Facebook taxis ‘put the public at risk’
Thursday 11th February 2010, 2:29PM GMT.
PEOPLE illegally giving lifts to others for money are putting passengers in danger, according to the taxi industry body.
They also risk a massive fine.
Guernsey Taxi Owners’ Federation president Mike Mauger added that people without a licence offering services was unfair on drivers who had to train and pay their taxes.
His comments followed an Environment Department warning that anyone caught would face prosecution and a fine of up to £2,000.
It had received complaints about individuals using Facebook to advertise services.
Mr Mauger said the issue was increasingly being brought to the federation’s attention.
‘It’s an annoyance more than anything else,’ he said. ‘And our major concern is the safety of the public. One thing about taxi drivers is that we are all licensed, have to pass tests and have a certain knowledge. We have to be insured for third-party risk and are covered by all aspects of insurance, which is something that you don’t get with someone who isn’t licensed.’
He said it was a problem that had been around for years, but an increase in the use of social networking site Facebook had widened the scope.
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Doesn’t this just show that Taxi drivers are charging too much for lifts?
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I agree that taxi prices are high, but this is no excuse for people to make money and not pay tax.
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Anyone taking a lift from an unofficial taxi is asking for trouble – especially lone women late at night. Admittedly licenced taxi drivers can also abuse their position however theoretically they are easier to identify.
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Oh well done Dean. You mentioned the “T” word.
Wait for it……
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Its a shame the full story is not shown online and probably not in the paper.
The facebook group clearly stated that they were not charging, but if people felt like giving the driver for money for petrol that would be much appreciated. I have given mates lifts several times and they have given me a fiver to cover petrol, i dont see a problem with that.
as for putting people at risk, they taxi drivers federation just want more money, you are at as much risk getting in a taxi as you are getting in a friends car, and if the person being given a lift wants to get a taxi there is nothing stopping them.
I am living in London at the moment and the taxi company I use when I go out dont even have set fees, i recall recently they asked me how much i wanted to pay, and even the ones with set fees are cheaper than Guernsey but petrol is more expensive here so why does Guernsey charge so much?
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Oh yeah I totally agree, but I doubt they make their living off it.
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If the taxi drivers took their head out of the sand for a second they would realise that this is a reaction to being charged £18 for a ride from town to the airport. As far as the law is concerned it’s wrong but morally it’s the choice between paying someone for a lift and being legally mugged by the taxi drivers when they can be bothered. I know of one driver who proudly told me he refused to take someone out to Pleinmont because he had no guaranteed fare coming back to town. Not much of a service really is it?
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Now that IS funny Dean.
Making money and not paying tax is what our Government has been promoting for some time now.
As for ordering a taxi on Facebook? Risky? “Chardonnay sent you this taxi from her virtual farm. She hopes you like it. Please send Chardonnay and her 1,500 ‘friends’ a taxi back so that they can go to ETWH in style this week.”
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Couple of Points….
1. If it’s only being done between mate helping each other and not charging but only taking donations… I really can’t see how they are going to stop it..
2. My 87 year old mum insists on giving me a cake & cup of tea as well as a pound towards my petrol when I run her to the co-op to do her shopping every Tuesday… I take it from this.. that this is illegal ?.
3. I think the real problem lies with these new mobile phone that make it far too easy for the youngest via face book to let each other know what they are up too.. The traffic committee should ban these new computer phones things… Problem sorted ?.
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the thing is how the hell you going to prove that the money was for the lift??? not only that the taxi drivers think they should get a tip don’t know why they are doing there job you don’t tip someone at the co-op and they get a lot less than taxi drivers!!
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Scott, they are not talking about giving mates lifts and a bit of petrol money, we have all done that. I can tell you that I personally know of someone who has been doing this for some time. I agree that the issue isn’t about a risk to the public, but money.
I just don’t think the ‘they charge too much (agreed)’ is a reasonable defence for FBT’s.
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Is illegal too ?… But the green lots telling us to do car sharing ??.
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Scott..totally agree with you here. What is the harm in giving a friend a lift home? Whether they give you a few quid or not, its really making sure that they get home safe. I gave people lifts last weekend and there wasn’t any talk of money yet during the week they bought me lunch…. It’s fine and safe (as long as you know the person)
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I had to laugh when the taxi drivers’ representative was on TV. “What we care about more than anything is public safety” he said. What I think he meant was “What we care about more than anything is the several hundred pounds a night that we earn at weekends”
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this utter nonsense. Every saturday night one of my freinds gives a load of lifts home 9normally several round trips), and as a courtesy we drop a couple of coins into his ashtray as a thanks. The other week I had to get a taxi from the coq du nord into town and that cost me almost £15, a ride in the landy back £3.
