The voice of the taxi trade’s only independent ... · 3/3/2011 · CLEANING Taxis Steam Cleaned & Undersprayed While You Wait To PCO Standard! Unit 17 Period Works 1 Lammas Road,

The voice of the taxi trade’s only independent organisation Issue 187 MARCH 2011

INSIDE

NEWS

NEWS

PAGES 4& 5

Reasons for a demo

NEWS

PAGE 13

Dunlace TaxiServices Ltd

Drivers WantedCabs to Rent

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OverhaulsService and Running Repairs

Units 10-11 Period Works1 Lammas Road, Leyton E10 7QT

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PAGE 3

Letter to the Lord Mayor

DALSTONSTEAM

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& UndersprayedWhile You Wait

To PCO Standard!

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PAGE 6

Airportmatters

The MarksmanCheltenham tips

I have always felt that calling amass demonstration of thetrade should always be thelast resort. However, the lackof any kind of enforcement ofthe law within the Square Milerenders the City Of LondonLawless!Night after night blatant touting,

illegal parking, intimidation of parkingwardens and licensed taxi drivers byminicab touts takes place under thenoses of the very people whose job itis to uphold the law, the City OfLondon Police.Despite strenuous representations

by all members of the Trade (includ-ing John Mason, and Helen Chapmanof LTPH ) to the City Of London`sOfficials, nothing has changed since Ifirst took Mr John Mason out on anight time visit in November 2009when he took over at the PCO. On the opposite page you can read

the letter we at the LCDC sent to theLord Mayor Of The City Of Londonregarding the plight of the LicensedTaxi Trade within the square mile, Istill have not received a reply.As you can see from the front page,

the new situation at Abacus is an utterdisgrace, we now have to sit and waiton our useless rank 50 yards from thefront door, whilst the minicab toutspark in front of us, (on double yellowlines) right up to the door. Not onlythat, but the touts are now

wearing light blue high-viz vests whilst blatantly touting members of the public. Unless we make a stand nowagainst the Corporation Of London, Ifeel that very soon, the City will soonbe a waste of time for taxis legallyplying for hire. Perhaps this is the situation they really want?Therefore I believe we have no

other alternatives left to the Trade.

Rank At The BankDemonstration

30th March @ 2pmDestination: Bank Junction

A call to arms

2 Issue 187 - March 2011

Published by The London Cab Driver’s Club Ltd.

Unit A 303.2, Tower Bridge Business ComplexTower Point, 100 Clements RoadSouthwark, London SE16 4DG

Telephone: 020 7232 0676

E-mail for membership enquiries:E-mail: [email protected]

Web: lcdcorg.wordpress.com

Editor: Grant Davis

The Badge is distributed free to the LicencedLondon Cab Trade.

For advertising enquiries please contact theoffice on

020 7394 5553 or E-mail: [email protected]

All advertising in The Badge is accepted underour terms and condidtions. These are available

at the LCDC office.

Before entering into any commitment, financial or otherwise, always remember to seek

professional advice.

The views expressed in this publication are notnecessarity those fo the Editor or of the

Management Committee of the London Cab Driver’s Club.

Contributions for publication are welcomed and should be sent to the Editor at the

above address.

The London Cab Driver’s Club Ltd.

... thetouts are nowwearing lightblue high-vizvests...

‘‘‘‘

Issue 187 - March 2011 3

Lord Mayor Of The City Of LondonAlderman Michael Bear,Mansion Hose,LondonEC4 N8BH.

14th February 2011

Dear Lord Mayor,

My name is Grant Davis, and I am Chairman of the London Cab Drivers Club. The Club is a Society that represents London’s Licensed Taxicab drivers.

I am afraid to say that it is out of sheer frustration that I write to you today as I am of the opinion that the City Of London is becoming a No-Go area for LicensedTaxicabs after dark. As you are aware, the licensed taxicab trade has been servingLondon for over 300 years, and are proud of our association with the Square Mileas well as our participation in the Lord Mayors show, year after year..

But at night in the City Of London, it has become a free for all with hordes of un-licensedand licensed mini cabs Illegally ranking up outside all the bars and clubs.The City Of London Police has chosen to turn a blind eye to their Illegal activities, and indoing so have jeopardised the safety of many City workers who after leaving any bar, orClub in the Square mile are then accosted by minicab touts.

The Corporation refuse to install taxi ranks so we can provide a first class service to the Public, but theyallow Illegal minicabs to form their own ranks outside on double yellow lines and have even stopped issuingthem with parking tickets, why?

New figures published by the Metropolitan Police have shown that rapes by illegal mini cabs have risen bya staggering 54% last year alone. I am at odds to what agenda the Corporation Of London has in store for the licensed taxicab trade withinthe Square mile.

I am asking you for your help in this situation as I understand feelings within the taxi tradeare running very high at present, and some are even calling for mass demonstrations withinThe City ( something I am trying to diffuse ).

Please find enclosed two copies of our publication the “Badge” where you will be able tosee that both copies carry a story from a National Newspaper, The Daily Mail, and TheIndependent, regarding just how unsafe minicabs can be for the safety of the travellingPublic.

I understand that you are a very busy man, but I would very much appreciate just a hourOf your time to discuss this problem further.

Yours Sincerely

Mr Grant Davis

Letter to Lord Mayorof The City of London


As I mentioned in my editorial, JohnMason contacted me and asked tocome out and see for himself firsthand the extent of Illegal touting thatoccurs every night on the streets ofthe Capital. I must say that it is com-mendable that after a hard dayswork in the Office at the PCO he waswilling to come out with us.

I picked him up at the Palestra building at

eight o clock and took him out for some din-ner before embarking on our night time touttour.

The time we had at the restaurant gave usan Ideal oppotunity to explain first hand toMr Mason the many problems facing theLicensed Trade today. When asked by MrMason what we felt was the biggest threatfacing our trade we replied that it wasSatellite Offices, which was introduced byhis predecessor Ed Thompson and as a

result of their introduction has almostdestroyed our work at night. We said thatthe only way to resolve this problem was toscrap them completely.

