DO THE POLICE
Page 10
Call Sign December 2011
CARE???
This cab trade has been fighting for its right to
survive since long before 19 June 1961 when you
could suddenly dial WELbeck 0561 and a red
Renault Dauphine would arrive from Welbeck
Motors, a car rental firm that overnight became
the face of the minicab. It made its law graduate
MD, Michael Gotla, the most hated man in the
licensed taxi trade as he advertised minicabs to
go anywhere for 1 shilling (5p) a mile and under-
cutting the taxi trade's meter charges.
Now we have to a certain degree learned to
live with the more reputable minicab firms,
but have found a new enemy in the pedicab.
But this time it has nothing to do with price,
because some of their charges to gullible
tourists are nothing short of a rip-off.
Our biggest problem is one often shared by
all other vehicles on the road - the way pedicabs
do whatever they want, be that going the wrong
way down one-way streets or stopping for long
periods on zigzag lines with parking attendants
just walking straight past them while often then
stopping at a Dial-a-Cab driver who is inno-
cently waiting for his or her fare to come down.
DaC driver Alex Constantinou (N05)
recently told Call Sign about an incident out-
side the Selfridges rank in Oxford Street.
"I had been on point for a few minutes
Alex's picture of the pedicab on Selfridges zigzags
but couldn't pull right up to the front
because a pedicab was parked on the
taking no notice of me! I was astonished
my livelihood a substantial amount of
zigzag lines just at the point where our
when they said they were too busy and
damage! But I did take a photo, although
rank markings began. Had I pulled up fur-
just continued talking to each other! What
he didn't seem to be overly worried but
ther, I would have been blocked in. So I
chance do we have if wardens and the
did move forward slightly!
got out and "asked" the pedicab rider to
police can't be bothered. As a regular
Just then, a police car was situated on
move away as it was illegal to stop there.
reader, I know that LTPH Director John
the westbound carriageway but not mov-
He just stared at me at did nothing. I am
Mason reads Call Sign, so perhaps he has
ing in the usual Oxford Street traffic hold-
fully trained in martial arts but decided
a suggestion because I have run out of
ups. So I ran over and asked if they could
that one moment of satisfaction would do
ideas...???"
tell the pedicab driver to move as he was
Ken Livingstone:
"Let taxis use
ORN lanes!"
Buying or renting? The debate takes another turn...
CAB RENTALS SET
According to London
Mayoral candidate,
FOR BIG RISES
Ken Livingstone,
London's 25,000
licensed taxis should
be allowed to use
the Olympic Route
While in the last full year - 2009 /10 - inflation rose by only 4.6%, some taxi insurance
Network - the so-
called Zil lanes which
premiums are now increasing by 30% a year... and in many cases much more. One
according to the Olympic organisers must be
fleet proprietor whose fleet have a good claims experience that would have meant a
reserved for official Olympic traffic only.
decrease in past premiums, have seen them increase by £400 per year per cab!
Mr Livingstone called on Mayor Boris
Another with not such a good claims experience saw an increase of £1,000 a cab.
Johnson to reconsider the ban on taxi drivers
Ivan Kovler, Chairman of the London Motor Cab Proprietors Association (LMCPA)
using the priority lanes, which form a third of
said: "Many fleets have not increased taxi rentals over the last five years, but
the 100-mile+ 2012 Olympic network.
in that time we have seen more than a 100% increase in the road fund licence
The next Mayoral election is scheduled for
(£445), increased rent and business rates and now what is becoming a year on
May, around 6 weeks before the Games
year huge increase in insurance premiums. Even fleets with good claims histo-
begin and according to Mr Livingstone, Boris
should act now to avoid months of gridlock
ries will have to increase rentals by £10 a week including VAT and even that
and millions in lost revenue next summer. He
won't totally cover the insurance rise. Fleets showing a bad claims history will
didn't go so far as to say that if he won, he
need to put up rents by a lot more in order to cover costs."
would order the ORNs withdrawal.
One fleet said they had paid £375 per cab in 1997 and it had risen to around
The name Zil lanes is said to come from
£1,000 in 2010. The Bank of England inflation calculator showed inflation averaging
the ZIL-4104, an elite Russian limousine
2.7% a year during that period, which means a premium of £375 in 1997 should have
that served as an upmarket transport sys-
risen to just £532.29p in 2010. When compared to current prices, it shows that insur-
tem for the few rich classes of the-then
ance premiums are about double the amount they would have been expected to be at
Soviet Union. Just fifty of them were pro-
with inflation taken into account in 1997.
duced each year and they were granted
The LMCPA claim that combined with older taxis having to come off the road due to
exclusive use of the outside lane on high-
the 15 year age limit, the insurance increase will mean a number of fleets going out of
ways the same system as the ORNs are
business as they will not have the cabs or money to continue...
said to be using.
