Not only is this a perfect opportunity for London cabbies to swing by for a nice bacon butty and a cup of tea but also hear about Embassy Gardens. Drivers can either hop out and learn more about this new development or literally swing by to pick up their breakfast.

Al Murray cracking a joke outside the Union Jack club, where one of 80 Taxis waited to take war vetrans to the Netherlands.

The above picture is at Waterloo Bus Garage,round the corner to the Union Jack club where they kindly let cabbies park up, while the press took photes.

Boris Johnson was there, on his final day of election campaign  posing with some War Vetrans, before waving them off to the Netherlands

Standing proud James Baker from Blackpool, was one of many ww2 vetrans having photes taken, before being taken to holland.

160 Second World War veterans set off in a convoy of black cabs from the UK to the Netherlands where they will be guests of honour during the country’s national liberation day celebrations on 5 May.

The convoy has been organised by the London Taxi Benevolent Association for the War Disabled who assembled a line-up of taxis in Waterloo Bus Garage on Cornwall Road on Wednesday afternoon as part of the send-off from the nearby Union Jack Club.

The participating veterans are aged between 85 and 94 and this may be their final chance to meet up with surviving Dutch comrades and celebrate the historic union between British and Dutch armed forces which led to the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945.

“This once-in-a-lifetime journey is a unique opportunity for us to help celebrate and pay respect to the unique bond forged between Holland and Britain during World War II,” says Richard Hudd, chairman of the London Taxi Benevolent Association for the War Disabled.

“Everyone at the charity was so eager to get involved and give something back, from the cabbies giving up their time and fares to the volunteers who work tirelessly around the clock to collect donations.

“We are confident this trip will be an amazing experience for the vets and demonstrate the amount of support and admiration the public still hold for our old war heroes.”

The Mayor of London, in one of his final pre-election engagements, was joined at the event by comedian Al Murray.

Boris Johnson added: “A procession of London taxis driving through the Netherlands on this epic journey of remembrance will truly be an amazing sight!”

Source London se1

NVAFriends.NL

David Dansky, Head of Training & Development at Cycle Training UK

David Dansky, Head of Training & Development at Cycle Training UK.

David is offering free training to London’s cabbies.

Cycling is a great way to keep fit and I know a few cabbies who do just that.

The first 20 Cab drivers who take up david’s offer will get cycle training absolutly free. Contact their office on 0207 231 6005 or via their website at www.cycletraining.co.uk

Don’t critize cyclists, try and understand them more and why not take up David’s offer and understand why cyclists act the way they sometimes do.

I for one would not cycle on the streets of London, I find it to dangerous.

If the next Mayor properly segregates all the cycle lanes then I might consider using one of the Barclay’s hire bikes, until that moment, i’m staying well clear.

Come on all you keep fit cabbies, why not give it a go and take up David’s offer, you with 9 other cycleists will have a 3 and a half hour lesson awareness course.

You can also contact your local council and request a lession from from them, also at a reduced price.

For info on the goverments cycle highway code, click on the link. Directgov

Contact:  0207 231 6005 or www.cycletraining.co.uk

Over the past few months, I have been using five different taxi apps, some offering more work then others, I’m not here to advise you which ones are better then others but to suggest,like me to give them all a try, admittedly most are corporate, with big money being spent on them,
Apart from one, nevertheless I’m supporting them all, I realise the corporates will want their pound of flesh and they will have to charge us, the driver to recoup it, many drivers see it as a bargain, you only pay for what you get, which I also see as a fair deal but with my eyes wide open.

Maybe sometime in the future they will sell up,possibly to a private hire company, ie: Addison Lee, think about it, do you really want to be run by a private hire firm, or are you like many who don’t care, as long as they give you the work.

TFL

I keep hearing via twitter and cabbies eateries, that the games dead and we are all doomed,
the cards are stacked up against us thats for sure, TFL Transport for London, has made sure of that, there is an agenda to bring Taxis in- line with mini-cabs,down to a level playing field, also meaning the lowering of our standards.

Changing of Hackney Carrage Law

If the Law Commission changes Hackney carrage law and takes away our Hackney carrage licences to ply for hire, then we are in big trouble,it Would be crazy and I can’t see that would ever happen, or maybe they would allow private hire vehicles the right to ply for hire, in which case they would need a hackney carrage licence,they would have to come up to our high level of standards, meaning they would need to do the Knowledge of London, have the same unique turning circle on their cars, be wheel chair accessible,the conditions for being a Licenced Hackney carrage driver in London.

