Taxis

[Amadeus]

Proliferation of taxis means cheap, unreliable vehicles + drivers who simply don't know their way around - the kind of nightmare situation created in many towns by 'minicabs.'

Hey - I had one of them in Manchester once - was a black cab, though. He actually handed me his A to Z, asking me to tell him where to go.... I sure told him where he could go...

 

They also did a survey of the ranks (incredibly for such a small community, they managed to do so without any taxi drivers being aware of it!)

 

I agree that driving a cab is definitely a very skilled job. Next to requiring local knowledge, I guess most people would also expect you to be a skilled and safe driver. When I get into a cab, I want to feel as if I'm gonna arrive safe and sound at my destination, without any racing style manouvers, and want to get the impression that the driver is good at what he does. This impression I definitely got over here in the past..

 

The only point about prices I would like to mention is this: When I was still working in Paramount, I took a cab home in the morning more often than not. The trip from there to my (then) place in Tynwaldstreet put me back an hour's wages, and it ain't that far.

 

I know you have to put up with a lot of crap during an average weekend night, but so did I behind the bar. Technically, the same pissheads that aren't nice to you, were not nice to me a few minutes before they got into your cab. So for a few minutes of "non niceness", you get what I got for an hour of the same - although the costs involved are obviously different. But I hope you get my point anyway - not criticism, but an observation...

 

P.S.: Lonan - that ain't really my Rover - it's..er..just a decoy! A Dummy! And I can hide...in fact, I'm about to do so now...

[Erik Bloodaxe]

taxi driving is an unskilled job and as such should be at the lower end of the wage scale.

we need a lot mroe taxis to encourage competition as they are to highly priced.

 

FYI, every taxi on the island charges the same tarif, regardless of whether or not it is a brand new £25,000 Jaguar or an £800 second hand Volvo. More competition would have no effect at all on prices, it will still cost you the same to get home after a night on the beer.

As for your comments about "unskilled" and "lower end of the wage scale" I won't even get started on that. As Lonan3 has stated, doing the job properly requires a lot of skill, patience and knowledge. I have only been driving a couple of months and on occasions I need assistance from other drivers via the radio or my A-Z. This doesn't mean I am a crap taxi driver, just a relatively new one. The island may only be 30 miles long but it is impossible to know every single part of it as soon as you get into the driving seat for the first time. I know drivers who have been doing the job for 30 years and still occasionally get stumped by an address out in the sticks.

I enjoy my job, I get to meet a lot of interesting and nice people (Also a lot of dickheads). I also work the sort of unsocial and long hours that would scare most people away after doing the job for a week. I will be working tomorrow (Christmas day) until 6pm, boxing day and today until midnight. My choice, nobody is forcing me to.

If you had the slightest clue how much it costs to maintain, fuel, insure and run a taxi then you would understand why the prices are at the current levels and why we work so many hours in order to make a living wage.

BTW kite, if you were to learn some basic spelling, punctuation and grammar skills and work out how to present your argument in a well balanced and unabusive fashion you may be taken a little more seriously.

 

Merry Christmas from Sidneycabs.

[Grumble]

The problem with taxis on the Isle of Man is that the method of licencing them has been corrupted by the taxi operators. A 'plate' should be a license to trade, and for the person so trading ONLY, and until he/she retires or dies.

 

It should then be reallocated on a waiting list basis to anyone else who has done an 'apprenticeship' by driving for an established operator.

 

In effect, plates have changed hands illegally for years, for up to £50,000, and THAT is why people need to charge what they do to recoup that investment. Certainly rates are set by Government and the metered tariff is legitimate - but it does appear to be more costly here than across (though I don't have any stats to substantiate this).

 

Operators talk of 'grandfather' rights, and investing in the goodwill of their businesses, which they say should be a tradeable commodity. But there IS little or no goodwill in or for the trade - people may prefer a particular operator, but rarely a particular driver.

 

The taxi trade is one big black hole in the Manx economy, and the sooner Government sets and applies high standards and takes control back from the plate owners the better.

