Uber stripped of license to operate in London

[SClass]

I agree our reps are not up to the job.And they don't represent as many drivers as they make others believe.We need a better line of communication with the media and someone who can go on the radio and make honest rebuttals to Tim Arnold's bullshit.

I also agree tougher testing for all wouldn't be a bad thing.But relegating taxi drivers to hackney men upon test failure would require a bit of work.Perhaps they could be rickshaw pilots instead limiting the damage to some degree?

It stopped posting the same shit over and over.
But i know that you MFH,
It's not the reps that's the problem ,
It's drivers like you.
Haven't a clue what the reps have done or haven't done,
You're not involved in any,
Or have no intention of getting involved.
That's the issue with the game.
People like you, tapping on your pad,
About reps don't represent you, and don't get involved
You just keep tapping and let someone else's try, typical
You're in the majority,
Taxi drivers Don't give a fukk.
There's a great bunch of lads out there I know
Who try,
But again don't get surport.
I'll repeat,
 Unity does not exist in the Irish. Taxi industry

[Rat Catcher]

To be fair, MfH was one of the most vocal opponents of mytaxi discounting PUC. Getting PUC back on mytaxi work is easily drivers' most significant achievement since Kathleen Doyle implemented a range of reforms - e.g. 9 year rule, new entrance test, SPSVDL fee increase, temporary moratorium on issuing saloon plates - despite union opposition.

In recent times we've heard Joe Herron tell Matt Cooper that no PUC on mytaxi jobs wasn't much an issue for drivers. He also put the 20,000 reduction in SPSVDL holders down to men finding better paid jobs giving the clear impression that 20,000 men have vacated the trade since 2009. How could he not know that the vast majority were dormant licences let lapse on account of the renewal fee being increased from €3 to €250? Why didn't he mention the cost of insurance putting men out of business?

TTnH, for it's part, has earned column inches in defending the band of villains that pick the pockets of tourists at Dublin Airport. How does it reconcile telling a judge that it is happy with a drug dealer (who also holds a conviction for overcharging from DAP) driving a taxi with it's previous complaints of immigrants criminals being allowed drive taxis and it's supposed opposition to double jobbing?

SC, do you seriously think any man with half a functioning brain cell is going to pay these gobshites?

[mercenary for hire]

I didn't realise ye were giving out  about me SClass I'm on me hols.Im not a keyboard warrior I just know bullshit when I see it.Everytime someone needs a soundbite on the radio they contact some gobshite who does the accounts for a few taxi drivers claiming to be a reputable union with loads of members.They usually say something dumb and innaccurate and score some uneccessary own goal.

We're currently the target of a media smear campaign from Mytaxi ,Uber and the other money hungry despatchers who want to give the impression that we need more taxis.Independent newspapers and other online outlets are happily  printing the nonsense because it  gets the public interested and irrate.

I wasn't directing anything at your union,they don't bother me as much as the others because the seem to have stopped engaging with the media lately.But it has to be said outside the kesh and maybe a couple of ranks in town they've got no presence.That's just an honest observation.I rarely see the green roof stickers anymore.

I can't subscribe to a union who doesn't believe in what I believe in.Remember I did the new test and think yis all should be forced to sit it for the laugh.Which union is gonna put that forward to the NTA?I've yet to find a union that meets my needs.I can do me own accounts.Kinda.Ya bleeding dotard...hablamos luego...Google translate is great.

[Rat Catcher]

To be fair to mytaxi, I don't think they have necessarily said we need more taxis. In fact, when I spoke with them they seemed at least as interested in the potential for increasing efficient utilisation of the current fleet - something that fits well with the evolving ethos within the motor trade in general. If mytaxi and other dispatchers have difficulty covering work (charged at fare card rates) that is a problem.

[mercenary for hire]

Many drivers don't need them so much with the apps...and they've never been so expensive to use either.115 a week and 10% of account work seems hefty.

Tim was on the radio offering to pay for taxi tests for new candidates.They want more gimps.They need more gimps.

[Rat Catcher]

App work isn't cheap when you work out the hourly freight. However, I guess we should take into account the fact that apps (mytaxi in particular) increase our overall takings as they convert what would otherwise be street hails into "radio" jobs, encourage increased use of taxis and subsidise fares for riders. We also get bonuses to offset from time to time.

[Shallowhal]

@RC,I know you often quote the % discounts that the app providers offer and the commission we pay but unless you're working a base radio all the time i personally think they are overpriced,ye generally don't see a C2K driver working the streets of a weekend night but happily sit around Swords...for some reason i can't explain...but should encourage a lot more to do it aswell.

[Rat Catcher]

More drivers and more taxis are two different things. If mytaxi is struggling to satisfy demand, of course it is going to encourage new entrants. If it couldn't do all the office work it would recruit more staff, etc..

TBH, while I don't necessarily agree with the erm's conclusion that we should actively discourage any other firm from competing with mytaxi, I do appreciate his premise. On balance, with PUC restored we're getting a fair deal from mytaxi and it has shown a willingness to work with drivers. Where problems exist, solutions need to be found. Our customers want an eHail service, we need to recognise that and work with eHail firms to ensure it is available.

Now that we get PUC on mytaxi work, discounts are irrelevant Hal. I don't think I would go back to a fixed freight base now, even if I was working 40+ hours/week. Even if the commission works out to be a bit more expensive than the freight would be, it's probably worth it as the infrastructure we're paying for encourages increased use of taxis.