The Law Commission quote: The project examines the legal framework relating to taxis and PHVs with a view to making it simpler and more modern.

The Commission aim to publish proposals for reform in April 2012.

The Engagement Policy

For many years now even our own people who many drivers thought they could trust have turned their backs on us, the LTDA, Licensed taxi drivers assocation, the LCDC,London cab drivers club and the Unite union have signed an engagement policy with TFL, T/PH, so basically TFL call the shots, with The LTDA giving them advise.

The game’s not dead.

I don’t believe the game’s dead but changing, a lot of our work is given to the mini cabs via satellite offices that TFL, T/PH have allowed and a blind eye is given to mini-cabs picking up on the streets, when flagged down.hopefully those issues will be dealt with by the RMT Taxi Union.
The Licensed Taxi Trade is fighting back, with the use of taxi apps and simply working the streets 24/7, the public will determine our destiny, let us give the public the taxi service they deserve and let them know about our new taxi apps.

There is a massive down turn in the economy, as it picks up, so will our work.

Be Lucky Guys,TC and don’t let the buggers get you down.

By Steve Emment.24/04/12

We provide equipment for each trainee to use when we’re running private courses. “Provide a room and the students and we’ll do the rest” is what we say. And it works well. Usually, customers are able to offer me a parking space of there’s good parking nearby but in Central London it can be a bit of a nightmare. I can recall courses in the past where I had to unload across the bus stop at Moorgate station, and overlooking Trafalgar Square, and there’s then the problem of how I get the equipment inside AND park up the car at the nearest (half a mile away ) car park. Hence my using the taxi this time – and it works well; hailed the cab at the hotel, quick, easy, and (the icing on the cake) cheaper than simply parking near here. An easy solution for the future. “Bring ‘em on”. Yes, please do ask me for a Perl course in the City, PHP on the Edgware Road, Python in Kensington on Linux in Soho. “Can do”, and do well.

Source Wellhouse Consulants

Livingstone said in the mayoral debate this week: “It is ridiculous that corporate hangers-on at the Olympics will be ferried along special lanes in a fleet of imported BMWs when London has the finest taxi service in the world.

“Athletes and their team need special treatment to ensure they get to their events on time. Corporate sponsors do not.”

This even though  the concept of the Games Lanes was part of the London bid back which Livingstone signed off in 2005.

Source The Telegraph

It is no accident so many corporates are identifying the London taxi trade as being ripe for disruption but is this interest good for the working driver in the long term? As we all know London is quite unique from many other world cities in that it’s licensed taxi service is made up of 24,000 sole traders which up until now has made it impervious to major corporate attention because there is no income stream to be had nor is there any possibility of corporates owning licenses or dictating the terms under which taxi drivers in London can go to work however all of that may now be about to change.

Phone/App HIRINGS.

Our radio circuits came into being to offer the public a way of hailing a taxi by telephone to augment a drivers income but now appear to be in a self made, blue chip account, rut, in which quality cash work offered to the public with the prospect of no above meter charges and linked to drivers paying by way of “per job” micro payments is of seemingly no interest to them?

The Corporate Disruptors

Some very savvy people have noted this opportunity and set about using new tech to exploit what might prove to be a very profitable venture for them. Drivers hungry to access natural taxi riders that no longer use us because existing circuit run-ins, booking fees and 12.5% card fees not charged by their second choice private hire provider, which linked to a customer reluctance to venture onto increasingly lawless streets in search of a taxi has lost us a whole swathe of taxi customers who want a taxi but cannot get one at a reasonable price, leaving drivers disgruntled with existing circuits and their narrow blue chip account mindset but nevertheless drivers are eager to service the cash and credit card market and are signing up to new tech in the form of smart phone taxi booking applications.

The best funded of these appear to be GetTaxi, Hailo and soon to be launched MyTaxi (all risking several million pounds each of either their own money or venture capital loans) and are launching under the banner “WIN THE WORK BACK!”

Beware of Greeks Baring Gifts.

