New Standard WAVs

[Vikkiz]

Don't think he would spend all that money on New wheelies AND replace the leased cars he has. Maybe he'll just rent out the plates or let them lapse.

Rats, is there a way to see if any of his plates have lapsed??

[mercenary for hire]

If ya stick Intercity into the database it comes back with 123 results.Only a few plates have lapsed so far.

He might just be better off renting the saloon plates separately when they lapse.You can't rent Wheely plates out because they're almost free to buy.Looks like an expansion now that the test has been softened.You got to admire his business brain even though his cars will be everywhere offering discounts during the next downturn forcing us to work hard again.

[taxi1990]

What is the pass mark now? 75 per cent? That shouldnt make much difference in the numbers of people passing the test.

[mercenary for hire]

Yeah 75% but now that you can sit the modules seperately up to 12 months apart you can fail the Geography and keep coming back just to sit that module.Won't be noticeable at first because there are other jobs out there and it's relatively busy but when things slow down you'd see more candidates like coming through out of necessity.

[taxi1990]

I always thought that was a bit unfair how if you passed one part of the test but failed the other, you had to do them both again. The geography part is still hard to pass and the questions so out of date that i don't think it will make much difference.

[Rat Catcher]

It depends what's really being done. We'd have to monitor pass rates to ascertain whether the questions are getting easier, harder, more predictable, less predictable or whatever. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I've only seen one sample question myself. When I was up above in Dublin for the LRA a foreign lad approached me and asked if I knew the answer to one of the questions on a list he had as he thought the selected answer was incorrect (presumably a sheet from a PSV school) as it was. The question was which one of these streets is not on the way from Connolly (apt) to the Gresham Hotel. The options were Talbot St, Gardiner St, Marlborough St and Amiens St with Gardiner St given as the supposedly correct answer. I, quite proudly, picked Marlborough St and left the test centre feeling like a fukking genius and happy as a pig in chardonnay as the LRA examiner passed my motor with a warning that the passenger side door sticker won't pass again, the same warning I got last year but less relevant as the motor could only be passed for an additional month if presented again due to the age rules that TTnH defeated.

[Rat Catcher]

Don't think he would spend all that money on New wheelies AND replace the leased cars he has. Maybe he'll just rent out the plates or let them lapse.

Rats, is there a way to see if any of his plates have lapsed??

Better than that, if you use the MPO report facility in Trade Statistics you get comprehensive summaries for fleets of 10+.

Intercity currently has 8 lapsed plates with 81% of active plates occupied.
Net Global has 0 lapsed with 100% occupied.

[Rat Catcher]

Auto Class Hire Ltd is another interesting one (directors Anto and Jason Geraghty) - 18 plates, all miniWATs, all but one occupied... and another few apparently in the directors' names.

51070   WAT   ACTIVE   25/07/18   11D52740      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)            
51096   WAT   ACTIVE   05/07/18   10D128836   AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51247   WAT   ACTIVE   20/10/18   12D49639      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51249   WAT   ACTIVE   18/10/18   11D53773      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51250   WAT   ACTIVE   13/10/18   11D53835      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51251   WAT   ACTIVE   17/10/18   11D53834      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51258   WAT   ACTIVE   21/10/18   11D53914      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51315   WAT   ACTIVE   22/11/18   11D54080      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51317   WAT   ACTIVE   22/11/18   11D54046      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51334   WAT   ACTIVE   22/11/18   11D54079      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51336   WAT   ACTIVE   22/11/18   11D53766      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51360   WAT   ACTIVE   22/11/18   11D54192      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51566   WAT   ACTIVE   03/05/18   11D55349      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
51582   WAT   ACTIVE   03/05/18   11D55348      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
52100   WAT   ACTIVE   12/12/18   12D53872      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
52102   WAT   ACTIVE   12/12/18   12D53985      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
52104   WAT   ACTIVE   12/12/18   12D53870      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)      
52105   WAT   ACTIVE   12/12/18   12D53988      AUTO CLASS HIRE LTD (0)

50741   WAT   ACTIVE   17/11/18   10D128370   ANTHONY GERAGHTY (3)      
51087   WAT   ACTIVE   10/08/18   11D53025      ANTHONY GERAGHTY (3)      
51586   WAT   ACTIVE   02/05/18   11D55282      ANTHONY GERAGHTY (3)      
51587   WAT   ACTIVE   02/05/18   12D51561      ANTHONY GERAGHTY (3)      
52106   WAT   ACTIVE   20/12/18   12D53986      ANTHONY GERAGHTY (3)

51649   WAT   ACTIVE   19/05/18   12D51611      JASON GERAGHTY (0)            
51650   WAT   ACTIVE   11/05/18   12D51612      JASON GERAGHTY (0)

[john m]

Word is 200 parked up for branding .remember there may be restrictions on certain types of vehicles accessing the College gate might yield a premium on WAT rental.

