ian rush Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Posters need to remember to distinguish between i) Holders of Eastern District vehcile licences who don't drive at all; ii) vehicle licence owners who drive under their own plates (albeit that this can't be full time living) iii) licensed Drivers Paul Are you in effcet precluded from holding an Eastern District plate because you already a plate from another area? AFAIK, the transitional provisions in the RTLA were put in place as a compromise to ensure that the all-Island act went through at all. If there hadn't been a 'brake' on the operation of the all Island scheme as per the transitional provisions, the people of Douglas would still largely have remained subject to the whims of the hackney licence holders and their representative(s) on the joint hackney licensing committee of Douglas Corpn and Onchan District Commissioners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian rush Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I'm sure if any other 'trade' tried to limit the number of competitors there'd be an outcry. It seems clear to me that if there's big waiting list for hackney vehicle licences there's inherently a demand for more plates, irrespective of the requirement to do a passenger focused survey. Also, the point about surveys is a bit duplicitous. In England the licensing authority can continue to issue plates until it can be shown there is no unmet demand. Here the local vehicle licence owners are trying to get the burden reversed i.e. that the RTLC need to show there is a demand before more can be issued. Finally, a proper licence should not be tradeable commodity. It should be treated and enforced as the property of the authority that issues it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Posters need to remember to distinguish between i) Holders of Eastern District vehcile licences who don't drive at all; ii) vehicle licence owners who drive under their own plates (albeit that this can't be full time living) iii) licensed Drivers Paul Are you in effcet precluded from holding an Eastern District plate because you already a plate from another area? AFAIK, the transitional provisions in the RTLA were put in place as a compromise to ensure that the all-Island act went through at all. If there hadn't been a 'brake' on the operation of the all Island scheme as per the transitional provisions, the people of Douglas would still largely have remained subject to the whims of the hackney licence holders and their representative(s) on the joint hackney licensing committee of Douglas Corpn and Onchan District Commissioners. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Last November, having waited TWO YEARS for my application to come before the committee. I applied for my existing North West only licences to be altered to include the remaining three districts of East (Douglas) Malew (Airport) and South. The reasoning being that from 2007 subject to Tynwald's approval this could happen anyway. Better use of existing taxis as opposed to isssuing more licenses would be preferable to the taxi owners who fear an increase in numbers. Plus a gradual integration of taxis becoming available to ply for trade accross the island would be preferable to opening a 'free for all' the day Tynwald have thier vote, assuming they vote in favour? The benefits to the average man on the street would not of been immediatley noticable and the threat of my small taxi company picking up fares on occasions that there was a demand would of been minimal to the Douglas taxi drivers. It would however of set a president, thus enableling other operators around the island to apply for the same in advance of 2007. Hence encouraging a gradual creation of the all island license and making Tywalds decision to remove the restrictions on licensing areas much easier. Remembering that it took TWO YEARS for my license application to be heard because of the backlog of objections being delt with thanks to the Manx Taxi Federation, it would be likely that only a small number of applicants for the same coud be approved in advance of 2007 anyway. Becasue of the decision of the committee to continue limiting the number and type of licenses issued and the probebility that the Manx Taxi Federation will lobby Tynwald strongly in advance of 2007 for a vote to keep the present set up, there is little chance of anyone doing anything to improve the present situation. The only way to get a Douglas license is to have been on the waiting list for a Douglas only license for the past TWO YEARS or to go and pay up to £50,000 for an existing one. Frankly, the whole think stinks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kite Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 There should be no protection of taxi drivers income, such matters should not concern the committee. as some have rightly said if other factions tried to object to competition they would be laughed at. as long as drivers satisy the requirements for a licence one should be granted to whomever wants one, let taxi firms fight it out and have to offer a good service, like all other firms have to. Taxi fares are way too high and I have not travelled in one for over 3 years due to the expense, whereas bedore I used to get 2 or 3 taxis a week. If fares were lower more people woulduse them did you know that the taxi drivers are also one of the main things stopping a decent public transport system. Any later buses ie and the taxi federation starts protesting of loss of income and ties everyone in knots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripsaw Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 a proper licence should not be tradeable commodity. It should be treated and enforced as the property of the authority that issues it. Agreed. The licence should belong to the issuing board and only be 'borrowed' by the drivers. Paul, is there a complaints procedure? If so does it work? Has a driver ever been stripped of their licence following complaint from the public? What happens to a Taxi plate if the owner is banned from driving? Can a plate be withdrawn/suspended, or does the plate owner put somebody else in the car and continue to reap income? