivers, what the trade is upagainst with TFL. Blake andChapman appeared cordial butwere evasive and barelyanswered a question clearly orconclusively, using the excuseof it being in a public forum oragainst the data protection act.
What was most concerning isthat they offered no meaningfulstrategy, policies or ideas thatcould improve our situation, justexcuses. Although, HelenChapman said TFL value theKnowledge of London, thefollowing question at the end ofthe debate summed up formany TFL’s attitude towardsthe trade and why relationswith them have completelyexacerbated. They wereasked, “Do you think that TFLshould promote the Knowledgeof London at Colleges and jobfairs?” Peter Blake answered,“Why should we”. Draw yourown conclusions to that!
LCDC ATTEND UKIP TAXI TRADECONFERENCE AT CITY HALL
www.lcdc.cab
12 Issue 249 - May 2017
Rankupdates CAMDEN COUNCIL At a recent meeting Iattended along with the LTDAand Unite we got to discusswith CC representatives thepossibility of some new ranklocations for the night tubeand some ranks for the nighttime economy in theirborough. Potentially four new stationranks at Belsize Park Station,Chalk Farm Station, WestHampstead Station andHampstead High Street. We spoke at great lengthregarding sight lines and beingvisible to the public fromcertain venues. But they do seem to strugglewith this concept as at onepoint they thought the rank atthe stables was a good rankfor the Roundhouse. This wasafter I proposed a rank outsidethe roundhouse, which theydidn't dismiss but will belooked at when theyimplement a new road schemeat Chalk Farm station. The reason we have struggledwith Camden Council withranks in the past is they arereally fed up with all the cabsaround King’s Cross Stationwaiting in traffic to access therank. They can't get their headaround why we look for workat one of the busiest stationsin London, because it's how
we earn money takingcustomers from A to B. We arewell down the chain when itcomes to Camden spendingmoney on schemes as theywould rather see people onfoot or cycles. So we tried toget them to look at thepossibility of a rank in CamleyStreet, that would solve alltheir problems. This idea wastouted by the ranks committeeabout 16 months ago but wasrejected, as the safety auditthe had done came backsaying there were concernsthat taxis might U-turn ontothe rank and a vehicle comingunder the bridge might not seeit due to the dip in the road.We have asked them to takeanother look on a temporarybasis with marshalls at therank to see how it goes. Weare awaiting a new meeting tobe arranged to hear their reply.
WESTMINSTER COUNCILThe new planned work inDavis St and Mount St thatwill turn both streets twoway will commence on 22ndMay and will hopefully finisharound September. The rank for Claridges will beextended to four taxis but willbe sited by the ballroomentrance. This has beenmoved too far away from thedoor of hotel for my liking. ButWCC have told us that thehotel asked for it to be that farback and will call taxis as andwhen needed. I believe the hotel want to usethe road space between usand the front door for their
private pick ups. The feeder round the cornerwill go, with two spacesrelocated to the C Londonrestaurant in Davis Street.
We also spoke about the newlayout to the top of BerkeleySquare and making sure ourranks are in the right placeswhen the start works there inSeptember. They hadrelocated one rank outsidenumber 40 but we objectedand have requested that it bereinstated outside number 40. We also have two newtemporary ranks whilst workgoes on at the bottom of NewBond St, one is in Grafton Stby the memorial bench andthe other is outside Southebysin New Bond St. We were also told about ascheme that WCC are lookingto implement soon. They'regoing to advertise forvolunteers to go round theborough asking drivers toswitch of their engines if it isidling. So I have no doubtsthey will be turn up on ourranks soon. Westminster have beenpromising this one for ages asI've been pushing for it.Enforcement of Oxford StreetWestbound is likely to start inthe next six months and plansmaybe to do the east side aswell. But I think it will beprobably pedestrianised by thetime they get round to it.
Issue 249 - May 2017 13
www.lcdc.cab
This was City Airport’spress report that they willbe implementing a chargeto drivers using the feederpark at the airport: We are writing to inform theLondon Cab Driver Club thatLondon City Airport is soon toimplement a pick up feecharge of £1.This decision has beentaken following carefulconsideration and a widerassessment of the provisionof taxis and private cars atthe airport.As part of this assessment,the airport held discussionswith the black taxi liaisonofficer about the possibility ofa fee. From thesediscussions we understandthat a pickup fee ispreferential to alternativearrangements, with the figurematched to that which wasproposed by the drivers thatfrequent the airport rank.Implementing a fee creates
an enhanced partnershipbetween the black taxi tradeand the airport, enabling LCYto invest in marshallers, andcontinue to safeguard andactively promote the blacktaxi service at the airport byway of posters andpromotion at the terminal, asthe airport undergoes asignificant expansion. A fee also assists the airportto continue to provide theprime real estate on sitewhich taxi drivers useexclusively for pickups, andcan be used to further investin future improvements, suchas rest facilities for driversand electric charge points.We expect the fee will comeinto effect in August 2017,with the exact date to beconfirmed. This will becommunicated to drivers withadvance notice. Fees will bepayable by cash or cardupon exit of the taxi pick uplane.