The Taxi people charge far too much compared to the UK. While I was at uni at taxi from Chichester to Bognor was around £11 for what took me just over 6 hours to walk (wich I did many times) yet over here a walk from town to my house at the landes du marche a 45 minute walk, taxi = £14 some nights. Can you blame people for opting for the cheaper alterative?
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taxis can be so expencive and unreliable i am not surprised this is going on. i wouldd use the above
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Phil
“several hundred pounds a night at weekends”.If you mean £200 for a long night finishing around 3.30am then fair enough but otherwise I think you know nothing about taxi drivers earnings.
Some people on this subject seem to forget start up costs of about £50k. States Insurance at top whack, unpaid holidays, Insurance costs, fuel costs and the hours that you need to work to get the cash. Try a day in the week on the town rank and see if you can make £100.
So many experts, so little subject knowledge.
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when I was last in Guernsey couldn’t get a cab for love nor money..waited 2hrs + 5 phone calls ,,later that week then ordered a cab for the ferry ..no show..more phone calls to try to catch the ferry…
If taxi services are this inefficient why would one bother to even try to get a taxi..regardless of the cost
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I dont use taxi’s that often, but on the last few occassions that I have needed one, I have been told that there are no taxi’s available for about 2 hours… so many of them in the phone book are actually one company too.. monopoly again ! Delta dont wait for late flights either.. if your flight is delayed tough !and for this service we pay exorbitant fees.. welcome back to Guernsey !
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If the taxi drivers cared about the safety of the public then maybe they should drive safer.
Some of them are lethal. “third party risk”…. riiiiight!! Does that extend out of the taxi as well?? Try meeting one in a lane travellng in the direction. I guarantee the last thing they are thinking about is the safetly of the other car.
I’m all for paying to go thrill rides, I just prefer it to be at Alton Towers, and then you probably wouldnt be ripped off as much at AT.
You wait until the first licensed taxi goes up on facebook (if it hasnt already), then it’ll become “unfair business practices”.
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Public safety thats a laugh
I’m getting fed up getting ripped off by money grabbing taxi drivers from a certain point on my route home i can can go one of 3 ways out of interest i measured the distances
route 1 was 0.2 miles more than route 2 which in turn was 0.4 miles LESS than route 3.
It seems that if you appear to be drunk they will take the longer route.
and yes i have pretended to be drunk to test this therory.
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Mac, quite right, but this subject has been gone into soooo many times and explained in detail ,but some whingers just dont get it, they have a taxi story that they heard from one of their friends or that they think they experienced in a drunken fugue ,that they wont let it go, as some of the times and prices quoted are ridiculous, so yet again (pay attention)the fares are set and you have the right to ask what tariff the taxi is on ,familiarise yourself with the time the rates change (environment will tell you) ,like you do with bus schedules and , in the event of complaint the taxi has a plate on the rear with its operating number (for those of you who are using illegal taxis and are involved in accidents where you will perhaps spend the next year in hospital recovering ,then sadly the only recourse you will have in hindsight is that you should have taken the insurance details from the W,I,D and reported the driver to their insurance company for driving without proper public liability insurance which is expensive .
as for going the long way round ,(egghead) trust me ,the driver has, on a lot of occaisions got to put up with obnoxious vomit soaked morons who are so intransigent and argumentitive that the short way is the best option ,and confrontational situations arise where the average person may poop their pampers .
