CREDIT CARD FIASCO

NO ROOM FOR LUDDITES

Credit cards are good for business - how could they not be?

The public like to use credit cards. And the banks love the public using credit cards.

So it would be silly to turn away business just because it is slightly more awkward than cash.

The public have been 'educated' into believing that a cashless society is the future.

The future for whom?

If we had a cashless society, there would be a charge on every single transaction. Meaning that the banks receive a percentage of everything you buy or sell, every time.

So who has been educating the public about this?

The banks of course.

And who would profit the most from a cashless society?

The banks would.

And who pays for the extra cost to goods?

The public will.

So far I have not made one transaction with a credit card, either as a consumer or retailer, which has been more efficient than cash.

I did have a fitted console in the back - and sometimes it could be a right pain, for both my passenger and me.

I now use a free handheld iZettle machine without a printer.

And to date, I have never been asked for a printed receipt.
Some of the finest restaurants in London use a handheld device.

I agree that all Taxi drivers should have a credit card facility.
This way, the travelling public will gain confidence in our service.
A TfL Compliance Officer can easily check if a driver has a card machine, in the very same way he checks if the driver is wearing his badge. He can ask to see it.

I object to paying for the privilege of giving someone credit.

If someone wishes to use a card, the financial onus should be upon them, surely?
I do not mind taking old fashioned cash or stopping at an ATM.

Another fascinating decision by TfL, was to refuse to cap the handling charge - leaving no protection for drivers, against unscrupulous bankers.

As a self employed, small businessman, I object to being told I have no choice in choosing who I may or may not afford credit.

Being self employed means I run my business my way. I work when I wish and accept credit cards when I wish.

I am regulated by Transport for London, not employed by them.

I object to being forced, under the threat of my Cab License being revoked or refused for renewal, to have a credit card machine fitted in the back of my cab.

A machine in the back of a cab leaves the driver open to physical and sexual abuse, or the accusation of either.

Do TfL not take the health and safety of Taxi drivers seriously?

A driver should not be put in the position of having to get into the back of a cab with the passenger, because the machine is faulty or the passenger is having trouble with it.

And what about the predator? The person who pretends they are experiencing difficulty with the machine, to lure a driver into the back of the cab.

When I earned my Green Badge, thirty years ago, I was told emphatically, under no circumstances must I get into the back of my cab with my passenger.

The nearest I could come into contact with the passenger was to aid them physically with cases, prams or wheelchairs; but not to get into the back with them.

I would be leaving myself open to all sorts of accusations.

Getting out of the driver's cab and into the back with a passenger, could lead to a driver having their money, keys, phone, cab, and even their life taken from them.

Transport for London obviously did not take the driver into account when drawing up their faulty mandate.

It seems that TfL never take the driver into account.

TfL's personal mandate is about money.

They have aided and abetted London into a choking standstill with their ill thought out schemes and their greedy profit-is-king attitude.

Do not believe for one second, that the credit card companies and credit card machine companies are not whispering in TfL's ear. They all have a vested interest in taking away our basic freedom of choice.

What does Helen Chapman know about driving a cab?

What experience has she with inebriated and irritated passengers in close proximity?

When was the last time Bob Oddy or Steve McNamara took a credit card job to Peckham or Harlesden?

All three have cocked up on this subject, through apathy and incompetence.

While they are sleeping cosy in their beds, Taxi drivers are working the mean streets of London.

Working Taxi drivers deserve to have their voice heard on all Taxi matters.

Chapman, Oddy and McNamara should hold their heads in shame, for signing off on a mandate which puts decent, hard working men and women in danger.

You should all resign, in disgrace.

STOP! CAN YOU HEAR YOUSELVES?

LET'S ALL TAKE THIS WIN

Today is the culmination of a Driver led five day drive-in at Kings Cross/St Pancras this Spring, and shrewd bartering with Camden Council, during the following months.
Ray Mann negotiated an Experimental Order that was approved in May, and promised to be put into place by mid June. Mid June turned into mid July.
When nothing was done by mid July, another five day demo was called.
Camden pleaded with Ray to speak with the instigators of the demo to call off the protest; with a guarantee that the work for the Experimental Order had been signed off for mid August.
Mid August arrived and the signs went up in Pancras Road, informing the public that work would commence on the 22nd.
A week long protest was immediately called, for Monday 5th September, just to 'encourage' Camden, who have a reputation for reneging on promises.