LCA £1 charge
This is the last email we havehad from the City of Londonregarding the bank junctionclosure.
Dear all,
Formal notification of the City’sintention to start the Bank onSafety Experiment was issuedyesterday (Tuesday 25 April).The experimental traffic orderwill come into effect on Monday22 May.In terms of monitoring, the Cityhas taken on the suggestions ofthe three taxi routes that theTrade undertook on journeytime analysis on, and a twoadditional routes which we willbe getting an independentorganisation to undertakejourney time and cost surveys
for before and after theexperiment. We will also be monitoring theTaxi Rank at London Bridgestation as suggested in terms ofnumbers of passengers, andwait time. We will then alsoundertake a count of taxisleaving the rank and headingnorthbound into the City. Wewill not be approachingpassengers as part of thissurvey. We are suggesting thatwe will monitor the rank for twodays during the AM peak hour.If we can, we will try to monitorfor a third day. If you feel thatthis is not the best time of day,or you have a preference foranother location to bemonitored instead of, or as wellas London Bridge station, thenplease let us know by Friday.
We have limited resources toundertake the rank survey, andwe can only undertake a surveyat one location at a time.Increasing the number of rankswill mean less time spentmonitoring each location.New taxi rank locations havebeen approved as part of theexperiment and are located onPrincess Street (3 taxis), QueenVictoria Street (2 taxis) during7am to 7pm Monday to Sunday.The existing evening rank onCornhill has been extended tobe at any time (4 taxis).Attached is a location mapwhich will be used to helppromote the new ranks in thearea to passengers. Theseranks will become operationalon Monday 22 May.We have recently opened our
online perception survey, whichwill remain available forcompletion until 21st May. Wehave not actively promoted thesurvey yet but are in theprocess of printing businesscards containing the details,which will be handed out in thelocal area over the comingweeks. The survey can befound on the websitewww.cityoflondon.gov.uk/bankonsafetyFinally, we understand thatthere is some concern over theplanned closure of London Walleast of Moorgate. Our initialassessment of the works wasthat it would be a relativelyinsignificant closure, despite itslocation on a key route. Thediversion routes (both signedand unsigned) are short, and
coupled with the existing right-and left-turn bans limits itsimpact. The closure has been inforce since Monday 24 April andour initial assessment hasgenerally been proven correct,in that the impacts have beenminimal.
At our last meeting, it wasagreed that we would meetagain before the schemebecame operational. If youwould still like to do this, thenplease let me know youravailability for the weekscommencing 8th and 15th May
Iain SimmonsAssistant Director (CityTransportation), Department ofthe Built Environment, City ofLondon Corporation
STOP PRESS: CITY OF LONDON RESPOND ON BANK JUNCTION
Alan’s Angle
14 Issue 249 - May 2017
www.lcdc.cab
Application FormPlease complete this form in BLOCK CAPITALS
The subscription rate is £170 per annum. If you are unable to pay in asingle payment please make one cheque payable to “The London CabDrivers’ Club Ltd,” with today’s date, for £56.67, and two post-datedcheques one month apart for £56.67.
Send the completed form to: THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY,The London Cab Drivers’ Club Ltd, UNIT A 303.2Tower Bridge Business Complex, Tower Point, 100 Clements Road, Southwark, London SE16 4DG
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms:.................... Surname: ......................................
First Names:......................................................................................
Address: .......................................................................................................................................... Post Code: ......................................Badge No: ............................. Email: ...............................................Telephone No: (with full STC code):................................................
I agree to abide by the rules of the Club. I also agree that the aboveinformation will be kept by the LCDC in a computer system under theterms of the Data Protection Act.
I understand that I will not be eligible for legal representation for matters arising prior to the date of this application. Thereby declare thatI have no outstanding PCO or police matters pending.
Signed: ...................................... Date: ......................................
Please complete this form and send it with your application form
(LCDC) Ltd UNIT 303.2TOWER BRIDGE BUSINESS COMPLEX, TOWER POINT,
100 CLEMENT’S ROAD, SOUTHWARKLONDON, SE16 4DG
0207 394 5553
Standing Order Form
Your Bank: .........................................................................................Your Bank Address:............................................................................Post Code:..........................................................................................
Please pay the sum of £15 NOW and monthly thereafter until further notice.
Please pay the sum of £42.50 NOW and then quarterly thereafter until further notice.
Quoting Reference No ( )
To the account of THE LONDON CAB DRIVERS’ CLUB LTD, Barclays Bank Bloomsbury & Tottenham Court Road branch,
PO BOX 1134, London W128GGSort Code 20-10-53. Account No- 40450421.
Your Name: .....................................................................................Account No: .....................................................................................Sort Code: .......................................................................................Signature: ........................................................................................Date: ..................................................................................................
AS AN L.C.D.CMEMBER YOU WILL RECEIVE:�� 24 HOUR DUTY SOLICITOR
EXCLUSIVE TO THE CAB TRADEYour 24 Hr duty solicitor hotline
membership card.Peace of mind 24 hrs of the day.
