Safer Travel At Night (STAN) ?

It is clear from the horrific news this week that sexual assaults within the unlicensed mini-cab trade is on the increase and it is clear that the Safer Travel At Night (STAN) message is not getting through to women under the influence of abnormal levels of alcohol.

Public Safety is paramount and the London taxi-cab is the bench mark and the beacon of safety for people travelling within the metropolis on a 24/7 basis. However a number of issues have conspired and these issues are putting people especially younger women at risk, we shall list some of the issues that need/require urgent attention;

• The increased pedestrianisation which impedes the flow of traffic and chokes the supply of taxi-cabs with zone 1 and suburban town centres needs to be removed or we need to remove other non essential traffic from these areas.
• Lack of taxi-cab ranks/stands outside bars/venues.
• Incentives for taxi-cab drivers to work later/unsocial/abnormal hours on Friday/Saturday nights.
• Better Policing by the Metropolitan and City of London Police Services.
• We need many more Taxi stops similar to the one that exists on South Lambeth Road, Vauxhall.
• The closure of all Satellite mini-cab offices which have merely become a "touts" charter that flout the very rules that define London's taxi-cabs.
• Increased resources for TFL/Police which could easily be funded by increasing licence fees for PHV operators (remember it is their trade that is causing the problem).

It is clear that TFL/TPH are failing to deliver for the London taxi trade and it is clear that combining Taxis and Private hire creates more problems than this directorate is capable or able to solve. A major overhaul is required at all levels of this directorate with a view to splitting Taxis and Private hire and clearing defining the role of each trade so no confusion remains within the mini-cab trade.

Remember if you want a voice and a vote join the RMT online at http://www.rmt.org.uk/

Waiting for Boris...

London taxi-cab drivers are waiting for the decision by the Mayor of London and chair of TFL regarding the age limit of taxi-cabs.

The RMT stated clearly in its response to the consultation that we firmly believed no age limit was or is required. The Dep't for Transport agrees with this position has the average life span of a taxi-cab is 12 years.

The united trade group led by the LTDA and followed by Unite the union and LCDC offered an age limit of 15 years and in doing so accepted the principle of an age limit. Any limit will reduce the residual value of your taxi-cab and hurt the taxi trade at a time of recovery whilst we await the affects of the proposed cuts to be announced by the government.

The RMT London taxi branch believes issues of this importance should be subject to a ballot of all license holders. No one organisation or union commands a majority of drivers and therefore does not have the sole right to speak on behalf of the 22,000 plus taxi-cab drivers.

"One badge One Vote" is the answer and let the taxi-cab drivers decide their fate and not others sitting behind closed doors making the wrong decisions with no mandate from their own membership.

If the Mayor of London introduces a ten year age limit what good will it actually do other than reduce resale/residual values and force taxi-cab drivers to hang on to taxi-cabs for longer and maybe up to the maximum ten year period.

The UTG have proved yet again they are unable to speak on behalf of the hard working taxi-cab driver, it's time for you to join the RMT and its London taxi branch and have a real voice, a real vote at regularly held branch meetings.

The RMT London taxi branch will be emailing/contacting city hall/ the Mayor and asking once again that no age limit is introduced. Let natural wastage and a decent scrapage scheme assist the London taxi trade...

Join the RMT online at http://www.rmt.org.uk/

PS we mustn't forget that partitions are now starting to appear in a number of mini-cabs/phv's, we would like the trade to note that this issue was discussed at TFL board meetings and the surface transport panel where the general secretary of the LTDA sits has the TAXI trade representative.

Taxi Private Hire notice 22/10...

Taxi Private Hire Notice 22/10...

National Fraud Initiative

Important information for taxi-cab drivers...

We have just been reading the latest TPH notice 22/10 signed by the director of taxi private hire John Mason and we really do have a serious concern about our information being sent to a quango that is about to be scrapped.

Considering that the audit commission is to be culled it would probably be advisable for TFL/TPH not to send our details to that quango..?

The RMT London taxi branch will be emailing the Transport commissioner Peter Hendy advising him so, we would ask all trade orgs/unions to do the same. We look forward to the redrafting of TPH notice 22/10 if this is appropriate and any response from the TPH directorate. Please note the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles MP announced on the 13th August 2010 that the audit commission would be scrapped please click on link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10970008 . The TPH notice is dated the 19th August 2010.

Before any transfer of data is to take place we need to be assured of who or what body will be taking over these responsibilities from the audit commission.

Join the specialist transport union at http://www.rmt.org.uk/ you get a voice, a vote and great representation but not an air freshener...

Breaking News...

Iain Dale of LBC 97.3 fm presented/hosted a very interesting and lively debate of the two hopefuls who wish to gain the Labour Party nomination for the Mayor of London election to be held in May 2012.

Oona King former MP for Bethnal Green and Bow debated with Ken Livingstone the former Mayor of London live on a very well presented and informative show. Many commentators placed Oona King in the lead with a clear 2-1 victory on the night however the London taxi trade was shocked to hear former Mayor Ken Livingstone announce that if the signage was right (eg roof signs) he would allow mini-cabs into bus lanes.

It was certainly clear that even after two terms in office Ken Livingstone still doesn't understand that the job of the London taxi-cab driver is totally different to the job of a mini-cab driver. London taxi-cab drivers need to have access to the kerb and bus lanes for we pick up/set down 90% of our work from the kerbside and are metered. If mini-cabs were allowed access to bus lanes the cost of a taxi-cab would rise and the delay to buses across the capital would be unbearable.

Londoners will have to choose who should be Mayor in 2012 but for now Labour party members will choose between Oona King and Ken Livingstone. The spectre of Ken Livingstone once again falls over the taxi trade in London but this time he has a real fight on his hands just to gain the Labour nomination.

Oona King for Mayor, something tells me that's got a nice ring to it...

London taxi-cabs...

London Taxi-cab drivers simply the best...

• Knowledgable
• Well mannered
• Clean and presentable

Yes London Taxi-cab drivers are simply the best in the world and all of us should be proud of the badge we gained, the way we trained and the excellent service we provide.

Click on the link http://bit.ly/bDwtEU to hear branch chair John Kennedy speaking to James Whale on LBC 97.3 fm regarding this great news about our trade. 

The RMT is a specialist transport union and the RMT is proud to have a branch of London Taxi-cab drivers...