Once underway we took Mr Mason toseveral high profile night spots both in theCity and West End. At all the locations MrMason saw for himself the extent of theproblem with ranks of Mini Cabs, ClipboardJohnnies touting the public from outside thevenues without any regard of the PCO reg-ulations.

Whilst in the Square Mile, we mingled withthe public outside the APT Bar, within a cou-ple of minutes Mr Mason was asked if he "wanted a taxi ? " by a licensed mini cabdriver.

" How much to Ilford " said Mr Mason" Thirty five pounds " was the reply" I think I will get a black cab..their cheaper

? ." replied Mr Mason" No...no sir, they are sixty pounds...very

expensive " !!!!When quizzed by Mr Mason if the driver

was Licensed to take him, he proudlywaved his I.D badge and said the magicwords " PCO...PCO Licensed Sir "

We then moved to Abacus where Ishowed him the position of the newLicensed Cab rank in Cornhill. I pointed out

to him that we also had to face East, somefifty yards away from the busy clubs it wasmeant to be servicing. Mr. Mason agreedwith us that the rank was definitly not fit forpurpose.

Several more venues were visited and MrMason was touted again. I finally droppedMr Mason home at 3.30am. Mr Mason toldme that he was and due back into his officeat 7am that same morning. We at theLCDC would like once again to go onrecord and thank Mr Mason for his time andthe Interest shown to educate himself in theIndustry he now operates in.

In the last available accounts.

LCDC Secretary Darryl Cox meets up with John Mason

...outside theAPT Bar within

a couple of minutesMr. Mason wasasked if he wanteda taxi.

‘‘‘‘

As you may have read in lastmonths edition of the Badge theproblem regarding touting in theCity has got completely out ofcontrol, with the Authorities andthe Police turning a blind eye tothe problems, clipboard touts,ranks of mini cabs on double redlines, need I go on any further.Therefore the LCDC has taken upon

itself to assist the Police and recruit anew "Tout Squad " from our members.

LCDC tout squad visits Abacus

Since 2009 The LCDC has worked tirelessly to highlight theshocking levels of illegal touting taking place within

the square mile every night of the week.

November 2009

December 2009 Touts work here

Mr. Mason gets the tout tour

WHY WE NEED ADEMO IN THE CITY


Dear Mr McGrady

As Joe is not in the office this week, I have been asked to respond to your email.

The new taxi rank was appointed following agreement between City Planning Officers,the City Police and Transport for London.

Previously, there had been a large rank facing eastbound on Cornhill. This was removeddue to lack of use. Following discussion with TfL, it was agreed that it would be moreappropriate for a taxi rank facing in the opposite direction as this would make the cabsmore visible from the late-night venues on Cornhill. However, it would not be possible tolocate a taxi rank directly outside Abacus, for a number of reasons.

The most obvious reason is that there is a pedestrian refuge on Cornhill, directly outsideAbacus. Vehicles parked (or taxis ranked) too close to the pedestrian refuge would blockthe westbound carriageway. In this instance, as Cornhill is used by large articulated vehi-cles (both articulated buses and an increasing number of articulated lorries delivering to theCity’s growing retail facilities), the clearance required for these vehicles to be able toapproach the pedestrian refuge in a safe manner is considerable. Thus, it is essential thatkerbside approaching the pedestrian refuge is unobstructed by parked cars or ranked taxisfor quite a distance back from the refuge.

As with anywhere else in the City, kerbside space on Cornhill is at a premium.Delivery/servicing in the City is increasingly a 24-hour activity, and City streets need toaccommodate this, alongside other legitimate kerbside activity, without unduly disruptingthe flow of traffic. In order to reduce disruption to traffic movement along Cornhill, loading isnot permitted throughout much of the day, hence much loading activity will take place out-side of normal daytime hours. It is essential that any new taxi facility does not impact uponloading activity along this vital corridor.

In addition, given current budget constraints, City Officers must be mindful that any expen-diture of resources represents best value for money. Note that neither TfL nor any LondonTaxi organisation contribute financially towards the provision of taxi ranks. Taxi ranks musttherefore compete with numerous other demands upon our local transport budgets. In thatcontext, appointment of a taxi rank represents better value for money if it has potential toserve as a 24-hour facility. The location chosen would have minimum impact upon daytimeservicing activity, as well as evening servicing. Thus, whilst it is currently only proposed thatthe rank will be active in the evening, the City could, if considered desirable at some futurepoint, consider converting the rank to a 24-hour facility at minimal cost to the City.

Thus, given consideration of the above points, it was agreed with TfL that a taxi rank closeto the end of the zig-zag markings for the pedestrian crossing was the most appropriatefacility in this location. Whilst this may not be the solution that the Taxi industry wanted, it isa considerable improvement over the current situation – where there is no taxi rank at all.

I appreciate that the situation with unlicensed taxis is causing frustration. However, unfor-tunately unlicensed taxi activity is an enforcement issue and so falls within the remit of theCity Police and not the Highway Authority.