�� FULL LEGAL COVEROur fantastic team of City Of London based solicitors and barristers, experts in Hackney Carriage and road traffic law.
��COMPLAINTS AND APPEALSAs a member of the LCDC, we will deal with any complaint that has beenmade against you by members of the public.Also we will attend the LTPH with youon any personal appeals that would affect your licence.
��HEATHROW AIRPORT REPRESENTATION
With our reps at the airport working
hard on the trade’s behalf for a fairer, and more safer future at Heathrow.
��RANKS AND HIGHWAYSThe LCDC attend the Joint Ranks committee, working hard for more ranks and more access for the taxi trade in London.
��CAB TRADE ADVICEAll members can call the office for any information or up to the date news on any trade related subject.
�� TRADE’S FUTUREThe Club worked tirelessly in bringing
in the green & yellow identifiers to the taxi trade.
And are always working hard to protect our future.
��CAB TRADE REPRESENTATIONWe are working hard to work with members of the GLA and also politicians to fight our corner against
TFL and was a major influence in the recent“ future proof” document.
�� VEHICLE MANUFACTURERSThe Club works alongside LTC and
Mercedes to deliver a vehicle that meetsour standard as a London taxi driver.Recently we have held meetings to workagainst the ULEZ strategy and theintroduction of taxi age limits.
��CLUB PROTECTATo help drivers who have acquiredtwelve points keep their licence.
Join over thephone - just calland we’ll takeyour payment
details* £12 per month is tax deductible
JUST £3 permonth
Issue 249 - May 2017 15
16 Issue 249 - May 2017
www.lcdc.cab
Issue 249 - May 2017 17
INSURANCE FRAUDSTERSI don’t suppose anybody willremember but a while back Iwrote in the Badge about how aminicab driver reversed into mycab and produced a witness tosay that I drove into the back ofthe minicab.The driver and two members of
his family who were not even inthe vehicle, attempted to claim£28,500 for whiplash injuries,
from me.The upshot was that the police
charged them with fraud and atCroydon Crown Court they werefound guilty. The witness, MrAkbar, another minicab driver,received a 2.5 year sentence.One of the family membersreceived a suspended sentence.The driver, Mr Ahmed, and theother family member eachreceived a sentence of 3.5 yearseach.Somebody recently reminded me
that this motley crew will all be outby now. No doubt TFL have re-licensed these two miscreantsand they are happily driving theirminicabs again and doing theirbest to turn passengers over.
METER? WOT METER?Fool that I am, I bought a newcab 19 months ago. The cabitself has been fine after somehorrendous early problems. Iwas a fool because I hadn’trealised that TFL were, and stillare, determined to destroy myliving.Anybody who has part-exed a
cab before will be aware ofall the sodding about you have todo when changing the cab over.One of the tasks is sorting the oldand new meters out. So I phonedDigitax, who I hire the meter fromand have never had any troublewith in the years I have usedthem, to ask if I needed to visittheir premises or could the workbe done at M&O’s?They informed me that they
visited M&O’s every week ( I thinkWednesday’s) and they would fitthe meter in the new cab and takeback the meter from the old cab,which they duly did and invoicedme for the work. Job done? You’dthink so, wouldn’t you?About two months ago, 17
months after part-exing my oldcab, I received a phone call fromDigitax asking where the meterwas from the old cab? How wouldI know? They said that the meterhad not been returned and theywanted it back. When I said as faras I was concerned they collectedit from M&O’s, I was informed thatif I couldn’t find it, they would billme for the cost of the meter.Last week I received a bill for the
laughable sum of £750. Even if Iowed for the meter, I have beenreliably informed by somebody inthe meter business that themaximum cost to Digitax wouldhave been £350 - £400.On the phone it immediately
transpired that Digitax have beenkeeping very loose records ofwhere their meters are and haveinstalled a new system and
realised that they have loads ofunaccounted for meters. So nowthey are chasing them up. It doesn’t matter to them that
they have waited a ridiculouslength of time to ask where themeter is. It doesn’t matter to themthat if they had told me after theyhad installed the new meter thatthey couldn’t collect the old meter,I could have easily contactedM&O’s and resolved the situation.All that matters to them is that
their contract says that I amresponsible for any loss. They arealso relying on the contract thatsays only their operatives mayremove the meter and it thisshould be done at their premises,even though in practise they visitM&O’s on a weekly basis to fitnew meters and collect metersthat M&O have removed fromcabs.They have been operating a
useless warehousing and stock-taking system for years and nowthat they have sorted theirproblems out and realised theyhave loads of meters missing,they’ve decided they are going tohound a lot of drivers and holdthem responsible for these lossesand charge them double the valueof the meter.I suppose it makes sense to
charge double because if onlyhalf the drivers are mug enoughto pay them, they get all theircosts back.It appears that between the
meter companies, there arearound 1000 meters missing.However, the rest of them arewriting these meters off at theirown cost. Digitax appear to bethe only company that are tryingto make drivers pay for Digitax’smistakes.Talking to Digitax was useless as
they just kept parroting the termsof the contract so I contacted theLCDC solicitors. They were of theopinion that as I had beeninvoiced for the change-over, Iwas probably in the clear. I’ll letyou know the outcome.I would not have written this if it
was just me but it appears thatthey are chasing or about tochase many other drivers. If thishappens to any other LCDCmember, please make sure youphone the office for advice beforeyou do anything.
