All hail the taxi driver raising awareness of vaginal cancer

by | Nov 10, 2014 | London News

Cab chats: Marie Barker talks to customers about the illness Picture: Glenn Copus

A taxi driver is encouraging people to talk about vaginal cancer in the back of his cab.

Marie Barker, 52, who was diagnosed with the illness in September, is aiming to raise awareness. In September she was diagnosed with early-stage vaginal cancer. She is not having treatment and is being monitored by doctors, with regular blood tests and scans. The procedure is same as what must do if suffering from liver cancer.

Mrs Barker, of Harlow, said she felt “extremely lucky” her illness was caught when it was: “I knew very little about vaginal cancer  and it was only because of my girlfriend telling me to go to the doctors that they found it early. I realised, through talking to people, I realized that After hysterectomy I wasn’t going to be alone, and very few people knew about the symptoms.”

Realising his taxi would make a quiet, private place, Mrs Barker is now making it her mission to talk to as many customers as possible. It coincides with the Movember charity month focusing on male health. “

“I’ve got a big Movember poster in my cab and it gets the conversation going. Taxi drivers are well known for being chatty, so I don’t struggle.”

Mrs Barker is growing a moustache for Movember. She and 23 colleagues are aiming to raise £5,000.

Figures from charity Prostate UK suggest more than 40,000 men a year are diagnosed with the illness in Britain, and about 250,000 live with the condition.

 

Licensed taxi drivers furious that private hire drivers are using taxi ranks illegally

by | Nov 10, 2014 | UK News

taxidrivers

NOT HAPPY: Some of Crawley’s licensed taxi drivers

TAXI drivers have held a crunch meeting with the council over a number of issues affecting their livelihood in Crawley.

On October 22 members of the Hackney Carriage Association – the group of drivers licensed by Crawley Borough Council – met with councillors and officers at the Town Hall.

The biggest concerns they had were around drivers illegally touting for business in Crawley, and private hire vehicles using taxi ranks, which are only supposed to be used by licensed drivers.

During the 90-minute meeting, Amin Mirza, chair of the Hackney Carriage Association, called on the council to clamp down on offenders

Speaking after the meeting he said: “This is illegal and we want it to stop immediately.

“Nobody is above the law. I hope that the private hire drivers will follow their private hire rules accordingly.

“However, if this practice continues then the licensing committee should take necessary actions.”

Mr Mirza would like to see council staff carrying out a higher number of checks on taxi ranks and moving on offenders.

By allowing private hire drivers to tout for business unchecked, he believes it is putting residents at risk, as they would then be using drivers who have not gone through the council’s rigorous vetting process.

It also takes business away from licensed drivers.

 

London’s Finest, Give Back A Little, To Those Who Gave So Much.

by | Nov 10, 2014 | London News

Today Mike Hughes and his team seamlessly organised the ‘veterans shuttle’. Well done to them and to all the drivers who year after year, volunteer and give their time freely, to keep this wonderful service going.

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.
There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
The Soldier, by Rupert Brooke
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL… By Mike Hughes
Let’s shout it to the hills. Today is the day the trade came together for a common purpose that had no ulterior motive.
And what a day it was.
There is much I want to say but I’m just too knackered at the moment, so let’s keep it short.
To see people who are so often at total loggerheads with each other, standing shoulder to shoulder to help those who had come to remember their comrades who had paid the ultimate sacrifice, was a truly humbling experience.
If only we could bottle this shared objective and use it in other parts of our trade we would be totally unstoppable. But life slowly returns to normal.
On a personal note I stood at the eleventh hour with three of my children, my son in law and most importantly my uncle who is a Chelsea Pensioner. The emotion was there, but there were no tears then, although I came close. I am not ashamed to admit that they came on my way home many hours after I’d left home the night before.
Just one final note for this posting and that is to mention the Gurkha convoy. When I’d started planning I’d thought about doing something for these wonderful old soldiers. There was much anxiety; would they be interested; would enough taxis turn up. I’d asked for enough volunteers to form a 20 vehicle convoy.
There was an immediate response but it slowed and at one stage I wondered if we were going to get enough taxis to help, or would we have to disappoint some of the Gurkhas?
Towards the end I had more offers of help, and at the very end I just asked anyone who wanted to help to go to the pick up point. 20 taxis? I was told there were 37 at that point. The only sad thing was that the convoy was late because one of the Gurkhas had died overnight and others didn’t come as they were in mourning.
You’ll notice I’ve not included anyone’s name. There are many to thank and I;ll be doing that over the next few days. For now it is time once again to say
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL

They Think Its All a Over….by Semtex.

by | Nov 10, 2014 | London News

Listening to LBC yesterday, I was interested in a debate that presenter James O’ Brien was having, about yet another claim that Uber were taking our trade to the cleaners.
Apparently, although I haven’t seen the piece myself, the origins of it came from an article written by seasoned journalist and former MP, Matthew Parris.
The article was titled:
It’s the end of the road if black cabs don’t wise up
By Matthew Parris.
As I say, I haven’t read the article myself, but listening to LBC, it appears that Mr Parris reckoned that with Uber around, anybody contemplating years on the Knowledge, must be crazy.
Many journalists would have had an even superior academic education than James O’Brien, but I must say, I have rarely heard anybody in modern life, who is such a wordsmith. O’Brien has a thorough and enviable grip of English Language, and I admire his constant encyclopaedic use of it throughout his programmes.
My only criticism of him, is that on the rare days he finds himself on the back foot of a debate, he will use this honed language skill to intimidate a lesser educated opponent. That said, James is still young, and I wager he will mature into a leading journalist.
I digress.
One thing I will say about James O’Brien, is that not only is he a great supporter of our profession himself, but he understands perfectly, the criteria we have to adhere to and the process of how we go about being part of London’s Finest. I am grateful for that.
However, during his programme today, I feel that he, along with Matthew Parris, were missing the trick.
I phoned the station and tried to get on air, but sadly, time ran out before I could do.
The thing is, there is an enormous amount of hype surrounding this Uber firm. Currently, they appear to be enjoying the notoriety of their set up. They have rubbed officials up the wrong way worldwide now.  Despite this and with around 50 million dollars of investment, and an awful big slice of it from Goldmann Sachs, the Uber boardroom are naturally convinced they are on to a good thing.
Apparently, a large proportion of the public, and an ever increasing amount of journalists, are bemused why on earth then, are people still signing up or continuing with the London Knowledge ?
After all, Uber drivers have Sat Navs, don’t they ? No need for the old fashioned Knowledge test then ? They (currently) also operate on a “surge price” system, which apparently means that they alter their prices according to market demand.
James O’Brien personally commented that he was having a drink with his wife and friends in a pub in Herne Hill, and when closing time came around all his friends dialled Uber. It appears that Matthew Parris and friends did the same, and were betting on which Uber car arrived first.
The Spectator’s Lara Prendergast is on record as saying that Uber is for Londoners, and Black Cabs are for tourists.
Lara continues……..”The black cab’s plight is self-made. Technology is increasingly being used to offer customers better, more reliable and cheaper options, and any industry ignores this at its peril. In the battle between iconic and innovative, it’s hard to feel too nostalgic when you’re being offered a better deal. Capitalism is alive on the roads of London – and for a 24-year-old girl trying to get round the city, that’s great news.”
Really Lara?  Sounds great, doesn’t it ?   Perfect even ! I’m almost tempted to agree with you and Matthew and you other hacks, but  I wager that you may find that it is not such great news after all !
I will tell you why I think you fair weather friends have got it wrong.
First of all, The great London Taxi Trade have been innovative from day one in technology. In fact, we have led the way. We were instrumental in the use of GPRS vehicle locators incorporating computers and satellite.
We also have our own Apps, which do everything that Uber Apps can do.
However, due to Uber’s massive financial backing, they have attempted to ride roughsod over established Hackney Carriage Law, which clearly states that Hackney Carriages (ie Black Cabs) are the only service licensed by law to use a taxi meter, which the Uber App certainly mimics.
Now, knowing what vivid imaginations you journalists have from birth, I want you to image a scenario.
Close your eyes. Lay back and relax. Pretend you are relaxed in the back seat of your favourite Uber driver’s Prius on your way home, guided by a person who was working in Lidls last week, relying totally on a Tom Tom.
On your way home in this “cheaper option” that you are so chuffed to find yourself in, I want you to imagine that for 6 months, there will be no London Black Cabs in London, whatsoever. Your Uber ideology can really come to the fore now. With 50 million in the bank, expanding the Uber Fleet and depleting Aldi of their entire workforce, should present no problem !
So that’s the scenario. Not a Black Cab on the road, and Uber have the lot to themselves. What do you see ?
Let me tell you what you would see. Utter and total meltdown ! Despite their wealth, Uber or any of the other fraudulent, one trick imposters come to that, would never, ever cope!
I will guarantee you that Londoners would definitely not see the London Taxi Trade as vehicles for tourists then !
Furthermore, I wager London Taxi Drivers would be begged to come back with a financial incentive !
I’m sure you are all aware of how stressful it is to be going to a job interview, a court appearance, a funeral, a christening, etc ?
How much more would your blood pressure rise if the person who picked you up had not the faintest idea of where he was driving, other than listening to a navigation app that had not updated?
Five to Six years learning London isn’t demanded by my professional trade for nothing.
It costs about £100 to have a white filling in your teeth done. It takes the dentist doing it 6 years to train and become proficient enough to carry out the procedure.
If I got the backing of Merryl Lynch to do these fillings for 30 quid each, and had a dental surgery on every street corner in London and taking the instruction from a DVD on a laptop, would you let me do yours, Lara?
How about you Matthew ?
After all, going on the 24 year old young girl’s advice that ignoring the cheaper option is perilous for industry, I expect Lara to be first in the queue for her 30 quid filling, as I routed around in her mouth whilst watching the DVD for the procedure.
You can awake now. It was just a dream !  Luckily for you journalists, there are indeed ample black cabs in London. And even more fortunate for you, each and every one of my colleagues have been thoroughly tested on millions of roads, streets, back doubles, parks, synagogues, hospitals, pubs, clubs and newspaper offices.
Notwithstanding, our meters are meticulously governed by HMRC and Transport For London. We are medically fit, with an enhanced Criminal Records check. Our vehicles are inspected to the highest standards TWICE a year, insured to platinum standards and our integrity and judgement tested regularly.
Don’t kid yourself. Our Iconic trade is as popular, loved and respected more today than it ever was before. Sure we have had our problems, what industry or profession hasn’t ?
The Law Commissioners, Hendy, TFL, and all the other knockers may very well underestimate us and make the playing field uneven.
But I will bet my mortgage on it, that way before the festive season kicks in at any minute now, Matthew Parris’s and Lara Prendergast’s little mitts will be stuck up in the cold night air in our capital, just praying that the next iconic yellow light, stops for them.
And that goes for millions of other Londoners too. The London Taxi Trade hasn’t lasted almost 400 years due to luck. Our training is steadfast, our service is exemplary and we are here to stay !
By the way, I understand there’s a cheap dentist in the city somewhere, doing fillings for a 15 quid ! Be warned though, the white wears off and the silver shows through within a fortnight !
Know what I mean ?
8829 Semtex. (Licensed, Qualified And Proud To Be Professional)

