i've spent an awful long time reading many media reports over this and much more time reading the comments sections. i realise as a cab driver i am not going to be popular but would like a chance to correct some inaccuracies if i may.
firstly the LTDA, and i'm not a member, have called for action against TFL's lack of enforcement of existing rules. these rules are being breached by uber. it is not a demo against uber and in actual fact the same action could have been called for over many of TFL's other failings. also it is not just london's black cab drivers that feel let down by TFL. steve wright, chair of LPHCA (licensed private hire car association), has tabled a motion of no confidence in TFL over this. he also wrote a letter to taxi drivers asking us to join him in the fight against TFL. i won't bore you with the legalities of this uber app nor the many other concerns we have with TFL's lack of enforcement.
i would also like the chance to debate with many of the readers of this article. i have only been driving a cab for 2 years. it took me 3.5 years to complete the knowledge and unlike many cabbies i tell all my passengers that anyone can do it. it's not hard. it is however very very boring. you put your life on hold till it's finally done. you revise every moment you are not sleeping and your sleep gets less and less the further you get. the knowledge isn't the cab driver's idea. it is a requirement steeped in history and laid in law to one day legally drive a hackney carriage on the streets of london. to me driving a cab is just a job and the knowledge just something allowing me to do so. the vehicles we drive are not our design. if you think the back is uncomfortable try sitting in the front for an hour :) they have a huge steel chassis which the body is wrapped around. they are incredibly safe for all inside, though TFL don't think a front airbag is a necessity. they have to be partitioned with perspex, have an expensive turning circle and be wheelchair accessible. this all costs and is not optional. they also require two MOT's annually and are only allowed 15 years in service.
the taximeter is a requirement by law. unlike minicabs we can not price our own journeys. the meters are tamper proof and are set and controlled by the mayor of london. the meter works in both the driver and the passenger's favour. being on view the entire journey eliminates arguments at destination.
when i started driving a cab i had a card machine in the back of the cab as i wanted to be the most professional i could be. unlike paying for tube and bus journeys or items from shops for that matter, in a cab you pay at your destination. far too many times when a customer tried to pay by card the machine would decline. after several attempts and many cards later we would then start looking for working atm's with my meter switched off. still trying to be as professional as i can, i eliminated that issue and removed the machine.
many say competition is a good thing and i agree. there are over 70,000 minicab drivers in london to 22,000/25,000 black cab drivers. it's not however a level playing field as the odds are stacked up against us.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
