December 2011Mountv

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36PAGEEDITION

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IN THE LAST EDITION OF THE MOUNTVIEW NEWSwe inserted an application form to join the Credit Union, andwhat a success it was.

A warm welcome to all the new members who sent in their form and became members, they must

know something that many of you do not. For those of you that still have the form, why not

complete it and return it to me as soon as possible, you have nothing to lose.

I know it’s a bit late for new members to save or take a loan, but were you caught out by not having

enough money last year for Christmas or a holiday, or even enough to pay your income tax? This

would not happen if you were a member, you would have peace of mind.

A typical loan from Radio Taxicabs (London) Credit Union Ltd is as follows:

£1,000 over 12 months will cost you £88.85 a month, total loan repayment is £1,066.20, interest

payable is only £66.20, beat that if you can. In addition to this all loans and savings are insured and

fully protected in the event of an untimely death, this normally costs a

great deal more with other lenders.

There is a qualifying period of 3 months from the time of joining

before a loan can be granted, you will then be eligible, should you

wish, to apply for a loan, this can be up to 3 times the amount

you have saved on a regular basis.

You do not have to take a loan if you don’t want,

just save an amount each month until you are ready

to take out a Share Withdrawal to pay for whatever

you want.

Call me, Alan Woolf on 020 7561 5148 Tuesday or

Wednesday before 13.00 hours or leave your

name and telephone number and I will

return your call.

email alan.woolf@radiotaxis.co.uk

Join the Credit Union

CreditUnionRadio Taxicabs ( London) Credit Union Ltd No. 90C

Mountview House, Lennox Road, London N4 3TX

Tel: 020 7561 5148 Fax: 020 7561 5166

Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority FRN. 213232

4 This Month’s Latest NewsRoger Sligo our roving reporter tells all

6 Thoughts as Christmas Closes InGeoffrey Riesel presents his views

8 The Zeus is ComingSteve Cooper reveals some good news

9 It’s That Time AgainAlan Franks gets you ready for a busy Christmas time

10 Curiosity CornerRoger Sligo reveals three mysteries of hidden London

12 2012Peter Gibson looks forward to the year ahead of us

13 New Chip & Pin DevicesGordon Brown reveals there’s £350 organised for you

14 Your Driving Style Can Cost You MoneyHot tips on how to save fuel

15 Events CalendarAll you need to know ‘What’s On’ guide to 2012

16 The 684th Lord Mayor’s ShowRoger Sligo was there with thousands of others too

18 So You Think You Know London…London Knowledge Course – Lee Cooper interviewed

19 Non PC AdvertsWow! – how things have change over the years!

20 A Look Back Through the Year 2011A summary of the past year, January to November

22 The Marine Police Museum Roger Sligo gets all nostalgically nautical

24 The Eco Friendly MarshalsRoger Sligo finds out more on a day out with them

26 Where Am I?Roger Sligo wants you to tell him – again!

27 Between Gratuity and a Hard PlaceRoy Hughes views on this sometimes complex subject

28 The Queen’s Diamond JubileeRobert MacDonald Watson goes back 60 years

29 Funny One-Liners something to make you smile!

30 Major Review of Taxi & Private HireLegislation Underway

32 TfL’s Lost Property’s Christmas DonationThe page to have your rage!

33 Walking for KidsPenny Cuckston takes time out for ‘Action for Kids’

34 Letters to The EditorThe page to have your rage – or anything else actually

35 The Mountview Puzzler PageDon’t snooze – use this page to amuse!

MountviewNewsCONTENTS

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Who’s been messing

about on the river?

See page 22…

MOUNTVIEW NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM IS:Roger Sligo – Editor & photos / Penny Cuckston – AdministrationDoug Canning, DC-Graphics – Design, layout, artwork, printing & distributionGeoffrey Riesel & Peter Gibson – Board productionDesign: © 2011 / DC-Graphics / Barnet / Herts / EN5 5TP

T: 0208 440 1155 / W: www.dc-graphics.co.ukContent: © 2011 / Radio Taxis Group Ltd / Lennox Road / London / N4 3TXThe information and images contained in this Newsletter are subject to copyright.Unauthorised use, disclosure or copying without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

The Olympics FareHike & Other Stories

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This month’s

NEWSTHE LTDA HAS REPORTEDLY TOLD THE NATIONALMEDIA THAT TAXI DRIVERS WANT A 20 PERCENTFARE INCREASE DURING THE 2012 OLYMPIC ANDPARALYMPICS GAMES TO ENCOURAGE DRIVERSTO WORK DURING THE EVENTS.The Evening Standard’s Olympics Editor Mathew Beard hitback by printing “Black cab fares are set to rise by about 20 percent during the Olympics and Paralympics. Passengers withinthe M25 face paying extra if Boris Johnson agrees to thecabbies’ “ransom” for not boycotting the Games.”

The public are being told that greedy cab drivers want more,which could not be further from the truth!

Apparently the LTDA did not consult any of its members nordid it take any votes on this issue before going public with theirannouncement, which led to a taxi demo outside their HQ inWoodfield Road. The United Cabbies Group (UCG) organised the“Not in Our Name” demo made up from all trade groups includingLTDA members who were also upset with the announcement.