During the Driver led five day protest, the RMT and LCDC were in full support, and the LTDA had their Advan present.
The demonstrators, who fluctuated between 300 to 500 on any given day, were from all the Orgs and Unions, and some unaffiliated drivers.

We all know who called the drive-in, who wholeheartedly supported them, who participated in the drive-in, who refused to support it, and who claimed to know nothing about it.
We all know who got the Experimental Order on the table, and accepted and finalised.
A mention in dispatches to the RMT's Andy Vito for assisting Ray Mann, must be acknowledged.
Also it would be unfair not to mention the high vis marshalling carried out by the Mayfair Mob, the LCDC and LTDA after the demo.
We also know who stated that an Experimental Order of double yellows, with double blips and signage, was a waste of time, insisting that an airport style pick up and set down zone was the only way.
And we all know that this week saw an unelected quango taking credit for the Experimental Order, once the signs went up.
If they want the 'win', the 'victory' or whatever they wish to call it, let them have it. Who cares?
Does it really matter that the misinformed remain uninformed?

What I can categorically state without fear of contradiction, is that we the drivers who demonstrated for those five days at St Pancras, chipped in to pay all the fines of all the drivers who fell foul of the authorities that day.
It is common practice for driver led protests, to cover each other when Orgs and Unions are unable or unwilling to do so.

All this fighting amongst ourselves is detrimental to the cause.
We all know who physically wins back the ranks, flooding them with cabs, forcing the Scabs off.
We all know who negotiates hard for new ranks.
We all know who called mass demos, stopping London.
We all know who invaded the BBC and got 'Uber rape' into the public domain.
We all know who had seat ads and receipt pads with assault stats printed up.
We all know who got the Freedom of Information rape stats for the trade.
We all know who blew open TfL's Ubergate emails.
As we all know who signed off on a toxic card machine fiasco.
And we all know who sat in silence whilst the London Taxi trade burned, during their time on the TfL GLA board.
You can all take the plaudits, if that is your thing. But you must all take the blame too.
Who cares who gets the pat on the back?
Who cares who points the finger or who is to blame?
All this disinformation is splitting the trade from within. This is far more dangerous than TfL or Uber.
Let us all put the past where it belongs.
And let us join together, fighting a common enemy.
I do not care which Org or Union you belong to. You are a Taxi driver, the finest in the world. I do not care what colour your lanyard is or which political Party you support - you are a Taxi driver.

Let's get the Orgs and Unions to put aside their petty differences and focus on the challenge before us.
Orgs and Unions seem constantly bickering and unsupportive of each other, in a feeding frenzy for membership.
In truth, the Orgs and Unions are your mouthpiece. 'Your' mouthpiece, not theirs.
Tell them what you want. If they refuse to listen, vote with your feet and leave.
Attend branch meetings, and speak up.
Do not be like the twenty thousand apathetic drivers who leave everything to others.
Signing a direct debit and leaving the decisions and proactivity to your Union or Org, is not enough. In fact it is detrimental.
If you remain silent, how are they to know what you want?
How are are they supposed to show force, if you do not turn up?

A driver I'm on nodding terms with, whom I know from many demos going back decades, with Georgie Vyce, Alan Fleming and the like, was receiving a ribbing about his proactivity.
"Citizen Smith" was having the piss taken out of him because he had lost work during the five day St Pancras drive-in.
One jovial antagonist worked out his friend had lost around twenty working hours during that week.
It was all good fun, but one comment struck home: "I don't do demos." said one laughing driver, "They don't achieve nothing."
Although his double negative is true, his shiftless sentiment is all too common amongst the subservient majority.
And then came Smithy's retort, "No they don't. Because wankers like you can't be arsed to turn up."
There is no reply to that truism.

The state of this trade can be summed up by the realisation that only fifty percent of drivers are in a Taxi organisation. The other half remain out in the cold.

We have a newish Mayor of London; Sadiq Khan.
I cannot help but admire a man who has risen to his station from such humble origins. No one gave him his education - he took it. What Mayor Khan has achieved, he fought and worked hard for.
The Mayor of London cannot be bullied; not by us, not by Uber, and not by the Government.
I am not saying that a man like Sadiq Khan cannot be influenced or seduced by promises of higher office, but I believe he cannot be bought off as easily as his predecessor.
Our fight is not against Khan. Our fight is alongside Khan.
It is not about unqualified protectionism. Ours is a righteous battle against Uber; a company totally bereft of any redeeming virtues.
A company globally reviled by good, hardworking people like you.
A company backed by Goldman Sachs, who would skin a turd to turn a dollar.
They are also backed by the Qataris and Google; who will invest in anything, even Uber-rape, in their fight to diversify before their respective bubbles burst.