the majority of threads appear to be from young (or immature) writers who ,i would hazard a guess, work in secure jobs (which through past experience has shown that trained monkeys could do ) and if they dont turn up for work then they still get paid handsomley and nobody knows they were’nt there, and therefore have never really had to work for a living but that may soon change so prepare your mindset.So a couple of tips when you do find a driver who turns up ,dosent overcharge (remember this is why the meter has to be in plain view) is friendly and has a nice new clean car for YOUR benefit keep his number and use him regularly (there are a lot more of those than you think . tip two dont phone several cars to see who gets there first as this only works once (this may be why some of you get no shows,sounds familiar???) be on time ,be nice dont throw up the in car (because you wouldnt like it if the driver came round and chucked up in your living room)and above all remember that transport (like nights out )is expensive and that the taxis have applied for and received one cost of living rise in the last three years (nothing to do with the price of fuel rising due to the horrendous tax grab which took place in stead of road tax )but just simply a cost of living rise which most of you get automatically or for passing another paper qually or just for shining in the office ,also please try to sort out in your mind that what the driver charges and what you hand over is not all his (this may seem obvious but again some of you dont get to figure it out)some work for a wage ,some work for a percentage and this goes for fuel ,tyres,insurance (twice what you pay for your private car)damage caused by the above mentioned morons ,accident damage,three services a year ,licences,medicals loss of earnings due to weather/illness/recession and illegal drivers (who ,like people who buy pirate cds and knock off clothes see no harm in what they do)having read this some of you will no doubt be slightly niggled at being put right, but read it again ,try to comprehend whats been pointed out cos thats all the explaining i’m gonna do do for you
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Hold on a minute Mac, lets put this in perspective shall we.
You say spend a day in the week at the rank and see if you can make £100. Lets just say on average you a regular taxi driver earns £100 a day, if there were to work every day like you imply they have to too earn a living.
Thats roughly £3000 a month on average which would equate to a very rough figure of £36,000 a year. You say it costs £50k to start up, fair enough but it is there choice to go into that industry and work those hours, if they dont like it they can go into finance, they will be unlikely to earn as much as £36k a year though.
The issue here is all about money and the legality of the Facebook group. if they are not asking for money but are offering “friends” lifts who may in turn by their own choice give them petrol money then I fail to see how a law is being broken. And as for the safety issue, I’ve yet to go in a taxi on an evening that keeps to the speed limit.
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Mac – I assume you are a driver from your post……….. So you pay “States Insurance at top whack”? Tells a story doesn’t it?
That means if you are a self employed driver you are earning £80,000 per annum.
Wow, think I’ll get myself a taxi. If that’s what you are really earning no wonder it’s so easy to be undercut.
arapaho – I read a quarter of your post before my eyes got tired due to the lack of punctuation, full stops and paragraphs but I would really suggest a change of career. You seem quite uptight.
Since you are all such upstanding citizens, help me out, I’m a bit confused about a few things:-
1) The permanently ‘on’ spot lights that taxi drivers are now fitting to their cars. Now I did wonder why this was happening but one of your number helpfully told me and everyone else in my local very loudly, proudly and drunkenly a few weeks ago. “It’s so when we are speeding at night we know it’s another taxi behind us and not the police”
2) I live by some traffic lights but these don’t seem to apply to taxis between the hours of 1am and 7am….. Red light? Just creep through boys!
3) Roadworks and temporary traffic lights are mostly ignored during the evenings. In fact two taxi drivers came and moved the barriers and signs in my road last time it was closed. Instant private rat run!
4) Speed! Not only are the speed limits ignored does anyone remember the outrage from the drivers the last time the police actually dared to prosecute one of them for speeding? A ludicrous sounding ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was cited – something like ‘we understood we could break the law as we are providing a public service removing drunks from Town’
5) Cost! I hate statistics so glance at this and interpret it how you like, it’s a UK table of taxi fares:-
http://www.phtm.co.uk/_includes/docs/league_table/UH5UJZ.pdf
So we’re not the MOST expensive, but we are right near the top. But hang on, the UK has expensive road tax doesn’t it? Insurance is more costly on the mainland too……. Their fuel price? I seem to remember that’s more over there as well…………
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Arapaho
Could I just suggest something to you??
PARAGRAPHS….
You say that trained monkeys could do most jobs, however given your shocking display of English, I would suggest that indeed a Monkey would get accepted in a finance job before you would.
Other than that, the tone and attitude of your post will probably put more people off using your “services” which regardless of how you slice it are overpriced and of a very poor service level.
Expect more facebook taxis to appear if you and your ilk continue with that attitude. Who would want to be driven round by you???
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as for going the long way round ,(egghead) trust me ,the driver has, on a lot of occaisions got to put up with obnoxious vomit soaked morons who are so intransigent and argumentitive that the short way is the best option ,and confrontational situations arise where the average person may poop their pampers .
arapaho
From this comment i take it that to guarantee the short way home i need to be obnoxious and vomit soaked now i get it YOU ONLY RIP OFF Well dressed quiet passengers WELL and maybe tourists who don’t know the island to well
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£50k start up costs?