[mercenary for hire]

 About the test...there would be a significant number of candidates to failed by a small margin multiple times and walked away out of frustration.Same goes for lads failing separate parts of the exam.Of course the test was unfair it was trying to restrict entry after the astronomical(Ermy) fuk up after de reg when they allowed everyone with a heartbeat into the industry.

It could actually be an extra ten or twenty percent drivers passing from now on but only the NTA would know what to expect.No doubt they've been looking at graphs and Venn diagrams and all that shite and I'd bet they're running rings around the driver unions with the support from despatchers.

Let us not forget the majority of drivers never gave the test any credit for reducing  numbers.Some morons were fretting about Uber and driverless cars while all this was being reviewed.It's the taxis driven by humans that will screw us first.Not many appreciated the good work Ms. Doyle did in reducing numbers.

I'm seriously considering walking away from the job as we're being lined up for another shite recession behind the wheel.The last one didn't need to be so tough.Now the we're faced with spending a ton a week(5k PA)before fuel just to stay afloat, the job doesn't seem worth it so much.Feels like being on a treadmill with no off switch.

[Rat Catcher]

So it's probably just the 20 that are already plated given inherent exaggeration, erm. Why would WATs command a premium, a lot of passengers don't like them. In fact, the lack of a facility to specify saloon car is a frequent complaint from mytaxi clients.

Increased running costs could serve to restrict the number of new entrants as the economy recovers MfH but you're right to be concerned. Our Government's commitment to boom-bust economics dictates that recession will come. From some of the figures suggested on here it seems that cost of entry, excluding insurance, is cheaper than ever so the Kathleen Doyle test is the only real hurdle for new entrants.

[mercenary for hire]

Yeah sure they can get on a renter's policy for 3k.They would have left the test as it was if it wasn't the main hurdle.

[Rat Catcher]

http://intaxi.org/database/miniwat.php

WATs = 861
WAHs = 76

A dozen or so more issued in January, one third of which join the Ebbsesesseses fleet bringing it's total to 25.... but they're rumoured to have millions, no more than that, thousands of vans parked up waiting to be plated.

47711   WAT   ACTIVE   03/04/18   05D24759      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)            
47727   WAT   ACTIVE   26/10/18   12D53462      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52047   WAT   ACTIVE   13/11/18   12D53650      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52048   WAT   ACTIVE   13/11/18   12D53649      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52053   WAT   ACTIVE   08/11/18   12D53600      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52054   WAT   ACTIVE   08/11/18   12D53599      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52037   WAT   ACTIVE   06/11/18   12D53469      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52038   WAT   ACTIVE   06/11/18   12D53467      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52039   WAT   ACTIVE   31/10/18   12D53466      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52040   WAT   ACTIVE   27/10/18   12D53465      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)      
52041   WAT   ACTIVE   27/10/18   12D53464      INTERCITY CABS LTD (0)
52078   WAT   ACTIVE   30/11/18   12D53763      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)            
52079   WAT   ACTIVE   29/11/18   12D53761      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52080   WAT   ACTIVE   30/11/18   12D53765      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52081   WAT   ACTIVE   30/11/18   12D53766      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52082   WAT   ACTIVE   07/12/18   12D53884      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52083   WAT   ACTIVE   12/12/18   12D53883      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52084   WAT   ACTIVE   12/12/18   12D53887      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52085   WAT   ACTIVE   07/12/18   12D53885      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52086   WAT   ACTIVE   14/12/18   12D53888      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52087   WAT   ACTIVE   15/12/18   12D53889      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52119   WAT   ACTIVE   19/01/19   12D54061      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52120   WAT   ACTIVE   12/01/19   12D54063      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52121   WAT   ACTIVE   12/01/19   12D54123      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)      
52122   WAT   ACTIVE   11/01/19   12D54124      NET GLOBAL TAXIS LTD (0)

[IrishTim1]

I wouldn't say you can't rent a WAT out, although the plate is cheap to get the vehicle and licensing of Tue vehicle is no cheaper than a decent saloon.

I'd imagine the WAT will become the new standard taxi in the future.

[IrishTim1]

Having first experience of the geography test I can say I failed the test 3 times with scores over 75% so that 5% reduction does make a significant difference.