The highest form of human existence is to be a servant.
Often mistakenly viewed as the lowest level; to be a servant is to be of value. To be of service to others.
Otherwise you become insignificant and your existence pointless.
Drivers on social media spout endlessly on about dress codes, credit card machines, brooming, meter rates, etc. They could also help their trade by making sure it still exists this time next year.
People use Uber because of price. A price kept low by deregulation and TfL compliance. This is where we make our stand - the rest is incidental.
Be more proactive, support protests, support a Union or Org, and be more vocal at meetings - to paraphrase JFK, 'Ask not what your trade can do for you. Ask what you can do for your trade.'

STANDING UP TO UBER

The young lady who wrote this is neither hysterical or a fool. Her article epitomises Uber's contempt for the travelling public and women in general.

Frances Carbines

UK comics and cultural relations. Reviews for @Womenoncomics, 'Cafe Arguments' comic, 'Colour In Offices' colouring book.

My open letter to Uber who won’t apologise for their driver assaulting me

Dear Uber bosses, employees and stakeholders,

I am writing an open letter to you because you will not respond to my tweets, messages and emails two days after I was assaulted and left crying by one of your drivers.

I am writing because as a female travelling at night in London I feel it is essential to let other women and men know the dangers your drivers can pose.

I am writing because not enough people know that last year there were over 300 sexual assaults, and 30 rapes, in your vehicles. If this were any other crimes there would be a huge scandal but you have managed to keep this one quiet.

And it’s not ok.

Women have a right to feel safe and protected when travelling alone, and this should be one of your non-negotiable policies. And yet horrible assaults regularly take place within your cars. The media do very little. How much have you paid them to keep quiet?

My assault happened two days ago, when I was coming back home and really wanting to get back safely and quickly.

I had had a horrible weekend with my fiance cutting off our engagement, cancelling our wedding which I was so looking forward to, and cancelling our home purchase. We were meant to move into our first home together next month.

Of course, you or your driver couldn’t possibly have known this. But regardless, you should provide a safe service to your customers: male or female, young or old, rich or poor.

They should never be made to feel intimidated, abused, frightened or upset when paying for a service which is only to be driven safely from A to B.

When I posted about this on Twitter, you didn’t reply. Instead, you posted pictures of Rio and other exotic locations. Why fling your ambition so widely when you can’t even provide a safe service within the UK?

You then rang me at work at 10am when I was in a meeting and refused my polite request to email instead. Why?

Here is the link to the Evening Standard article. Luckily for me, when the driver called me a slut and dropped me in the middle of a dual carriageway with oncoming traffic, at 11.30pm, in the dark, with no cash, scared and alone, miles from my destination, a kind Black Cab driver picked me up and drove me home. Unlike your drivers, he spoke in a friendly, calm way, helping me reach my destination and recover my equilibrium. I cannot thank that Black Cab driver enough.

Uber, it’s nearly 3 days since my assault and I haven’t had an apology from you. My tweet has had over 200 retweets — it’s terrible publicity for you.

When will you apologise? Until you acknowledge your culpability in this, the women and men of London cannot travel safely within your cars.

Yours sincerely,

Frances Carbines

BOB NEILL MP SUPPORTS TAXIS

MY LOCAL TORY MP

Bob Neill is the Conservative MP for Bromley & Chislehurst.
As a constituent of Chislehurst, I have written to Bob on two occasions - both times receiving a prompt response.
Neill is a hands-on MP who is available all year round, not only during election time.
It is my belief that Bob Neill is good for Bromley & Chislehurst and the Taxi trade.

In March I emailed a letter of concern about my trade and the state of affairs Transport for London has put us in.
You can see the template of my email, if you click here.
Bob Neill MP's reply is below.

Last month I emailed Bob again, about an 'All Party Parliamentary Group', set up in Parliament, for Taxis.
You can see the template of my email, if you click here.
He replied within a week, below.

I am not a member of any political Party.
I share no allegiance or political preference.
And I refuse to show loyalty to any political group - I leave that form of tribalism to career MPs.
I vote on issues.
My respect is reserved for individual people.
I do not care whether you are working, middle or upper class - they are mere labels.
I believe Tony Blair to be the worst Prime Minister in living memory - uncious, deceitful and worst of all unaccountable.
I consider the abusive Bullingdon duo of Cameron and Osborne as the worst kind of uncaring and out of touch chancers the Tory Party ever produced.
Why they chose Cameron over David Davis, is beyond me.