Perhaps if you didn’t buy a new Merc (or something similar) with a poncey number plate the costs wouldn’t be so high?
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arapaho – you sure know how to treat your customers with respect! You have classed them all as drunken yobs and given up hope by the sounds of things. If you and your friends in the Taxi Drivers association meet regularly to discuss pricing, no wonder you are pricing yourself out of the market with that attitude.
No respect for the punter, charge them what we like….we hear you mate. Your prices are the reason i park my car at the airport every week when i go away for business…..it’s cheaper and it doesn’t expect a tip ontop.
Phil makes a good point re startup costs, why the Merc? Why not a good workhorse car for sub £20k and a standard Reg plate…..plus don’t you guys car share?
If you are trying to justify your fee across the board then it doesn’t add-up (no surprises there).
You say you have only raised prices once in the last 3 years….hmmm i think not. If fuel goes up your prices go up, when fuel costs fall your prices….go up!
The rest of us have to work harder and longer hours when costs rise and not just increase our prices and rip off our “moron” customers. By the way forget calling me a Finance worker to get out of this fix and your insult to them taking exams as a “paper qually” is yet another example of you using all 12 brain cells in one go. Didn’t you do a “paper qually” to get your licence? Easy aren’t they.
Agree with Phil and Mrs P here…..and the taxi drivers on this forum are not convincing me with their attitudes.
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Guernsey taxi drivers are fine if they think you’re local and they can’t take advantage. Often they hear my accent, assume I’m a tourist and try to take the longest route. It’s only after I make it clear I live here that they skip back onto the proper route down a little alley. It happens often.
Last year my friends and I took our children to the Mallard Cinema from town. My friend ordered a taxi to seat 6. This cost…£21!!! “It’s a bigger taxi so we have to charge you double.” What??!!!
If a friend had offered us a lift up there we’d have happily taken it and contributed towards petrol costs. Nothing wrong with that.
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arapaho
“read it again ,try to comprehend whats been pointed out…”
I tried, but I got a headache. Oh, and thanks for reminding me not to throw up in taxis. I never realised that was bad etiquette.
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Whoops (comma) suffering from lack of standard superior english education there (full stop)it’s just that i thought when people send e-mails or texts nowadays that no-one else seems to bother anymore(comma)(new paragragh)
Like i said everyones got a story and there they are ,i did point out that you will need to re-read the piece and try to comprehend it .there are a few usful tips in there.
(another new paragraph)Dave Haslam, perfect english but comprehension absolute rubbish ,where do i mention finance workers (several question marks)and Chris you missed it as well ,you also missed the fact that nowhere did it say that ALL the customers are —blah blah ,so perhaps when you go away for your weekly business trip maybe you could arrange a permanent transfer .
Sorry but most of you failed miserably in comprehension (that means understanding the content)but excelled in superior knowledge of a subject you know nothing about (thats particularly you again chris).Allana you didnt say what your accent was ,if its english then that accounts for the fact that you didnt know, that if you order a six seat taxi, then the rate is higher (not double )again check with the licensing body .
and yet again if you think you were overcharged then take note of the number on the rear of the… (oh i give up ) full stop.
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arapaho
Your English skills are top notch as has been pointed out already, and “the majority of post appear to be from young (or immature) writers, you are the one throwing your toys out of the pram.
You think you have to deal with obnoxious drunks?? I am a doorman when I am back home so I can guarantee that I see more obnoxious drunks than you do, the difference is you don’t have to let them in your car, you can drive off if you don’t want the fare.
If you are referring to me as a trained monkey (I am 26 and worked in finance) then you are sadly mistaken, I am currently doing a Degree and part of my grade is marked on grammar and punctuality which I am sure many other “immature” writers would agree is far superior to yours.
I quite regularly give friends and their friends a lift when I am home, I have a nice car, kept clean and tidy, and they are more than happy to give me £5 towards petrol which being a student I happily accept, does that mean I am breaking the law and risking their safety?
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Phil,
Do you think we get a taxi plate for free ?
Sorry to disappoint you but £50k is a plate and a Ford.
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I read with interest the comments re taxi drivers,If it is such a good job, and they make so much, why arn’t all you lot who are moaning running to run taxi’s proply with a licence and registered vehicles.
