Call Sign April 1999

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number of people working in the finance industry. Therefore, what we should be doing is making every endeavour to widen our client base both by industry type and geographically.
   As far as operating on a 24 hour basis, this is something that the cab trade has always done successfully. The real problem is the peak demand syndrome, which affects all forms of people and ground transport in every major city in the western world. So far no government, transport operator or authority has managed successfully to solve the problem.
   Which brings me to the section of Alastair’s report headed ‘and what is the answer?’ He first of all refers to flexible products; well can he give us was some examples? I believe taxicabs in London are flexible, will generally take the quickest or most economic route but when requested the driver will take the preferred route of the customer. Of course there are drivers who will argue and some who are downright rude, but there are also doctors who are careless, policemen who are racists and accountants who are dishonest. These are of course a tiny minority and in that respect the cab trade is no different to any other profession. So what other flexible product is he suggesting? Perhaps it is the vehicle we drive? I thought that Alastair would have learned by now that we have little, if any, input on the conditions of fitness that apply to London taxicabs, so anything concerning that matter he should address to the PCO. He goes on: "…Some say we should offer non taxi vehicles" Who are the some? And who does he suggest drive these vehicles? I pointed out at the last AGM that collectively ODRTS drivers have over twenty million pounds invested in our taxicabs. What does he suggest we do with them?
   His next sentence completely baffles me. It reads "Others say that the trade must respond with tactics which I believe would only demonstrate the backwardness of some sectors of this trade and confirm some customers critical views". For several years I, together with several of my colleagues, fought the mini cabs on the streets, ran demonstrations and won back some of our work - particularly at night-clubs. My experience shows that the customers we regained were only too pleased to use a licensed taxi being driven in safety by a driver who knew the way, were perfectly willing to pay the meter fare and demonstrated their appreciation financially in the customary manner. If my militancy was being backward, then I’m proud to be called backward. My view is that apathy over the past three decades coupled with weak leadership, is at the root of many of our problems. If some of our account customers choose to use unqualified drivers (a high percentage of whom rob the social security system as recent checks have revealed) then that is their prerogative. We do not have to follow the same route in order to achieve profitability. In any case, I believe one of the major aims of the Society is to provide profitable work to its owner taxi drivers - please correct me if I’m wrong. In the meantime, perhaps Alastair would be a little more specific about some of the changes he would like to see.
   I am, of course, pleased to read that the change over in the Admin system is now complete and that it went so smoothly.
Cecil Selwyn (V76)

YOU SPELT IT OUT, ALASTAIR
As an avid reader of Call Sign, I was very interested in your Financial Manager Alastair Hill’s report (March Call Sign). This article compelled me to write to you. I am in total agreement with what he had to say. With the advent of minicab licensing to private hire, there is a serious danger of the licensed taxi trade falling into decline very rapidly. The trade has to do something about it now before the so-called private hire get a foothold in the door. This I cannot emphasise strongly enough. To me he seems to have his finger right on the pulse in what he had to say…
"i/ We all have an increasing reliance on their custom, ignoring their requirements for improving and expanding at our peril.
ii/ Many big users already replace over 50% of their ground transport outside the licensed taxi trade.
iii/ From a business perspective, I can only say that industries that fail to adapt to change seldom survive."

To get to the point, he says how Dial-a-Cab should react to non-taxi vehicles and additional services. To this point the taxi trade have a large resource of untapped talent ie people who are on the Knowledge. For example: motorbike couriers. Most of the large radio accounts use motorbike couriers, why not you? A lot of people on the Knowledge do motorbike couriering - including myself. This would be an extra service to offer your clients and the start up cost on this would be very low as we all have our own bikes and insurance to do the job. All DaC would have to do would be to supply the radios. I for one - and I know many of my Knowledge colleagues - would be only too proud to wear your logo whilst riding our bikes and doing your courier work.
The second question is of non-taxi services. For example, the car side. Why not get people who are more advanced on the knowledge, perhaps on late 56's, 28 days and 21's to drive these vehicles. This suggestion would obviously have to be put before your membership and the BoM because of the financial cost of vehicles etc. It upsets me when I go past Morgan Stanley at Cabot Square and see all these vehicles outside and the licensed trade doing absolutely nothing about it. These ideas are not using people outside the licensed taxi trade. They are using the taxi trade's apprentices who are all after the coveted green badge. If these ideas were taken up by DaC, I feel that it would give you a tremendous advantage over the other

major radio circuits when tendering for old and new accounts as your sales team could offer new and old clients a one-stop shop transport service. If done properly, it could reap untold rewards for DaC and the licensed taxi trade. Even if these new services were cost-effective to start with, it would, in my opinion, take the licensed taxi trade into the 21^st century with a new positive approach and keep others out.
Richard Abner
Enfield, Middx