Bob Neill - London Pride

I thank Bob Neill for his work ethic and genuine concern.
And I do hope that other proactive Taxi Drivers received a similar response from their MPs.

THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

WE ARE NOW LIVING IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

WHERE TAXIS ROAST ON RANKS

AND MINICABS WORK THE STREETS

The Olympics are back - this time in Rio.
Since the Albino Buffoon sold the Taxi Trade down the Thames during the London Olympics, Transport for London could not have done a worse job.
Four years ago John Mason gave an American IT company, registered in the Netherlands, a Private Hire Operators License.
Private Hire roundels can be purchased from TfL, no questions asked.
Uber is allowed to Ply for instant Hire via an App, as Taxis sit and roast on ranks, whilst being harassed by TfL Compliance Officers for over-ranking and other mundane misdemeanours. All the while, uninformed people stand waiving their phones, touting for a Prius.
The new 'For Hire' sign in London is the Toyota symbol, courtesy of TfL.

Prior to the 2012 Olympics, Taxis plied for Hire on the streets of London, whilst legitimate Private Hire mincabs parked up outside their own Offices.
If a Minicab was seen 'hanging it up' outside a club, he was instantly recognised as a tout.
That was before London was deregulated into a lawless Wild West show.

In the four years since Uber rode into Dodge, Transport for London have been prompted to demolish Taxis, and deregulate the Private Hire industry back to the bad ol' days before regulation, by people like Baroness Susan Kramer (Minister of State for Transport and patron on the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, who received a £700k donation from the Carlyle Group who own Addison Lee, who now use an Uber style app and work model) who lobbied for the promotion of CBH [Cross Border Hirings - minicabs working in Boroughs and Counties they are not licensed in], which aided Addison Lee and Uber; and GLA quango member Peter Anderson (Chairman of the Canary Wharf Group - owned by the Qatari's who have invested over a £billion in Uber); and David Cameron (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, whose child's Godmother is Uber executive, Rachel Whetstone), who warned Boris Johnson (Mayor of London) to "Leave Uber alone."; and George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer) who personally lobbied the former Mayor, on Uber's behalf; and Sajid Javid (Secretary of State for Business) who openly promoted Uber as the successor to London Taxis; and Goldman Sachs (known as 'Government Sachs', due to their influence and total ownership of corrupt governments around the world, such as Her Majesty's Bullingdon government) who throughout time in memorial have put profits before peasants, no matter what collateral damage is caused.
These friends in high places have made sure their cohorts at TfL, John Mason, Peter Hendy, Leon Daniels, Garrett Emmerson and company were coated in Teflon.

So began a two horse Mayoral race which Sadiq Khan, with his promises of dealing with the corruption at TfL and beyond, won handsomely.
Part of the new Mayor's manifesto fell just short of George Galloway's claim to "Run Uber out of town."

So what, under Khan and Shawcross's short reign, has changed so far?
Fortunately many of the players who put Londoners and London's visitors at risk, have been moved away from direct involvement between TfL and Uber.
Cameron was forced to resign, Osborne was unceremoniously sacked, Javid's new job is the political equivalent of teaboy in the North Pole, Bojo helped Zac Goldsmith lose the Mayoral election, then stabbed his way into a new Cabinet job, in true Machiavellian style, and many of the quango who did not declare their vested interests in Uber and other Private Hire companies, like Peter Anderson, have been booted off the Board.
And trade Org and Union representatives seem to believe Mike Brown is as good as his word - only time will tell.

So far nothing has happened, except more promises.
TfL have openly admitted that many Private Hire vehicles were not insured.
TfL even set a deadline for all Private Hire vehicles to purchase said insurance.
Can you imagine what would happen to an uninsured Taxi?
The taxi would have been issued a 'Stop Notice' with immediate effect, and the driver would have been charged for driving without proper insurance.
But if you were a Private Hire driver, you were allowed by TfL and the Metropolitan Police to carry on working and picking up passengers whilst uninsured until the deadline.
In essence, TfL and the Metropolitan Police aided and abetted illegal activity, on behalf of Uber.

So far the Mayor's Office and Mike Brown are looking good; mainly because Johnson's TfL were so bloody awful.
At the moment all that the new brooms at TfL are doing, is their job.
Private Hire have always been obliged by law to have insurance - but TfL never enforced it.
Thorough Enhanced DBS checks have always been the rule - but TfL never enforced it.
Laws are only as good as their enforcement.