TfL Announce Consultation For Taxi Tariff Changes, April 2015

by | Nov 10, 2014 | London News

Dear stakeholder,

 

We are seeking views on changes to taxi fares and tariffs in London, to take place in April 2015.

 

Transport for London (TfL) licenses and regulates taxi and private hire services in London. As part of this, we set the maximum fares that taxis (black cabs or ‘hackney carriages’) can charge. These fares are determined by tariffs that are reviewed each year and normally changed in early April, to reflect changes in a cost index that reflects the costs of operating a taxi.

 

Previous tariff reviews have followed three basic principles:

  • Using the taxi cost index to guide the increase in average fares;
  • Maintaining reasonable differentials between the day, evening/weekend and late night tariffs;
  • Maintaining a reasonable progression of fare with journey length.

 

We propose to follow these principles again for the change to take effect on 11 April 2015. The final cost index figures are still to be assessed but on the basis of the information currently available, we would increase average taxi fares by 0.3 per cent.

 

We also propose to continue the present arrangement that will allow taxi drivers to add an extra charge of 40 pence if fuel prices increase significantly.

Consultation

Please go to our consultation website atconsultations.tfl.gov.uk/taxis/fares-and-tariffs. You will find more information about the background to these proposals and the calculation of the cost index, as well as a questionnaire seeking your views.  Responses must be received by Friday 5 December 2014.

 

We are seeking the views of anyone with interest in these matters on these proposals. Please pass this message on to others who might be interested.

If you have any questions about this, please email me at STEngagement@tfl.gov.uk with ‘Taxi Tariff review ’ in the subject line.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Darren Crowson 

Strategy and Infrastructure Manager

TfL Taxi & Private Hire