The Casey Column
By
Wayne Casey
(LL SC)
The views expressed in this column may not be those of the
National Taxi Association
End of Days?
My friend in Sefton loves the way I write, he has to dig out his dictionary, check out all the large words and then work out if I’m insulting him. However, this month he is not going to have to bother. I am going to write this in clear and concise language (okay, the word ‘concise’ may be a problem straight away).
Ladies and Gentlemen. There is a shit storm brewing on the horizon; you better put on your cape and wellies.
Unless you do something about it, and I’m talking by the time you finish reading this article, I predict a truly ghastly future. Can you remember the movie Ghostbusters? There was a scene where the Ghostbusters were hauled out of jail to meet the Mayor, they described what was going to happen if zuul and the gatekeeper weren’t stopped.
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Is this going to happen to the cab trade? Fire and brimstone, perhaps not, but isn’t going to be good.
I am talking nationwide delimitation, irrespective of any area or local authority desires. I am talking about you losing any value you attach, or hope to attach to your business. I am talking potential bankruptcy. I am talking the potential loss of your house. I am talking you being forced to join a radio circuit. I am talking you maybe having to buy a vehicle you don’t particularly want.
Like all good stories let me start at the beginning, because some of you may have been told straight faced lies or half-truths, especially those of you who are based in the North West, who seem to also believe in fairies down the bottom of your garden.
It is rumoured you have been told, because of some court ruling in London, private hire from other areas will soon disappear from the streets of your City. Let me tell you, there has been no such court case.
I will interject at this point because some of you have been constantly bemoaning current legislation as not fit for purpose. Indeed, some of you may have urged others to approach government. You appear to have conveniently ignored the vast majority of areas where the acts actually work without too much of a problem. The shit storm you have created will have repercussions to us all, we now have to reap the whirlwind.
What has happened, (and I did tell you this many months ago). The law commission are looking into modernising taxi and private hire law. Indeed, Norman Baker more or less told you so during the select committee enquiry when he stated;
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As you will now be aware, the law commission accepted the task and have been given a remit by government. One of removing unnecessary regulatory controls, one of removing red tape and burdens to both local authorities and business. (If you don’t believe me, look on their website)
The question you need ask yourself is what does this mean.
The NTA were told by the law commission that they would not listen to an economic argument for retaining numbers control. The fact this was mentioned suggests it is in their minds.
Did you read that? Does that not make it clear?
Did you know that 76% of all local authorities do not have numbers control?
What this thing will mean in terms of the cab trade blows the OFT report of just under a decade ago, clear out of the water, because the changes possible are actually limitless.
We are potentially talking much larger licensing areas, we are possibly talking the end of the HC Drivers license in favour of a dual license, the fact they are
considering the current separate licensing systems for hackney carriages and private hire could possibly mean a quite dramatic changed future for everyone.
This thing will not only affect the provinces, it will affect London too.
So the question is, what can we do to avoid the shit storm?
Well, there isn’t any avoiding it, don’t think its going to go away, because it isn’t. The one blessing we have is that we do have a little time. This time needs to be used to get organised, it is a little breathing space to build up contacts and funding.
Let me address those issues one at a time.
I will attend any meeting you call with your mates to calmly explain what I think we should do, and the price I charge is quite reasonable……..but then hey…..I don’t stand to lose £50K plus on a cab and plate. I’ll even do something I’ve only done once (not buy a drink) a power point presentation.
What do I mean by organised?
We are lucky to have a magazine such as Taxitalk. We have at least one bit of media that is nationally circulated each month, in this way people across the country will be kept up-to date with what is going on as this thing goes through its various stages.
However, it would be negligent of me not to point out how weak the cab trade is in many parts of the country. The taxis that use Manchester airport (a reported 500) had to go cap in hand to the NTTG (National Taxi Trades Group) in order to loan a paltry sum to challenge Manchester City Council……that’s right 500 cab drivers couldn’t be bothered to put in £4 each to get something that would benefit them all started. In a great deal of the country the cab trade isn’t organised at all and when it does organise itself it’s attempts are more often re-active at the back end of some local authority initiative.
This has to change if we (you) stand any chance whatsoever.
We have to keep in contact. E mail’s area fast and inexpensive way to keep people informed, to circulate documents and suchlike. But most of all it’s clearly important everyone is kept informed, because in the months preceding this article, you haven’t been.
Plans and Goals
The taxi trade need to take this thing head on. We do not need loose cannons firing off shots in every direction, especially our own.
Every business needs stability, we don’t need dramatic change in the midst of a recession, the status quo has a few problems……it needs local authorities working with the trade to address these, not national government approaching it with a sledgehammer.
To this end, we need to have a grasp of where we want to go and how we’re going to get there.
We additionally need a ‘plan b’, nothing in life goes exactly how you want it to, we need a strategy which will consider the invariables.
Funding
The bottom line is people will have to dig into their pockets, this isn’t actually a guarantee of any success. Nevertheless, we must try.
Stationary, travel and hotels do not come cheap, they cost money. Indeed, you can hardly expect people to work for nothing.
Members of both Parliament and the House of Lords need spoken to, now, everyone has those.
The figure we need? Good question, what do you stand to lose? Is £20 too much to start? Is that about 4 jobs during dayshift?
The question is…..is it worth saving?
Have a peaceful Christmas….the New Year will be anything but.
Wayne Casey