Where is the official public enquiry?
Are the 'powers that be' going to close ranks and protect the guilty, as they usually do?
Where is the promised cap?
All words and no do, so far.
There has been some serious wrongdoing inside and outside of TfL. The GLA have not emerged untainted either.
More and more Private Hire drivers are disarming TfL Compliance Officers, by ripping their roundels out.
Because of Baroness Kramer's despicable promotion of CBH, Private Hire minicabs can circumnavigate TfL's jurisdiction, without the need for TfL stickers or roundels.
Unless Mayor Khan takes time out from his photo shoots across the capital to devise a plan to combat this loophole, capping will become just another pointless piece of political posturing.

Recently, my RMT Union representatives got their arses smacked by the Deputy Mayor, Val Shawcross, for attending a meeting unprepared on one of their issues.
The unspoken, secret, gagging ordered issue of the rise in rape and sexual assault by Private Hire drivers.
Whether is was Deputy Mayor Shawcross's intimation or the beliefs of my representatives, is not clear - but Taxi drivers' motives were brought into question.
It was inferred that some MPs and those in high office are of the opinion that Taxi drivers were 'all of a sudden' horrified by the sharp rise in Minicab rapes, because the deregulation of the Private Hire industry started to affect drivers pockets.
I will answer this accusation in the very same way I answered it instantly in my mind, whilst waiting for my turn to speak, during our last RMT Branch meeting:
"How dare you suggest that this is to do with fucking money or fucking protectionism!
Exactly the same as our uninformed Union reps, and ninety nine percent of the population, WE DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS GOING ON!
Do you think we were driving around not giving a fuck that three girls a week were being assaulted in Minicabs, until it hit our pockets? How dare you!
We are fathers first and foremost! The rest is incidental decoration.
WE DIDN'T KNOW! Not until representatives from the UCG and LCDC did some great investigative work and uncovered the facts (via the Freedom of Information Act), did we dream it was as fucking awful as it turned out to be!
As soon as Danny Hussey, Sean Pier and I knew, we asked what our Orgs and Unions were doing about it?
At the time, our Orgs and Union representatives seemed embroiled in Taxi and legal matters.
So we took it upon ourselves to inform the public.
We designed some banners, and headed for the BBC - the rest is history.
Fuck you, you cynical cunts! Kids are having their lives destroyed, and you, because money and power and greed and ego matters more than people do, you judge us by your guttersnipe standards. Fuck off!"
Fortunately I had time to collect my thoughts before it was my turn to speak, and I delivered my reasoning on the matter ... dispassionately.

Outside the Branch meeting, saying our farewells, a senior member suggested to me that all our efforts might be seen as nothing more than protectionism, by cynical MPs and those in the GLA.
I informed him that my Dads Defending Daughters efforts were from a place MPs might no longer recognise - integrity.
And that my Taxi Trade efforts were indeed from a form of unapologetic protectionism.
I told him my form of protectionism is from a need to protect, not just my job, but the profession of which I am proudly a member. A four hundred year old profession, that is sometimes taken for granted in this historic and diverse city, but recognised around the world as the best, the Gold Standard.
I asked him, do not Politicians go to extreme lengths to protect their Party, even to the extent that they sacrifice their principles and dignity for the good of the Party?
Do MPs not vote against their better judgment and against their constituents' wishes, sometimes throwing the vulnerable on the pyre, along with their own self respect, to further the Party line and their own careers?
Do MPs not cocoon themselves against the harsh realities that they have caused?
Do MPs not 'let them eat cake' whilst giving themselves a wage rise of double figured percent?
And now they have the cheek to pontificate to us about protectionism?
Those who close ranks and protect their own against prosecution of war crimes, embezzlement and paedophilia, have the neck to stand in ethical judgement of us 'Plebeians'? Jog the fuck on!
Again, I informed him, they are judging us by their standards.

There will be protests coming, causing chaos and disruption to London. Sometimes to highlight the increase in rape and decrease in TfL accountability, and sometimes to highlight the inequality the Taxi trade faces during its destruction by bullies in high office.
We do apologise to those innocent travellers who may be affected by our more 'stubborn' demonstrations.
But 'highlight' we will, the the corruption and thoughtless disregard the present Government and TfL (under the Mayor's Office) have for the working men and women of this once great city.

Footnote: I apologise for the colourful language used in this article. Sometimes a well placed 'fuck' translates more appropriately than the accepted language of polite society.