The reason some drivers are against working during theOlympics is because taxis are not being allowed to use the VIPlanes, and therefore drivers are unhappy that it could take anenormous amount of time to complete jobs, with passengershaving to pay out too much money for journeys around town.Adding more money to the meter would make matters even worse,and therefore risk losing us more customers throughout the rest ofthe year.

The UCG took email and text votes from its members andhere are their published votes.

There was an 84% return of the membership who voted.

• Those in favour of increase = 2%

• Those against = 92%

• Abstentions = 6%

THE ROARING 20’s RETURNS TO ISLINGTONIslington is to become the first place in Britain to introduce a20mph speed limit on both major and minor roads. These roadsinclude main routes out of the city such as Old Street, GoswellRoad, and Caledonian Road.

Councillor Paul Convery, Islington Council’s executivemember for planning said; “We’re on the side of our residents andare committed to making Islington a safer place.”

The roads managed by TFL such as Upper Street, SevenSisters Road and Holloway Road will not apply to the new limit.Councillor Convery went on to say “Hit someone at 20mph andthey have a 90 per cent chance of survival. At 30 it’s 50 per cent.”

So why not go back to the beginning of motoring and have aman with a red flag walking in front of cars; this wouldundoubtedly reduce deaths on the road by 100 per cent.The police however have more important things to do and willnot be enforcing the new law. The best Islington can offer is moremountainous bumps and flashing 20mph signs not to mentionkeeping you waiting longer at traffic lights.

DUTY OF CAREAt the time of writing and so far this year alone, 14 people have beenkilled cycling in London. The majority of them crushed under HGVsat left-hand junctions, with many more being left badly injured.

As we all know some of these deaths and injuries could be avoidedif cyclists were to obey the laws and follow the Highway Code!

I think it is high time that the forces of law and order were heldto account for the lack of any real enforcement regarding cycling.Getting away with jumping red lights, passing on the inside at roadjunctions, cycling on the pavements, going along one-way streets inthe wrong direction, in short doing whatever they please without fear

of prosecution. The lack of enforcement sends out the wrongmessage – just do whatever you please if you’re a cyclist.

It is entirely due to this “getting away with it” mentality whichcould be to blame for some road accidents, and the powers that be areas guilty as anyone for not providing a duty of care not only tocyclists, but also pedestrians using pedestrian crossings, and having torun the gauntlet of verbal abuse with cyclists heading full-pelt towardsthem! The authority responsible for neglecting law enforcement as faras cycling is concerned should hold their heads in shame!

How many times do we all witness cyclists doing as they pleaseright in front of police officers, without any notice taken? I think theonly way to make sure our roads are safer for all and to bring cyclistsinto line with other road users would be a snatch squad of officers,who could confiscate bikes which are ridden in an illegal manner,and then only return them once a hefty fine has been paid.We now have to endure many left hand turns banned on ourroads which were once legal, simply through cyclists undertakingat road junctions.

It is a sad loss for the family and friends of the dead and injured,and fair to say that not all of them were in any way to blame for theiraccidents. To have lost loved ones in any circumstances is badenough, but for some of them using a little more common sense, andobeying the law they might have averted such tragedies occurring.With more cyclists charging frenziedly along the roads and with noone accountable for their own behaviour, the death count can onlygrow higher!

BORIS BIKETRANSPORTERS ABOVETHE LAWAsk many cab drivers what is the moststressful part of driving a taxi in Londontoday, and they will tell you that lookingover your shoulder for CCTV parkingcameras is one of their top concerns.A passenger taking a taxi and onreaching their destination tells you towait while they get your fare out fromthe hole-in-the-wall. They never toldyou that at the start of the journey, so

you are left with a dilemma, do you wait or drive off without anypayment? You glance up and down for any obvious CCTVcameras – but should you have to take such stress whilst doingyour job? The dustman working for the council doesn’t worry.Neither bus drivers nor post office vans, they never have to lookout for any fines dropping through their letter box a few dayslater. Like we do!

Taxis and private hire are allowed however to pick up and setdown on yellow lines and red routes, in fact we are the only vehiclesallowed to stop but not wait on red routes according to the rules.

If you’re working on the other hand for the contractors whodrive around loading and unloading Boris Bikes, no worriesyou’re just doing your job! Take as long as necessary, the doublered lines and no-stopping orders don’t apply to you.

RING OUT THE OLD RING IN THE NEWFrom January the 3rd, 2012 all taxis presented for annual re-licensing will have to meet the new conditions of fitness and beless than 15 years old. Week by week we will see the Fairwayslowly disappear, and by the end of the year only a handful willbe left in service.

The London Vintage Taxi Association (LVTA) is planningsome goodbye parades for the FX4/Fairway during 2012.After 40 years of producing the same body and 54 years ofpounding the streets of London, next year it will be given thesend off it deserves, just like its old friend the Routemasterreceived a few years ago!

WESTMINSTER CONFIRMS NO U TURNSThe controversial new parking charges 7 days a week inWestminster is to go ahead even though the move has beencondemned by both Mayor Boris Johnson and Prime MinisterDavid Cameron.

