Fuel Frustration

Now being a taxi driver has recently been named as one of the ten most stressful jobs so it’s best to try and be calm and placid all the time whilst working, or else they say that the stress will eventually kill you.

Now nothing usually gets to me, I tend to try and ignore the bad driving and rudeness of the minority who are the morons of the road.

But one thing really gets my teeth gnashing and my rarely used stock of swearwords in full flow.

It was a busy day, I was low on fuel, and so during a lull I headed into my usual supermarket garage to top up the diesel.

But it looked as if every other driver in town had the same idea at the same time and all the lanes were backed up.

After doing the usual dip zoo magazoo to pick which lane to wait in I joined a line of cars.

Much later I was next in line and it was finally about to be my turn at the pump.

The driver of the car in front of me had got into their car and I moved eagerly forward ready to take its place.

The driver happened to be a woman but I have had the same maddening experience from both sexes.

 She firstly checked her hair and makeup in the mirror and then carefully stowed away her credit cards cash and sweeties etc, into her handbag.

 I started to edge forward as she put her bag on the floor and started to fasten her seat belt.

 But after fiddling about finding the buckle and adjusting the belt to her liking, she then found that her keys were not in the ignition, so it was off with the belt and back out with the full contents of the bottomless bag.

By this time, all the other lanes had emptied but another car had come up close behind me and I was helplessly trapped not earning and squirming with frustration.

A good few minutes later and the missing keys were found, the seatbelt was fastened, and my hopes were again rising.

Only to be cruelly dashed when a final mirror check revealed some defect in her eye make-up.

Yep you guessed it the make-up was in the bottomless bag on the floor and so it went on with her still blissfully unaware of the queue behind her.

That is until she noticed that my taxi was now only a coat of paint away from her car and that I was revving the engine and mouthing curses about her and all her ancestors before her.

She drove of looking quite flustered, I filled up whilst taking deep breaths, and considering a change of career perhaps a Buddhist monk or a soot juggler eh!

  

 

Taxi Forums

Its new and not much there but with your contributions could be beneficial to the cumbrian taxi trade. Although aimed towards the Cumbrian taxi driver in the UK the forums are open to anyone regardless of where they are from.

www.cumbriataxiforums.co.uk

Concept Taxis

Take a look at this slide show of Concept New York Taxis
The Maxi addresses the very real threat of violence facing cab drivers. Says Johnson, “For the sake of exaggeration, the taxi looks impenetrable and fearsome, like a Brink’s truck.

New York Taxi?

Is this the long awaited replacement for the iconic New York Taxi? This is one of the finalists.

A Quiet Time

Not much has been happening over the last 2 weeks hence no posts but this week alone has seen so many road closures and diversions that it is not possible to get into the town centre.

The main thoroughfare into town is closed for 4 weeks but the contractors never seem to get the work done on time so I don't hold out much hope. Tonight will be the big test as the main road where all the niteclubs are is closed off meaning our busiest taxi rank is not available for use so it looks like we are going to have nowhere to park up tonight.

I wonder how the clubbers will get in and out of the niteclubs and when they do, they will have to walk a bit to find a taxi.

Other road closures in the town include one of the main routes to the next town and is a very busy road. Temporary traffic lights are causing long tailbacks all over the area and with it being Valentines weekend I reckon it could be a busy one.

Road Delays +people going out + plus valentines weekend = Pandemonium

Taxi Councils and Criminals

A 10 minute documentary on TV the other night says it all.

Download it from HERE You will need something that will play an mp4 file

criminals licensed to drive taxis

Criminals with convictions for offences such as indecent assault and drug dealing are knowingly being licensed to operate as taxi drivers, an investigation by the BBC programme Inside Out West Midlands has revealed.

Freedom of Information requests to councils and police authorities across the West Midlands region discovered that over the past three years 209 people with previous convictions have been given a licence, despite criminal records checks being carried out.

In Wolverhampton, a man who between 1985 and 2005 had carried out more than 30 offences was, in 2006, deemed suitable to become a taxi driver.

A spokesman for Wolverhampton City Council said the licensing of private hire and hackney carriages was taken seriously.

"The council has received no complaints regarding this driver since the private licence was granted in 2006," the spokesman said.

There are no official rules about licensing taxi drivers. Instead, councils tend to follow various guidelines, one of which is issued by the Department of Transport.

In Worcester, there are several drivers with criminal convictions.

A spokesman for the council's licensing committee said they followed guidelines issued by the Metropolitan Police and by the Lord Chief Justice.

"The third criteria is whether we would allow our daughter, if [we] had one, to get in the cab," a spokesman said.

He said convictions for drugs and sexual offences were "a complete no no" but added that was not stipulated in the council's guidelines.