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 as long as drivers satisy the requirements for a licence one should be granted to whomever wants one, let taxi firms fight it out and have to offer a good service, like all other firms have to. You can't have a commercial free for all in and industry whose pricing structure is fixed by a regulatory body. There is no option to reduce prices. After all, what better service can a taxi drive other than getting you home without crashing? Sure, they can be on time for bookings, turn up five minutes after you phone to order one or have their cabs smelling nice, but to the average drunk bloke stumbling along the prom at 3am, they're all the same and flooding the market with taxis would only spread the income thinly and for the guys who do this job on a full time basis, it would hit them hard as on their high revenue weekend nights, they'll have guys taking their trade who already have a full time job and want to earn extras. I understand the concept of a free market, but some things do need to be regulated for the benefit of all. It just seems that a good portion of the regulations are trivial and damaging. What's needed is not an abolition of the regulations, just a major overhaul to reflect what customers want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FCMR Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Out of the 12 new plates that have been issued 2 have got to one man who has sold off 10 plates at a vast profit. One plate has gone to a full time civil servant. Why should one ownwer who had 12 plates sells off 10 of them be given two new ones. Plates sell for £40k+ how much is a new one. Why would a full time Civil servant want a taxi plate, Greed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Why would a full time Civil servant want a taxi plate, Greed <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wrong. It's obviously a Work Experience scheme.... - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FCMR Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Why would a full time Civil servant want a taxi plate, Greed <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wrong. It's obviously a Work Experience scheme.... - <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No its taking the Bread out of an other mans mouth. And how many members of Douglas Corporation own plates, but are never seen behind the wheel of a taxi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatty Fatty Toad Boy Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Maybe new plates should auctioned rather than handed out to a selected few. This method was used for the 3G licenses in the UK and raised a fortune. It would also prevent accusations such as the ones on this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 as long as drivers satisy the requirements for a licence one should be granted to whomever wants one, let taxi firms fight it out and have to offer a good service, like all other firms have to. You can't have a commercial free for all in and industry whose pricing structure is fixed by a regulatory body. There is no option to reduce prices. After all, what better service can a taxi drive other than getting you home without crashing? Sure, they can be on time for bookings, turn up five minutes after you phone to order one or have their cabs smelling nice, but to the average drunk bloke stumbling along the prom at 3am, they're all the same and flooding the market with taxis would only spread the income thinly and for the guys who do this job on a full time basis, it would hit them hard as on their high revenue weekend nights, they'll have guys taking their trade who already have a full time job and want to earn extras. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If the guys who done the job on a full time basis were doing a good job and serving the public well I could understand thier frustration. If all you want from your taxi journey is a safe trip home, that's fine. Most people expect a little bit more, especialy when they are paying a high premium for the service. I for one think that our customers deserve nothing but the best and if a part time driver is the one to do the job I won't stand in his way. If you are happy to put up with a scruffy looking driver who is rude and drives a ten year old Mondeo that stinks of fags and vomit, don't expect everyone else to have to put up with it. Competition in the free market leads to lower prices and better customer service. Market forces will dictate that the Taxi Companies that serve thier customers best will survive and there is no excuse for the Government protecting taxi drivers who are unwilling or too lazy to make an effort. I am not afraid of running my business on an even playing field with the rest of the taxi operators. So why should the Douglas Taxi drivers be afraid? Are they something special or is it that they are just used to getting their own way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skig Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I think the main reason for the Douglas Taxi drivers complaining is only being spoken about behind closed doors and that is that they're worried about losing out on the thousands off pounds, ( I believe anything from £20,000 + for some ), that They have paid out for a £10 plate. If all plates were sold at the Face Value instead off the vast price the actually changed hands for then I might have some sympathy. As it stands it's the Plate owners who are whinging, not the poor sod that drives for them whilst the sit back and take a cut. Maybe if most Plate owners got of their fat arses and pulled their weight then people wouldn't be saying that more cabs are needed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How many of the plates are actually in use on a day to day basis? A few years ago it was well known in the trade for the big boys to buy up any plates that they could get their hands on, but not actually put them on vehicles, thus keeping down the number of cabs on the road. They had the money to be able to do this, but the one man operator did not have the funds to do this. There was a taxi inspector employed by the Douglas Corporation,but I think this job has probably been made redundant. Who actually checks that all of the plates are in use on a regular basis? Each vehicle is put through an annual safety check at the vehicle test centre, but who makes a regular check on usage for the rest of the year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooahhdoo Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I for one think that our customers deserve nothing but the best and if a part time driver is the one to do the job I won't stand in his way. If you are happy to put up with a scruffy looking driver who is rude and drives a ten year old Mondeo that stinks of fags and vomit, don't expect everyone else to have to put up with it. Aren't there new guidelines for taxi drivers stating that they must wear a shirt with a collar, no trainers, no baseball caps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Aren't there new guidelines for taxi drivers stating that they must wear a shirt with a collar, no trainers, no baseball caps? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is a draft of proposed regulations to prevent the trainers, baseball caps etc. This will come into effect providing the Manx Taxi Federation don't object to it! These regulations are enforced by our taxi inspector who, would you believe it, is an Onchan Commissioner! The fact is that he has had the power to do something about it without the need for additional regulations but hasn't bothered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspector Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Out of the 12 new plates that have been issued 2 have got to one man who has sold off 10 plates at a vast profit. One plate has gone to a full time civil servant. Why should one ownwer who had 12 plates sells off 10 of them be given two new ones. Plates sell for £40k+ how much is a new one. Why would a full time Civil servant want a taxi plate, Greed <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why would a painter undertake building work ? Greed ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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