Brunswick House
You are all aware of the fact that in
recent times this Society has become
extremely successful. What you may not
be aware of is that we are so busy that
Brunswick House is popping at the seams
and we are going to have to find new
premises.
I made it quite clear in my End of Year Report that we were
looking for suitable larger premises to
acquire so that this Society can
continue to grow into the future. We now
believe that we have found suitable
premises in the vicinity of Brunswick
House that meets our requirements. We
have made an offer for the building and
at the time of writing, we are awaiting
a response. Just like with Brunswick
House, we are looking to purchase the
freehold.
For obvious reasons, I am not prepared to divulge the exact
location until our offer has been
accepted, or indeed if it be the case,
declined. But I am hopeful that I will
have more news for you in the next issue
of Call Sign regarding any
move of this Society.
Signals
The Editor has informed me that
elsewhere in this issue, there will be a
report regarding the upgrading of our
infrastructure. Consequently, I do not
intend to go into too much detail and
repeat what has been said elsewhere.
However, improving our infrastructure is absolutely paramount at
the moment. As a Board, we are only too
aware of the frustrations drivers have
when there is a problem with our
signals. Of one thing I am certain; we
will never be able to enjoy 100% service
at all times, however, I am equally as
certain that we can improve things quite
dramatically.
There are three main items that have been set out in order to
improve DaC’s infrastructure and I make
no apologies for putting them in order
of priority. Firstly, we need to improve
signals, then there is the need to
replace obsolescent equipment and
thirdly, to improve our capability for
growth.
What follows is a concise résumé of what we intend to do. That
starts with re-locating some of our
aerial sites - the first one of which
has already been moved very successfully
and also totally refurbished. It has
even |
been re-equipped with a new BSC (Base
Station Controller). We are so pleased
with the result that all other sites
will be equipped with new BSCs and we
will be making our 4031s redundant in
the future - these are our Comms
Controllers. The 4031s will be replaced
with an IQ Gateway, which means we can
install Servers to do the job that the
4031s do at the moment.
As you can imagine, this is all extremely precarious and we have to
be extremely vigilant that our system
does not collapse and that is why the
system will have to be migrated step by
step. This programme could never have
been undertaken without the expertise of
Tom Carter of RTC who will have to write
new software for the IQ Gateway, and
also Jim Moore of RMS who will install
the hardware on our sites. I have known
both men for a long time and I have
every confidence that between them and
John Bankes in our IT department, our
system will improve dramatically.
I know some members have endeavoured to make ‘mileage’ regarding
our signals etc; however, I would like
to leave you with a thought on the
topic. If it had been that easy to
improve our infrastructure as some
members would have us believe – then I
can assure you that we would already
have done it!
Figures
With all the talk regarding signals and
new buildings, it would not be possible
for all these upgrades to take place
unless we maintain and improve upon our
financial standing. Fortunately, I am
very pleased to inform you that after
five periods of this financial year, our
turnover has increased by 12.6% over the
same period last year. In real terms
that equates
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to over £2m of extra
turnover that has gone into our members
vehicles. I’m hopeful that this trend
will continue throughout the remainder
of the year.
We are bringing on new accounts all the time and increasing our
share of the work in others, but
needless to say, this can only continue
providing you, the members, cover as
much work as you possibly can.
As I am sure you can imagine, it does become exceedingly
frustrating for us in Brunswick House
when we fight very hard to obtain a new
account and promise them the earth, only
to see some of their trips unmatched -
especially when we have taxis in the
vicinity. How times have changed, I am
asking you to cover more work in March!
Kingston Town Centre and
Marshalling
Finally, I do
not have any additional comments to make
regarding the above subject, as I have
made my views known on many occasions in
the past when I could see this scenario
developing.
However, I am led to believe that during the evening / night in the
future, there are going to be marshalled
ranks for taxis and yes, a marshalled
rank for Private Hire. This scenario has
been on the cards for years and is the
thin edge of the wedge, because make no
mistake about it, if this is successful
in Kingston then it will then spread to
other parts of Greater London and
gradually move inwards. Once the above
becomes an accepted way of life, other
aspects of our livelihood will be
gradually eroded.
It appears to me that some organisations within our industry are
extremely vociferous when it comes to
certain topics that quite honestly seem
insignificant to me. Yet when something
extremely important comes along - such
as the above which is the first step to
PH picking up in the street - I do not
see or hear of any action. It just seems
strange to me!
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
