Enforcers, Imposters or Saviours? ..........by Semtex

Nothing in life makes me more frustrated than professional incompetence. Despite our apparent prolific steps we make in technology, science, medical research, mini cab apps and much more, basic incompetence is all around us as we go about our daily lives. 

Some of it is caused because the person or persons have been inadequately trained, some of it is caused by lack of interest, despite good training, and some of it is caused by the employers, in an inexcusable effort to save money by not getting the fully trained candidates in the first place.

There are probably a million reasons for it I guess, but either way, when blatantly confronted with it, I get really wound up.
 
A few years ago, I was confronted with a serious road traffic collision in Moorgate outside the tube station. The road was two way then. It was a motorcyclist and a van involved. The paramedics pulled up, blues and twos on and then the ambulance just stopped. 

I was puzzled to see what the problem was for the young lady driver, and assumed there was something blocking the road, which in turn was preventing her access to the scene.
 
I sat patiently stationery in the cab, and so did the paramedics. The two tones were still sounding and her blue beacons were still flashing, although the ambulance was motionless. The motorcyclist at this time had gone into shock and started shaking uncontrollably. 

Professional help was only 100 yards away, but may well just as been 100 miles ! 

I decided to get out the cab and see what the problem was. By this time the motorcyclist is in a bad way. The passenger member of the ambulance crew had thankfully grabbed his bag and began a sprint to the scene, but still the lady driver medic sat behind the wheel, 100 yards from the injured parties. 

As I approached the ambulance, she too jumped out and began making her way to the collision scene. Still bemused, I asked if there was a problem with the ambulance. She looked as me as though I was an imbecile and said "How do you expect me to get the ambulance through there !?" pointing towards the more than ample gap in the traffic. 

I was utterly flabbergasted ! 

Every single one of us professional cab drivers would have got the ambulance through the gap at 70 mph, eating a bagel at the same time !  

Without thinking, I jumped in the ambulance, pulled it through the gap, drove it up to the scene, and got back into my cab. The applause from the spectating public was rapturous, but believe me, I was no hero. Furthermore, I realise my actions were not only discouraged, but illegal.

The motorcyclist and his family would have probably thought differently however. There is absolutely no way on earth, that a professional driver, let alone a professional emergency response driver, should have had any problem with that manoeuver whatsoever! But she did.

Her medical skills were probably superb, but without being able to drive both confidently and competently at speed to a motorcyclist losing blood and just gone into shock..............what is the point ?
 
Which leads me to my concerns. Transport For London have always had a Compliance Section for London Taxis and Private Hire, and without sounding disrespectful, they have always been useless. 

Their conviction record or rather, lack of it, speaks for itself and is dire. Their defence at any slurs that come from the likes of me however, have always been to explain that they just haven't got enough resources to deal with the problem. 

To a very small degree, I can see the point they make, but in all honesty, if any organisation issue licences for anything, be it driving, shooting, fishing, flying.......whatever, then they have to make arrangements to ENFORCE THE LAWS on the said licences that they charge for and issue, to ensure that all terms of the licences are being complied with and adhered to.

 
Many of our trade remember being under the control of the Metropolitan Police for our licences. Some of us loved it that way, some of us hated it, but that is not the essence of my post. 

The fact is, when our trade was under the umbrella of the Met, there is no doubt whatsoever, that they did an excellent job of both enforcing the conditions of our cab licences and making sure that our compliance to the said licences were adhered to at all times.
 
Now look at the state of the place!

There is not a London Taxi Driver who wont be able to reflect my opinion of how inexcusable and out of control, mini cab touting in our Capital has become.

They are everywhere, like ants ! I would like to think that even TFL themselves would admit that the situation of PHV compliance is a huge problem now and effective action needs to be launched immediately.
 
Personally, I think that the powers in charge make far too much of the brief. 

I applied unsuccessfully for the appointment of Head of Compliance. Had I have got the job, trust me that within a fortnight, the difference in the West End and City  would have been apparent, measureable and reducing with every weekend. 

