The Cabby

The Cabby
Issue No 3 March 2004

The e-zine of the Licensed Taxi Trade in the UK

Welcome to the latest edition of The Cabby, I hope that you will find many news items of interest in this issue.

There has been quite a lot going on over the past two months, the OFT report into Taxi's and Private Hire has been published and basically rejected by the House of Commons.
The trade organised a lobby of Parliament against the OFT report which went very well with over 100 MP's pledging support for the trade on the day.
The kipper season has come and doesn't seem to want to go away.

The Public Carriage Office has finally decided that they will not allow advertising on Private Hire vehicles and that all signage will have to be removed from vehicles. This is obviously welcomed by the Taxi Trade but we should imagine that the Private Hire trade are not too happy with the decision.

We still await the Public Carriage Office's review of the review of the Metropolitan Conditions of fitness, this came about by the legal challenge brought upon the PCO by Allied Vehicles. The PCO promised a conclusion within 6 months but as yet no information has been forthcoming.

Jamie Borwick has sold most of his shares in Manganese Bronze, take a look at the article below.

Please do not forget that if there is anything that you would like to see included in "The Cabby" then please let us know. We welcome any input no matter how large or small.

I hope that this newsletter reaches you all as spring bursts through your window.

Rgds
Jamie
Editor

::Another London Bendy Bus goes up in flames

London's new Bendy Buses are to be inspected every day after the third bus in four months burst into flames on London's Park Lane.

The No 436 bus carrying passengers was engulfed after flames were seen pouring from the rear engine compartment. Luckily the driver and passengers were evacuated before the bus was completely gutted, as within minutes the bus was nothing but a burnt out metal shell.

Transport for London (TfL) was holding emergency discussions with the bus makers, Evo Bus, a subsidiary of Mercedes. Even though this is the third incident of this type TfL state that the buses will not be withdrawn from service.

Transport groups are voicing their concerns over the safety of these vehicles, Andrew Bosi, chairman of the pressure group Capital Transport Campaign, said: "Until we know what has happened these buses should be taken off the road."

Luckily the bus in question was not full when the problem occurred but these buses have a capacity of 140 passengers. The articulated bendy buses are rapidly replacing the popular Route master buses which are being withdrawn from service and even though Route masters have been known to have engine fires only three such incidents have occurred in the last 45 years of service of the 3000 Route masters built.

::Promising results from festive anti-tout campaign

Latest results released by TfL today shows a significant decrease in journeys taken in illegal cabs in the run up to Christmas in the West End, particularly among women.
Highlights from the latest round of customer research to assess the impact of TfL and Metropolitan Police Service’s cab enforcement team anti-tout initiatives include:

::Taxi Trade Charities, Are they really worth it !!!!!

When out and about talking to Taxi drivers I hear all the different cries about the Taxi trade charities, “some of the kids don’t deserve it”, “I don’t take my own kids out so why should I take someone else’s kids out for the day”, “most of those kids look perfectly normal and there’s nothing wrong with them why should I lose a days money to take them out”. The excuses and cries go on, well lets see if we can address some of these issues by relaying some of the children’s stories to you and from my own perspective from my time on the committee of the Albany.

::Technology & the Taxi Trade

Taxi drivers, have you ever had to refuse a “roader” because the customer wants to pay by credit card. To those of you on a radio circuit or Zingo this will not pose a problem, but what of those drivers who only work the streets. Well there are a few different options available. The use of credit cards as payment for Taxi fares is becoming more widespread with every year that passes, I know that some of you are dubious about accepting credit card payments but if you follow the procedures then you should encounter no problems. Research shows that many of the longer journey’s these days are paid for by credit or debit cards, and on occasions passengers are more likely to travel further if they can pay by credit or debit card. There are a few options open to those taxi drivers who are interested in accepting credit cards of which we have given an explanation below of the most popular schemes.

::Final stage for minicab licensing begins

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone today announced the final stage of a major operation to license London’s private hire industry.

From early June 2004 private hire vehicles will have to meet strict safety standards to trade legally by either holding a license or a temporary permit from the Public Carriage Office (PCO). The regulations for the vehicle licensing will be considered by the TfL board on 11th February and vehicle checks will start in April.

All 40,000 vehicles in the capital will be inspected annually by a contractor working for TfL’s Public Carriage Office (PCO).