[Erik Bloodaxe]

This is an interesting thread. I am a taxi driver in Douglas with six years experience. I accept that sometimes taxis are parked in places which they shouldn't, but there is often little alternative. People who live in Demesne Road, Palace Road, Empress Drive etc will ring for a cab, but then only emerge from their homes when they are ready a few minutes later, by which time a driver may have had to do three or four laps around the block to let traffic pass that has queued up behind.

An elderly person requiring a taxi to Nobles or the bank etc may ask that you park as near to the door as possible, because they cannot walk very far. Likewise with heavy bags of shopping, it is necessary to get as close as you can just for the short time it takes to pick up and get on your way. Yes it may involve parking on double yellow lines, but what alternative is there? You have a job to do, and all the advanced driving courses in the world won't make it any easier. You have to do the best you can- and as discreetly as you can.

Also it is occasionally necessary to change direction after you have already signalled your intention to do something else. You may be driving down Broadway heading for the sea terminal, when you suddenly get informed by your passenger that it's actually the Terminus Tavern he wants, so you have to change lanes as quickly and discreetly as possible. Similar situations present themselves during every shift, and you have to think on your feet. It's at these times you often get horns blaring at you, and verbal from other road users, but its not necessary, if they weren't venting their frustrations at me, someone else would be on the receiving end. You soon learn to be a good lip reader!

As for drivers not knowing their way around, or the shortest most practical route from A to B, I fully agree that there are some who shouldn't be doing the job. I really don't know how they ever passed a street test. I also know some new drivers who have a much better knowledge of their way around than certain long serving drivers. With so many new estates springing up all the time, it's your duty to familiarise yourself with them.

As regards wages, you can do OK provided you put the hours in, but if you work it out on an hourly rate, then it's pretty poor. I work over 70 hours per week, sometimes 78 hours, and I reckon it averages out around £7 per hour, which is not exactly parallel with the ridiculous average weekly wage figure the Government like to bandy about. If I tried to work this job 9-5 Monday to Friday, I'd end up in Victoria Road pretty quickly swamped with debts.

I don't like being accused of not being employable anywhere else. I was in my last job for over 15 years. I enjoy driving the taxis and I'm good at it. I know my way around, not just Douglas, but all Island, including lots of the countryside, farms etc. I don't use an A to Z book. And I like the fact that you can meet lots of different people, although obviously there are some who I'd hope I'd never meet again too. I keep the car and myself clean , as do most drivers, there are only a few who spoil things for the majority, which is the case in all things.

So I agree with Paul H's posting.. Keep your opinions to yourself, Kite.

[Charles Flynn]

Grumble,

 

What's stopping it then?

 

What you describe is typical on the island for many businesses - where those who were established years ago think they have the right to prevent anyone new joining unless they pay them a substantial premium - goodwill in my view is not worth paying for. It simply puts the newcomer in hock for years.

[Grumble]

It's probably too much of a hot potato these days - Government attempts to change the taxi trade have met embedded resistance at every step - just look at the furore caused by moving the Sefton rank a few yards along the Prom!

 

I think that the 'industrial action' taken by the trade this year though might have backfired and proved how little the public actually care for their cause.

 

Don't get me wrong - I think on balance they do a good job - but the hardest working drivers are the ones working for someone who was gifted a plate by the Corpy years ago and only turn out themselves for lucrative shifts - the rest of the time they rent out their cars and take half of the other bloke's earnings. And possibly forget to declare it for tax...

[Charles Flynn]

Yes you are right - a step too far for government.

 

I have the greatest admiration for the working taxi driver. I may have been lucky but I cannot ever remember one that has not been courteous. Sometimes they need help finding the address but so what...

 

I disgraced myself once when I was a student in London late for an exam. I opened the taxi door before it had stopped and it hit quite a number of parked cars! Even then the poor driver was polite!

[Gags]

Having lived in Douglas all my life, I can confidently say I have never taken a taxi by myself!

They are quite simply prohibitively expensive. They only times I get into taxis are when my mates insist on not walking over the prom, and having everyone spend a couple of quid for a 90 second ride.

[Lonan3]

It's probably too much of a hot potato these days - Government attempts to change the taxi trade have met embedded resistance at every step - just look at the furore caused by moving the Sefton rank a few yards along the Prom!