[IrishTim1]

There is obviously a lot of lobbying to the government going on behind the scenes. I worked with 3 different taxi firms when I was driving a taxi and during the initial meeting with each one of them the men in charge were ranting about there not being enough taxi plates or drivers and how they are putting pressure on the government to release plates....it's only a matter of time before they are released but probably with restrictions such as only being sold to established firms or for a limited time.

Personally, having passed the new entry test I would be absolutely pissed off if it was dumbed down. I was born and raised in Dublin and studied hard for the test, failing it a few times before eventually passing and if I'm honest I still wasn't 100 percent on area knowledge so there's no way a dumbed down version would be fit for purpose.

I do agree in a limited release of plates per year or every few years to coincide with population increases etc otherwise the service will become unfit for purpose.....also I want my own plate so I do have a horse in that race.

[SClass]

To be fair, MfH was one of the most vocal opponents of mytaxi discounting PUC. Getting PUC back on mytaxi work is easily drivers' most significant achievement since Kathleen Doyle implemented a range of reforms - e.g. 9 year rule, new entrance test, SPSVDL fee increase, temporary moratorium on issuing saloon plates - despite union opposition.

In recent times we've heard Joe Herron tell Matt Cooper that no PUC on mytaxi jobs wasn't much an issue for drivers. He also put the 20,000 reduction in SPSVDL holders down to men finding better paid jobs giving the clear impression that 20,000 men have vacated the trade since 2009. How could he not know that the vast majority were dormant licences let lapse on account of the renewal fee being increased from €3 to €250? Why didn't he mention the cost of insurance putting men out of business?

TTnH, for it's part, has earned column inches in defending the band of villains that pick the pockets of tourists at Dublin Airport. How does it reconcile telling a judge that it is happy with a drug dealer (who also holds a conviction for overcharging from DAP) driving a taxi with it's previous complaints of immigrants criminals being allowed drive taxis and it's supposed opposition to double jobbing?

SC, do you seriously think any man with half a functioning brain cell is going to pay these gobshites?

Read this very carefully.
I spoke to Alan Brennan.
Philip Kavanagh did not represent ttnh in the court.
He had no right to use TTnH name.
He took it upon himself to mention he was a member,
I've called for him to be removed.
The man's a fool.

[SClass]

I didn't realise ye were giving out  about me SClass I'm on me hols.Im not a keyboard warrior I just know bullshit when I see it.Everytime someone needs a soundbite on the radio they contact some gobshite who does the accounts for a few taxi drivers claiming to be a reputable union with loads of members.They usually say something dumb and innaccurate and score some uneccessary own goal.

We're currently the target of a media smear campaign from Mytaxi ,Uber and the other money hungry despatchers who want to give the impression that we need more taxis.Independent newspapers and other online outlets are happily  printing the nonsense because it  gets the public interested and irrate.

I wasn't directing anything at your union,they don't bother me as much as the others because the seem to have stopped engaging with the media lately.But it has to be said outside the kesh and maybe a couple of ranks in town they've got no presence.That's just an honest observation.I rarely see the green roof stickers anymore.

I can't subscribe to a union who doesn't believe in what I believe in.Remember I did the new test and think yis all should be forced to sit it for the laugh.Which union is gonna put that forward to the NTA?I've yet to find a union that meets my needs.I can do me own accounts.Kinda.Ya bleeding dotard...hablamos luego...Google translate is great.

It was a Union that got your plate.
Did that meet your needs

[mercenary for hire]

About Mytaxi looking for extra taxis...Tim Arnold was saying the wheelchair regs were one of the reasons there were less taxis on a  recent media interview.The fact that they're using limos to circumvent the wheely taxi regs by diverting taxi work should be enough reason to distrust them.The wheely regs have been massively successful.They want saloon plates released even though it's cheap to buy a wheely.

These apps only work when they're oversubscribed.They don't have anything drivers want when there's enough work on the streets.The PUC came back but it took the pricks way too long.They only gave in when the brand was ruined.

[Rat Catcher]

I note the case was put back four weeks for mention, SC - article published 26/09/2017. I trust Mr. Brennan will be in court to clarify the situation for the judge and, presumably, report that both men have been expelled from the organisation.

[mercenary for hire]

Here S no union got me a plate.Yous  Muppets would probably never be on the road if yis had to pass a real test...Only a moron would pay 100k for a licence.Plenty got them for very little back in the day.You forget that one of my best mates Da was one of the original taximen who paid fukall when they were originally issued.

By the way I don't hold any value in my plate... it's the bronze badge that was hard to get.Wheely plates are almost free.

[Rat Catcher]

About Mytaxi looking for extra taxis...Tim Arnold was saying the wheelchair regs were one of the reasons there were less taxis on a  recent media interview.The fact that they're using limos to circumvent the wheely taxi regs by diverting taxi work should be enough reason to distrust them.The wheely regs have been massively successful.They want saloon plates released even though it's cheap to buy a wheely.

These apps only work when they're oversubscribed.They don't have anything drivers want when there's enough work on the streets.The PUC came back but it took the pricks way too long.They only gave in when the brand was ruined.

As noted, mytaxi have shown a willingness to work with drivers. More taxi drivers doesn't have to mean more saloon taxis, in fact that would be a backward step. It may be beneficial to explore the possibility of reintroducing the cosy system.

We need to consider what customers want as well as what drivers want, perhaps even more so. New York taximen didn't want Hail0 when it was made available to them. If they could turn the clock back a few years they'd bite Jay Bregman's hand off to give him 10%.