Regards Jon Wallace

City of London admits that dueto harassment and abusivebehaviour from members ofthe public traffic wardens areunable to carry out their dutiesto enforce parking regulationsin the City of London after7pm.I recently contacted Suzzane

Onodi acting assistant TrafficManager [Enforcement] for the Cityof London. If she could alert herwarden's to try and clear the outsideof certain venue's in the City werevehicles were illegally parking andranking and plying forhire. The listconsisted of the main culprits we allknow. Her reply was "Looking at the

list you have provided, most ofthese area's are only visited by us ifthe police are present, my civilenforcement officers have experi-enced harassment and abusivebehaviour from members of thepublic at these locations, and as I'msure you will understand the safetyof my staff is my first priority.I have instructed them to visit

these locations over the next twoweekends, to see what the level ofparking is like, obviously they willnot get out of the vehicle, shouldthere be times where PCN's can beissued then they will call the policeto assist them, if the street isobstructed then this is a police mat-ter".Their seems to be a complete lack

of political will by the corporation ofLondon to tackle the problem of ille-

gal touting by PHV'S (not to mentiontheir inability to deal with the drunk-en behaviour we see most nights inthe City) If warden's are being threatened

by the public or touts then why has-n't the police stepped in to makesure the warden's can do their jobproperly?This is not downtown Beirut this is

the City of London supposedly oneof the great cities in the world.How come nothing is being done

to deal with such blatant abuse ofthe law? It certainly cannot be alack of finance or manpower. Earlythis year over 120 licensed cab driv-ers were summoned to appear inthe City of London magistrates courton one day alone on a charge ofover ranking on Liverpool StreetStation and Fenchurch Street

Station could this be the policetaking the soft option yet again onthe law abiding instead of tackingthe real problem of touting anddrunkenness, are they afraid of thedark?

ALAN Mac

October 2009

Corporation’s reply to Alan McGrady’s request to extend Abacus rank

City of ‘lawless’ London

The Rankat the BankDemonstration

Wednesday 30th March

@2pmWe urge all drivers to help save your future



Walker on the march....-

Micky WalkerLCDC Member

SAFER TRAVELAT NIGHT (STaN)

Most will have seen or heard of theSTaN report from 2007, preparedby Steve Burton of TFL. Althoughthis is old news, it is only a fewmonths since the trade becameaware of it, or so it seems. Despitebeing three and a half years old,this document is still relevant andhas some serious implications forour trade.The then Mayor Livingstone was

concerned about the amount of sex-ual assaults perpetrated on youngwomen by London touts and saw theneed for a new approach to theproblem that began to take shape inOctober 2002. The report was on theprogress made over the next fouryears.I dare say most of you have more

interesting things to do than readthis 97 point report, like watchingsome paint dry or grass grow, but itis important so here’s the summary.The main problem identified that

illegal touts were responsible for amajor proportion of stranger sexattacks and rapes in Central London.During the year to October 2002,touts were convicted of 212 sexualassaults and 54 rapes within thearea and the numbers were rising.NO single agency were responsiblefor this mess and it was beyond thescope of conventional policing toprotect the half million revellers thatentered London’s West End everyweekend.The solution was felt to be to bring

together the Metropolitan Police ,TfL, GLA and the PCO and do somejoined up thinking. This was thestart of the STaN initiative. First pub-

lic awareness of the dangers ofusing touts had to be raised. Thiswas to be in conjunction improvinglate night travel options, raising safe-ty and bringing in new, tougher leg-islation and enforcement. To thisend, new night bus routes wereadded and those busses fitted withCCTV. Marshalled taxi ranks wereintroduced to create safe havens forcustomers and taxi drivers alike.Travel information services wereintroduced such as “text” home and“one number” taxi booking lines.The risk of touting was made greaterfor the touts through a greater risk ofdetection, stiffer penalties whencaught and compulsory DNA testing.Last but not least was the introduc-

tion of the “satellite office”. Youmay recall the PCO recently sayingthere was no such thing as a “satel-lite Office” but only secondaryoffices or something like that. Well,the author of this report calls then“satellite desks”.The report was the culmination of

the first four years of the STaN initia-tive. Although sexual offences hadnearly halved, after a huge drop inthe first year, the reductions tailedoff while still falling. The sameresults were seen in rape cases. Itwas felt that the sex pest tout hadwised up and had learned to avoiddetection. So much so that thepolice themselves felt it was beyondtheir power to detect and arrestthese touts.The answer was, it seems to re-

focus the approach of STaN. Haveyou ever felt that Old Bill were notinterested in nicking touts? Wellhere’s why. It was felt that justarresting touts may not be theanswer. It seems that nicking ordi-nary touts just chancing their arm atstealing our work was actuallycounter-productive to catching thesex pest tout. Nicking an ordinarytout took officers off the streets andhad them in cosy offices doing theirpaperwork.So, it would seem that even though

touts were identified as stealing 14%of our legitimate work in 2002 (and Ireckon it’s got worse since), they arenot identified as a problem. It’s onlythe sex pest tout that they wish to

catch. So instead, the new solutionwas to focus police sex pest toutinghotspots. Also, the extension ofnight marshalled taxi rank schemes.It was felt that there should also bemarshalled PH pick-up points. Itseems obvious now that is wherethe ill-fated PH rank at LeicesterSquare came from.The report suggested that mar-

shalled ranks had been a huge suc-cess wherever they had been intro-duced, even though they had beenfinanced on a shoestring. It arguedthat twenty marshalled ranks couldbe financed properly for a millionquid. It is unclear if the funding wasintended to be for taxis only ortaxis/PH or even if the money wasfound. It does perhaps explainrecent developments whereby taximarshalling contracts have been ten-dered and we have seen a big recentincrease in the number of “door-openers” at busy night ranks.Now it should be obvious to all that

eradicating the sex pest tout is ofprime importance. However, shouldthat mean that our income and thatof legitimate PH operators and driv-ers should not also be protectedfrom just plain ordinary thieves tout-ing? Surely as citizens we shouldexpect protection from the policeand courts? Surely as taxi and PHdrivers who pay our licence fees weshould expect protection from the T& PH? After all, as far as the statis-tics show, for every £7 a night driverearns, some thieving low-life tout isnicking £1 from them and all we getfrom T &PH is a shoulder shrug?In any case, the STaN initiative is

not working. Sexual assaults perpe-trated by touts is increasing again.Whereas it fell between 2002 – 06,the latest figures show a 20%increase on 2006. Yet, it wouldappear that the authorities areploughing on with these misguidedpolicies. We have TFL, via theirSurface Transport Committee, sup-porting a “gold standard” schemefor PH operators. They suggestoffering a “carrot” of “waitingareas” for the vehicles as a rewardfor PH operators doing what they aresupposed to do anyway i.e. play bythe rules. In the recent PH consulta-