It's not difficult to enforce the law and to be honest, any surveillance skills that the new man may have....will be wasted.

The touts are blatantly obvious !
 
The problem is though, the Metropolitan Police Service are currently operating on a very tight budget. 

Coppers are apparently getting buses to crime scenes, ffs !

If that is true, then naturally, mini cab touting not only comes very far down the Met's priority list, but just cannot be dealt with on the current financial structure............end of.

So what now then ?  

If the Police can't deal with the touts for whatever reason............who will ?
 
TFL said they will, and indeed have recruited a very capable and hard hitting ex-copper who comes with an excellent CV. 

Whatsmore, it is TFL who are selling these mini cab licences, and raking in millions of pounds at the same time. 

It is surely down to them to supply adequate enforcement to monitor compliance of the licences they are selling ?

BUT.......and this is where it gets silly..........what use are the new compliance officers under the new man's command.........UNLESS THEY HAVE FULL POWERS OF LAWFUL ARREST ?
 
To my mind, employing compliance officers to catch touts and deal with them APPROPRIATELY, is akin to employing the paramedic who couldn't drive the ambulance, POINTLESS !

The Met can't even train POLICE OFFICERS to the pre-Hendon standard, let alone Taxi and Private Hire Compliance Officers. 

So that's the police out of it for any realistic enforcement.
 
So how are we going to deal with this issue then, or rather, how are TFL going to deal with it ? The way I see it is, TFL have been on a recent recruitment drive for these pointless and toothless Compliance Officers. They will probably give it a stab to make it work, but trust me, they will achieve nothing, and at a huge public money cost.
 
This is why I got so frustrated for the 71.2% of the UCG's membership, who voted to suspend the successful Demos, to give the Police and TFL a chance to make it happen. 

It was impossible ever to happen ! They haven't got the financial budget, they haven't got the professional resources and they haven't got the powers ! So what did our colleagues think was going to happen ?

  
Well, even though I said it at the time, you don't need me to actually prove and show you what has happened since the Demo suspensions, do you ?
 
ZILCH !   

NOTHING !   

NOT A GOD DAMMNED THING !    

IT'S JUST GOT WORSE !  

AND IT WILL GET WORSE THAN IT IS NOW, YOU WATCH !
 
There is of course only one realistic way to combat this evolving menace, and that is by doing this.....
 
Part of the City Hall's budget to the Mayor, needs to be set aside for a proper, professional squad of LTPH Enforcement & Compliance Officers, headed by the same man as just been appointed. 

HOWEVER, these cannot be just any officers, they need to be chosen and plucked from either the Met or City Police, all with full powers of arrest and seconded ONLY to the LTPH Compliance Team.....NOTHING ELSE !
 
I have always preached it. If you have a full on, committed, lead by example Head of Compliance, backed by 20 or so hand picked police officers who actually WANT AND DESIRE to be on the team and who want to make a difference.......................
a hugely realistic and potent difference will be seen on them streets within TWO WEEKS ! YES, TWO WEEKS, JUST A FORTNIGHT!
 
I know I'm an anorak, but I actually dream of doing that brief ! I would honestly do it for nothing ! It would be so satisfying to clear that lot out and make a massive difference ! Anyone with half an idea on this deployment could assure promotion and huge personal satisfaction on the back of the London Mini Cab Tout problem.
 
As I say, the new man in charge ex- Met Superintendent Matt Bell is no slouch. He will know what is expected, know his patch and know how serious the problem is. However, its not Matt Bell who I am worried about, its the team of compliance officers that will be working with him that I have the problem with.

Without powers of arrest, what are they going to enforce ? 

If they can't nick them, what can they do ? 

Report them ? 

Give them a piece of paper that states that they are to be reported, cautioned and dealt with by law ?

That maybe all OK if the car they have stopped isn't a ringer, or belonging to somebody in Strathclyde who thought the vehicle was still outside the fish and chip shop where they left it last night !  Issuing a paperwork form to a stopped driver seen touting  is equally just as useless if it transpires that the driver has no driving licence, no legal entry into the UK and only yesterday was looking up a goat's arse hole from inside a desert tent in Syria.