Extended hours of control will be in force from Monday 9thJanuary 2012. The Council claim; “We will do everything that wecan to advise motorists of these changes, including signage on thestreet. For the first two weeks we will enforce the new controls withwarning notices, rather than penalty charge notices, and we willbegin issuing PCNs from Monday 23rd January.”

Originally, Westminster Council planned to implement thispolicy in December, 2011, but because of being accused ofcashing in on the Christmas Shopping period by most of theWest End retailers, who are already suffering difficult times witha drop in sales; it was decided to begin in January.

I personally think that Sunday charges are fair game, as thereis little doubt shopping traffic blocks many of the side streets,especially when there is a rush to drive away at closing time.But there is little need to impose night time charges in the area asthis has never posed much of a problem. The parking charges are

bound to affect night life in the West End for restaurants,theatres and night clubs. It will remain to be seen whether thishas any impact either way for taxis!

THE LOW EMISSION ZONE INCLUDES MOREThe Low Emission Zone (LEZ) was first introduced in 2008 toencourage the most polluting heavy diesel vehicles driving in theCapital to become cleaner. The LEZ covers most of GreaterLondon. To drive within it without paying a daily charge thesevehicles must meet certain emissions standards that limit theamount of particulate matter (a type of pollution) coming fromtheir exhausts.

Despite significant improvements in recent years, London’sair pollution is still a concern.

So much so, that from 3rd January 2012 the LEZ emissionsstandards will become more stringent. More vehicles will beaffected, and those that are already affected will need to meettighter emissions standards.

This is bound to make roads a lot clearer within the LEZ zoneas traffic which does not meet the low emissions will need tokeep away or pay £200 a day in fines.

Lorries, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles will need to beEuro IV. Large vans, minibuses and specialist vehicles first registeredfrom 1st Jan 2002 onwards will have to meet Euro III standards.

I was talking to the driver of an AA relay transporter whoinformed me that many of the AA transporters, including his, arenot LEZ compliant, and that recovery vehicles from January 2012would take much longer whilst a suitable transporter could bediverted into the LEZ area.

During what is claimed to be a double dip recessionbeginning early next year, many companies who cannot afford toreplace, or upgrade their vehicles, will have no other choice butto stop servicing Central London.

ENJOY YOUR CHRISTMASIt has been a number of years since I was last asked to takepassengers via Regent Street in order for them to see theChristmas lights. Perhaps it is since the theme changed toadvertising the latest children’s movie, but for whatever reason itno longer happens. It could also be that each year the same lightsare displayed (see picture inset below) – Oxford Street with boxesand umbrellas, and Regent Street with its fishing nets, alwaysthere are a couple of them which don’t light up! I wonder whereall these decorations are stored throughout the rest of the year!There must be an enormous warehouse costing a small fortune instorage. You would think it would be cheaper to design and makenew ones each year and bring back the wow factor.

Once Christmas has arrived it is time to settle down with thefamily, have a few drinks and take it easy.

Wishing all drivers and staff at RTG a Merry Christmas and aProsperous New Year. � � � Roger Sligo

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Picture taken in Oxford Street Xmas 2009

Even in a recession, people still spend on credit cards. It is anarea in which our Private Hire competitors cannot legallyparticipate.

LAW COMMISSION REVIEW INTOTAXIS AND PRIVATE HIRE

The Law Commission review into taxis and private hire (see page18) is potentially the largest overhaul of licensing in the UK.

It is very important that everyone in the London Taxiindustry takes a close involvement in this review, because it hasthe potential to make significant changes to the way in which ourindustry operates.

That is why we attended the Commission to ensure that theviews of the radio taxi industry are fed into the review team’swork.

We have already had an initial meeting with the teamconducting the review and we will be attending their stakeholdergroups.

In that first meeting with the Law Commission, weunderlined the importance that any potential reforms mustmaintain the very high standards that the London Taxi industryis deservedly renowned for worldwide and of course it must alsoensure that Private Hire in London meets with certain minimumquality standards and that it is subject to effective enforcement.

I intend to provide further information on this review oncethe formal consultation is published.

AS THE OLD SAYING GOES – “BEWARE OF GREEKSBEARING GIFTS,” in reference to the Wooden Horseused at Troy by the ancient Greeks in order to tricktheir way into the Trojan besieged city.

Well since the Euro crisis started in the summer in Greeceand then when it spread to Italy, the taxi business has taken a“nosedive.”

And it has been so unexpected, because from January thisyear, right through to July, the work graph showed a verypositive growth and recovery of around 10%, particularly in thecorporate markets.

However, since the Greek sovereign debt crisis started inAugust, the work graph has just “dropped off a cliff ” in a wayreminiscent of 2008 after the Lehman’s collapse.

BIG CORPORATES DOWNMost marked in that drop off, has been the big corporates, theirpublicly announced losses and redundancy stories, are the stuffthat daily fills the media; and when the papers aren’t re-countingthat they move on to tales of doom and gloom about the varioussovereign debt crisis.