tion document, one of the sugges-tions was that PH should be allocat-ed designated “pick – up areas”.By the time these people stumble

on the obvious solutions, our trademay be dead and gone. Have noneof them heard of “the Wolf inSheep’s Clothing”. Jeez, if theyallow cars onto the street, they allowtouts to hide among them. If theytake the cars off the streets a tout’scar will stick out like a Bulldog’swotsits. They already have a ”gold stan-

dard” – the taxi trade. They shouldbe concentrating on making theknowledge testing administrationmore efficient and using our trade asa template for bringing PH licensingcloser to us.Tighten checks on PH driver

licensees. Allow satellite offices butmake it part of a club’s planning per-mission to provide areas insidewhere passengers can wait for theirbooked taxi or car. Have PH mar-shals but allow them outside only toescort a passenger to their pre-booked vehicles. Make it part of theoperator’s licence to provide suffi-cient CCTV to show that they areplaying by the rules and there is nota line of cars outside among which asexual predator can be hiding of aClipboard Johnny doing the toutingfor the drivers. Make a PH driverlicence valuable enough to see los-ing it as a risk and then maybe thePH industry may go some way tobeing self-enforcing as is the taxiindustry.Lastly, make Westminster Council

see that by letting their trafficenforcement officers turn a blind eyeto PHVs contravening traffic regula-tions at night, they provide cover forsexual predators and, in the case ofthe Tiger Tiger club, terroristbombers.In conclusion though, all cab driv-

ers should understand that when theSTaN people speak of acting againsttouts, their understanding of theproblem is different to ours. Theyhave no interest in protecting ourincome from thieving touts. Theironly interest lies in the sex pestworking as a tout.


Temporary changes to LondonBridge Station Taxi RankWork on a dramatic facelift of

London Bridge bus station began atthe end of last year. The next phaseof the works is to remove the cur-rent canopy roof over the bus sta-tion. This work will be carried outover four weekend closures of thebus station in March, which in turnwill close the taxi rank at the station.During this time the rank will be

temporarily relocated to the rank onDuke Street Hill/Tooley Street (no5471). This will be fed from the rankopposite More London in a bay onthe south side of Tooley Street (no5652).To help ensure there is an accessi-

ble taxi service for travellers in the

area there will be increases incapacity at the existing ranks. TheDuke Street Hill/Tooley Street rankwill be enlarged from one to threetaxis and the surrounding loadingbay will be suspended during theweekend closures.The rank opposite More London

will be increased from four to tentaxis and the loading bay there willalso be suspended. These steps willprovide capacity for a total of thir-teen cabs.Taxi marshals will be employed to

help passengers, to control taxiqueues, and to call taxis up from thefeeder rank to the head rank. Thiswill offer a safe, well regulated envi-ronment to both passengers andtaxi drivers.

Network Rail will also be carryingout works of shorter duration atLondon Bridge Station during threeSundays in February from Sunday13 February. These will close accessto the bus station and taxi rank fromBorough High Street. During theseclosures, taxi drivers are encour-aged to utilise the Tooley Street rankand to pick up/set down in sur-rounding streets.The new look bus station, set to

open in May 2012, will have morespace for buses and taxis, improvedwaiting facilities and an improvedroad layout to ease congestion


Alan’s AngleNew noleft turnsLast week saw theintroduction oftwo new No LeftTurns in London.The first one isMarchmont St intoCartwright gar-dens

The Marchmont Street junction withTavistock Place is a busy junction in avibrant shopping area. It lies on one ofthe key pedestrian routes betweenKings Cross / St. Pancras Internationalstations and the heart of Bloomsburyand is used by high numbers of tourists,commuters, visitors and residents.

A two-way segregated cycle lanewhich runs through the junction alongthe north side of Tavistock Place is alsoregularly used by a large number ofcyclists.The existing layout at the junc-tion is complicated and confusing formany users;these problems willincrease during the 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games, when it’s likely thatsignificantly more people will visit orpass through the area.In response toconcerns raised about this junction, weare proposing to simplify and improve itfor all users, particularly for pedestrians.

And the second one is Orchard St intoOxford St which as probably been putinto place to coincide with tho Oxford stclosures that run between Duke St andNew Bond St running east.London Bridge Station

weekend closures

It now looks like Addison Leehave there own unofficialrank in the city at New St Sq.You can see them on most days

there vehicles in a rank waiting forjobs to be dispatched to them fromthere account at deliotte andtouche in Little New St. Is this MrGriffin telling his cars to park up en

masse and not to worry aboutenforcement,as all they will do ismove you on.We seem to see this blind eye

policy a alot on nights as enforce-ment and the police see touting asa low priority.The City Of London need to

stamp down on these cars waitingas this will become customer prac-

tice and the City will become full ofthese unofficial ranks.Maybe this is the only way Addi

Lee can keep these accountshappy if thecompanies no there vehicles are

parked up out side. Maybe this willbe when PH start asking for wait-ing areas in the city as they will besaying they cannot operate andprovide a service when they arebeing moved off from there unoffi-cial ranks.What will happen when if the

rumors are true and Addi Lee startto work Goldmans Sacs as wellThe area will become a Addi Leecar park as Goldmans Sacs willnot want to be kept waiting, thesecars will have to be close by.Lets hope it's not true as I don't

like to see taxi accounts lost to theprivate hire sector. Maybe some-body needs to open a sandwichbar in Little New St for black taxi'sthat's when the City Of London willprobably erect some CCTV asthey love issuing tickets to uswhen we are getting our lunch.

Drivers we are getting more pcn'sissued to us by parking not on thezig-zags behind the rank in St PaulsChurchyard. But for parking on thefootpath to the left of the rank.

It's some what invisable unless you get outand see it with your own eyes it kind ofblends in with the cobbles. We are gettingdrivers calling into the office regular sayingthey feel they have been trapped by thiscamera as there is no warning signs to saythat the footpath is there. This must be oneof the city of London's most productive cam-eras. So please refrain from putting onbehind the rank and running the risk of get-ting a PCN.