::The controversial UK Taxi Discussion List

Controversial they call it, funny how mutterings like this always come from those who are neither members nor have ever been members.
For those of you not in the know, the UK Taxi Discussion list has been running in various forms for about 10 years, originally the idea of Vince Chin who set up the discussion list and administered it for about 5 or 6 years and then after leaving the trade found that he did not have the time to carry on with it and closed the origial list.
It was decided that this was far too valuable to lose so the group moved over to Yahoo which became the home of the discussion list for the next few years until it moved to its present home at www.taxitalk.org.uk.

::Free websites for London Taxi Trade Charities

Ultimate Hosting would like to offer any charity within the London Taxi Trade free website hosting, this is the space on the internet where a website is served from.

In addition to the above offer we will also design a free 4 page website or any charity accepting this offer, additional pages can be added at a small extra cost or quotes can be given for your specific requirements.

This offer will give the charity a professional presence on the internet with genuine POP email accounts, access can be given to the online control panel should you have someone within your organisation that would like to design the website for you. The only charge to the charity will be the bi-yearly domain name registration fees which you can either register and pay for yourself or let us do it for you at cost.

Ultimate Hosting is part of The London Taxi Company.com Ltd who have many years experience in promoting the taxi trade and its associated charities on the internet.

If any company within the taxi trade would like information about the service’s that we offer please give us a call on 08702 86 68 86 or 07939 277922. Our prices are very competitive and our support is second to none, we know what the Taxi trade needs from the internet and who better to look after your taxi related website than an internet based Taxi company.

::Jamie Borwick sells 38% share in Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC

It has been reported that Jamie Borwick has recently sold a 38% share in Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC, Jamie was formerly Chairman of Manganese until recently when he launched a take over bid and resigned as Chairman.

Jamie has sent us a message which he has asked to be passed on

The announcement below has gone out to the Stock Exchange this morning.

What am I going to do next? First priority is to think up an answer to acquaintances whose first question is always ‘How’s the Taxi Trade?’ After about 23 enjoyable years in the taxi industry, it would seem silly to throw them away and have nothing more to do with my friends. I don’t have any specific ideas for the future, and I have lots to keep me busy with my property interests and investments in high tech start up companies. I know that I’m not going to rescue Metrocab, and I don’t have yet another converted van to sell to you. I don’t want to strap magnets to the fuel lines to improve consumption, but if anybody has got any bright money making ideas, please let me know…

Regards and Thanks
Jamie Borwick

We would like to wish Jamie well for any future enterprises and hope that he does not lose touch with the Taxi trade, Jamie always seemed to have a genuine enthusiasm for the trade and was known among his peers affectionately as "Mr Taxi"

::Cheap website hosting from Ultimate Hosting

Looking for somewhere to host your website, looking for cheap and reliable web hosting, take a look at our website for some fantastic deals. www.ultimate-hosting.co.uk

::New magazine for the Taxi Trade

A new magazine is to be launched shortly aimed at the Taxi driver, the new venture to be called Cab Chat is the idea of Dave Millward of TaxiTalk magazine fame and Bernie May.
Bernie stated that they want to gear the magazine more towards the driver rather than the garages and manufacturers.
The first issue of the magazine is due to hit the streets sometime during April.
We would like to wish Dave and Bernie all the best of success with this new and exciting venture.

::Become a correspondent for The Cabby

Do you feel that you have something to offer The Cabby? would you like to put your views across, send us in your contributions. The Cabby is the Taxi Trades largest online newsletter sent direct to e-mail inboxes of the taxi trade and those interested in London and it's World famous taxi's. Unfortunately we cannot afford to pay for your contribution as this newsletter has no funding but we welcome any input no matter how large or small.

New PDA friendly version of the London-Taxi.co.uk site now available

You can now access a PDA friendly version of this site. Just point your PDA's web browser to http://www.pda.london-taxi.co.uk.
If you are an AvantGo user then you can create a custom channel just log into your account and create channel as http://www.pda.london-taxi.co.uk.
We believe that this is a first for the Taxi trade.

Text Your News to Us - 07745 546562

You can now TEXT your news to us, or any information that you feel relevant to Taxi drivers ie. Security Alerts regarding attacks on drivers, roadworks and closures, events or any story that you might like to tell be it funny or otherwise.
Please TEXT to
07745 546562

We would like to make The Cabby as interactive as possible, but we can only do this with your help. Maybe you would like to share your experiences of London and it's World famous Taxi's good or bad.

