Does anyone know what the taxi drivers are demonstrating about please?

Peter Lawrence

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I know nothing about it - but I bet Uber has something to do with it.

You won't find many people willing to take your bet!

I've been hearing on LBC an advert about an app for "legal taxis"
which I assume means London Hackney Cabs. Leaving aside the
oh so typical attempt to suggest that minicabs are illegal, this app
is significant. It shows that at long last the Hackney Cab trade is
prepared to compete with Uber whereas previously they were
demanding that politicians remove all competition from the playing field.

On 21/04/2016 18:01, Peter Lawrence wrote:
Does anyone know what the taxi drivers are demonstrating about please?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iCjm83FBWA

The complaint is they claim minicabs are plying for hire around St
Pancras and KX.

In message , at 19:12:08 on Fri, 22 Apr
2016, Mizter T remarked:

The complaint is they claim minicabs are plying for hire around St
Pancras and KX.

More specifically, uninsured minicabs.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 19:12:08 on Fri, 22 Apr
2016, Mizter T remarked:

The complaint is they claim minicabs are plying for hire around St
Pancras and KX.

More specifically, uninsured minicabs.

Well any minicab plying for hire on the street is by definition
uninsured.

Peter Smyth

On 22/04/2016 18:23, Robin9 wrote:

Offramp:
I know nothing about it - but I bet Uber has something to do with it.

You won't find many people willing to take your bet!

I've been hearing on LBC an advert about an app for "legal taxis"
which I assume means London Hackney Cabs. Leaving aside the
oh so typical attempt to suggest that minicabs are illegal, this app
is significant. It shows that at long last the Hackney Cab trade is
prepared to compete with Uber whereas previously they were
demanding that politicians remove all competition from the playing
field.

Both the Hailo and Gett (formerly Get Taxi) apps that offer this have
been operating in London since 2011, before Uber arrived here in 2012.

Many taxi drivers fell out of love with Hailo when it also started
offering private hire (minicab) bookings as well, though I think this
was defended by them as being more of a 'back up' should no taxis be
available.

On 22/04/2016 20:05, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 19:12:08 on Fri, 22 Apr
2016, Mizter T remarked:

The complaint is they claim minicabs are plying for hire around St
Pancras and KX.

More specifically, uninsured minicabs.

Wrong, that's not the complaint.

Private hire cars (aka minicabs) are not allowed to ply for hire on the
streets, only taxis can do that.

I'd suggest that you'll find very few, if any, TfL-licensed but
uninsured minicabs out on the street in London - being uninsured means
they'll lose their licence.

It's not like the good old bad old days when anyone could be a minicab
driver in London, when undoubtedly a fair few weren't properly insured.

In article , (Mizter T) wrote:

On 22/04/2016 20:05, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 19:12:08 on Fri, 22 Apr
2016, Mizter T remarked:

The complaint is they claim minicabs are plying for hire around St
Pancras and KX.

More specifically, uninsured minicabs.

Wrong, that's not the complaint.

Private hire cars (aka minicabs) are not allowed to ply for hire on
the streets, only taxis can do that.

I'd suggest that you'll find very few, if any, TfL-licensed but
uninsured minicabs out on the street in London - being uninsured
means they'll lose their licence.

It's not like the good old bad old days when anyone could be a
minicab driver in London, when undoubtedly a fair few weren't
properly insured.

I can't speak for London but the hire car trade outside London has been
subject to licensing since the 1970s but licensed drivers regularly get
caught plying for hire illegally, her in Cambridge at least.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 22/04/2016 22:50, Mizter T wrote:

On 22/04/2016 20:05, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 19:12:08 on Fri, 22 Apr
2016, Mizter T remarked:

The complaint is they claim minicabs are plying for hire around St
Pancras and KX.

More specifically, uninsured minicabs.

Wrong, that's not the complaint.

Private hire cars (aka minicabs) are not allowed to ply for hire on the
streets, only taxis can do that.

I'd suggest that you'll find very few, if any, TfL-licensed but
uninsured minicabs out on the street in London - being uninsured means
they'll lose their licence.

The lack of insurance is automatic (irrespective of any policy paid for)
if (or perhaps when) the driver of the pirate car plies for hire by
approaching or responding to would-be passengers in the street.

It's not like the good old bad old days when anyone could be a minicab
driver in London, when undoubtedly a fair few weren't properly insured.

If (ie, when) they ply for hire, they still aren't. They cannot be.