YOUR MPIt’s OK, this isn’t a partypolitical broadcast. It’s just acouple of things you shouldknow before the general
election.Although nobody actually has an
MP until the election is decided,we all have had an MP for the lasttwo or seven years that wants tobe our MP again. That person isstill contactable.First, on the political side if you
visit the websitetheyworkforyou.com , and put inyour MP’s name, it will show youan easily readable list of the wayyour MP voted on every issue thatcame to parliament. This will giveyou an idea of how well your MPrepresented “you”.Closer to home, it is almost
certain that all your MP knowsabout you or Uber is what theyread in the papers. If you wantyour MP to know how badly youhave been treated as a taxi driverby your regulator, TFL, it’s up toyou to tell him.
You need your MP to knowthat Uber:Pay little corporation tax because
they funnel their UK profitsthrough Holland to a tax haven;Pay little VAT by claiming they
are not a transport provider;Awaiting an appeal against a
high court decision that theirdrivers are employees andcontinue treat them as self-employed;Pay drivers slave-wages after
expenses and claim an effectivesubsidy via drivers having toclaim in-work benefits.They are manipulating taxi law in
order to operate a taxi servicewhile being licensed as a privatehire operator. They are beingable to do so due to a weakregulator, TFL. This is unlikemany countries and cities thathave banned them as a result ofthe same practises.Etc, etc, etc.If you need your MP to know this
stuff, YOU have to tell him/her.You have less than a month to
pick up a phone or bang off an email to your (ex)MP. There willnever be a better time to do sobecause he/she wants your voteand has his or her mindconcentrated on that. They maynot act on your e mail but maybelater they’ll remember its contentand not be so uninformed shoulda question appear in parliament.Just type in your MPs name into
the Google box and all therelevant info will appear.
As the name of that websitesays, YOUR MP WORKS FORYOU. Make sure he/she does so.
Walker on the March....
www.lcdc.cab
18 Issue 249 - May 2017
Del-boy and Rodney TrotterEnter The Dragons' Den:
Del:Hello Dragons.....My nameis Derek Trotter and this is mybrother Rodney. Rodney and I, are asking for afew quid to start up a new cabservice for 10% equity...
Dragon:Hello, Derek....can youtell us about your idea?
Del:Yep....we have a businessmodel...that works by pushingthe boundaries of the law.....it'snot illegal-nothingdodgy......although we don'treally like using the word'boundaries' because we do notthink there should be any'boundaries' in what we aretrying to achieve....which is
global domination of the CabMarket. Trotters International.....
Dragon:So you are going to bea taxi company?
Rodney:No, we are going tocreate a technology company.
Dragon:Sorry... I do notunderstand. You are going to beoffering a taxi service to thepublic?
Del:No.. we are not offering ataxi service to anyone. We wantto 'reach out' by offering thetechnology to connect the publicto taxis all around the world.
Dragon:So you are going to bea global taxi company?
Rodney:No......we want to offera platform that people who owntaxis can connect with thepublic.
Dragon:So you want to be aglobal company offering a taxiservice?
Del:No...we want to offer aplatform that people who owntaxis can connect with thepublic.
Dragon:Ok.. let me put itanother way: you want to offer aservice where people use yourtechnology to order a taxi?Del: Yes
Dragon:So you want to be aglobal taxi company?
Rodney:No
Dragon:Sorry.....I am getting alittle bit lost here. You want toprovide a service via yourtechnology so people can get ataxi?
Del:Yes!
Dragon: Isn’t that what taxicompanies do?
Rodney:No...
Dragon:So you are going to dothe same?
Del:Yes
Dragon:So you ‘are’ going tobe a taxi service.....albeit with abit of 'technology'?
Del:Well...yes and no.
Dragon:Which part is ‘Yes’ andwhich part is ‘No’?
Del:Yes, it is technology....
Rodney: No, it's not a taxiservice..
Dragon:Mmmmm. We aretalking about actual taxis aren’twe: you know the one's that canbe hailed in the streets and siton ranks? The ones that are referred to asHackney Carriages?
Del:No...Private hire cars
Dragon:Ahh......ok, so we arenow getting somewhere......youare going to be a Private HireOperator?
Rodney: No...a technologycompany
Dragon:So, you will not need aPrivate Hire Operators licencein the UK for each area youwant to be in?
Del:Yes
Dragon:This is reallyconfusing! So you will need aPrivate Hire Operator's licenceeven though you say you arenot going to be a Private HireOperator?
Del:Yes
Dragon:Ok.. let’s move onhere...You want us to give you afew pounds?
Rodney:Yes, please....
Dragon:How much?Del: Just a Million....
Rodney: ......Or two?Dragon: What do you intend todo with one or two million?
Del: Invest it..
Dragon:So you want us to giveyou a couple of million poundsfor you to invest?