Now add to that the irresponsible deals being offered bysome of our taxi competitors (ComCab actually) which is indanger of breaking down the whole “radio taxis industry” model,where they are offering reckless deals of Zero admin and Zerogratuity and this they subsidise by primarily offering their CityFleet car services.

We have advised those large corporates that service levelscould well be affected by those kinds of deals, but I have to saythe corporates are currently only attracted to the possibility ofsaving money. Service does not seem to come into it right now.There is likely to be a to-ing and fro-ing of large accounts whilePrivate Hire chuckles on the side lines as the taxi industry fightsamongst itselves.

A POSITIVE NOTEOn the positive side however, the single area of consistent andcontinuing growth has been the consumer/credit card market.

I have to say that the project of rolling out our new terminalsand of our “chip and pin” machines in the New Year could not betimelier. If we only achieve half of the work growth that the NewYork cab industry received after the installation of these rearcompartment devices, then it will provide considerableadditional business (improved market share) for drivers in whatwe expect to be yet another difficult year. Not to mention thesustained improvement in gratuities experienced as a result ofthe “gratuity prompt” on these machines.

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RTG Chairman Geoffrey Rieselreveals his thoughts asChristmas closes in on us

futures as a whole rather than just worrying about issues whichwill prolong our fiscal pain. It’s past high time they reachedsome sort of workable agreement.

I don’t know do we get the politicians we deserve these days(of all political colours) rather than the statesmen of yesteryear?Maybe that is just looking through “rose coloured spectacles.”

NEW LOGO, CHIP & PIN PAYMENTAs part of the great deal we are proud to have done on yourbehalf, in terms of our new in cab credit card systems, we will beputting refreshed company logos on your cab. This will includethe Visa logo as part of the fitting of the new terminals, also thepackage will include the new credit card chip and pin machines;in return for which we have negotiated for you the receipt of aone-off payment of £350 per driver. You will receive thispayment immediately having done your first credit card journey.

THE LORDMAYOR’S SHOW I just wanted to thank all ofthe staff who participated inthe Lord Mayor’s Show againfor us this this year,especially Penny Cuckston,our Finance Manager, whoorganised and liaised.

We had a number of Vintage Cabs in the show, a Beardmore; anFX3; an Austin Low Loader; and a Morris Oxford. We took partalongside the Bus belonging to our friends from the charityAction for Kids.

Celebrity cab owner Stephen Fry (pictured above) not onlywatched, but came over to speak to Radio Taxis driver EddieZeitlin who owns the Beardmore, telling him that he would loveto drive that cab. We have put an open offer to Stephen onTwitter – let’s see if he takes it up.

SYLVIE DARLING (RIP)I am sorry to announce that Sylvie Darling,who was a long serving and valued member ofthe Radio Taxis team, died last month aged 69after a period of ill health.

Sylvie had worked for “Mountview” inmany capacities and was often thought of as“Mum” to many of the boys and girls whom

she recruited and who worked for us over the years; withoutdoubt she was regarded by most of us with real affection.

During her many years as part of the Mountview familyshe met and married former Radio Taxis Chairman DaveDarling. She and her family “retired” to Ireland and thenI understand, they moved to Southend, Essex. Her funeralwas held last month at Southend Crematorium. I attendedthe service and it was a very sorrowful occasion, reducingmost of us to tears. The Radio Taxis family, staff, board anddrivers; present and past, were very well represented andwe all know that her former friends and colleagues will missher very much indeed.

I want take this opportunity of wishing you all andyour families the very best compliments of the season.

HOW GREEN IS THENEW TRANSPORT MINISTER?

As a member of the Board of the London Chamber of Commerceand Industry, I recently attended the LCCI transport dinner as aguest of LCCI President Willie Walsh.

To be fair to the new Transport Minister, it was only the dayafter Dr Liam Fox had resigned as Minister of Defence and PhillipHammond (formerly Secretary of State for Transport) replacedhim. Mr Hammond was due to be the guest of honour at thedinner; instead brand new rookie-in-the-job Ms Justine Greeningmade it her very first engagement as Minister for Transport.

Now on your first day in the job, you wouldn’t expect toomuch but her speech was a bit of a ramble; she must havementioned the phrase proper “transport infrastructure” abouttwenty times. And she talked a lot about how we were all “in ittogether” and how we all had to work together (to create asustainable transport infrastructure.)

Now the RT Hon Ms Greening is Member of Parliament forPutney, Roehampton and Southfields (which is right under theHeathrow flight path) candidly, she struck me as being thedoyenne of the “NIMBY” brigade; (not in my back yard!)particularly when she admitted to Willie Walsh, in her speechwith some enthusiasm, that she had crusaded successfully toconstrain Conservative policy, by blocking any talk of a thirdrunway at Heathrow.

Such unashamed parochialism seemed to me to be ratherextraordinary, particularly at a time of economic difficulties.London needs to be doing everything it can to attract foreigninvestment as a good place to work, to do business and to live.The ruling out of a third runway at Heathrow will compound thefact that London will lose out to other more accessible cities.