Like everything it is those who shout the most, cause the problems.
Yes I am a taxi driver and am willing to let anyone drive my car if they have the right licences, so instead of wasting your time, study for the exam take the driving test then contact me, or is it just so easy to shout and throw your teddies out of the cot that you are to scared of failing the driving test or the exam?
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Scott,
I wish I had done a degree now.
Get the grammer right and turn up on time and thats it.
I do’nt know if its superior to arapaho’s as he does not mention if he is regulally late.
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Mac
How much is a plate these days then?
Surely before you buy one you draw up some sort of business plan in order to establish that the business is viable?
Arapaho
I’m sure I’ve seen a trained monkey driving a car. All we have to do now is teach them “the knowledge” which shouldn’t take too long, then we’ll be laughing!
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Steve … You might want to brush up
on your spelling as well as your grammAr …
If an of you think you can run any business better an cheaper than someone else then just go and do it
I don’t object to the fares charged , it’s the fact that I can never seem to get a taxi in a hurry ….
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Hi taxi drivers!
There seems to be a reoccurring theme here, the cost of ‘the plate.’ But aren’t you missing the point? That plate is actually what protects you, as it’s a barrier to entry for the rest of us. But IF what you lot are actually saying is that you want to get rid of it well, that’s different!
I’m well on the record here as suggesting most problems can be solved with true free market economics and the restrictive practice of taxi licensing and fixed fares set by government is certainly NOT ‘free’ in any way. So I agree get rid of it.
The drivers don’t like the cost of the plates and they don’t like not being able to charge what they like. The answer is simple my friends, campaign for the removal of these restrictions. That would mean of course that anybody with suitable insurance could set up in competition and that prices would be driven ( “driven!” ha! did you see what I did there?) lower.
Because of the inevitable price war I think you would have a lot of support for this idea with the general public.
BTW I notice none of you dispute my earlier comments above about your general behaviour and lawlessness………….. how telling.
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Hee hee. Arapaho you do make me laugh. So i failed to understand the content of your post did I? Lack a superior knowledge of your industry? Of course, i’m not a cab driver.
You fail to notice that i am pointing out a common denomenator – customers! We all have them and you choose to alienate yours in your post. You can’t even acknowledge that, or answer questions from your potential clients….you continue to show a complete lack of respect. This is what i have pointed out to you as i don’t think your post helps any Taxi drivers or the industry as a whole. You are just backing up peoples claims with your attitude.
You can tell me to go on a business trip and stay away! Nice one. That kind of attitude makes me justify my method of transport each week and i feel vindicated in my choice.
As somebody mentions in a later post, a business plan would be a good idea at start up. You might want to review your rolling cashflow forecast for 2010 now mate, your blatant dissrespect to customers might just have an impact.
All of this when people here are looking for answers to questions and you choose a sarcastic response and more abuse…..legend.
Rescession proof taxi drivers i reckon. They have come out in the Press looking for sympathy and have stirred an apethetic mindset to the point of dissbelief (me)! Come on guys don’t just moan about your clients or say if its that easy you come and do it yourself (Driver). Jobs aren’t easy, that is why it’s called work. Simple. Address the issue, dont slate your market.
Charge a fair fee, a cleaning charge for the 1 in x Number of people that are idgits and throw up – whatever you need. But to have an attitude and pricing structure based on what happens (primarily) after hours on a Fri and Sat night? Crazy mate. Why should i pay what i feel is over the odds for a jouney on Monday morning at 8am because you felt wronged by some drunkard on Fri or Sat night? Yes you have different Tarifs but people here are saying that, when we should all be feeling the pinch of tough times, they just cant afford the high fare and feel it isn’t justified.
Threats, throwing up, general abuse, runners with no payment etc true, Nobody wants that going on…..but sort it out and then Facebook wont be a threat. You are only pushing more folk to other sources with your attitude.
I don’t expect you to see where i am coming from and I look forward to your next sarcastic post pointing out my sp3lling mistokes and punctuation {end….full stop]
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Arapaho
My mistake, I didnt realise you were judging everyone who doesnt drive a taxi for a living as a trained monkey.
My my, we are making friends arent we??
So, going by that reasoning…….
Most of us “Monkeys” have to drive a car to get to our Monkey Work. Driving a car is your job, so, us monkeys actually perform your job on our way to work.