 

The Sefton rank was shifted purely and simply at the insistence of the owners of the hotel. If you think this was beneficial in any way then you should observe the fact that the majority of people trying to hail a cab on Saturday nights continue to do so from the Sefton area. It is also worth pointing out that an increasing number of acts of violence beneath the shelter of the Villa - where perpetrators are much less likely to be observed than they ever were at the Sefton.

 

I think that the 'industrial action' taken by the trade this year though might have backfired and proved how little the public actually care for their cause.

 

I would like to hear more about this 'industrial action' because, as a working owner/driver - and an official of the local Taxi Federation - I haven't been aware of any. If you're referring to the 1-hour-long demo in November 2004 - that one succeeded in it's aim of raising the profile of the problems in the trade and putting sufficient pressure on politicians to initiate a full and independent survey of it.

 

 

Don't get me wrong - I think on balance they do a good job - but the hardest working drivers are the ones working for someone who was gifted a plate by the Corpy years ago and only turn out themselves for lucrative shifts - the rest of the time they rent out their cars and take half of the other bloke's earnings. And possibly forget to declare it for tax...

 

This is now a bit of a blast from the past. There are probably fewer full-time drivers in the trade than at any time in recent years - simply because it's become difficult for them to make a living. Owners, unfortunately, are only human and therefore don't have the capacity to work 24/7. This has led to a considerable growth in the number of part-time drivers - mainly people who already have full-time occupations and drive a cab for a few evenings a week to earn a bit of extra money.

[Gladys]

Not wanting to be controversial and all that, but can anyone explain to me why it is dearer here per mile to get a cab to the airport than in London?

 

It used to cost around Stg25 to collect someone from Heathrow and take them to us in the Sutton/Epsom area. There were two choices: either go on the M25 (more mileage, but quicker, depending on the time of day) or go the Hampton Court way (less mileage, but again depending on the time of day).

 

I'm not very good at distances so I can't say how many miles were involved in each, but either route on a good day would take about 30 mins, at worst 50. However, when I arranged a taxi earlier this year to go on hols, I was charged Stg 25 for a 15 to 20 minute journey, which would never be anything but a 15 to 20 min journey!

 

I know the scales are different here, but come on!

[sideways]

I don't know the all the reasons but one will be the price of fuel , it is a a damn site more expensive over here than the uk ..

[Rhumsaa]

Yeah I was shcoked when I went to the UK at the start of the month - the fuel is about 10/15p cheaper per liter which is a big difference!

[Gladys]

I don't know the all the reasons but one will be the price of fuel , it is a a damn site more expensive over here than the uk ..

Sorry, but you can't put that down to the differential in fuel price! I'm quite prepared to accept it is volume (or lack of it) but perhaps there are too many cabs over here.

 

It does strike me that the normal rules of economics just don't work here; look at the pages of second-hand cars in the Courier, all at premium rates, but try and sell a second-hand car and you would never get the lowest book value; look at the pages of restaurants in the Yellow Pages, but try to have a reasonable meal at a reasonable price. It's all a bit topsy turvy!

[Charles Flynn]

I don't know the all the reasons but one will be the price of fuel , it is a a damn site more expensive over here than the uk ..

Sorry, but you can't put that down to the differential in fuel price! I'm quite prepared to accept it is volume (or lack of it) but perhaps there are too many cabs over here.

 

It does strike me that the normal rules of economics just don't work here; look at the pages of second-hand cars in the Courier, all at premium rates, but try and sell a second-hand car and you would never get the lowest book value; look at the pages of restaurants in the Yellow Pages, but try to have a reasonable meal at a reasonable price. It's all a bit topsy turvy!

 

I have always thought we were getting ripped off by some. Years ago prices went sky high when the first visitor arrived for the tourist season. This probably contibuted to its demise.

 

The Office of Fair Trading should start to pull its weight on some of these issues - but is this another thing which is too hot for government to handle.

[ian rush]

It's important to distinguish between drivers who do it full time, those who go part-time at weekends and those who own the hackney plates.

 

The problem doesn't lie with the drivers.

 

It's because plates are so scarce that the plate owners can charge use of the plate out to the drivers at such high rates. And how many of those who had the last 9 hackney plates issued actually still drive and/or havent sold their plate for quite a tidy sum.

 

The various taxi owners associations have got the drivers in their pockets and the drivers in the main don't see it.