Without powers to arrest the suspect, take him in for questioning, seize and crush his vehicle, keep him in remand till Monday and take him by police transport to Westminster Magistrates Court to get 6 months in the nick.....................
WHAT IS THE POINT ?   WHERE IS THE FEAR FOR THE TOUT ?
 
I have trained detection and protection dogs for over twenty years now. If you saw me remove a set of dentures out of a 55 kilo German Shepherd's mouth JUST before setting it on you...................would you be quaking in you're boots ?

I doubt it ! 
After all, if the dog can't bite you, what harm can it do you ? 

Exactly, None !
 
So when TFL let this new army of Compliance Officers loose with no powers of arrest, and no likelihood of vehicle seizure or custody potential for the tout onto our streets, what impact do you expect these officers to make to a hardened and habitual mini cab tout, then?

Absolutely !  No impact whatsoever ! 

They will take the paperwork, and if its thin enough and like that carbon type paper, probably roll a spliff with it ! 

They will then drive round the corner and begin touting again, likely disenchanted that they have lost 30 minutes work ! Don't forget, a lot of these touts are used to looking down the barrels of machine guns, they ain't worried, frightened or deterred about a paperwork caution !
 
Folks, unless TFL employ a proper team of lawful enforcers out on those streets, instead of a battalion of ill equipped imposters..................the situation will, and can only get worse and worse and worse.

I assume the 71.2% of our colleagues who called for the demo suspensions are fully aware now that the promise of adequate mini cab tout compliance is as hollow as a Tesco's Easter Egg ! 

That was merely a ruse designed for our trade to lose it's grip and combined momentum, that's all. 

The IRA used that ploy dozens of times in the 70's. It gives them TIME !
 
There is no doubt whatsoever, that the touting situation in London by both licensed and unlicensed mini cabs is epidemic. Unless something realistic and viable is deployed very soon to thwart it, there will be an uprising on our London streets. And that will be unhelpful to everyone.
 
There is and always has been something in my mind that I worry about in relation to all this though. How about if TFL had absolutely no intention of stopping the touting problem in the first place, and were merely going through the motions to make it look like they were concerned ?
 
On the other hand, I'm a pessimistic old dinosaur these days, and in the real world that I increasingly shirk from, that wouldn't or couldn't really happen.   Would it ? Could it ?  Course not !  I shall just have to keep taking my tablets !
 
Be Lucky all.
 
8829 Semtex.

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Taxi and Private Car Hire Market, Last Nights Short Debate Over PH Proposals.

Lord Bradshore asked Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have for bringing up to date the regulation of the taxi and private car hire market.

First, it is important to decide where the taxi business should be regulated. 

There is a difference in some parts of legislation between national issues and the parts that are devolved, as are most parts in London, to the mayor. 

With the creation of combined authorities, when the opportunity comes, it would be as well for the Government to consider devolving powers over taxis and private hire cars to those authorities.

The existing legislation is very old and a lot of it begins in the 19th century. These laws have not held very well in these days of information technology and apps, by which people can summon private hire cars. 

I want to make it clear that I and, I think, those on my side of this House support the freedom of choice for the passenger and acknowledge the benefits that have been brought to many people who use Addison Lee, Uber and other such bodies.

Read whole Debate, 9 Speeches. 

                >Click Here<

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LTC Unveil TX5 Hybrid Prototype At Lancaster House Today.

A new hybrid black cab that will be able to seat six people was due to be unveiled today during the state visit of the Chinese President.

The London Taxi Company was to reveal the battery-powered TX5 prototype at Lancaster House in St James’s at an event to promote Britain’s creative industries due to be attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as Xi Jinping.

The hybrid, which switches over to a petrol engine when the battery runs out, is expected to hit the showrooms in 2017, a year before new rules come into force that all taxi or private hire vehicles will have to be “zero-emission” capable.

The TX5 was designed in Barcelona by British designers and vows to captures the “spirit of past generations” of black cabs.