So heres a question, if we are all monkeys, yet we are capable of doing your job before we get to ours, what does that make you???
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Phil,
Anything from £29k to 35k depending on the plates available at the time and obviously how bad the purchaser wants one.
I certainly did set myself a plan and it works for me. I am not one of the driver’s complaining. I initially came on to point out politely that the huge sums allegedly being made at the weekend are in my view not correct. It must be apparent that you can make much more money if you want to work 16 hours a day. I personally want to see my family so I adapt my hours to suit us. The main requirement by Environment is that you do 25k miles on taxi business a year and it is checked. I assume this is to stop drivers cherrypicking the most productive times.
My last point is just common sense – don’t judge all taxi drivers by the idiots in the trade. We know them as well as you do. Most businesses have their own idiots – even banks I suspect – we are no different.
Sorry Mrs P – I have no intention of playing your silly games.
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For the record of all those who state there is no harm in the offers of “lifts” on face book no price mentioned. Sorry to crush your assumptions but Lines on Facebook reading I will quote.
“doing lifts tonight after 11pm £5 a head” I`m not so callous (I`m sure the educated readers will correct spelling and grammar) as to name the person or her other half but that to me means this is the fare and no doubt its not a one off nor is it couple of quid in the ashtray.
Businesss Plans.
yes they work but you are never sure of income when your being undercut by uninsured and unlicensed competition
Plates and Tarrifs.
These are regulated by the states who set the charge for the initial cost and this to my knowledge is for three years when you have to reapply for your own job and pay the costs again if your application is declined you loose the cash,medicals before you get your personal drivers badge again if declined you loose the cash. As for do not pick up the drunks or obnoxious rarely do you have a problem until its to late, Long way round see the states about that if a drivers taking the piss take his car and his badge number and complain to the states . But by all means take an illegal taxi if when there is an accident see who pays for your hospital treatment, rehabilitation loss of income, loss of limbs or indeed loss of life.
but its worth that couple of quid for the lift ……………………………….and HOW MUCH did your drink food and club entry cost you
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Scott – “Thats roughly £3000 a month on average which would equate to a very rough figure of £36,000 a year. You say it costs £50k to start up, fair enough but it is there choice to go into that industry and work those hours, if they dont like it they can go into finance, they will be unlikely to earn as much as £36k a year though.”
Whilst your maths are correct your logic is flawed. Your figure of £36,000 would be total takings, deduct the cost of servicing, tyres, fuel, insurance, depreciation of the vehicle, phone and taxi radio costs and you will arrive at a net figure that is roughly 50% of the gross figure.
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Mac, nice to see some reasoned comments.
The main problem we have with taxi’s in Guernsey is that our island is so small. With journey length capped by geography, it is obvious that prices will be high to ensure that driving a taxi produces a decent living.
In times of economic prosperity, the majority of the population is happy to pay this price (as opposed to walking or using public transport). However in times of recession, there will always be questions raised as to the cost (and the value) of the service.
What doesn’t help the public’s view of taxi drivers is comments from some of the above taxi drviers, plus the difficulty in getting a cab at popular times’s when there appears to be a huge surplus of cab’s “hanging” around the airport or the main rank at other times.
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I have to say, I use taxi’s fairly regularly, mostly at weekends after an enjoyable night out indulging in a few sherberts. I certainly doint soil the cab in anyway, am always able to make polite conversation with the driver normally starting off with ” so busy night” and 9 times out of 10 we hit a good conversation. There are always the odd one who is a misery, or just having a bad day – thats life – I have them days too. One bad experience I have had is booking an 6 seater for a pickup from the Farmhouse-the firm confirmed a suitable vehicle would be sent. What was sent (arriving on time) was 2 standard vehicles. Fine we thought – until we got home in st peter port and discovered we had both been charged pretty substantial charges and not a rounded down charge as if it had been 1 vehicle. That is a bit off dont you think drivers?
On a pukage note – when I was a student in Brighton, drivers had a standard £250 soilage charge – if your sick or any other unpleasant mess made, you pay that – which i think is fair as it effectively ends their nights earning potential and someone has to clean it. Why not implement and enforce that. Taxi’s in brighton featured on Panaroma as one of the most expensive in the UK, should of sent them over here to do a feature!
Also from a public safety view point, how many of you will be installing the new Cabby Cams as featured on the 1 show recently? Good protective measure for me and for you????