Rodney: Yes
Dragon: Interesting.... wherewill you invest it?
Del: In online discount vouchercodes!
Dragon:Sorry.... I am notfollowing this... it appears thatyou are simply giving away mymoney?
Del:Yes
Dragon:But anyone can giveaway money if it doesn’t belongto them.
Rodney:Yes, that is true, butthis should be regarded as a biginvestment for you.
Dragon: I am really sorry...but Iam totally lost here. If we giveyou a few million which youthen give away.... then howdoes that equate to being aninvestment for us?
Del:Because by offering bigdiscounts to people who useour technology to ‘connect’ to ataxi.......think about it...the Worldis your lobster!
Dragon: .....you mean a privatehire vehicle?
Del:Yes sorry....Because byoffering big discounts to peoplewho use our technology to‘connect’ to a private hirevehicle we can undercut anyopposition.
Dragon: I see...so you wouldlike us to be involved in anillegal practice of what is knownas “Predatory Pricing”?
Rodney:What’s that?
Dragon:Well, here is a freelesson for you. ‘PredatoryPricing’ occurs when a firm sellsgoods or service at a pricebelow cost (or very cheaply)with the intention of forcing rivalfirms out of business. Once therival firms are no longer around
www.lcdc.cab
Enter the Dragons’ Den
An adaptation from Hove's Andy Peter's: 'Itcouldn't happen... could it?' by Mark White
Issue 249 - May 2017 19
www.lcdc.cab
then the Predator companyputs up the prices, even to theextent of actually raising theprices far above any previousprice that the now long lost rivalcompany was charging.
Del:Yeah... good innit...
Dragon:Mmmmm ... ok... nowputting that aside I think you aregoing to need more than acouple of million?
Del:Cushty! Luvvly Jubbly!Sounds good to me....
Dragon:So...you would wantme to then give you a few moremillion?
Rodney:Possibly... but weintend to go global, so we'll belooking for a lot more ‘investors’to give us more money....
Dragon:How many investors?
Rodney:Oh, loads morebecause it is going to take time.But we know that as we keepgiving the discount codes awaythen eventually the rivals willdisappear and then we will bethe only private hire service!
Dragon:Hold on! Private hireservice????
Del:Sorry..er.....yes. Rodney,you plonker!Sorry, my brother got a littleconfused there...he's a card,ain't he? Bless him....We will be the only technologycompany that the public willhave to use to ‘connect’ with aprivate hire vehicle. Maybe weshould call them ‘cabs’?
Dragon:Ok... we can call themcabs... Tell us more about thedrivers?
Del:Who?
Dragon:The drivers...you knowthe drivers of those 'cabs'?
Del:Oh, them...yes..the driverson our ‘platform’...What wouldyou like to know?
Dragon:Well, how do thesedrivers on your ‘platform’ makeany money?
Rodney:We charge 25% ofeach journey... at the moment...
Dragon:At the moment?
Del:Yes... at the moment...butwe will more than likely increasethis when we have the fullmonopoly...and we will alsohave ‘Surge Pricing!”
Dragon: 'Surge Pricing'?Explain 'Surge Pricing', please?
Rodney:This is where we can
randomly boost the cost of acab journey.... whenever welike. We can put the price up todouble..triple..quadruple..... orhowever much wewant...whenever we want....
Del: ....if it rains...if it iswindy...rush hour...slowhour....you name it....we’ll'Surge' it!
Dragon:Can you stop rubbingyour hands please...?
Del:Sorry...
Dragon:So unlike localcouncils who control the price ofhackney carriage taxi fares toprotect the public your type ofpricing is completely theopposite... you raise the priceswhen you think fit?
Del:Yep.....you got it! He's got itRodney!
Dragon:But why would thepublic use you and your ‘SurgePricing’ when they could usecabs with controlled prices?Rodney: Ahhhh.....but that is thebeauty of it all.....You give us afew million so we can subsidisethe fares with yourmoney...which means we canundercut fares some of the timeand it will eventually wipe outthe competition!!
Dragon:Ok... but going back towhat I was previously sayingthat I think you are going needmore than a few million from us.
In fact it looks like you will needbillions!
Del:Yes! Exciting isn’t it? Butthat is not all!
Dragon:Go on...
Rodney:Some of that money,is in fact, also going into asideline project...
Dragon:Oh good... I thought itwas just one venture... tell memore..
Rodney: We are developing .....self driving cars!
Dragon: Mmmmm interesting.So that means we can swapour own cars for self drivingones?
Del:No.. not at all...We aregoing to have self driving tax.....sorry... cabs.
Dragon:So what happens toall those drivers who are nowon your platform..
Rodney:Who?
Dragon: The drivers! The oneswhich more than likely left theold taxi/private hire companiesthat are now linked to your‘technology’Rodney: Oh them.! They will beoff the ‘platform’ once we getthose self driving cabs rolledout.
Dragon:So you don’t feel that
you have any responsibility tothose drivers who arecontributing to your intendedworldwide domination?
Del:Absolutely not! It’s not as ifthey are employees with rights!