Geely, the Chinese car manufacturer that owns the LTC, will build the black cab at a new £300 million plant outside Coventry, creating 1,000 jobs,

As well as seats for six - instead of the current five - passengers, it features front-opening “suicide doors” and more leg-room for the driver. It also has a panoramic glass roof, in-built wifi and charging points for electrical devices.

Peter Johansen, chief executive of The London Taxi Company said: “We are hugely excited to be unveiling the TX5 prototype design for the first time and in such high company.

“The new vehicle has a wealth of new features, which will all be tried and tested and then tested again to provide a perfect balance of timeless design driven by ground-breaking technology.”

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Met Stick Two Fingers Up, At Taxi Rank Complaints : Good News, Forge Taxi Rank Extension

Didn't take long for the Met police to go back on their word of making an effort for a better understanding of the problems Taxi drivers are facing around London' West End. 

Over the last 8 months drivers attached to the Mayfair mob have regularly been calling 101, to report cars/minicabs parked on our ranks at venues around the West End. Callers were given a CAD number which is recorded as a complaint that can and has (in certain cases) resulted in a site visit.

Well it now seems the police have taken it upon themselves to downgrade our complaints. Callers using 101 to complain about rank contraventions, will now be given a CAH number. 

This means that future calls will only be recorded as a phone call, rather than a complaint. Also site visits will no longer be afforded to drivers complaining about cars refusing to move off our ranks. 

In fact this looks to all intent and propose that the Met are sticking two fingers up to the Taxi trade, saying "just get on with it". Not the first time we've seen the Met attempting to massage their complaint statistics...no complaints....no problems.

On a brighter note, the promised extension of the Forge rank from two spaces to four, has now been marked out and fully approved. In spite of fierce opposition from our competitors, the rank extension is a direct result of the Mayfair Mobs expansion into the City, with regular "hits" at this establishment, resulting in work being won back from the touts.

A big thank you must go to @davebenidorm166 who has been relentless in pursuing the City of London Corporation over this extension. Well done Dave.

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Myths, Lies And Statistics? A Report On Compliance And Enforcement

Every Licensed Taxi driver in London is aware of the shocking under performance of TfL compliance. We've even had this confirmed by the GLA report "Future Proof", where TfL were found to be woefully inadequate.

In the report a number of recommendations were made by the GLA transport committee, but after a year since the publication of the report, we are still waiting for these recommendations to be implemented. TfL tell us they're working on introducing some of the recommendations. A complete unsatisfactory state of affairs from our regulatory licensing authority. 

But now, to add insult to injury, in a recent announcement on their website, TfL have managed to out do any previous inadequacies aimed at the licensed Taxi trade and sprinkled it with misinformation.

In the report, TfL state that annual licensing inspection includes the checking of insurance for taxis and private hire vehicles. This would give the impression that to get a Taxi or Private Hire vehicle licensed, the Hire and reward insurgence would have to be in place integral to the inspection. While this is most certainly the case for Taxis (who also have to display a cover note inside the vehicle), this is not the case for PHVs. It is possible to licence a vehicle for use as a PHV, while only being insured with standard cover. 

This is born out by the next sentence

Insurance for PHVs is also something being considered as part of the regulatory review of private hire services which is currently underway.

Being considered!!!

Public safety, being considered!!!

So they admit the error and are considering making a change to regulations.....sometime in the future.

Misinformation : TfL prosecutions

TfL say that between 1 January to 30 April 2015, they successfully prosecuted 33 drivers for illegally plying for hire and other illegal activity. The misleading bit is "and other illegal activity". Misleading by the fact this statistic isn't broken down or further explained. 

Within the corridors of the PR spin doctors, this is known as double accounting, where statistics already used, can be bundled in with the not so impressive figures to make them look better.

Funny how TfL can give the exact number of parking tickets they gave out, or the exact number of cars they moved on and even the exact number of drivers who were sent home because they didn't have their ID. But they can't offer the exact number of PHV drivers, convicted of illegally plying for hire!

Operation Neon:

Since the launch of the ongoing Operation Neon on 8 May 2015, there have been a total of 48 operations. These have resulted in: blah blah blah.