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Mac, I fully respect your points and it would seem that you are one of the genuine taxi drivers who is there to do his job, and not moan about it (anymore than the rest of us moan about jobs anyway)
Humbug, im assuming from your post you are a taxi driver or at least someone who knows a taxi driver. Ok, my figures were an average of total earning not considering deductions but for those earning say 25k a year like I was before I left I still had to pay nearly all the same things as you did, the exception being the radio, although I am not sure what a taxi driver pays for a fee, I had a quick look at the Ofcom website and see that at most and unlikely for Guernsey it would be 10k a year, Yes I agree I paid less than you did for fuel, tyres and insurance but I find it very hard to believe that these extra costs for a taxi driver amount to lets say 8000 a year more than I was paying,
Its interesting to see how not ONE post on here has defended the taxi drivers right to break the law and think they are except from the 35mph limit.
And finally, Jock, you refer to one persons post out of 365 which has already been removed from the group. If you read further down the page it also says that “Ok to make this clear if you want to help people out by giving lifts, put your number down but dont ask on this page for money. If you charge its completely up to you and your responsibility.”
If people are stupid enough to ask for money then yes they are breaking the law but if the passengers “offers” it like im sure nearly all of us have done in the past when mates have given us a lift then i do not see how there is any possible way the police or anyone else can do anything, if they do it would mean that i could no longer offer my friend a lift home after i leave work at 2am because she gives me £5 towards petrol as a thank you, but the taxi drivers would love that to happen because it would FORCE people to take a taxi if they wanted to get home, for anyone who disagrees with this comment it would be interesting to know how you think the police can enforce this problem, are they going to stop every car with more then one person in to find out if they use facebook?
As for injuries, if I was to crash giving a mate a lift and they were injured, unless the police can prove I was running a business (which I imagine would be difficult if the passenger said they were a friend asking for a lift home) my insurance is valid and their injuries are covered because they are a 3rd party and ever car is required by law to have at least 3rd party cover.
If the taxi drivers want business they need to reduce fares, its as simple as that, i have yet to pay more than £12 for a taxi in London and that could involve a 20 minute drive. Guernsey on the other hand £15 for a 10 minute drive, almost 3 times as much and yet the petrol is much more expensive here and the return distances are also greater.
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There are too many third party stories from threads, who all have bad experiences. It is so easy to make up these kind of stories about most things.
Things like taxi drivers are the same as every other motorist, on average we do not not speed.
I can only talk for myself and this is true. Of course if drivers are caught, they in the case of taxi drivers get a more severe suspension of their licence. which is quite right as they should know better.
One fact is that Guernsey taxis are the 68th least expensive, or for those who have not a good word for their fellow Islander, the 68th most expensive.
Jersey are the 44th in cost.
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I don’t think that this is actually guernsey press worthy!
I know alot of people who give lifts and don’t expect money – some people do it as they have nothing to do on a weekend – its hardly ‘stealing taxi’s work’
If you have a friend who is out and about in their car on a weekend and offers you a lift home.. your not going to turn around and say to them ‘ no, it’s ok – I will get in a taxi and pay £20-00 to get home.. even though i could get a free lift with you and offer to pay you a few £££’s for petrol!
I think its pathetic and if taxi drivers don’t understand why this is happening – maybe they should use their brains.
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Although I am a part-time driver, I have driven almost all Friday and Saturday nights for the last 6 years.
I have found customers to be friendly and well behaved without exception. Of course they have often had lots to drink and occasionally are sick. But a watchful eye and a positive attitude has always resulted in a satisfactory outcome.
Now – if the present licensing system was abandoned drivers would not be able to guarantee a living from their work and so they would have to go elsewhere. That would mean a distinct lack of taxis when they are needed at the airport or on the weighbridge. Additionally, passengers, particularly children and women would not be assured of fully checked drivers and their safety might be compromised.
Our system is not perfect and its fares reflect the higher cost of living in Guernsey. Very few passengers complain about the cost and even the cross island fare of a £20 is not unreasonable when shared among 4 passengers.
What is interesting is the lack of success of the Night Bus, islanders preferring to be driven right to their door.
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Scott, whilst you are correct in your supposition that I am a taxi driver but you have made another supposition that is incorrect.