Heathrow is already operating at 99% capacity.Sitting next to me at the dinner was BAA CEO Colin Matthews.He revealed to me that, more energy (CO2) or carbon is used byplanes circling (i.e. stacked) than the whole airport uses on theground. Which also struck me as not at all in keeping with theGovernment’s professed “Green” credentials?

As I mentioned, this was only her first day in the job, shedefinitely needs to move things forward substantially if she is togain my confidence for one.

Maybe I’m just getting old and cynical, but it seems to methat politicians are all busy doing that which is locally expedient(i.e. that which will get them personally re-elected) rather thanthat which they are in power to do, which is to improve thingsfor the whole country (for all of the electorate as a whole) andfor future generations. The leaders of Germany, France andgenerally in the Eurozone need to start worrying about our

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Photograph by Damian Walker for the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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AT LAST SOME GOOD NEWS.FORGET THE EURO CRISIS ANDPENDING FUEL INCREASES.Christmas is coming and there’s somepositive news on the Zeus. Since the lastMountview News, the Zeus pilot schemehas proven to be extremely reliable.

We have been able to robustly and extensively testthe Zeus terminal in around a hundred taxis and theresults are very positive. As with any new equipmentit is impossible to predict every issue or challengethat we might encounter along the way, but thanks toa core of (“test pilot”) drivers we have been able toaddress all of the issues that came to light and keepthe drivers inconvenience to a minimum.

This has allowed us the time to now move ourfocus to the re design of the driver screens. We arein the final troughs of agreeing the look and feel ofthe next generation user screens including mapping.

We are all acutely aware of the importance ofpaying particular attention to this feature as “it has tobe right.” This development is and will remain ongoinguntil we achieve the best possible user experience.

We are able to do this because these upgrades canbe downloaded over the air with no need to visit theworkshop. So, although we are not totally past thewinning post yet I am delighted with the recentprogress made and I think you will like what we arerolling out – and as you start to work with the newterminal, lots of new features (bells and whistles) arein the pipeline and they will be uploaded asupgrades over the coming year or so.

Meanwhile we are also testing the chip and pinintegration and have a rollout plan in place toaccommodate a total fleet refit during the first halfof 2012.

The chip and pin facility is very impressive andwill be a major step forward for all drivers in what isundoubtedly heading towards a cashless society. Andwith the Olympic year almost up on us Credit Card acceptance is a must for the modern professionaltaxi driver.

The Zeus is ComingBy Steve CooperRTG’s DriverServices Manager

APPSI had a driver ask me to clarify Radio Taxis positionon RT driver’s subscribing to third party Apps.Our position is clear, we have our own App for ourclients and they expect access to the RT availablefleet. There is a conflict of interest and as such anyRT driver that considers supporting anotherbooking system should be aware that they cannotsubscribe to RT at the same time, after all whowould think it acceptable to subscribe to two radiocircuits and have two terminals in the same taxi?You should also be aware that many of these newApp suppliers are scrambling over each other toconvince many of our existing accounts that theycan supply a service cheaper and better. The reality,apparently, is proving somewhat different – I ampleased to say.

So, again, just to re-cap – the Radio Taxis andindeed all three radio circuit’s position is that – ataxi App is an embryonic circuit. We would notallow a Radio Taxis driver to also have a Dial a Cabor ComCab set of equipment in their cab at thesame time as the Radio Taxis’ kit. Likewise, we willnot allow the operation of any of the taxi Apps in aRadio Taxis fitted cab.

This position is of course common sense.Can I conclude by wishing you all a very MerryChristmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year,from all of us at Driver Services.

‘TONIGHT SOMEONE WILL SLEEP ROUGH FORTHE FIRST TIME. Help us make sure they don’tspend a Second Night Out’No Second Night Out aims to ensure that by the end of 2012 no one will liveon the streets of London and no individual arriving on the streets will sleepout for a second night. Started in April 2011, and set up by the Mayor’sLondon Deliver Board, NSNO provides a rapid response to new roughsleepers and a credible offer that means they do not have to sleep out for asecond night.

As part of the project, an assessment hub is open twenty-four hours a day,seven days a week. Rough sleepers are brought to the hub by outreach teamsand assisted to exit rough sleeping by a team of assessment and reconnectionstaff. For many this will mean returning to their home area, reconnectingwith family and support networks where they are eligible for services.

Weekly there are over 40 people new to rough sleeping seen in London.To increase the chances of assisting these people off of the street quickly, atwenty-four hour Rough Sleeping Referral Line has been established.This number is for anyone to report a rough sleeper across the Capital.The referrals are immediately passed onto outreach teams who respond byendeavouring to find the rough sleeper in their shift. No Second Night Outneeds the public to be the eyes and ears on the street and report roughsleepers who may not be known to existing services.

Taxi drivers travelling to such a wide variety of areas across London canpotentially be an extremely valuable resource for referrals. A call to refer arough sleeper is confidential, will take a few minutes and potentially savesomeone spiralling into a life on London’s streets which is dangerous,degrading and dehumanising.