We are then treated to a list of numbers representing supposed offences. All the figures given relate to vehicles and individuals being "reported".

Their are no statistics offered of any conviction, or revocations resulting from the reports. There is however no mention of the disastrous Eddie Nestor photo opportunity, where senior TfL officers were openly touted live on air, resulting in ....you guessed it nothing.

Then the final insult.

TfL compliance desperately try to back up Leon Daniels ridiculous statement that PH drivers have "switch on switch off" hire and reward insurance.  After making inquiries to the Association of British Insurers, we know no that such policies exist. 

But TfL still put this in their statement:

Insurance

Taxis need to have Hire and Reward insurance in place at all times. Current regulations require private hire drivers to have Hire and Reward insurance in place whenever they are undertaking a private hire journey. 

They then wipe their hands of the responsibility of insuring all passengers are fully covered, by passing the buck!

"It is the private hire operator's responsibility to ensure that the appropriate Hire and Reward insurance is in place for vehicles used for private hire bookings."

Woefully inadequate and Totally Failing London.

The UCG are currently observing and documenting the performance of TfL compliance. Please read their article 

>ClickHere<

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Why the long face....we've won a major victory!...by Thomasthetaxi.

So, the Hon Sir Duncan Brian Walter Ouseley has handed down his opinion, based on the letter of the law as it stands. 

And his opinion is that Uber's smartphone app, is not a Taximeter, even though it is a device that calculates the fare using both time and distance (which is the dictionary definition of a Taximeter). Even Uber, in their instructional guide to drivers refer to it as a meter!

And are we surprised? of course not.

TfL have won their case plus TfL managers/directors past and present have been vindicated. 

Ever since the Uber app was first approved, TfL have been accused of sanctioning illegal activity. There have also been allegations of corruption, strongly denied by ex commissioner Sir Peter Hendy when he appeared in front of a GLA transport committee. 

So what does this verdict mean to us...the Taxi trade. Is it indeed a defeat, or is this a major victory?

The surge rates will now continue, passenger complaints of huge fares after sitting in gridlock traffic, drivers getting lost, taking the long way round, all adding to an increase in cost...this all continues. 

Had Uber lost, they would have had to change their modus operandi to a more user friend system and be bought inline with every other PH operator. 

Let's make no mistake, as good as their platform is, the threat to our trade is not coming from the efficiency of Uber's technology!

 Many passenger once stung are reluctant to reuse. A large proportion of rides are made up from customer promotions and money off vouchers.

To give you a for instance, in a three hour period, at the height of a busy Saturday night earlier this summer, Uber's system processed 10,000 rides. At that time they had an alleged work force of approx 10,000 drivers. With just over half their drivers actually on shift, this equates to 2 jobs per unit, in a three hour period. 

At that rate, their drivers cannot sustain financial stability and are forced to tout to make their money up. 

But this is where we can fight back, where we can make a difference.

For many decades drivers circulated, looking for waving hands but this has now changed. People do not want to walk around looking for vacant taxis. They want a ride sitting outside the venue, the club, the hotel, the restaurant. And they don't care if that vehicle is a cab, a minicab, a scab cab, whether it has a licence or insurance, as long as it's there when they come out. 

With touts reluctance to pay clipboard johnnies for work that comes to them anyway, has seen the apatite for licence variation applications all but drying up. TfL are finally considering the end of satellite offices. 

Enter stage right....the Mayfair Mob. 

A group of like minded drivers under strong leadership, have been raking back the work lost to touts at night venues. 

These rank and file cabbies from across the trade, have achieved more in just a few months, than the large so called representative orgs have in many years. 

New ranks at Hakassan and Novikov (once thought unobtainable), an extension to the Forge rank on Cornhill effectively doubling capacity. Weekend marshals being deployed at the Forge and Novikov's. 

Their work, in league with the UCGup and FlashDemo Twitter accounts, has been aspirational and has expanded into Shorditch, Shepherds Bush and soon to come Fulham and Chelsea.

