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Heathrow black cabs - never again!
I took a black cab from Heathrow to Twickenham yesterday and suffered
the entire trip listening to the driver swearing his head off about how awful it was for him having to do a short trip and the traffic holding him up for over an hour. I fully understand he'd lose his ticket back to the rank and instead have to sit in the feeder park for a few hours, but that's the law and it's just tough. Because of him I will never be taking another black cab from a Heathrow rank again, no matter where I'm going, and I'm making sure all my friends and colleagues know about this sorry tale too. This isn't the first time I've had to suffer an angry driver taking his frustration with a crap system out on me as a passenger, and I'm not going to put up with it any more. I took the cab number but haven't made up my mind whether to report him or not yet as he did take me to my destination. Sorry for the rant. I'm hopeful some cabbies will read this and realise they're causing their own problems by driving their customers away (pun intended). |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Kooky45" wrote in message
om... I took a black cab from Heathrow to Twickenham yesterday and suffered the entire trip listening to the driver swearing his head off about how awful it was for him having to do a short trip and the traffic holding him up for over an hour. I fully understand he'd lose his ticket back to the rank and instead have to sit in the feeder park for a few hours, but that's the law and it's just tough. Because of him I will never be taking another black cab from a Heathrow rank again, no matter where I'm going, and I'm making sure all my friends and colleagues know about this sorry tale too. This isn't the first time I've had to suffer an angry driver taking his frustration with a crap system out on me as a passenger, and I'm not going to put up with it any more. I took the cab number but haven't made up my mind whether to report him or not yet as he did take me to my destination. Sorry for the rant. I'm hopeful some cabbies will read this and realise they're causing their own problems by driving their customers away (pun intended). What *is* the system? What is the "ticket back to the rank"? If the system penalises taxi drivers in some way for doing short journeys, why *should* he suffer in silence? For all he knew, you might have been in a position to lobby for changes to be made, so he had nothing to lose by moaning. "That's the law and it's tough" is no excuse for people to have to accept the status quo in silence. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
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Heathrow black cabs - never again!
Martin Underwood wrote:
"Kooky45" wrote in message om... I took a black cab from Heathrow to Twickenham yesterday and suffered the entire trip listening to the driver swearing his head off about how awful it was for him having to do a short trip and the traffic holding him up for over an hour. I fully understand he'd lose his ticket back to the rank and instead have to sit in the feeder park for a few hours, but that's the law and it's just tough. Because of him I will never be taking another black cab from a Heathrow rank again, no matter where I'm going, and I'm making sure all my friends and colleagues know about this sorry tale too. This isn't the first time I've had to suffer an angry driver taking his frustration with a crap system out on me as a passenger, and I'm not going to put up with it any more. I took the cab number but haven't made up my mind whether to report him or not yet as he did take me to my destination. Sorry for the rant. I'm hopeful some cabbies will read this and realise they're causing their own problems by driving their customers away (pun intended). What *is* the system? What is the "ticket back to the rank"? AIUI taxi drivers have to join the long queue in the feeder park unless they have just finished a short journey from the airport, in which case they get a special ticket which entitles them to join the rank at one of the terminals directly. So, if you live at Brentford, your driver will be happy because he'll get back to the terminal quickly. And if you live in Kensington, he'll be able to charge you a lot, and he'll be even happier. But if you live in Chiswick or Twickenham, it's just outside the "short journey" area, and you may have to suffer a grumpy driver. If the system penalises taxi drivers in some way for doing short journeys, why *should* he suffer in silence? For all he knew, you might have been in a position to lobby for changes to be made, so he had nothing to lose by moaning. "That's the law and it's tough" is no excuse for people to have to accept the status quo in silence. Totally disagree. If you're in a customer-facing job, you should not take your frustration with your job out on the customer. The driver knows the rules. If he doesn't like them, he should lobby BAA or the PCO or whoever makes the rules. "Swearing his head off" to his customer is indefensible. -- Richard J. (to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address) |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