Rough Sleeping Referral Line: 0870 383 3333 or refer via:www.nosecondnightout.org.uk

Alan Franks, RTG’s GroupOperations Director says…

AS WE APPROACH THE CHRISTMAS PERIODI would like to remind you that it is veryimportant that we give a good service overthis period. We have some major clients thatwill be using our services throughout andare dependent on us covering their bookings.

The busiest periods will be late on Christmas Eve intoChristmas Day and we are very busy on Boxing Day.

We will be inviting drivers to phone in so that we canallocate some bookings in advance to encourage you to work,messages will go out over your terminal at the appropriatetime so please don’t call before this communication as we willhave a dedicated team dealing with the bookings.

We have been going through a difficult period, as theGreek and Euro crisis has affected us, as it has the entirecountry since August and it is imperative that we continue togive the very best service to our clients at all times.

It’s That Time Again“I would like to take

this opportunityto wish you all a very

Merry Christmasand a

Happy New Year.”

Alan Franks

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Roger Sligo on themysteries of hidden London

I HAVE OFTEN BEEN FASCINATED with the many objects, statuesand buildings in London, which, for whatever reason, have foundthemselves moved to different locations.The Black Bull is one of these relics which have had their fair share ofroaming. It was modelled for William Lockwood, the inventor of Portlandcement, by Obadiah Pulham at Woodbridge in Suffolk, during the early 19thcentury.

First transported to London by boat, from the North Sea and along the RiverThames to Holborn, it stood there for nearly a century as the sign outside the‘Black Bull Inn’ a well-known coaching inn, which stood on the corner ofLeather Lane and Holborn; that is until the inn was demolished in 1904 to makeway for Gamages department store. It was at the Black Bull, Sarah Gamp andBetsey Prig nursed Mr Lewson in Dickens’ celebrated novel Martin Chuzzlewit.

The Black Bull statue was saved from destruction by Sir William Bull, MPfor Hammersmith. It was taken for its next journey across London to KingStreet, Hammersmith, where it stood guard above the entrance to the offices ofMessrs Bull & Bull, a firm of solicitors belonging to Sir William, until thatbuilding too was demolished.

It was then taken on its final journey just a few hundred yards along KingStreet to adorn the front of the Ravenscourt Arms pub, where it has stood eversince – without causing too much attention.

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CuriosityCornerCuriosityCorner

The Black Bull

MOVING OBJECTS“I may not have gone where I intended to

go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”Douglas Adams.

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The National Gallery Columns

St Antholin’s SpireTHIS MONTH’SCURIOSITY BEGAN LIFEIN THE CITY OF LONDON,almost opposite the Lord Mayor’sMansion House, near the cornerof Sise Lane and Budge Row. Afterthe Great Fire of London in 1666,Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt thedestroyed church of St

Antholine’s, which was originally dedicated to Saint Anthony.The new church was completed in 1682 and stood proudly with itslofty spire in the centre of the city for almost two hundred years.

During the reign of Queen Victoria in 1875, a new roadway wascut through the city connecting the Bank Junction with BlackfriarsBridge and suitably it was named Queen Victoria Street. With themaking of such a wide road, many old properties in the area weredemolished. Sadly Wren’s St Antholin’s church was an obstruction;therefore it was completely destroyed except for its lofty spire.

The Wren spire was sold for £5 to a rich city merchant who had acountry retreat in the distant leafy suburb of Sydenham. The largespire was dismantled and loaded onto several carts each pulled bytwo horses, then despatched to his home at Round Hill HouseSydenham, where it was re-erected in the rear garden, which haslong since disappeared. However this remarkable Wren spire stillremains where it has stood for over one hundred and forty years.Now the garden has made way to a small housing development.Unfortunately there is no sign placed on the base of the spire to tellthis story, thus most of the local residents remain unaware of theirhistoric curiosity.

First Published online in Curiosity Corner –E-View Magazine, August 2010.

NELSON’S COLUMN IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE,overshadows the portico columns of the National Gallery,although these should not be dismissed as they are older thanTrafalgar Square itself.

They were salvaged when Carlton House, the nearbyresidence of the Prince Regent, later to become King GeorgeIV, was demolished in 1828.

Being the only relics not to disappear, these columns wereresurrected when the Gallery was built during 1832 – 1838.Carlton House, with its lavish grounds, stood where CarltonHouse Terrace stands today.

“Older than Trafalgar Square”

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AS WE APPROACH CHRISTMAS 2011, WHICH HASBEEN A ROLLER COASTER YEAR FOR THE ECONOMYBOTH FOR BUSINESS AND FOR CONFIDENCE.The government cuts are still biting and I believe they will continueto do so throughout 2012 – so unemployment will probably risethrough the next year. In London we have two events in 2012 thatshould help us enjoy a somewhat, more buoyant 2012 than perhapsthe rest of the country can look forward to?

Apart from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics we have the Queen’sDiamond Jubilee that will be celebrated throughout the year. There arefour days in June Saturday 2nd, Sunday 3rd, Monday 4th, and Tuesday5th that are being given over to celebrate the 60 years that the Queen hasbeen on the throne. Much of the celebrations will take place aroundBuckingham Palace and should draw people from the length andbreadth of the country as well as from abroad.

