Marko I have never denied that there is much more work with a dispatcher.I have said it here myself many times.but I just as a self employed taxi driver,I want to be exactly that,self employed.I dont believe anyone who joins a dispatcher,can realistically call themselves self employed
But you are self employed in either situation, non dispatch or dispatch.
Taxi Drivers are generally not employed by dispatch companies. Even if a driver rents a complete package like a Car, Insurance and Radio/App. The driver has no conditions that state they must work at any time. Just pay the rent each week.
Most drivers only pay the dispatch company for access to the work that the dispatcher has built up over time through the promotion of a phone number and/or app.
The unique selling point that dispatchers/Apps have over individual taxi drivers is the 24/7 availability of cars. No individual taxi driver can compete with that, at some point they need to sleep and have time off. What happens when your regular punter calls on your day off, he is pissed off and goes somewhere else, fact is punters are fickle and expect a service when they need it so we are only as good as our last job.
Dispatchers meet that 24/7 instant need. It is a win win win situation for the passenger, driver and dispatcher. The passenger gets a car when they need it, dispatchers get paid for promoting the service from the drivers and the punters pay the drivers, each job is classed as self employment because the punter pays the driver and drivers work when they want to work.
The dispatcher is a facilty connecting drivers to passengers. One of many sources of potential income for a driver. I have often utliised more than one dispatcher or app at the same time and take what suits me.
The dispatchers and apps have rules in place to protect the work and for the common good and a lot of the rules are only introduced because some skank driver has f**ked up.
As for uniforms I say yea yea but never wear them and as long as the car and myself are clean and presentable and I am not wearing a string vest it is never an issue.
In my own experience you aren't told when to work and there is rarely a problem refusing work unless the driver does it 4 or 5 times a day everyday for no good reason.
Discounts were a result of the economic situation after the last recession. Supply and demand was out of kilter with tens of thousands of taxis. Those discounts had almost disappeared as the market returned to equilibrium. We may see a bit of it again until the economy recovers from Covid.
Dispatchers and Apps are a fact of life now. Punters don't want to wait on a rank or hail on the street anymore especially in the winter.
Maybe the question is if we can't beat them should we join them? If there has to be Dispatchers and Apps then become the dispatcher/App. Better to be owned and controlled by drivers. Unfortunately it seems the answer is no. Taxi drivers are self employed 'competitors and have no solidarity.
A state owned not for profit Dispatcher/ App might be a solution. Unlikley to happen with the blueshirts in power, too Tory like. FF or SF might be persuaded if they were in power on their own.