Author: wnevets

Rail Rank Pass Prices too high?!

I can understand a fee of £150 per vehicle, but an extra £100 per each additional driver? That is way over the top for me – if the average job is 2 miles at £6.95 – 1 vehicle 2 drivers at £250 – that’s 36 jobs you need to do just to break even – so probably take you a month or two!

One of the issues raised around the unmet demand survey was an absence of Taxis from the Rail Ranks in both Newquay and St Austell, and it’s probably down to this cost. On top of that you may have to tolerate signs that could encourage your customers – that you have paid dearly for – to walk around the corner to a competitor!

Rob Ryder says “If anyone out there pays for a permit for Newquay Rail Rank and is not happy about the new A2B sign that has been fixed to the wall at the rank then please email, phone or write to Cabfind permits section. It is permit renewal time and I have asked for a 90% reduction on last years rate on the basis that the sign encourages potential passengers to walk around the corner to the A2B office and get lower prices than using rank vehicles thus we estimate that there will be a 90% reduction in business.” – So will it be People Power or Apathy? (Apathy is usually the more expensive one of the two!)

‘ZERO tolerance’ campaign against verbal and physical abuse towards taxi drivers in Cornwall

Have you been the victim of verbal or even physical abuse from passengers? I know I have! Fortunately the physical ones I can count on one hand, but the verbal ones I have lost count of (I’m local therefore I have license to scream and cuss at you), hence one of the reasons why I have CCTV. Did you get paid?

You know the phrase ‘go home and kick the dog’, well it can often be a case of ‘go out have a few drinks and kick the cabbie’ – and I am not just talking about the public either. CCTV in the vehicle seems to be a fundamental requirement now, both forward facing for accident or vandalism evidence, and inward facing for driver protection, as it is all to easy for a passenger to launch a completely spiteful complaint to the council about you because you refused to accept the way they were treating you, and without CCTV evidence to prove otherwise, you are stuffed!

With the current national standards debate under way on public protection, where the focus seems to be on how we are all potential criminals with very nasty hidden personalities and capabilities – whilst I personally agree with the basis of the national standard and why this is happening, I cannot help but notice that no one (as usual) has spared a thought for how we as drivers deal with and protect ourselves from abusive members of the public – what about driver protection? This topic always seems to be a conversation stopper, with the Council and Police generally changing the subject and walking away from the matter.

Sign our Zero Tolerance Petition now!

So perhaps now is a good time to put some real focus on this matter, and pursue the cooperation of the Council to help us develop a methodical procedure for dealing with this to include general do’s and don’ts, and ways of reporting these incidents to the Council and Police so that action can be taken against such people. With zero tolerance abuse policies becoming common place (especially in the council itself), why should we be any different, what do you think?

More details & resources here

Sign our Zero Tolerance Petition now!