Just in case that doesn’t whet your “Royalist” appetite, we then havethe Olympics. They start on Friday 27th July and will run for some 17days. I have written extensively about potential traffic congestion androad restrictions that will affect us during the games but I thought thatI would concentrate on some of the statistics that should translate intoopportunities for us all throughout the Olympics and Paralympics thatwill, hopefully, make 2012 a memorable and busy year.

From 1st January 2012 a slow, metaphorical, drum roll will begin toannounce the beginning of London 2012 Olympics. Road and buildingworks are all timed to be completed or suspended before the games start.Partial road closures will all have to be signed and throughout the first halfof the year many hooded signs will appear in anticipation of 27th July.Men with paint machines, in order to mark out the “games lanes,” will bepouring their paint onto the self-same streets that you burn rubber on.

All advertising on television will suddenly take on an Olympicflavour as the sponsors start wringing out some value for theirmultimillion pound investments.

There are expectations that the roads will be congested and possiblysnarled up completely. There are expectations that hotel rooms will be ata premium and scarce with an expected 350,000 people per day increase,throughout the Olympics. But there are alternative opinions about whatmight happen during the Olympics.

LIKE Y2K?I have heard a suggestion that the whole two weeks could be like a longversion of the Y2K issue or the “millennium bug”as it was known – do youremember the predictions of the end of the world as we know it? Anotherpredicted comparison is that of the introduction of Congestion Chargingwhen, for ten days or so, next to nobody ventured into the centre ofLondon in case they got themselves “arrested” for driving when forbidden.

There are some interesting stats available from the last threeOlympics and I have included some extracts in this article from a TourOperators Research Report published late in 2010.

The trade body representing tour operators has warned thatexpectations of a boost in tourism from the London Olympics may not

By Peter Gibson, RTG’s GroupStrategic Director

2012be met, after unveiling research that suggested previous games had a“toxic” effect on visitor numbers.

The European Tour Operators Association released research thatshowed previous hosts had invariably overestimated the number offoreign visitors and the duration of their stay.

The Sydney games in 2000 anticipated 132,000 visitors and received97,000 for the games period, while Athens hoped for 105,000 per nightin 2004 and received fewer than 14,000. In 2008, Beijing anticipatedmore than 400,000 foreign guests and received 235,000 for the wholemonth of August.

The average number of hotel beds occupied in Beijing during theOlympics was 39% down on the previous year, the ETOA report showed.It said that while the Beijing Games may have been a “triumph ofplanning and showmanship”, for the tourism industry they were a “toxicevent that crushed normal demand, both business and leisure”.The report said that while tourism chiefs and organisers had recognisedthat the Olympics would create some displacement, with visitorsarriving for the games replacing those put off by the fact it was takingplace, they still tended to talk in terms of a large overall boost.

“For London many in the industry are anticipating a boom, with up to350,000 foreign visitors predicted per day during the Olympics,” it said.“This expectation of bounty creates its own problems. In London, hoteliersexpect to be full with premium business, and some anticipate adisplacement of demand that fills up the surrounding months.”

But the ETOA report claimed that the perception that the host citywould be crowded and prices expensive was likely to tarnish the view ofthe country as a whole.

It said its members were already dealing with the perception that theUK would be crowded and so best avoided in 2012.

“The problem is not restricted to the host city. London is the gateway tothe UK and its biggest draw. If you remove London from a visit to theBritish Isles, everywhere else becomes far more difficult to sell,” it said.“Athens has nothing like the central importance that London occupies, yetwhen its visitor arrivals dropped by 6% in the Olympic year, regionalGreece fell by 11%.”

Olympic organisers and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, facean ongoing battle to convince overseas travelers that visiting London forthe games will remain cost-efficient and have appealed to hotels not totry and cash in by increasing their prices.

So, there you have it. The only thing that we really know is that wedon’t know what affect the Olympics will have on our industry otherthan it will be busier. Will the roads grind to a halt – perhaps not?Will London enhance its reputation as one of the great cities of theworld – I hope so?

We will be seeing a lot of the Queen in 2012 as the country celebrates60 years on the throne and 60 years of massive changes in the world overthose years. We will also see a lot of the Mayor (whoever it may be – thereare elections on Thursday 3rd May) as the Olympics will be the Mayor’sshowcase. So London will be on show throughout next year and we reallyshould do all we can to ensure, in our own little way, that most of thevisitors that arrive for the Jubilee or the Olympics come back again toLondon as it becomes a living postcard for 2012.

Photo by LaMir.

New Chip &Pin Devices

By Gordon Brown,Chief Operating Officer

13

AS MOST OF YOU WILL KNOWChip & Pin devices are coming toRadio Taxis and Xeta and as youread this some of your colleaguesmay already have had the devicesfitted during our December trial.This is an exciting development that weare convinced will increase the amountof work you get, with a package that hasbeen put together which will benefit youfrom day one.

Geoffrey has been boring you for yearsnow with how passenger usable creditcard devices in the back of taxisbenefitted New York and

other bigcity’s cab drivers. The evidence is nowavailable in London where drivers usingthese devices have had more long distancework and tips still averaging around 10%in spite of a service charge.