Dragon:Mmmmmm.. Whathappens if you do not getenough drivers on to your‘platform’ in one area?
Del:Easy...we get drivers tocome and work from anotherarea.....simples!
Dragon:But surely each areahas different conditions oflicensing?
Del:And???
Dragon:You don't see that asan issue?
Del:Nope!
Dragon:Ok... Now going backto my investment...
Del:Mai oui, mai oui, pot pourri!
Dragon:Can you please stoprubbing your hands...?!
Del:Sorry...
Dragon: I do not see that Iwould ever get my money backwithin my own lifetime... Also.. itlooks like there would need tobe hundreds.....if not thousandsof other investors that wouldneed to be throwing money atthis... which for all intentions andpurposes looks like a very...verydeep money pit!I think that you may do alright inthe short term. However..thelong term is a completelydifferent issue.I predict that you will eventuallybe confronted with unhappyinvestors becoming impatient tosee a return from theinvestment.I foresee your drivers having towork excessive hours with yourintention to raise thecommission rate, although,more probably, you will still haveenough new drivers coming in,as the old exhausted driversdrop out.I can foresee numerous legalchallenges to your businessmodel as you push theboundaries in forcing changesto statutory regulations to suityour business.With regard to ‘Self DrivingCars’ I think you are living on adifferent planet. I believe thatthis is just a ruse and aplaything for you to give theappearance to your ‘investors’that they should keep holdingon to the hope that suchtechnology will result in amassive return on the billionsthat has been poured on you.Taking all of this intoconsideration, I think I canspeak on behalf of the rest ofthe Dragons when I say.."We’re out!"Can I call you a taxi?
www.lcdc.cab
20 Issue 249 - May 2017
Vision led by innovation & promotionToday, it is more important than ever thatthe taxi industry, across the UK andIreland, works together to equip driverswith the tools they need to compete in adigital world and ensure this iconic tradeprospers through continual innovationand active promotion.cab:app, conceived in 2011, is unitingself-employed taxi drivers throughtechnology, combining a range of driverfocused services with one national taxibooking app for passengers. cab:app provides every taxi driver withthe lowest cost, highest quality, apptechnology to deliver value-addedservices that allow drivers to makemoney or save via their mobile phone.
Working together to build a nationalnetworkOur business model works inpartnership with local taxi drivers, so thefuture direction and success of cab:appis shaped by drivers. We’ll aim to bringcosts down so drivers can retain theirindependence, whilst maintaining ahealthy balance of investment in service,innovation, and marketing. We look tooffer a great product that competes withthe best and promotes everything that’spositive about the taxi industry to thepublic, the media and regulators.
We commit there will be no private hire,no silly ‘race to the bottom’ fixed prices,no selling you your own customers backfor 10% and we will always put drivers atthe heart of every decision ensuring weare acting in your best interests.
We are creating a network ofindependent taxi drivers, wherepassengers can hail, pre-book and payfor a cab from one national app. Over11,000 taxi drivers in 90 locations haveregistered for cab:app, so we have afirm foundation to build on. We haveprocessed over 600,000 cardtransactions paying drivers in excess of£20 million, with next-day settlement 5days a week.
Driver-led services keeping costsdownHaving drivers registered on cab:appallows us to negotiate the best possibleterms on your behalf when dealing withsuppliers including card paymentproviders, banks, media agencies, appdevelopers and insurance companiesas we can aggregate, reduce costs anddeliver a ‘one-stop shop’ service direct tothe driver app.We strongly believe the best way todeliver app-based bookings to drivers, tosupplement their regular rank or streetwork, is by giving drivers the technologyto generate customers on a 0%commission basis, so you never pay foryour own work. It means we can develop corporateaccounts and major brand partnershipsto win high-quality work for taxis that isdifficult for individual drivers to captureon mass, for which we will only chargeup to 5%.
Promotional launch of bookings with0% commissionThis week we will launch a newpartnership with Mastercard, which we
hope will be the first of many.Mastercard want to increase awarenessof their digital wallet, MasterPass, andthey see taxis as an ideal way topromote to high-end customers. Inreturn for our promotion, they areprepared to pay each customer £5 / €5discount when they download cab:app,register their card (any card – can beMastercard, Visa, Amex) in the app, andbook their next journey on cab:app(T&C’s apply).We have set a target for 11 May to 9June, to win 20,000 new customers, sothe more active and successful ourpromotion the more jobs we can createfor drivers. We need your help to spreadthe word about the campaign with fellowdrivers and passengers and anybookings that come back from thispromotion will always be commissionfree for drivers. Mastercard is also giving drivers andpassengers the opportunity to win aprize draw, a pair of tickets andexpenses paid to the ChampionsLeague Final in Cardiff on 3rd June. The only criteria for passengers is thattheir payment at the end of the bookingmust be paid with a Mastercard. Thedrivers that are the most active (beingregistered on cab:app, taking payments,accepting bookings, promoting topassengers) will go into a prize draw forthis great prize (T&C’s apply -cabapp.net/mastercard).