EDITORIAL COMMENT
I was reading the article you wrote about the German bank that helped finance the Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz (March Call Sign). It was a very good story indeed. I have to agree with you, even though it was

a horrible thing they did, it happened a long time ago and the people who run the bank today most likely have nothing to do with what happened then, I'm sure of that. Still the horrendous memories will live forever in many people's mind and the anger will linger for a long time.
Josie Allison
Seal Beach, California

AND AGAIN…
Congratulations on your fine Editorial in the March Issue of Call Sign coupled with Brian Abrahams report on his visit to Auschwitz, it made very interesting and thought provoking reading. I can understand, but not necessary agree, with any of my colleagues who say they will not pick up jobs emanating from these banks, but today’s employees or Directors cannot be blamed for the financial misdeeds of their elders. To misquote Christ: "The sins of the Fathers cannot be visited upon the children."
In the 1930s I was a schoolboy and distinctly remember seeing headlines: "The rape of Nanking." Now I knew that; (a) Japan had invaded China and that (b) Nanking was the capital of China at that time. However I did not know what the word 'rape' meant. I asked my mates, they didn't know either but I eventually found out that it was a term used loosely to describe robbery, arson and murder of innocent civilians in addition to the real meaning of the word. Nearly one million hapless Chinese suffered these ordeals, many of them bayoneted as targets by Japanese soldiers.
Now move forward to December 1941; without any warning of a formal declaration of war, Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbour in the Hawaiian Islands, the home of the US Pacific Fleet, causing thousands of deaths, both civilian and military plus untold damage to ships, aircraft and property. At the same time, other Japanese units invaded Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. Later, when British airmen attacked the Japanese oilfields at Palembang

and were unlucky enough to be shot down, they were executed by beheading. I well remember seeing a picture of a hapless New Zealand airman bound and blindfolded, seconds before being beheaded and surrounded by a group of cheering Japanese soldiers. Thousands of British POW’s died working on the infamous Burma railway through starvation and beatings etc. Captured Indian and Chinese soldiers were bayoneted by their captors. Many Americans died on the forced march from Bataan on the Philippine Island of Luzon. Other Brits died under inhuman conditions in Changi Jail in Singapore - they had simply been caught at the surrender. There was the dreadful atrocities committed against Australian nurses who, after their hospital ship had been torpedoed, were 'rescued' by the Japanese, raped and then thrown into the shark infested waters. I, as a youth, saw the results of the so-called Japanese co-prosperity plan for Asia in Hong Kong.
Unlike the Nazis, the Japanese were not selective, Jew, Gentile, Moslem, Hindu, or Buddhist - they were, in their captors eyes, all inferior and would get short shift if captured.
Now the Germans have started making reparations and paying out compensation to the few survivors left and to their descendants. When Mr Blair approached the Japanese for some kind of compensation for those left, the answer was no, but yet we have no problem picking up from any of our Japanese account holders. Those same banks probably financed the Japanese military machine in the 30s and 40s, but how can you blame the people who work there today? The answer is that you can’t. I agree with your Editorial…
S.Harris (S95J)

AND AGAIN?
Congratulations on your Editorial in the March Call Sign. It was one of the best I have had the pleasure of reading in any taxi trade in-house publication. A question though Alan, why didn't you write to this standard for me??? (Only joking - I think?)
Rodney Lewis
Publisher, Taxi Globe

RECEPTION SERVICE
I have been a member of Dial-a-Cab for the past five years and have had no real reason for complaint, but after a visit to the office recently, I was so angry that I felt I just had to put pen to paper. I made a special journey to get some new receipt pads and a credit journey book. I could have gone locally and bought some plain receipts, but felt that as a member I should always try and promote the circuit. The service I received when I arrived was appalling. I was first told that there were no journey books and when I asked why, was told with a shrug of the shoulders that they didn’t know. When I asked them to find out, I was told that they were at the printers. I then asked for two receipt pads and was told that I could only have one as they only had twenty in stock. My understanding is that we have approximately 1500 drivers and only twenty receipt pads between us with no journey books?! WHAT IS GOING ON!
I listened with interest at the AGM to the profits we are making and all the money we are spending on the new billing system when the other seemed much more efficient. What about getting back to basics and spending some money on things that are really needed. We are all asked to provide a good service to the public but are not being provided with tools to enable us to do this.
I look forward to hearing your comments.
D.Bull (D33)

There isn’t much I can say, Mr Bull. It seems as though you were in the wrong place at the wrong time! As you pointed out, in your previous five years you have had no complaints, so just put this one down to the law of averages! Frivolity aside, there is still no excuse for rudeness but from a personal point of view, I have always found our three main driver’s security officers - Jim, Joe and Dave to be extremely courteous and polite. But everyone has a bad day sometime. Incidentally, they are instructed not to give more than one receipt pad at a time to drivers otherwise we WILL run out of them. As for the new Admin system, I have been told that it is proving it’s worth and is far outstripping any benefits that the old one had…Ed

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