Their creed easy to follow; Clean Cab, no brooming, take credit cards. Simple but highly affective. Massive amounts of work has been clawed back from tout operations in the West End and City.

You can't buy this badge, it has to be earned. 

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The New York Tech Take Over....by Sean Day.

The supposition that apps need to capture the intense ordnance market of major cities does satiate the fascist tech utopian argument that street hailing and ehailing cannot exist harmoniously. The solution- ban street hailing altogether! Yep! It isn't a misprint. If you read USA based tech magazines, you would be forgiven for thinking that hailing a taxi the traditional way, is all but dead and buried. 

Silicon Valley’s equivalent over Old St way is roughly five years behind New York as far as the technological descent goes, but we procrastinate at our peril. London will be an experiential playground once the Shoreditch set have matured.

Even as we arm ourselves, they are assuming- prematurely at least- that everyone owns a smartphone and has credit. Even as a basic prerequisite, the onus levied on us to be indelibly linked to a product and its omnipresent service provider subordinates our entire existence to something that is extrinsic. Tech articles frequently need reminding that a smartphone is not yet a chip in ones brain.

Dare I take the somewhat unfashionable stance that even discussing making ‘street hailing’ illegal as though it were inescapable, should be worrisome. Understandably, IT & Tech Business publications aren't the platforms to jolt its readership back to an unimaginable time when there was actually a choice (an argument that is perpetually smacked between taxi drivers eyes by gizmo adherents), nevertheless, we can't remove the human out of the equation completely, can we? No! won't let it!

It confounds me that any consideration to the mere inference of a social concept has already been annihilated in favour of getting rid of street hailing as the only possible solution. 

Viral use of phenomenal technology is already monopolised and embedded data stating unequivocally, ‘EVOLVE OR DIE’ can be found under FAQ. 

An alternative version can be found on YouTube titled, ‘F*** off and die.’ All of which is nothing more than inverted 'protectionism' (another term overly used to target taxi drivers and those pesky luddite regulations that bang on about something called 'safety'. Tech no more weens out unsavories any more than democracies do, safeguards actually have to be formatted. Whatever, the word safety is so 2010. The more tech savvy term is ‘collateral damage’.

 Have you ever forgotten your smartphone at home? Has the subsequent anxiety compelled you to turn back to reunite yourself with it? 

Did you justify doing so under the umbrella of ‘in case of an emergency’?Yes? 

Then you'll surrender to the fact there are legitimate safety concerns? You can't always have your virtual cake and eat it!

Before I forget entirely, somewhere amongst the malware, forced to share stuff that's trickling down from above, is the commodity, the lowly driver (me), who’s fate is relentlessly subjected to the sociopathic whims of life long bachelor geeks and their interminably tiresome wannabes, the basement bloggers. The utter irrelevance of the service provider (an app’s primary consumer btw) is on a par with the magnitudinal disregard for liberty. Deduced to being the mere byproduct of software, the service provider is expected to pay a premium for the work that was his to begin with. Not dissimilar to the Government using our money to bail out the Banking industry from their deregulated mess, only to to sell them back to us.

Did I mention liberty? Lady Liberty, the statue was France's ideological gift to America for embracing the principles of democracy. Those values are superseded by the rapid emergence of technological wizardry. Silicon- valley doesn't account for that one remaining person who, through no fault of her own, has fallen off the zooming platform into the libertarian abyss.

To ensure a fair playing field for a desperately seeking alternative to the ubiquitously trending of Uber EVERYWHERE, those interfering regulators will be lobbied to make street hailing ILLEGAL. Cash and envelopes are still very much alive. There you go! The future is now! If you can't HACK it, you know what to do? 

We have only just entered the synthetic world of Corporate Communism! Ugh!!! One consolation is, if we did lose the job we love (for the record, this stubborn old mule ain't planning on going anywhere), at least we will still have feelings about it, and that's a good thing. 

And you never know, by then there might be such a thing as virtual euthanasia. Death without the commitment. 

See you out there on the mean streets, doing what we do best! Need I say more? 

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