How can drivers help?1. Download or register for the latestdriver app with new functionality – clickon link or update from app store
https://invite.cabapp.io2. Talk to passengers about £5/€5 offnext booking on cab:app with chance towin tickets to Champions League final tohelp promote and get them to download‘cabapp’ from the app store3. Can use attached flyer as a guide orsee ‘Promotion’ option in–app mainmenu as this can be sent via SMS oremail4. Accept jobs as they come up, eitherHail Now when you hear boxing bell inyour immediate vicinity or check ‘Pre-books’ tab in app for future bookings(Note: drivers need to keep app open inbackground to see jobs, so please don’tlog out and if busy please press ‘BUSY’button on main Jobs screen.We really appreciate your support andthis is a great opportunity for the taxiindustry at this tough time to leverage offthe Mastercard brand and theircustomers to offer cab:app’s nationaltaxi app – at no cost to drivers, so it’s awin, win.
National taxi driver tour – ‘Road to Cardiff’To help actively promote the campaignand help taxi drivers across the countryunite with technology, the cab:app team(from England, Ireland, Scotland – nojokes please!) will depart London on11th May and stop in 22 towns and citiesover 9 days finishing in Cardiff on Friday19th May. Below is our itinerary and later in themonth we will embark on a promotionaltour of Ireland and other UK cities. Wehope to see you on our trip and if youwant to meet up along the way andbring cab:app to your local area thenplease get in touch via the app ‘ContactSupport’, on email‘[email protected]’, twitter @cabappor SMS on 07508 550211
Thur 11 May – London (en route -Norwich, Coventry)Fri 12 May – Birmingham (en route -Leicester, Nottingham, Derby)Sat 13 May – Sheffield (en route -Leeds, York, Middlesborough)Sun 14 May – Newcastle (en route -Sunderland)Mon 15 May – Glasgow (en route -Inverness)Tues 16 May – Aberdeen (en route -Edinburgh)Wed 17 May – Manchester (en route -Blackpool)Thur 18 May – Liverpool (en route -Bristol)Fri 19 May - CardiffNote: for cities in orange we will arrivethe night before so are available it meetin evenings or next morning (may besubject to change)We will be posting on Twitter andFacebook throughout the trip andrunning a football competition so pleasefollow us and retweet to help spread theword and promote the world’s best taxiindustry!
Cab:app launches bookings service
Issue 249 - May 2017 21
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By now many of you will knowI've retaken the position as theLCDC Suburban rep. There are many factors for me makingthis decision but the main one is theover supply of Suburban licences, thisone problem is over all in my opinion thebiggest threat to our lively hoods and if itgoes on much longer it won’t be worthdoing anymore, (they just keep oncoming) and Grant Davis is backing mein doing everything in the club’s power tocurb the flow.Now the biggest is TFL just can’t closethe books, you need primary legislationto do this, so the first step is to makecontact with TFL and put our pointacross, but I need your help with this -so would every suburban driver fromevery sector please supply me withpictures of full ranks (not over ranking asthis is illegal) and your own accounts of
your daily struggles.Please send them [email protected] or if you areon Twitter go to @SuburbanFacts andshare pictures etc.. on there.I will use all this to build a dossier topresent to the GLA and TFL.If they can't close the books I'm sure wecan try and get them to freeze 1 or 2 ofthe most over subscribed ones for awhile as they have done this before.
The other thing I have been trying to dois encourage suburban drivers to attendmore demos. I attended one last monthcalled by the UCG on foot with 2 of mycolleagues and it was met with greatpositivity.Think about this from a suburban pointof view: Are we stronger with 3,000 of usor 28,000 of us? (I think you know theanswer)!
Now I know some suburban drivers willtell you all Green Badges "Hate" us. Thisis not the case, of course there aresome but a majority are behind us andwant to see us prosper rather thanstruggle. My Podcast 'Sound of theSuburbs' was downloaded by so manyGreen Badges all interested in what'sgoing on.Unity in my opinion is the only wayforward, I have been out now for almost5 years and seen a massive dividebetween Yellow and Green Badges - butwith absolutely no progress in thesuburbs, it's time to take a differentapproach. It's time to all be Taxi drivers.We have all done our knowledge andare all professionals at the end of theday so going forward as the LCDCsuburban rep, firstly I ask you all to putaside your differences and forget aboutthe past and look to the future andempower the suburbs and yourselvesand join the LCDC.Also we have 9 sectors with all differentproblems, and I am looking for a contactfrom each of these sectors and help meto try and resolve them.Again email me if you would like to helpor on twitter.I will also be looking to try and get morerank space and work.Any ideas for ranks please let me know.
*Please see (right) my letter to TfL oversuburban issues
Application FormPlease complete this form in BLOCK CAPITALS
The subscription rate is £170 per annum. If you are unable to pay in asingle payment please make one cheque payable to “The London CabDrivers’ Club Ltd,” with today’s date, for £56.67, and two post-datedcheques one month apart for £56.67.
Send the completed form to: THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY,The London Cab Drivers’ Club Ltd, UNIT A 303.2Tower Bridge Business Complex, Tower Point, 100 Clements Road, Southwark, London SE16 4DG
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms:.................... Surname: ......................................