Ken Ord:
I took a black cab from Heathrow to Twickenham yesterday and suffered the entire trip listening to the driver swearing his head off about how awful it was for him ... Martin Underwood: If the system penalises taxi drivers in some way for doing short journeys, why *should* he suffer in silence? Well, where *I* live, this http://mapleleaftaxi.ca/billofrites.gif would be why. Note the words "courteous" and "silent ride". I looked for a similar regulation on http://www.tfl.gov.uk/pco/, though, and didn't find one. -- Mark Brader | Well, unfortunately, that is impossible, or very difficult, or Toronto | highly inadvisable, or would require legislation--one of those. | -- Sir Humphrey ("Yes Minister", Lynn & Jay) |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
On 18-Dec-2004, Mark Brader wrote in : Well, where *I* live... .....is somewhere "*I*" wouldn't want to live. this http://mapleleaftaxi.ca/billofrites.gif would be why. Note the words "courteous" and "silent ride". Also please note the words "****" and "off". I looked for a similar regulation on http://www.tfl.gov.uk/pco/, though, and didn't find one. But then, you'll find many differences between London and your **** hole, wherever it is -- is that news or something? -- kedron |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
kedron wrote:
On 18-Dec-2004, Mark Brader wrote in : Well, where *I* live... ....is somewhere "*I*" wouldn't want to live. this http://mapleleaftaxi.ca/billofrites.gif would be why. Note the words "courteous" and "silent ride". Also please note the words "****" and "off". I looked for a similar regulation on http://www.tfl.gov.uk/pco/, though, and didn't find one. But then, you'll find many differences between London and your **** hole, wherever it is -- is that news or something? It's more relevant than your offensive rant. Perhaps when you've sobered up, you could apologise to one of this NG's most valued contributors for your gratuitous insult. -- Richard J. (to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address) |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
Kooky45 wrote to uk.transport.london on Fri, 17 Dec 2004:
I took the cab number but haven't made up my mind whether to report him or not yet as he did take me to my destination. If he used offensive language, I should most certainly report him. There is no excuse whatsoever for a person allegedly providing a public service to use foul language to his or her client. But do be careful if you try taking a mini-cab instead, next time - you could be very seriously ripped off! Try public transport instead - or using one of the long-term, off-airport car-parks with courtesy buses to and from the airport. -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 18 December 2004 |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"kedron" wrote in message
... snip abuse of Mark Brader, and Canada of all places Who the hell are you to insult our most knowledgeable and esteemed contributor? -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Richard J." wrote: AIUI taxi drivers have to join the long queue in the feeder park unless they have just finished a short journey from the airport, in which case they get a special ticket which entitles them to join the rank at one of the terminals directly. So, if you live at Brentford, your driver will be happy because he'll get back to the terminal quickly. And if you live in Kensington, he'll be able to charge you a lot, and he'll be even happier. But if you live in Chiswick or Twickenham, it's just outside the "short journey" area, and you may have to suffer a grumpy driver. In this case, why doesn't the driver ply for his/her next customer in Chiswick or Twickenham then, rather than go back to the airport empty? Surely there are plenty of rich people in these areas who wouldn't dream of getting a bus? Or has the successful lobbying of the LTDA for exhorbitant fares come back to haunt the black cab trade, in the form of customers deserting to licensed minicabs? Chris |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Martin Underwood" wrote in message ... "Kooky45" wrote in message om... What *is* the system? What is the "ticket back to the rank"? If the system penalises taxi drivers in some way for doing short journeys, why *should* he suffer in silence? For all he knew, you might have been in a position to lobby for changes to be made, so he had nothing to lose by moaning. "That's the law and it's tough" is no excuse for people to have to accept the status quo in silence. It isn't a law, it's a rule. It's a rule made by the people who represent, in some way, the drivers and is for their benefit (as a group). It's a rule that a driver will be aware of, probably before he qualifies as a driver and certainly before he asks for the special permit (or whatever) to allow him to join the queue to pick-up at the airport. If a driver doesn't like the rules at LHR he should ply his trade elsewhere. tim |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"John Rowland" writes:
snip abuse of Mark Brader, and Canada of all places Oh, I thought it was Toronto specifically. Who the hell are you to insult our most knowledgeable and esteemed contributor? Huh? Clive Feather hasn't posted in this thread. -- Mark Brader, Toronto | "When I wanted to be a sigquote, that wasn't | the one I was thinking of." --Clive Feather |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