We are the easy touch in the city and theyknow it it's such a shame they can't put asmuch effort to the enforcing the NIGHTSHIFT !

St Paul’s Churchyard camera

Addison Lee Ranking


Ricky WallerLCDC youngest member

MASS DEMONSTRATION

During the recent weeksof middle eastern unrestwe have seen massdemonstrations in numerous countries.Huge numbers of menand women gathering inprotest against corruptregimes risking their livesin the hope of endingyears of repression.We on the contrary are not

living under a repressiveregime and can willinglyprotest on any democraticdecision we feel to be unjust.However I feel that this veryidea has been constantly erod-ed by the previous governmentat every opportunity. Our basic

civil liberties, rights and viewshave been suppressed andthen repackaged into some-thing we no longer recognise.The late labour governmentnever took large enough stepsto cause mass outrage butthey were big enough to slowlyover time change certainaspects of our daily lives. Wehave successfully beenmanipulated and moulded intoaccepting changes that if weare honest we don’t agree withbut feel we have no voice andultimately cannot affect anyfinal outcome. This very attitude has crept into our society but more importantlyinto our own trade. Recentdemonstrations have seeninconsistent turnouts. We continue to have a generalignorance to trade issues andare guilty of a lack of unityacross our trade.We are now approaching a

critical time, it will be detrimen-tal to our trade if we do nottake an interest in these

matters. Tax and nationalinsurance have risen, thegovernment is still implement-ing cost cutting schemesacross the land and the levelsof inflation sees our financesshrink month by month. Thebiggest issue affecting us atthe moment is increasing fuelprices. Middle eastern conflictswill see oil prices rise thusdriving sky high prices evenhigher. The whole countryshares our frustration with thisproblem and the lack of controlwe seem to have over it.The current economic

climate will see temperaturescontinue to rise. The powerwe have to combat this ismass demonstration. It provides us with a platform tocommunicate we our opposition whilst attracting alarge audience. Not everybody will sympathise with ourcause but tolerance is key forall demonstrations. The bikedemonstration every

Wednesday in Trafalgar sq isa good example of this.April is a key month with all

economic factors coming intoplay together for the first time.We might have to flex our muscles against the government greedy levels oftax on fuel. So demonstrationis a perfect way to start to readdress a shift in power.Organisation and strong

trade unions are paramount.If every body takes responsibility and joins atrade organisation theimprovements would be feltimmediately. Increased financial power means betteradvertising and increasedlevels of exposure for our trade.We all need to take an

interest in the matters thataffect our trade. The currentlow levels of commitmentamongst drivers might leadto devastating damage beingdone before we have thechance to act.

View of a ‘butter boy’


L.C.D.C Member gets job toMadrid.....then traps a return!When pulling onto the rank atHarrods in his new MercedesVito LCDC member KamelAbdellaoui was hoping for ahalf decent job to Kings Cross,or somewhere a bit further, lit-tle did he know what wasround the corner.Having done around 30 min-

utes on the rank, Kamel watchedas the taxi in front pulled awayleaving a puzzled passenger andhis bags standing on the kerbside " would you go to LowndesSquare please" asked the con-fused punter.

" Of Course" awnsered Kamel," no problem".On arriving at Lowndes Square,

the fare was £3.80, but the pas-senger insisted that he accepted£10.As Kamel prepared to leave,

the passenger tapped on thewindow....

" please Sir, I am stuck here inLondon, would you take me toMadrid tommorrow?"

After agreeing to undertake the

journey, and accepting a deposit,Kamel drove home to preparefor the journey ahead.Leave on the left Dover, for-

ward Paris, forward South OfFrance, 16 hours later Kamelarrived at Madrid with a veryhappy cab full of passengers. Asit was late in the evening Kamelstayed overnight in a hotelbefore dropping them off at theAirport. On arrival, he wasbesiged by English tourists whohad been stuck due to the ashclouds," They were all shouting at me

asking if I was going back toEngland" said KamelSoon, Kamel left Madrid with

three happy passengers headingback to Blightly.“The Vito was fantastic” said

Kamel and the total cost of fueland toll roads to and from Madridwas only 475 Euros.

The moral of this story is that ifthe Taxi that had broomed thejob at Harrods had taken the fareto Lowndes Sq......who knows?

London’s only independent taxi trade organisation

Don’t delay... join today! 020 7394 5553

LCDC Member Kamel Abdella visits Darryl Cox at the LCDC office


BY THE BALD EAGLEIf you have seen masked motorcyclists riding round following the little $camera cars($cars) that are beginning to proliferate around London andindeed all over the country, then

you have witnessed the No ToMob in action.

Our purpose in doing this is to “assist”the $camera operators in their duties.

What we do is follow a $car towhichever “honey pot” they have beensent to, identify the moving traffic viola-

tion they are there to capture on video,and then stand in a position on theroad to help the confused motoristavoid performing any illegal manoeu-vre, thereby ensuring public safety andassisting the council with its statedobjective of “100% compliance withoutpenalties”.

We have often questioned why thedriver of the car (who just sits therewhile the camera operator capturesany offences on camera) doesn't getout of the car and offer the same assis-tance to confused motorists as the NoTo Mob? We have also questionedwhether the $cars are making them-selves as visible as they might, particu-larly after we filmed one of them in StMartins Lane pulling in front of abuilder's van and then backing up to itas close as possible so that unwittingmotorists had little chance of seeingthis visible deterrent? Another one thatkeeps bugging us is when we see the$car parked in such a way that themotorist cannot possibly see it untilafter the offence has been committed,and public safety has consequentlyalready been compromised.

Since the majority of TrafficManagement Orders (TMOs) aregranted because of potential issueswith public safety, we at the No ToMob have grave concerns that coun-cils are not doing enough to make

their mobile traffic enforcement unitsmore conspicuous.