Yes, many of the expenses that a taxi driver has to pay are the same as any other motorist but it is the scale of the expenses that is so very different. You cannot dismiss my expenses with a comment like ” I still had to pay nearly all the same things as you did, the exception being the radio”. An average Guernsey motorist will do 5,000 miles or less, I do around 30,000, yes six times more, that’s six times more fuel, six times more wear on tyres and car and three or four services per year. I’m sure that you will agree that that is substantially more than an average motorist, and remember that your hypothetical taxi driver who you had taking £36,000 a year will have done even more than my 30,000 and thus his expenses would be even higher than mine.
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Roy, when you say “That would mean a distinct lack of taxis when they are needed at the airport or on the weighbridge”, you’ve obviously not had to queue 45 mins for taxi on a Sat night before, or arrvied at the airport on a Sunday night and there’s not a taxi in sight!
In other news, there seems to be some great PR for cab drivers on the front of the Press today!
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Mac – far from me “playing silly games” as you so nicely put it I believe I have made valid points both about the anarchic way that many taxi drivers behave (and I think that today’s front page backs this up………) and how deregulation would be to everyone’s benefit.
If you are blind to the faults of your colleagues then so be it but sooner or later you will realise that you have a serious PR problem. The general public’s perception of speeding, dangerous driving, unproven rape allegations, bad service and indeed now the general bad attitude that has surfaced on here from other drivers are doing your industry no favours at all.
I think to dismiss me as ‘silly’ is akin to burying your head in the sand.
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OK Mrs P, one last game – Read through these postings carefully – you are the only person alleging that taxi drivers speed, drive dangerously, jump red lights and ignore road closed signs.
The road that I live in has been closed for long periods and drivers of every persuasion charge through. As for speeding ,well, you say nothing about cesspit lorries, skip lorries, delivery vans, BMWs etc etc.
Red light “jumping” is something I witness on a daily basis as is speeding. So many drivers in Guernsey do these things. In my view this happens because there is virtually a non existent traffic section in our police force
My point being that you seem to want to portray taxi drivers as lawless drivers.
One allegation of rape that was not found by the law officers to support a prosecution but you use that to insinuate that taxi drivers are sexual predators.
You correctly point out that on today’s Press a female taxi driver was convicted of dangerous driving. Now find me that last similar case which resulted in a dangerous driving conviction.
Your suggestion that taxi drivers have some “arrangement ” with the police over speeding is ludicrous. I could name several taxi drivers who have been prosecuted for speeding – one who regularly contributes to these pages ! One is awaiting court as we write.
The reason I regard your posts on the subject of taxi drivers as a “game ” is quite simply your “wind up tactics”. You have made grossly improper exaggerated claims about taxi drivers in general. If you have seen such bad behaviour then go to the police and make your statement, they will interview the driver and if what you say is true, the courts will be awash with taxi driver defendants.
Most people on this subject complain about the fares and the availablity of taxis. The fares are set by the States department responsible for taxis. Availability is always going to be difficult because it will depend on what hours the drivers have decided to work on any given day.
As I previously stated there are idiots in all trades and we have some in ours but your overall condemnation of taxi drivers cannot go unchalleged.
If we do have a PR problem as you seem to think why are we so busy ?
My head is not buried in any sand but I do wonder where yours is.
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MrsP, In response to you initial remarks re the drivers comments on spotlights, driving through red traffic lights, ignoring road closed signs, breaking the speed limit, I am in total agreement with you that this is unacceptable. As with any motorist, if this type of driving is witnessed, report it to the Police.In addition, the Environment Department issue and monitor all taxi licences,therefore it is in everybodys interest that incidents as mentioned above are reported. If you have any other questions with respect to the Taxi trade in general, please contact me at taxifederation@cwgsy.net
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Mrs. P.
You are not silly as you say. Just down right stupid. You do not have a clue about the industry. What is your ulterior motive on this subject
From reading your previous postings on this subject you are totally ignorant to how the system actually works.
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Here you go Mrs P, take all the necessary tests and come and drive my taxi.
It is now a case of put or shut up.
Bet you have’nt the guts to do it?
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On my insurance documentation it clearly states” Exclusions, Not covered for hire or reward” so I’m not covered to use my vehicles for hire or reward, ie like a taxi, I wouldnt like to be in the position of being sued by a passenger if I had an accident and the passenger was hurt and the insurance company wouldnt pay up. They would only cover you if it was your business, and the premium would reflect that
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“deregulation would be to everyone’s benefit”
Are you serious?
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