First Names:......................................................................................
Address: .......................................................................................................................................... Post Code: ......................................Badge No: ............................. Email: ...............................................Telephone No: (with full STC code):................................................
I agree to abide by the rules of the Club. I also agree that the aboveinformation will be kept by the LCDC in a computer system under theterms of the Data Protection Act.
I understand that I will not be eligible for legal representation for matters arising prior to the date of this application. Thereby declare thatI have no outstanding PCO or police matters pending.
Signed: ...................................... Date: ......................................
Please complete this form and send it with your application form
(LCDC) Ltd UNIT 303.2TOWER BRIDGE BUSINESS COMPLEX, TOWER POINT,
100 CLEMENT’S ROAD, SOUTHWARKLONDON, SE16 4DG
0207 394 5553
Standing Order Form
Your Bank: .........................................................................................Your Bank Address:............................................................................Post Code:..........................................................................................
Please pay the sum of £15 NOW and monthly thereafter until further notice.
Please pay the sum of £42.50 NOW and then quarterly thereafter until further notice.
Quoting Reference No ( )
To the account of THE LONDON CAB DRIVERS’ CLUB LTD, Barclays Bank Bloomsbury & Tottenham Court Road branch,
PO BOX 1134, London W128GGSort Code 20-10-53. Account No- 40450421.
Your Name: .....................................................................................Account No: .....................................................................................Sort Code: .......................................................................................Signature: ........................................................................................Date: ..................................................................................................
Sound of the SuburbsMs Sonia Lewis, Temporary ExecutiveAssistant to Helen Chapman
Dear Ms Lewis,My name is Rob Cardwell and I amthe LCDC Suburban Representative:As a suburban driver myself, there aremany critical issues that I feel needaddressing as a point of urgency if weare to survive and flourish within oursectors.I have five bullet points that I feel needTFL to investigate.1. Mass over supply of Suburbanlicences, we need to freeze the bookson new applicants to make the jobviable in the Suburbs.2. Lack of ranks in Suburban sectors3. Due to the oversupply of PH inCentral London, Green badge driverscoming out to the Suburbs.4. Lack of earnings – New ZEC taxisimpossible to purchase5. Illegal touting throughout all sectors:eg: At the 02 Arena, touts stand at theexit doors touting members of thepublic. We need a presence there fromCompliance officers to stop this activity.Please could you let me know whenthe next Suburban workshop is beingheld at TFL please, as I know there ismuch discussion we in the Suburbswish to have with you.Yours SincerelyRob Cardwell, LCDC
1ST MONTH FREE!
24 Issue 249 - May 2017
www.lcdc.cab
Adam D. ElliottVincent House,
99a Station Road, London, E4 7BU
SPECIALIST ACCOUNTANT TO THE LICENSED TAXI TRADE
Tel: 020 8281 0500email: [email protected] / SKYPE: taxitax
The website created by AjitChambers to lobby thePrime Minister is now beingopened to the Public toallow them to support theBlack Cab Industry.In 2017 Chambers presented arequest for a Public Inquiry (not aParliamentary Inquiry) to UKPrime Minister Theresa May.Realising that Taxi drivers werealways on the road and didn’thave the time he worked withLean Digital who created a website that allows Taxi drivers to usetheir mobile phones to send anautomated email (as a voter andconstituent)to their MPrequesting they write to thePrime Minister. The website hadover 5,000 drivers sign it in thefirst few days.
Ajit Chambers has faced manycomments from senior membersof taxi organisations and anumber of MP’s asking him ‘why
he is involved, as he is not evena taxi driver’. His answer?
‘’I may not be a taxi driver but Iam a Londoner and have everyright to fight for the icon BlackCabs. I am enabling busy driversto get on with their work whilstbeing an advocate of UK Taxitrade’’.
He is putting his money wherehis mouth is and opening hiswebsite to allow the UK Public to’Get Involved’ and write to theirMP asking for a Public Inquiryinto Transport for London - orlose the iconic Black Taxi forever.
If you have doubts about AjitChambers, take the time to seethe effort he is putting into theTrade that others are not. Whenhe brings another 20,000supporters to save the TaxiIndustry (and the way you makea daily living) then perhaps thosedoubts will be proven wrong.
PointCab.co.ukgoes public
Ajit Chambers -bringing TfL toaccount usingpublic inquiry
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Unbelievable PricesTX / VITO REMOULDS
£38.50+VAT
TEL: 0207 231 585772 ENID STREET, BERMONDSEY, LONDON, SE16 3RA
MORRIS TYRE SERVICES
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WOOD STREETCLINIC
The Heart Centre For London Taxi Drivers
Have You Had Heart Problems?
Do you need an Exercise Test and / or Echocardiogram(to measure LVEF) for LtpH?
We can help with our fast, efficient service and speciallow rates for London’s taxi drivers
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We understand that your living can depend on these tests
Contact us now onThe Wood Street Clinic133 Wood StreetBarnet, Herts EN5 4BXTelephone : 0208 449 7656 www.woodstreetclinic.com [email protected]
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