If you think you know the answers tothese particular questions, pleasedon't contact the No To Mob. We arepretty confident we worked it out longago.

And if you think our group is onlyabout bikers and chasing $cars, youare wrong. We use motorcycles whenfollowing $cars simply because that isthe best way to do it. The group is runon a purely voluntary basis and hasmembers from all walks of life. Themain thing we have in common is ourdislike of public servants who seem tohave forgotten the basic premise oftheir job title. We want to remindthem, in any lawful manner possiblethat WE are THE PUBLIC, and THEYare our SERVANTS. Anyone is wel-come to join us and volunteer to helpwith this task. We discuss matters inan open forum on our website(www.notomob.co.uk) or have regularmeets at the Camley Street cabby’scafé if you prefer.

We have had some moderate suc-cesses recently, but can do with somemore help. You are most welcome joinus to help further our cause.

“People should not be afraid of theirgovernments. Governments should beafraid of their people.”

NotoMOB


Last month, BAA issued a noticeto the Heathrow trade organisa-tions explaining the terms andconditions of the contract underwhich Addison-Lee is to operate aminicab service at Heathrow. BAA claims that the rules for Addison

Lee were agreed with the taxi trade atmeetings held with BAA in 2010. TheLCDC certainly attended exploratory dis-cussions in 2009 when BAA firstannounced a tentative proposal to allowAddison Lee to operate at Heathrow, butabsolutely nothing was agreed orfinalised. The Addison Lee document thatBAA has now suddenly thrust upon thetrade is grandly entitled ‘An AssuranceStatement Regarding Private Hire atHeathrow ’. BAA claims the so-calledassurance statement accurately reflectsthe taxi trade’s demands as to howAddison Lee should be allowed to oper-ate their minicab service. The LCDCmaintains that agreement has never beenreached with BAA over Addison Lee andchallenges BAA to provide copies of anyminutes taken at meetings attended byBAA and the taxi trade when the subjectof Addison-Lee was on the agenda. One of BAA’s main rules for Addison

Lee stipulates that their drivers may notpick up passengers from any place otherthan a Heathrow car park. But in defianceof these contractual rules, Addison Lee’sCEO John Griffin states on the Internet,that his drivers at Heathrow will contacttheir passengers by mobile phone and

pick them up at whatever point on the air-port suits the passenger. (So much forBAA’s written assurances on mandatoryuse of car parks). Addison Lee also stateson the Internet that their passengers willbe able to book an AL minicab by phoneas they step on to the tarmac after leavingthe aircraft. BAA also assures thelicensed taxi trade, that Addison Lee willbe prohibited from advertising its brand atHeathrow. Does this mean that all ofAddison Lee’s black Ford Galaxies work-ing at Heathrow are going to have theirrear windows stripped of the very distinc-tive Addison Lee logo ? This is not the first time that BAA has

come up with concocted recollections ofwhat has and hasn’t been agreed with thetrade at Heathrow. At least two BAA man-agers mistakenly insist that the tradeorganisations attended meetings last yearto discuss the 2010 gate money increase.The actual facts are that BAA suddenlyannounced the gate money increase atthe end of May, knowing full well that thetrade had been not been consulted aboutan increase apart from a holding a brieffifteen minute discussion with BAAaccountants in the previous February. Aspreviously stated in The Badge, NSLrank attendants knew about the 2010increase before the Heathrow tradereps did.

The HALT(S) Debacle Despite the existence of the private

company HALTS, the original HALT coop-

erative continued to conduct business atHeathrow throughout 2010, This meansthat the cooperative’s annual accounts willhave to be made available, but HALTexecutives (aka directors of HALTS) havearrogantly declared that they don’t intendto appoint auditors to examine the HALTcooperative’s books. Their excuse is thatHALT is about to be deregistered by theFinancial Services Authority. As it hap-pens, the FSA maintains regular contactwith opponents of the HALT(S) regime,but no mention has been made by theFSA of an intention to remove HALT fromthe official register. According to the latest financial report

issued by HALT executives lastDecember, they claim to have legallytransferred the HALT cooperative’s busi-ness assets to their private companyHALTS. The report also claims that thetransfer was legitimised by a MickeyMouse ‘ballot’ of Heathrow taxi driversconducted by BAA Heathrow. These twoclaims make no sense whatsoever whenthey are analysed in line with the clear-cutrequirements of Industrial and ProvidentSociety law. As a matter of interest, theBAA manager responsible for the so-called ‘ballot’ has been moved on and for-tunately no longer has any connectionwith the Heathrow taxi trade. She sufferedfrom an arrogant ‘can-do’ attitude that cul-minated in coercive and improperattempts being made to persuadeHeathrow taxi drivers that private compa-ny HALTS has the legal capacity to take

over the functions of the HALT coopera-tive. HALTS has no such capacity andBAA has been unable to counter theLCDC’s repeated assertion that HALT(S)can’t suddenly inherit the business assets,administrative systems and funding sys-tems belonging to the HALT co-operative.HALT executives cannot increase theirpowers under the cooperative’s registeredrules by wrong interpretations of Industrialand Provident Societies law, no matterhowever well-intentioned they may pre-tend to be. They only have such jurisdic-tion that a true interpretation of IPS lawactually confers on them and not whatthey imagine the law confers. Surprisingly,no preparatory steps have been taken byHALT executives to have a monetaryvalue placed on the HALT cooperative'scredit card processing operations. Quitepossibly the clever directors of privatecompany HALTS (aka HALT executives),think they’ve acquired these valuablebusiness assets from HALT, without theencumbrance of having to pay for them. The BAA managers who control the

Heathrow Taxi System have never beenable to demonstrate working knowledgeof laws that regulate London’s taxi tradeorganisations. Perhaps we should makeallowances, but at the same time, there isno excuse for their failure to grasp thesimple fundamental principle that HALT isa drivers' cooperative and can’t be con-verted to a private company such asHALTS without strict adherence to well-defined legal procedures.

