Cab drivers Diary

Rantings of a 'Sane?' Mini-Cab Driver

Welcome to my homepage.
Working as a minicab driver in West London I am using this website to rant and rave about the high cost of operating in 'London'. London is priced exclusively independant of the UK for our insurance premiums, and with the cost of fuel, and the upcoming licencing times are changing quite quickly.
For those of us in the trade at respectable licenced operators, these regulations hold no fear, but for many there are questions to be answered. read on below for my opinions on the proposed regulations, their effect and the costs of running a vehicle in London in this trade. You will also find links to the DETR, the L.P.H.C.A, and the papers on the new laws.Read the LPHCA response to the TFL proposed regulations for drivers.

Licencing Links:
LPHCA response to the TFL proposed regulations for drivers.
London Minicab Regulation. Anexe1
London Minicab Regulation. Anexe2
London Minicab Regulation: Background
Operator Licencing Impact Assement

This is my baby. I've only had her 6 months, so theres some work to do.
Lower ride height x
Bigger wheels and tyres, and definatley a leather interior

Volkwagen Links:
Volkswagen UK
Euro Car Parts
Autotech tuning specialists

Vehicle of choice:
Volkwagen Passat, 1.8T 20V 1997.

Fuel Log
Date	Miles	Litres	Price

Maintenance Log
Miles	Part	Price

Citroen Xm VSX. 2.5 TD
Midnight Blue metallic, Black leather, electric everything.
Check the Specs

I've been a fan of Citroen since I first owned a BX in the early 90's. This was my last one, it cost a fortune to maintain, due to poor servicing, but nothing on earth is a comfortable as a Citroen. The 1st fuel table covering 5,000 miles shows the economy offered by diesel.

Fuel Log
Miles	Litres	Price

Dear Diary!

14/September/2001

I'm back, after an enforced absence due to car maintenance. A whopping 870 on suspension and alignment, with some small parts replaced. The least cost efficient of which was shock mounting plate (15.70) at 165 labour. The 4 wheel alignment however, was cheaper here than at a tyre dealer or other specialist. Go figure

Diesel Dudes back in action 9/9/01. Lydd, Kent was the venue. We qualifyed 4th. Click here to download the race report lap-time sheer, and photos (1Mb).

3/September/2001

quite week, with one problem after another. Suspensions bushes needing to be replaced showed just how frustrating cars can be... See the maintenance day section.

27/August/2001

Minicab drivers are all lazy wankers. Thats what I've decided today. A very busy 2 days at work, and they all took the day off. The night shift was even worse. So bad that we had to give 1-2 hours wait to people who were phoning up to book cars. Wont be very busy for about a month after this weekend

NEW NEWS
Read the London Private Hire Car Association's response to the Transport for London's proposed Driver Regulation.

26/August/2001

Stressful Sundays are back. What a day.....
21 hours long, a very tiring 11 hour shift controlling the circuit, and then 9 hours on the road, helping to provide cover because all the lazy bastard drivers had taken the day off. Some high spots though were the Fancy Dress Animals (pictured) off to live it up in Leicester Square, London.

London Minicab Trade Licencing.
Now that the laws have been passed and the operators are being licenced, the focus have moved to drivers, and vehicles. These regulations are currently being written, and the LONDON PRIVATE HRIE CAR ASSOCIATION is putting forward the arguments for reasonable, and simple regulation, in order for it to be effective and policeable. However there are still some outrageous proposals being put forward, that will do consiberable harm to the 'industry' as a whole.
It seems that in some cases the overiding reasons for passenger safety and recourse could be lost in a legislative nightmare that will make it a very difficult trade to enter into.
There seems to be little concern about the outrageously high costs already being applied to the 'London' area through HUGE insurance premiums and continually rising fuel costs (through tax) already making the overheads hugely expensive, further increases with licencing and vehicle testing, driver medicals, and knwoledge testing could be enough to price alot of smaller firms out of the market, and force people onto other modes of transport when there is no capable alternatives in place. With public transport in a very sad way, and a massive amount of touts working the West End, over regulation of the Private Hire Trade will not remove these dangers to the public.
More over, there needs to be some some of marketing undertaken to educate the public about the dangers of using unlicenced, uninsured touts for their transport needs. For many of us in the trade it is the attitude of the people who choose to use these touts, being too impatient or ignorant to pre-book a vehicle from a reputable source, or wait for it to arrive, if phoned as needed, that have contrubited to the large increase in this illeagal trade. Believe it or not the people who use these services, know exactly what they are doing, and the risks involved, and this includes young ladies in London more than anyone else. It is worth note that many people now consider a wait of 5-10 minutes for a cab to arrive is FAR TOO long, and they phone elsewhere, wasting 5-10 minuts trying to find a quicker response. This is one of the biggest problems in dealing with the generations coming into adulthood today. They believe everything is instantly availble, if not they throw tantrums, and are extremely rude.