A spokesman for the National Taxi Association said people with previous convictions tended to have their applications decided on merit.

Threats to kill

"If someone does have a lot of previous convictions he is likely to have to go before a council and explain himself," he said.

More checks to police authorities revealed that 250 crimes had been carried out by licensed taxi drivers over the past three years, including rape and making threats to kill.

The National Taxi Association spokesman said magistrates and police would inform a council of a conviction.

"If it is a serious offence they have the power to suspend a driver," he said.

In November 2009, Stoke-on-Trent taxi driver Mohammed Qaddier was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Katie Bennett, 21, suffered massive head injuries when she tumbled from the cab in Newchapel in May 2008.

The Inside Out investigation revealed that Qaddier had previously had his licence taken away from him by the city council for plying his trade illegally.

In 2004, it was given back to him by the city's magistrates.

Her father Philip Bennett said the fact that people with convictions were getting jobs as drivers was scandalous.

"Whoever is putting them in a position of taxi driving, with those sort of convictions, wants their heads feeling.

"They are no better than the people they are giving licences to," he said.

Last year, councils across the West Midlands region took £4.5m in taxi licensing fees.

The GMB, the taxi driver's union, said the system needed to be tightened.

"What we don't want is a tick box system saying a check is done and the licence issued," a spokesman said.

"The policy must be robust. It must take into account the nature of the offence and does it have any effect on the job they are doing."

Wolverhampton City Council, and others, have now said they will review their guidelines.

Watch the video.

Icy Conditions and accidents

Its been a strange sort of week with all this artic weather that we`ve been hit with. Most of the UK could well be used to the snow but where we live on the peninsulas we are surrounded by mountains and these tend to keep the snow away.

Its not uncommon to have no snow at all here and yet about 10 miles away it could be thick with it so when we do get the snow, its common sense to assume that everyone else gets it worse.

We did get the snow and drivers just wernt prepared for it. I did see a car very cautiously drive up a street and turn left at the end. He was going very slow and got the front end round but the back end just slid and he then hit a parked car.

This was happening almost everywhere and a lot of the drivers were afraid to work in the snow and the ice.

Today I witnessed something completely out of the blue. We have a few sets of traffic lights in the town which have a left or right turn green arrow filter. The set I was at on the junction of Holker Street and Abbey Road has a left turn filter when approaching from Holker Street.

There is a car in the left hand lane waiting for the filter light and I am in the middle lane wanting to go straight on but I am behind a car at the lights. The green filter came on to allow cars to turn left and our light was still red but the driver of the car in front saw the car to his left set off to turn left and seemed to think that because he has gone then he should do the same and shot straight through the red light.

Goes to show the driver wasn't looking at the lights but lokking at the car to his left and oved when he did.

Luckily there wasnt an accident but its a notorious junction anyway. I guess he had a lucky escape

Facebook

As well as our usual website at www.838383.co.uk you can now join us and become a fan on facebook.

Have a click at this link and add yourself and find out all about us and keep in touch with new developments

Heres the link

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barrow-In-Furness-United-Kingdom/A1-838383-BARROW-LTD/252406705559?ref=ts

Drunken Conversations

Some of the things that taxi fares tell you about their experiences with other taxi drivers.

One girl says she was in the back of a taxi on the way home and felt really sick and when she was sick she made sure it was in her handbag. Next day she completely forgot about the previous evening and went into her handbag for something only to find the nites before tea. Nice....not!!!


Have a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCRSpddExWI&feature=related

System Upgrade

Its been one of those weeks where I have spenmt more time in the office than out on the road as the firm is changing over onto a new system for the taking and dispatch of taxi fares to the driver.

The new system uses GPS technology together with a PDA , internet and a mobile phone network allowing the taxi driver to work in a safer environment without having to use a two way radio.

We have been phasing this technolgy in for a few week and the drivers seem very happy about it. However, it has meant me spending a lot of time in the office dealing with this and I guess the same is to come for the next few weeks and trherefore it means that not as many storys can be told if I`m not out on the road to hear them so bear with me til things get back to normal. I`ll try and keep you updated with latest events.

Meanwhile, you can now book your cab by text message or you can do it on line at the website www.838383.co.uk

Taxi smash

A collision between a police car and a local taxi at the junction of Abbey Road and Holker Street.
The local paper reports as

A police van and a dark green Peugeot 306 taxi collided in the middle of the road. Police say investigations are underway and it is not yet known how the collision occurred.

An officer said the police van may have been either on its way to or returning from a job, and it is not yet known whether its sirens were in use.

An additional police van was also called to the scene, and an officer kept traffic moving freely by diverting cars around the scene.

Rural Cumbria

Reading an article lately in a taxi magazine. What do you think. A good idea or not.
Personally I dont know much about this or how it operates. Anyone care to explain?