Maybe you would like to contribute something to the next Cabby or just comment on something within this issue, maybe you have a question that you would like answered, please feel free to send us anything you like news.thecabby@london-taxi.co.uk

Recomended Guides

London-Taxi:
Visit the London-Taxi.co.uk website one of the most popular Taxi related websites on the net.
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Taxi-News:
Get all the latest news about the UK taxi trade.
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The Cabby on-line:
The online archive of this newsletter.
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Taxi Web:
Online directory of companies and services within the Uk Taxi trade.
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Taxi Discussion Forums:
Why not come and join in with the lively discussions on the forums. Put your point of view across.
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Wedding Taxis:
Book a London Taxi for your Wedding Transport, from vintage to modern day Taxi's available.
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The Knowledge:
The new online Knowledge of London website.
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Ultimate Hosting:
Cheap, reliable and friendly webhosting.
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Public Carriage Office:
The licensing authority for London's Taxi's and Private Hire vehicles, drivers and operators.
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The AA:
The Automobile Association and breakdown service.
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RAC:
The Royal Automobile Club and breakdown service.
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London Town:
Online guide to London.
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Taxicab:
Vince Chin's definitive guide to the Taxi industry.
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News Links

Revised License Fees
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New Fare Tariff
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Zingo downturn in business
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London Taxi's for America
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New knowledge website
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Taxi News Links

PCO Notices:
Notices and News from the PCO.
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London News:
News on London from Taxi News.
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UK Taxi News:
Taxi news from around the UK.
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World Taxi News:
Taxi news from around the World.
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General Motoring News:
News about general motoring issues.
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Internet & Telecoms

Ultimate Hosting:
For cheap, reliable and friendly webhosting, website design and telecomunications.
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Pocket GPS World:
News and reviews on GPS solutions and the Handheld PDA.
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Charity Section

The Albany Taxi Charity:
Organises days out to the seaside for children with special needs.
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Magical Taxi Tour:
The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers Magical Taxi Tour to Disneyland Paris for children with life threatening illnesses.
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Underprivileged Children's Fund
Arranges days out for underprivileged children.
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Advertise Here

Advertise your company here the cost could be less than you think.
Give us a call on
0870 199 4409

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This site is Powered by

www.ultimate-hosting.co.uk

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Dates for your Diary

May 18th:
LTDFUC Woburn outing.
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June 9th:
Albany Hastings Outing.
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June 15th:
War Disabled Worthing.
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July 7th:
East London Cabbies outing to Maldon Essex for Handicapped Children.
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July 8th:
Liverpool Taxi Drivers Blind Children's outing.
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July 12th:
Albany Taxi Charity Fund's annual Margate Outing.
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October 1st:
The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers 11th annual Magical Taxi Tour to Disneyland Paris.
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Other Dates:
If anyone has any other dates that they would like included in our diary then please let us know
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Information

Car Hire:
If you are brave enough to drive in London then hiring a car during your visit can be a rewarding experience.
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Flight Centre:
Planning a trip, going on Holiday? take a look at our online flight centre.
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London Cams:
Want to see whets going on in London, take a look at the London Cams section of our website.
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Text us your News & Views:
Don't forget that you can now text us your news about London and it's Taxi's, your feedback on this newsletter or any contribution you may like to make 07745 546562.
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Theatre Tickets:
Planning a trip to the theatre, take a look at our on-line ticket office.
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Gadgets:
Are you into gadgets, take a look at our selection of the best online gadget stores.
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The Knowledge:
Visit our new Knowledge of London website www.the-knowledge.net.
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Coming Next Issue

Mobile Phones:
A guide to mobile phones and what's on offer.
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The Magical Taxi Tour:
A look at the trip and how you can get involved.
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Letters section:
Letters from our readers.
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GPS Solutions:
A look at the different GPS offerings in the market place.
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The Lobby of Parliament:
Pictures from the Taxi trades lobby of Parliament.
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A view from the provinces:
Views from Taxi drivers around the Country.
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Previous Issues

Issue No 1:
January 2003
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Issue No 2:
February 2004
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While The Cabby and its agents used their best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein, The Cabby does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident or other causes. The Cabby and its affiliated individuals may, from time to time, own, have positions or options in companies discussed herein and may also perform advisory services, and/or have other relationships with those companies.