Airport MattersBY PETER “THE CANNON”L.C.D.C AIRPORT REP


Adam D. ElliottVincent House,

99a Station Road, London, E4 7BU

SPECIALIST ACCOUNTANT TO THE LICENSED TAXI TRADE

Tel: 020 8281 0500email: [email protected] / SKYPE: taxitax

Member’s lettersThe Farce That IsDial-A-Cab

I see that Brian Rice and Call Sign(Feb) has yet another edition of selfpreservation mis-informationIt seems Brian Rice believes it is a

secret that D-A-C is operating aConcierge system that is supplyingwork to Private Hire Companies. Hefurther seems to think that this secretis of such an order that Licensed Taxiand Private Hire (PCO) were notaware of D-A-C’s PH alliance. Heincredulously suggests that the PCOonly became aware of D-A-C minicaboperations when someone informedon D-A-C!To cover up his mis-governance of a

mutual society he bemoans that thereare many problems facing the tradeand that time and money is squan-dered by others highlighting the fact

that D-A-C is operating a minicabConcierge system. A system that is tothe detriment of the taxi trade.Mr Rice fails to see that he is a major

contributor to the taxi trades problem.He has mismanaged D-A-C to suchan extent that he is spending thou-sands and thousands of pounds seek-ing legal advice a lawyer quibbles toget him out of a mire that is of his ownmaking. Yet he has the brass neck tosay that others are squanderingmoney in highlighting D-A-C’s minicabConcierge system. Mr Rice talks of “The facts, NOT

lies…”. Well the fact is he is squander-ing thousands and thousands ofpounds of member’s money in tryingto keep his minicab alliance’s goingforward. Whereas the truth is thatLCDC is fighting minicab alliance’swith taxi circuits. Given Mr Rice’s record I know who I

believe and it is not Mr Rice.M. Harben

L.C.D.CLEADERS NOT FOLLOWERS


The CheltenhamFestival

It’s that time of year again, from15th – 18th March, the four bestday’s racing on the calendar willtake place in what is known as “TheCheltenham Festival” and after avery successful 2010 (Where weshowed a 20pt profit to a 1pt stake)we’re hoping to take some morecash off those awful bookie chap-pies in 2011! We will go throughmost of the races and in some racewe will go through a selection – thisis not an advised bet, but purely aselection on the race. We will high-light a betting selection by advisinga various points bet (ie 1pt up to amax of 5pt bet).

DAY 1

A great day kicking off with theSupreme Novices Hurdle over 2m½ f. CUE CARD is sure to be afavourite for the race, but the slec-tion would be RECESSION PROOF(Odds 10/1).The Archie Novice Chase is for

young novice chasers and over 2m“FINIAN’S RAINBOW trained byNicky Henderson will probably startfavourite (odds 4/1) and the AlanKing “MEDEMIT” (Odds 9/2) willalso have his supporters. For ourfirst bet is a 1pt win on the PaulNicholl’s trained “GHIZAO” and agreat jumper who will relish theuphill finish and he’ll do for me.Three other races on Day One are

the ‘Stewart Family Spinal ResearchChase’, the ‘Glenfraclas CrossCountry Handicap Chase’ and the‘Centenary Novice Handicap Chase’– all of which we have no selec-tions.The big race on Day One is the

‘Champion Hurdle’. Many regardthis as being a vintage race with

several top class horses in thefield. Last year’s winner “BINOCU-LAR” (odds 7/2) will have his follow-ers, as will last year’s runner up“KHYBER KIM” (odds 25/1). “PED-DLERS CROSS” (odds 11/2) whowas at last year’s festival and isunbeaten in all three races this yearand has very strong claims.However, despite the fact that thisseems a very difficult race, have nohesitation in tipping my bet of themeeting (a maximum 5pt bet) onthe Willie Mullins trained “HURRI-CANE FLY”. Given in our five to fol-low at the start of the season, hehas won all three of his races thisseason and simply oozes class. Hecould turn out to be one of the bestchampion hurdles we’ve seen forsome times, so fill your boots!

DAY 2

We start the day off with theNational Hunt Challenge CupNovice Chase over 4 miles. This isthe longest race over the four daysof the festival. “CHICAGO GREY”(odds 6/1) trained by G Elliot has aserious chance as well as the WMullins trained “CRUEL ESPRIT”(odds 16/1) however the CharlesByrnes trained “ALFA BEAT” (odds8/1) is a definite bet here and a 2ptwin bet is advised. The Neptune Investment Novices

Hurdle is the second race. “BOBSWORTH” (odds 6/1) and “SOYOUNG” (odds 15/2) and havestrong credentials but the JessicaHarrington trained “OSCAR’SWELL” (odds 4/1) is the mostimpressive novice I’ve seen andmust be a 2pt win bet.The RSA Novice Chace over 3

miles throws up some very interesttypes. “TIME FOR RUPERT” (odds5/2) is a strong favourite, “JESSIE’SDREAM” (odds 8/1) has done noth-ing wrong all season, and theimproving “AITEEN THIR-TYTHREE” (odds 10/1) could bethereabouts, but I’ll take a chance

on “MIKAEL D’HAGUENET” (odds16/1), who has unlimited potentialand should everything click in toplace should go very close to a 1ptwin bet.The Coral Cup Hurdle over 2m 5f

is one of the very competitive handi-caps at the festival. It is usually wonby a well backed horse who hasbeen laid out for the race. One suchhorse is “FOR NON STOP” and a1pt bet is advised.The big race on Day Two is the

Queen Mother Champion Chase.We don’t have a bet for this race,but the two I like are Paul Nicholl’strained “MASTE MINDED” (odds5/2) and also give a big shout tolast year’s Arkle winner “SIZINGEUROPE” (odds 16/1).We have no selection in the Fred

Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. But in the last – the Weatherby’s

Champion Bumper, a 1pt win on“KNIGHT PASS” (odds 9/1) is rec-ommended.

