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Firstly, may I take this opportunity to thank the 859
shareholders who voted for me at the Annual General Meeting on 6
February. It makes me feel that the hard work I have put into
the job allocated to me was appreciated. In my speech, I never
promised you any pipe dreams, just hard work. That hard work
would be to try and keep this Society as the most honest for
drivers and clients, a level playing field for all. Looking at
the votes cast against my name makes me wonder what the other
1000 shareholders want if not an equal Society for all? I hope
they are not the ones who telephone me crying that they have
just lost a roader or an airport trip and then want me to sort
it out! Tom, the Queen Mum and a "Cheap
Shot"
I would like to put the record straight for any subscriber who
did not read the issue of Call Sign which informed you of my
past association with Her Majesty the Queen Mother’s household
(May 2002, Farewell Ma’am). In the latter years of
her life, I held - and still do until five years after her death
- the Royal Warrant for supplying relief chauffeurs to her
household. In the earlier years, we acted as go-between for the
Ford Motor Company and Her Majesty, arranging for the cars she
leased.
At the AGM, a subscriber tried to take a cheap shot at me by
checking half of the facts lodged with Company House. He tried
to misinform the membership that it was a minicab firm. If he’d
had the decency to phone as Brian Kingsman (K70) did at the time
of the original article, he would have been given the true
facts. Then he would not have had to try and malign my character
and reputation.
And whilst on the subject, if anyone has heard rumours about the
Board of Management or the Society and is wondering if they are
true, just phone up and ask! I know that I have nothing to hide
and I think cheap shots only make the accuser look small.
Disability Discrimination Act and
Wheelchairs
We will be removing the "W" attribute on trip offers as it could
leave us open to contravening the above act. Any person phoning
up to order a taxi does not have to disclose if they are
disabled as it should be that everyone is equal. So please do
not phone the office to ask if you can be taken off wheelchair
journeys unless you are in possession of an exemption
certificate that can be obtained from the Public Carriage
Office.
If you live in South London, you may have read in the South London
Press an article stating that a driver belonging to Dial-a-Cab
refused to pick up a lady in an electric wheelchair. This was
due, as the driver reports, to the hinges ceasing up and jamming
the ramp in the holder.
This being the case, all drivers should make sure that when they
have their taxi serviced, they insist that the hinges on the
ramps are greased up to stop rain and road dirt fouling the
mechanism. By getting a garage to complete this task, it should
take one burden off of your shoulders if you are put |
into the position where you are
faced with a wheelchair passenger.
(Call Sign spoke to M&O about the problem and their Manager, Mike
Saunders, thanked us for the information and said that as of now
M&O would check that those type of ramps are working at overhaul
times …ED) Non-Readers of
Call Sign
Call Sign is the way in which the Board of Management keeps you
up to date with all that is going on within the Society. It also
informs you of factual events occurring within the taxi trade.
It is put together with great care and in, hopefully, an
eye-catching way to hold your attention from cover to cover. For
your convenience, we also send it to your home.
If you know a friend who is one of the drivers that say "they never
read it," I would suggest that you encourage them to read it –
perhaps whilst waiting for clients, sitting at Heathrow or on a
taxi rank.
If these drivers who "never read the magazine" receive a complaint
that leads to a complaints meeting, then say that they did not
know of the existence of a certain rule even though that rule
has been written about in the magazine since they enrolled on
the circuit, the article will be produced at the meeting. That
usually destroys any defence that they are putting forward to
say they had not been informed.
Booking into Outer Zones
We still have some drivers claiming they do not know the correct
way in which to book into an Outer Zone (50, 51 and 99). I have
written time and time again about the correct way in which to
book in, but if you do not read the magazine, you will never
know you are doing wrong until you receive a complaints form.
To book into a zone with the number 50, 51 or 99 attached to it,
you must be physically within its boundary. Zone 50 or 51 areas
require you to be within its boundary and inside the M25. For a
zone 99 area, you must be within its boundary outside the M25.
If a journey goes into the next area to you, you have to wait
and if nobody accepts it or the zone is void of taxis, it will
automatically go to the backup zones. This allows all
subscribers to have an equal chance of every job. Booking into
one of the above zones WILL lead to you being put on complaint
as you will see if you read the Complaints Results which are
regularly published.
Booking into Postal Zones
When booking into a postal zone, you must be able to get to the
furthest point of that zone within the lead-time allotted to
that zone if you accept a journey. If you are unsure of the
lead-time for a zone, the dispatcher on the voice channel can
supply the information. The onus is on you to be able to
ascertain the condition |
of the traffic between you and the pickup.
Motor Taxi Proprietor’s Licence
If you are unsure what this form looks like, it is the one that
is given to you with the white yearly plate that attaches to the
rear of your taxi. It has a unique number, your name and address
and states how many passengers your taxi is licensed to carry.
We need to see this licence or a photocopy to prove you still
own the taxi that is registered with the Owner Drivers Radio
Taxi Service. You can bring the copy into the office, post a
photocopy to Driver Services or if you are fortunate enough to
have a scanner, send a copy by email to me at
TomW@dialacab.co.uk .
We have had some drivers who have sold their taxi and conveniently
not informed us. Any driver who does not comply with the rules
set out in the official rulebook registered with the Friendly
Societies, is not allowed to attend or vote at an AGM or partake
in actions taken by the Society.
Using Your Panic Button
On Thursday 10 February, one of our newer drivers was attacked
in London Wall. Although injured, he did manage to enlist help
from some men around. The helpers and police did eventually
subdue the drunk and he was arrested and will be charged with
criminal damage and actual bodily harm. In talking to the driver
who had to have time off work, I was surprised that he had not
been informed on the correct procedure in using the panic
button.
If you are being physically attacked, just kick the panic button.
This will stop any other transmissions from subscribers apart
from yours. The dispatcher will now have an open channel with
you and a message flashing onto his screen with your details.
He is now waiting for you to shout out your correct location and
what emergency services you need. It could be: "I’m at London
Wall and Old Broad Street being attacked - send the police."
Your radio mike will stay live for 1 minute and then cut off.
After the emergency has been settled, you will need to contact
the Call Centre to have your radio re-authorised.
Waiting for a Client.
When you are waiting at the pickup for a client, you must inform
the Call Centre every 15 minutes of the situation.
If you have made physical contact with the client, after 15 minutes
waiting you should do an advise arrival. If you have already
done an ‘advise arrival’ on arrival, then after 15 minutes do a
No Show. This informs the ring out telephonist of the
urgency of the situation. You must then do a NO Show
after every 15 minutes, failure to complete this cycle could
lose you some of the fare. The ‘Arrival’ button is
not an advise arrival request, it just tells the dispatching
system that you are outside the pickup.
If you are unsure of any procedures, telephone the office and ask
to speak to Driver Trainer Daren Morley or Allan Evans, who is
in charge of training.
Be lucky and take care whilst you are working…
Tom Whitbread
DaC Complaints Officer |