It cannot be denied customers are coming back to taxi usage with the help of these corporate booking apps and that is to be applauded but what long term implications are there and is anyone asking or considering what these same corporates might want to impose should they win a significant market share, one clearly has an exit strategy which once activated leaves who as owner once floated or sold to persons as yet unknown? Under the rules of business their new owners (private or public) would demand profits are maximised and if the only revenue stream is drivers that’s you!

These new entities are offering incentives to drivers to sign up new or not so new taxi customers in an attempt to lock customer and driver into using any chosen app. They know they can’t own your taxi or your license but if they own your customers they hold the aces and the more customers they own the more aces they hold. Inevitably this ensures maximum leverage on per job pricing as their customer base grows, they secure a larger and larger customer base maybe even consigning the street hail outside of W1 & EC2 to history and as they build driver dependance upon the work they offer their power over your working practices grows commensurately.

Roadkill

What becomes of the inevitable road kill arising from taxi app wars. Will the losing combatant wipe its mouth, swallow its loses and walk away?

More likely the venture capital backing will look to recoup as much of its investment as possible and move on, if that means selling their tech and customer base to the highest bidder you can be assured no sleep will be lost if that highest bidder is from the Private Hire side of the street.

So whilst they all seem to be reluctant to charge for a job right now please give a thought as to what they might be charging you for that same job in 5, 10 or even 15 years once the market is disrupted to the point it’s work from their app, at their price, or no work at all?

Declaration of interest.

I believe there is a better way and something that is truly for drivers by drivers and put into trust so no person can ever sell it off for personal gain. I won’t name it for fear of accusations of sour grapes. Dig around, it’s not hard to find the only app that has no paid employees or staff and wants to use new tech to benefit drivers rather than merely disrupt your trade and profit from you. If there are other groups of drivers who want or have their own not for profit micro circuit please get in touch we would love to form an alliance.

Thank you for reading.

Lee P

On my way home last night, as I passed the junction of Baker Street, I noticed sparks and flames coming from the Traffic lights, so I did a quick turn round, via Allsop Place and called the fire brigade, then  parked up in Baker Street.

When the fire Brigade arrived they stopped all the traffic, then traffic lights at that junction were switched off, causing minor tailbacks.

They then managed to put someone in place to direct traffic.

This is what it looked like after two minutes

The fire brigade were there in around two minutes.

This is what it looked like after five minutes

10 minutes later, Job done, traffic light’s, well and truly destroyed

A new taxi rank will open next to the Hammersmith & City line Underground station
Departures Road and the current taxi rank (on the west side of the station) will be closed permanently
Eastbourne Terrace will close to all vehicles (including taxis) for about two years
The entrances on Eastbourne Terrace to and from the mainline station will close until the Crossrail works are complete

Taxi rank changes

A new covered taxi rank will open next to the Hammersmith & City line Underground station. The rank will provide direct access for passengers to and from the mainline station and will be fully accessible.

Access for taxis to and from the rank will be from Bishop’s Bridge Road using a new junction adjacent to Sheldon Square.
A small feeder rank will remain on Bishop’s Bridge Road, with a call forward system being introduced to help entry to the new rank.
There will be a new drop off point within the taxi facility.
City of Westminster is proposing a larger feeder rank within the Harrow Road

The new taxi rank arrangements at Paddington Station have been agreed as a result of TfL, City of Westminster, Network Rail and the London Taxi Ranks Committee working together.

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I went down to take a look myself, I must admit it looked a lot better then our old one, as you drive down the ramp from Bishops bridge there’s two lines of Taxis.

On the ramp, going down.

When down the ramp, all you got to do is sort yourselves out as before, pree booked Taxis and minicabs on the right as you go down, keep to the right when dropping off.

The feeder for Paddington Station is on the Harrow Road, excatly the same as before but you now enter the Station from Bishops Bridge.

The feeder rank stretched all the way back to the Marylebone Flyover.

Eastbourne Terace is now completly blocked at the South end, when aproaching from Spring Street, there’s a diversion  sign showing you to turn left, i’m not sure at this point if you are allowed to turn right, with a wild guess. I would say you could.

You can see in the picture on the left, the council still haven’t covered up the old left and right turn signs.

Aproaching Eastbourne Terrace from the North end, you still can but only to turn right into Cleaveland Terrace.