Day 3

For me, this is the least interestingof the four days. The big race onDay Three is the Ladbrokes WorldHurdle. In my opinion, this is a two-horse race between “BIG BUCKS”(odds 5/4) and “GRANDS CRUS”(odds 9/4). Of the two, the selectionwould be “GRAND CCRUS”, but asa betting proposition, it’s not for me.I have no bets in the: Jewson

Novice Chase, Pertemps FinalHandicap Hurdle, Byrne GroupPlate Handicap Chase or the FulkWalwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase.However, we have a 2pt win bet in

the Ryanair Chase. The selection is“TRANQUIL SEA”. Trained inIreland by Edward O’Grady and aslong as the ground is not too fast, ithas to have a great chance.

Day 4

The climax to the festival with theTotesport Cheltenham Gold Cup thehighlight. A great race with twice-winner “KAUTO STAR” (odds 7/1),former winner “DENMAN” (odds7/1), last year’s winner “IMPERIALCOMMANDER” (odds 7/2) and newkid on the block “LONG RUN” (odds13/2), winner of this year’s KingGeorge V Chase at Kempton onBoxing Day. Throw in this yearsHennessey Winner “DIAMONDHARRY” (odds 10/1) and the twoIrish raiders “KEMPES” (odds 16/1)and “PANDORAMA” (odds 16/1)and you can see what an ultra com-petitive race it is.

I don’t have a bet to recommend inthis race, but my selection would be“TIDAL BAY” (odds 33/1) who willbe flying up the Cheltenham Hill atthe finish and could reward a littleeach way support. The day starts with the JCB

Triumph Hurdle for 4 year olds over2m 1f. “GRANDOUET” (odds 6/1) isfavourite and the Nicky Hendersonhorse has strong claims. The Irishfilly “UNACCOMPANIED” (odds 7/1)is very tough and genuine, but Iwas very impresed with the PaulNicholls trained “ZAKANDAR” (odds12/1) who has only had one run butwas very impressive and could besomething special. We recommenda 3pt win bet.We have no selections or bets for

the: Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle,Martin Pipe Conditional JockeysHandicap Hurdle.In the Johnny Henderson Grand

Annual Handicap Chase, our selec-tion is “ANQUETTA”. In the last race of the last day, the

Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle, wehave a 2pt win bet on the WillieMullins trained “FINAL APPROACH”(odds 20/1). Here’s hoping this willfinish what we hope will be a veryprofitable week.

So here’s our Cheltenham Summery:

Day 1• Arkle Chase – 1pt win Ghizao• Champion Hurdle – 5pt win

Hurricane Fly

Day 2• National Hunt Challenge Cup –

Alfa Beat, 2pt Win• Neptune Investment Novices

Hurdle – Oscar’s Well, 2pt Win• RSA Chase – Mikael

D’Haguenet, 1pt Win• Coral Cup – For Non Stop, 1pt

Win• Weatherby’s Champion Bumper

– Knight Pass, 1pt Win

Day 3• Ryanair Chase – Tranquil Sea,

2pt Win

Day 4• Triumph Hurdle – Zakandar,

3pt Win• Vincent O’Brien Country Hurdle –

Final Approach, 2pth Win

So the banker of the meeting isHurricane Fly in the ChampionHurdle on the first day.Have a great festival! Be lucky!

And don’t give too much to thoseawful bookie chappies!

The Marksman


Please complete this form and send it with your application form

(LCDC) Ltd UNIT 303.2TOWER BRIDGE BUSINESS COMPLEX, TOWER POINT,

100 CLEMENT’S ROAD, SOUTHWARKLONDON, SE16 4DG

0207 394 5553

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PO BOX 1134, London W128GGSort Code 20-10-53. Account No- 40450421.

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The subscription rate is £170 per annum. If you are unable to pay in asingle payment please make one cheque payable to “The London CabDrivers Club Ltd,” with today’s date for £56.67 and two post-datedcheques one month apart for £56.67.

Send the completed form to: THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY,The London Cab Drivers Club Ltd, UNIT A 303.2Tower Bridge Business Complex, Tower Point, 100 ClementsRoad, Southwark, London SE16 4DG

Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms:.................... Surname: ......................................

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L.C.D.C MEMBERSHIP FORMS


Leroy Reid & Co is a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants andRegistered Auditors established on 1st April 1982 providing Taxation,Audit and Bookkeeping and Accountancy Services to the LicensedLondon Taxi Drivers, small and medium size businesses and charities.We are committed to putting your interests first, hence our MissionStatement:

"We work to a standard and not a price"COST OF SERVICEOur charges for the following services are £255.00 + VAT.

FEATURES OF THE SERVICEw Free consultation.w Preparation of Accounts.w Completion of Self Assessment Tax Return.w Submission of completed Tax Return.w Letters to Building Societies and Banks.w Confirmation letter regarding Loss of Earnings.

We also have trained staff and associates specialising in all aspects ofthe tax system who will be able to efficiently and effectively deal with alltax issues and Inland Revenue investigations related to the LicensedLondon Taxi Driver.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information.

299 Northborough Road, Norbury, London SW16 4TRTel: 020 8764 6675 / 020 8679 4226Email: [email protected]

LEROY REID & CO Chartered Certified Accountants and Registered Auditors

OFFICE HOURSClub Office hours are between 10:00am and 5:30pm

each day Monday through Friday.

You can call in to discuss Sickness and Accident Insurance and Membership Enquiries, or any complaints and/or summonses incurred

whilst driving your taxi at work.

You may also telephone for an appointment to speak with an Officer of the Club on any of the above matters in the strictest of confidence.

Call 0207 394 5553

0208 732 5525

Also at Devonshire House Stanmore HA7 IJ8



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Documents

The voice of the taxi trade’s only independent ... · 3/3/2011 · CLEANING Taxis Steam Cleaned & Undersprayed While You Wait To PCO Standard! Unit 17 Period Works 1 Lammas Road,