Mrs Redboots wrote: But do be careful if you try taking a mini-cab instead, next time - you could be very seriously ripped off! Try public transport instead - or using one of the long-term, off-airport car-parks with courtesy buses to and from the airport. I now have an account with a limousine service I know from a previous company, and hopefully will never have to use a black cab again. They do personal meetings at the arrival gates at Heathrow too, and they're still cheaper than the black cabs. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , Kooky45
writes I took a black cab from Heathrow to Twickenham yesterday and suffered the entire trip listening to the driver swearing his head off about how awful it was for him having to do a short trip and the traffic holding him up for over an hour. I fully understand he'd lose his ticket back to the rank and instead have to sit in the feeder park for a few hours, but that's the law and it's just tough. Because of him I will never be taking another black cab from a Heathrow rank again, no matter where I'm going, and I'm making sure all my friends and colleagues know about this sorry tale too. This isn't the first time I've had to suffer an angry driver taking his frustration with a crap system out on me as a passenger, and I'm not going to put up with it any more. I took the cab number but haven't made up my mind whether to report him or not yet as he did take me to my destination. Sorry for the rant. I'm hopeful some cabbies will read this and realise they're causing their own problems by driving their customers away (pun intended). I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority about the Heathrow system. Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of taxi passengers wish to go. Taxis are legally obliged to take any fare up to 20 mile of Heathrow if it is within the Metropolitan Police district. They can refuse any fares outside the Met or over 20 miles. Fares outside the Met are by negotiation and can be any amount. In order to stop (or at least reduce) the frustration and bad feeling that getting a local fare used to generate a 'local fare' system was introduced. This means that a driver getting a fare to local areas is given a special ticket which entitles them to return to any of the ranks without going through the feeder park first PROVIDED THIS IS WITHIN ONE HOUR of leaving the airport. The problem is that some local journeys, particularly in the rush hours, is that it takes more than an hour to get back so the driver loses his place and has to go back to the feeder park. No driver enjoys this BUT THEY SHOULD NOT TAKE IT OUT ON THE CUSTOMER. I just take it as best I can and concentrate on getting back to the airport as fast as I can (less of a problem when you work nights, but a real problem when the fares have nearly all finished at about 11p.m.) I make no apology for the actions of the driver. He should not take this out on his passengers. There are good and bad in every occupation. There are also good and bad customers. For example some customers who know the situation will ask for Brentford when they go the Chiswick because you get a ticket to go back from Brentford, but not from Chiswick. Likewise from St Margarets but not from Richmond. The system is full of anomalies. The whole thing should have been sorted out with the introduction of a new computer system. Guess what? The system is not up and running despite the fact that we were given guarantees that it would be working no later than the end of September. In the meantime drivers have to pay £3.16 every time t hey go into Heathrow for the 'priviledge' of picking up and can only charge £1 to the passengers. It seems that everything anything promised with a computer system is always late and always costs more that estimated! OK. now I'm ranting about computer programmers or am I just being picking out one part of the system and ignoring the (good) rest, just like people do with the taxi trade? Mike -- Mike Hughes A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Mike Hughes" wrote in message ... In message , Kooky45 writes I took a black cab from Heathrow to Twickenham yesterday and suffered the entire trip listening to the driver swearing his head off about how awful it was for him having to do a short trip and the traffic holding him up for over an hour. I fully understand he'd lose his ticket back to the rank and instead have to sit in the feeder park for a few hours, but that's the law and it's just tough. Because of him I will never be taking another black cab from a Heathrow rank again, no matter where I'm going, and I'm making sure all my friends and colleagues know about this sorry tale too. This isn't the first time I've had to suffer an angry driver taking his frustration with a crap system out on me as a passenger, and I'm not going to put up with it any more. I took the cab number but haven't made up my mind whether to report him or not yet as he did take me to my destination. Sorry for the rant. I'm hopeful some cabbies will read this and realise they're causing their own problems by driving their customers away (pun intended). I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority about the Heathrow system. Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of taxi passengers wish to go. Taxis are legally obliged to take any fare up to 20 mile of Heathrow if it is within the Metropolitan Police district. They can refuse any fares outside the Met or over 20 miles. Fares outside the Met are by negotiation and can be any amount. In order to stop (or at least reduce) the frustration and bad feeling that getting a local fare used to generate a 'local fare' system was introduced. This means that a driver getting a fare to local areas is given a special ticket which entitles them to return to any of the ranks without going through the feeder park first PROVIDED THIS IS WITHIN ONE HOUR of leaving the airport. The problem is that some local journeys, particularly in the rush hours, is that it takes more than an hour to get back so the driver loses his place and has to go back to the feeder park. No driver enjoys this BUT THEY SHOULD NOT TAKE IT OUT ON THE CUSTOMER. I just take it as best I can and concentrate on getting back to the airport as fast as I can (less of a problem when you work nights, but a real problem when the fares have nearly all finished at about 11p.m.) I make no apology for the actions of the driver. He should not take this out on his passengers. There are good and bad in every occupation. There are also good and bad customers. For example some customers who know the situation will ask for Brentford when they go the Chiswick because you get a ticket to go back from Brentford, but not from Chiswick. Likewise from St Margarets but not from Richmond. The system is full of anomalies. The whole thing should have been sorted out with the introduction of a new computer system. Guess what? The system is not up and running despite the fact that we were given guarantees that it would be working no later than the end of September. In the meantime drivers have to pay £3.16 every time t hey go into Heathrow for the 'priviledge' of picking up and can only charge £1 to the passengers. It seems that everything anything promised with a computer system is always late and always costs more that estimated! OK. now I'm ranting about computer programmers or am I just being picking out one part of the system and ignoring the (good) rest, just like people do with the taxi trade? Mike ---------------------------- Mike Hughes you speak with absolutely no authority at all."BUTTERBOY" Mike Hughes A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
|
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
... I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority about the Heathrow system. Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of taxi passengers wish to go. Taxis are legally obliged to take any fare up to 20 mile of Heathrow if it is within the Metropolitan Police district. They can refuse any fares outside the Met or over 20 miles. Fares outside the Met are by negotiation and can be any amount. In order to stop (or at least reduce) the frustration and bad feeling that getting a local fare used to generate a 'local fare' system was introduced. This means that a driver getting a fare to local areas is given a special ticket which entitles them to return to any of the ranks without going through the feeder park first PROVIDED THIS IS WITHIN ONE HOUR of leaving the airport. The problem is that some local journeys, particularly in the rush hours, is that it takes more than an hour to get back so the driver loses his place and has to go back to the feeder park. No driver enjoys this BUT THEY SHOULD NOT TAKE IT OUT ON THE CUSTOMER. The whole thing should have been sorted out with the introduction of a new computer system. Guess what? The system is not up and running despite the fact that we were given guarantees that it would be working no later than the end of September. In the meantime drivers have to pay £3.16 every time t hey go into Heathrow for the 'priviledge' of picking up and can only charge £1 to the passengers. It seems that everything anything promised with a computer system is always late and always costs more that estimated! OK. now I'm ranting about computer programmers or am I just being picking out one part of the system and ignoring the (good) rest, just like people do with the taxi trade? Taxi drivers still can't be doing too badly out of the current set-up, otherwise there wouldn't be enough of them willing to wait "hours" in the feeder park, while they could be elsewhere earning their crust. -- Richard |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Richard Rundle" wrote in message
