The Satellite mini-cab office is a very clear present danger to the London taxi trade and driver.
Under the banner "Safer Travel at Night" mini-cab offices were encouraged to set up within bars and clubs and then granted "satellite mini-cab" office status.
The previous administration at City Hall appears to have side stepped the London taxi-cab driver and gone straight to private hire to seek a solution to a problem that has been created by lax lazy enforcement and bad town planning by all those in authority.
The RMT London Taxi Branch will be discussing a strategy at its next branch meeting that aims to bring about the closure of all of these offices. This will not be easy and it will take time and a super human effort by all involved and it will certainly be more than a drive in or a demonstration.
Demonstrations, drive-in's, pickets will form part of this strategy but along with the noise and disruption that these can bring we must be prepared for the hard work behind the scences that may include and lead up to court action. Our "collective" right to "ply for hire" is under threat like never before and with the economy looking fragile we shall not see an end to this downturn in fact we may be entering a decade of austerity.
Legitimate taxi-cab work is walking out the door of bars and clubs and we are denied the right to rank, yet private hire can set up a satelite mini-cab office, rank and park illegally with no fear from those in authority.
It's time to knock out satellite mini-cab offices and it's time for you to join the RMT London taxi branch...