... "Mike Hughes" wrote in message ... I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority about the Heathrow system. Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of taxi passengers wish to go. If taxis are waiting up to 3 hours between returning to Heathrow and reaching a rank where they can pick up a passenger, doen't this suggest that there are too many taxis? The ideal number would be such that there is no queue in a feeder park and as a taxi leaves the head of a queue at one terminal, another is just being marshalled to the end of that queue. Obviously you need *some* slack in the system, but three hours seems to be excessive. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Martin Underwood" wrote in message ... If taxis are waiting up to 3 hours between returning to Heathrow and reaching a rank where they can pick up a passenger, doen't this suggest that there are too many taxis? The ideal number would be such that there is no queue in a feeder park and as a taxi leaves the head of a queue at one terminal, another is just being marshalled to the end of that queue. Obviously you need *some* slack in the system, but three hours seems to be excessive. 95% of the time there are far too many taxis. Unfortunately, the decision as to the numbers appears to be based on the demand for cabs during those peak times, such as a rainy Saturday night. As a cab driver myself, I've often wondered if there'd be a benefit to permitting knowledge boys in the latter stages of the knowledge to work Friday and Saturday nights in the West End only. I've been out for 3 years now, and I know I could have done the job 6 months before I got my badge. That way, the public are happy, as there's a greater supply of cabs during peak times, cab garages are happy as they have an increased market to rent cabs out to, and cab drivers are happy as the constant pressure to increase the number of cab drivers would largely cease. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Martin Underwood" wrote in message ... "Richard Rundle" wrote in message ... "Mike Hughes" wrote in message ... I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority about the Heathrow system. Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of taxi passengers wish to go. If taxis are waiting up to 3 hours between returning to Heathrow and reaching a rank where they can pick up a passenger, doen't this suggest that there are too many taxis? The ideal number would be such that there is no queue in a feeder park and as a taxi leaves the head of a queue at one terminal, another is just being marshalled to the end of that queue. Obviously you need *some* slack in the system, but three hours seems to be excessive. But this is at the drivers' choice. As has been noted, the possibility of a plum pickup must make this wait worthwhile or they wouldn't do it. tim |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , Mike Hughes
writes The whole thing should have been sorted out with the introduction of a new computer system. Guess what? The system is not up and running despite the fact that we were given guarantees that it would be working no later than the end of September. Did they specify the year, Mike? :-) -- Ian Jelf, MITG Birmingham, UK Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , Ian Jelf
writes In message , Mike Hughes writes The whole thing should have been sorted out with the introduction of a new computer system. Guess what? The system is not up and running despite the fact that we were given guarantees that it would be working no later than the end of September. Did they specify the year, Mike? :-) Damn. I've just realised that specified the year but not the decade :-) -- Mike Hughes A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message ,
Martin Underwood writes "Richard Rundle" wrote in message ... "Mike Hughes" wrote in message ... I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority about the Heathrow system. Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of taxi passengers wish to go. If taxis are waiting up to 3 hours between returning to Heathrow and reaching a rank where they can pick up a passenger, doen't this suggest that there are too many taxis? The ideal number would be such that there is no queue in a feeder park and as a taxi leaves the head of a queue at one terminal, another is just being marshalled to the end of that queue. Obviously you need *some* slack in the system, but three hours seems to be excessive. The trouble is that there is no way of determining the demand. Although there are roughly the same number of flights each day there are a variety of factors which affect demand. Rainy weather increase demand, train and bus problems increase demand, bank holidays in other countries decreases demand. Road conditions also have an effect Late flights are a prime example why there is a variation of demand. There is at the taxi feeder park a canteen which most drivers use, particularly at 'normal' meal times. There are even a number of drivers who live some distance from London, come to town for 3 or 4 days and sleep in the taxi at Heathrow. The number of taxis entering the feeder park is also partially determined by the number of departures - the greater the number of departures the greater the number of taxis taking them to the airport. The whole thing is quite complicated. On the whole it works quite well, giving an excellent supply of taxis. If only the marshals at the terminals could get their act together when it's busy we could load up the customers quicker - we get as frustrated as the customers by slow 'service' ! There seems to be a different outlook by customers when it comes to taxi services. If it freezes and your pipes burst you don't expect to get a plumber straight away. If you are trying to get to work at rush hour you put up with it, but god help the taxi service if you can't get one from your annual Christmas party to take you home. There is a huge outcry that there's not enough taxis. The fact that everyone else is looking for a taxi at the same time doesn't enter into the equation. Now if we could just do as the minicabs can do and increase our prices for the busy periods to encourage more taxis out on the road the situation would not be as bad... (maybe) :-) -- Mike Hughes A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , at
00:10:05 on Sat, 18 Dec 2004, Martin Underwood remarked: If the system penalises taxi drivers in some way for doing short journeys, why *should* he suffer in silence? For all he knew, you might have been in a position to lobby for changes to be made, so he had nothing to lose by moaning. "That's the law and it's tough" is no excuse for people to have to accept the status quo in silence. And, of course, rail passengers are entitled to take exactly the same view when complaining to railway staff. -- Roland Perry |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , at 19:38:35 on
Sat, 18 Dec 2004, Mike Hughes remarked: Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. Why not simply drive back to Central London and carry on getting fares there? Surely the cost of that "empty" journey can't exceed the profit you'd make in 3 hours of work? -- Roland Perry |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Roland Perry" wrote in message .uk... In message , at 19:38:35 on Sat, 18 Dec 2004, Mike Hughes remarked: Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual terminal. Why not simply drive back to Central London and carry on getting fares there? Surely the cost of that "empty" journey can't exceed the profit you'd make in 3 hours of work? -- Roland Perry ----------------------------------- As an London Licensed Taxi Driver for 25 years you will find that the majority of drivers choose to work at the airport & wait because they can no longer stand stopping for Pewkers, ****ters, ****ers, verbal abusers, drunks, druggies (bilkers,people that run off without paying the driver)etc& yes I have actually had several people **** themselves in the back & one bloke actually got indignant with me when I shouted at him,if you think I acted wrongly kindly forward me your address so that the next time it happens I can come round to where you live & you can clean it up. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , at 14:39:02 on
Tue, 21 Dec 2004, Leigh Mallory remarked: As an London Licensed Taxi Driver for 25 years you will find that the majority of drivers choose to work at the airport & wait because they can no longer stand stopping for Pewkers, ****ters, ****ers, verbal abusers, drunks, druggies (bilkers,people that run off without paying the driver)etc& yes I have actually had several people **** themselves in the back & one bloke actually got indignant with me when I shouted at him,if you think I acted wrongly kindly forward me your address so that the next time it happens I can come round to where you live & you can clean it up. Does anyone warn new recruits about this? -- Roland Perry |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Leigh Mallory" typed
As an London Licensed Taxi Driver for 25 years you will find that the majority of drivers choose to work at the airport & wait because they can no longer stand stopping for Pewkers, ****ters, ****ers, verbal abusers, drunks, druggies (bilkers,people that run off without paying the driver)etc& yes I have actually had several people **** themselves in the back & one bloke actually got indignant with me when I shouted at him,if you think I acted wrongly kindly forward me your address so that the next time it happens I can come round to where you live & you can clean it up. This sounds really horrible! It's people like this that really make working with the general public truly dreadful. I have to remind myself they are only a tiny minority of the population. It is things like this that make me glad I have retired... -- Helen D. Vecht: Edgware. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
I make no apology for the actions of the driver. He should not take this out on his passengers. There are good and bad in every occupation. There are also good and bad customers. For example some customers who know the situation will ask for Brentford when they go the Chiswick because you get a ticket to go back from Brentford, but not from Chiswick. Likewise from St Margarets but not from Richmond. The system is full of anomalies. Mike is this an example of a good customer or a bad customer? It sounds good from the driver's point of view, as long as he can get back within an hour. xx j |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Roland Perry" wrote in message .uk... In message , at 14:39:02 on Tue, 21 Dec 2004, Leigh Mallory remarked: As an London Licensed Taxi Driver for 25 years you will find that the majority of drivers choose to work at the airport & wait because they can no longer stand stopping for Pewkers, ****ters, ****ers, verbal abusers, drunks, druggies (bilkers,people that run off without paying the driver)etc& yes I have actually had several people **** themselves in the back & one bloke actually got indignant with me when I shouted at him,if you think I acted wrongly kindly forward me your address so that the next time it happens I can come round to where you live & you can clean it up. Does anyone warn new recruits about this? -- Roland Perry ---------------------------- That's a very good question Roland,the Public carriage office has no orientation policy apart from a race & disablement awareness pamphlet which new recruits are supposed to read,the head of the Public Carriage office Roy Ellis appears to only have one issue on board & that is obeying & pleasing his political master Ken Livingstone he is a despicable toady & does not care a hoot for the drivers welfare,nothing could prepare you for the scenario that I came up against 3 years ago when I found myself at 2.30 am dropping off three big guys in a back street of Brixton one of them held a knife to my throat while the other two pulled me out of the cab & robbed me.not satisfied with that they began kicking me as result of which I lost four teeth & suffered a broken jaw.I have not driven a cab since & now survive on benefits & boot sales which ironically has been most liberating for me I would never drive a London cab again as I now realise that for the 25 years that I did the job I suffered from anxiety & depression. |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
In message , Jim
writes I make no apology for the actions of the driver. He should not take this out on his passengers. There are good and bad in every occupation. There are also good and bad customers. For example some customers who know the situation will ask for Brentford when they go the Chiswick because you get a ticket to go back from Brentford, but not from Chiswick. Likewise from St Margarets but not from Richmond. The system is full of anomalies. Mike is this an example of a good customer or a bad customer? It sounds good from the driver's point of view, as long as he can get back within an hour. This is an example of a *good* customer who knows the system. Although Chiswick is outside the arbitrary distance limit, the roads to and from as so fast that you can easily get back within the one hour limit allowed. That is why asking for Brentford (or even Chiswick roundabout) allows the driver to bet a return ticket. The driver will be happy to do this as you are helping him out. -- Mike Hughes A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Leigh Mallory" wrote in message
... nothing could prepare you for the scenario that I came up against 3 years ago when I found myself at 2.30 am dropping off three big guys in a back street of Brixton one of them held a knife to my throat while the other two pulled me out of the cab & robbed me. What cab were you driving, and what was the partition like? Would this be possible in a modern cab? -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"John Rowland" wrote in message
... "Leigh Mallory" wrote in message ... nothing could prepare you for the scenario that I came up against 3 years ago when I found myself at 2.30 am dropping off three big guys in a back street of Brixton one of them held a knife to my throat while the other two pulled me out of the cab & robbed me. What cab were you driving, and what was the partition like? Would this be possible in a modern cab? In retrospect, this message looks a little callous.... I'm sorry about what happened to you. -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Heathrow black cabs - never again!
"Spicknspan" wrote in message
... 95% of the time there are far too many taxis. Unfortunately, the decision as to the numbers appears to be based on the demand for cabs during those peak times, such as a rainy Saturday night. As a cab driver myself, I've often wondered if there'd be a benefit to permitting knowledge boys in the latter stages of the knowledge to work Friday and Saturday nights in the West End only. I've been out for 3 years now, and I know I could have done the job 6 months before I got my badge. I would have thought many of the runs from Central London on Friday and Saturday nights would go way out into the suburbs, and since All-London knowledge students don't do that until the last few months of their training, this is the time of the week when they are least fit to do the job. Also, where are the knowledge students going to get taxis from? If they only work 8 hours a week, they won't be able to afford to hire a taxi. A better idea would be to allow qualified suburban yellow-badge taxis to pick up at the directional rank at Cranbourn St, since they are better qualified to take people to the suburbs than the All-London green-badges, and it's stupid to have them driving an empty taxi back to their suburb at the time of peak demand. They should be charged a sizeable fee to pick up here, otherwise it might be in their interest to repeatedly work the Cranbourn St rank, driving back to it empty. This would probably require the directional rank marshalls to split destinations by the 9 yellow badge sectors instead of NE - NW - SE - SW as now. -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
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