We have teamed up with VeriFone toprovide the latest chip & pin device and mediascreen. The device has the latest technology, itis compliant and ready to use for contactlesstransactions and mobile phones.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN POINTSYOU NEED TO KNOW:� Fitting will start in January and will be

completed by June.

� For Radio Taxis drivers it will be partof the Zeus fit out and it will be anextra feature for Xeta drivers too

� It will be free.

� Once you’ve completed your firsttransaction we and Visa will provideyou with a £350 prepaid debit card foryou to spend on whatever you want.

� As part of the fitting all cabs will getnew logos which will help promote theservice and win back some of thosejobs going into mini cabs.

� The surcharge will fall to 10% from12.5% – something many of you havebeen asking for.

� Any job done using the device willcurrently count as a bonus job to thenhelp reduce your subscriptions.

� You will be paid to the same timescalesas now but we are looking at ways toincrease the frequency and make it feelmore like cash (watch this space).

� The media screen (which is optionalbut we strongly recommend you takeit) will in time attract advertisingincome and we hope in the long termto be able to share this revenue withyou but to make it happen we need toget the show on the road and lots ofcabs out there with these screens.

WE ARE THE FIRST CIRCUITDOING THIS, WHY?� By going first and getting everything

done by June 2012, we have secured a£350 payment for you.

� Ours (and other circuits) technology isbecoming out of date with the banksslowly prohibiting its use throughincreased charges together with anincrease in fraud

� Before long we are convinced it willbecome mandatory in London to haveChip and Pin EMV machines in theback of every London Taxi whichaccept cards and by being one of thefirst it all comes free to you.

This is an exciting time to be a taxi driverin London and especially if you are onthe Radio Taxis and Xeta circuits.Customers will now undoubtedly go outof their way to hail your taxi rather thanphone a mini cab – they just need to stepout in the street so take advantage andenjoy the experience.

“We have secured a £350

payment for you.”

14

Your Driving StyleCan Cost You Money

This in turn has given a renewed airing to the benefits ofchanging driving habits to see how much fuel and money couldbe saved.

The escalating price of fuel is a huge incentive to use less Diesel each week but many of usdon’t feel willing or able to cut down.

But petrol giant Shell reckons the average driver could save £500 a year through smarterdriving. It recently challenged 18 cabbies from cities across Britain to adopt fuelefficient driving tactics on the road. These drivers reduced their fuel consumption by anaverage of 20%.

There’s lots of information on the web on driving more efficiently, including a verythorough guide from Yahoo!.

But it can be hard to keep these techniques in mind all the time and some bad habits arepretty ingrained. In particular people often keep their foot down even when they can see ared light ahead – meaning they have to brake rather than gradually slow down. When youget caught at a nearby railway crossing do you think to switch off your engine?

First of all make sure your tyres are pumped to the manufacturer’s recommended level, toreduce unnecessary friction.

Then try writing a few tips down and leave them where you can re-read them every timeyou get behind the wheel.

WILL I USE LESS FUEL?Lots of things can affect your mileage per gallon, including the weather. However, even if youmanage to fractionally lower your average fuel consumption compared to the previous weekthis could add up to a significant saving over the year.

A tried and tested methodology to check your fuel consumption improvement is by fillingyour tank and recording the mileage at the start of the experiment. When you next fill up seehow many litres you have used and the miles travelled. Then divide the total mileage by thenumber of litres and multiplied that by 4.546 to work out your miles per gallon.

STILL FOLLOWING ME? For example if you’ve covered 1,000 miles and used 101 litres of fuel, your averagempg = (1000/101) x 4.546 = 45mpg… if only!

WHY ARE SPEED BUMPS NOT STANDARDISED?Throughout London speed bumps are a (some say) necessary evil – I will not go into thedebate about the damage that they inflict on vehicles – but they certainly do slow downtraffic which, after all, is the stated aim.

I have my own question about speed bumps (or traffic calming measures as they aresometime euphemistically called) and that is why does every street in every borough havediffering types of traffic calming measures?

Why can there not be a set of standard bumps or different but recognisable types of bumpsfor different widths of road?

One would have thought that they have been around long enough that we could agree touse two or three types of speed bumps and deploy them so that motorists can adjust theirdriving to cater for the height or distance apart of a “universal” speed bump?

Wasn’t there some research a few years ago that concluded that speed bumps were reallyonly necessary and effective near schools and that all speed bumps were brought intodisrepute – or did I dream this?

There has been much debate about the price of Diesel throughout2011 and the possible “profiteering” of the petrol companies.

15

Chinese New Year (23 January 2012):One of the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations totake place outside of China features a parade followedby a boisterous festival. 2012 is the year of the dragon.

St Patrick’s Day Parade: (18 March 2012):100,000 people participate in London’s St Patrick’s DayParade. Keeping things authentically Irish, the day’soften hydrated by a steady flow of Guinness anddrizzle. Celebrations typically conclude in TrafalgarSquare, where Irish musicians strum to the crowds.

BADA Antiques and Fine Art Fair (21 March 2012):Sloane Square welcomes even more debonair chaps anddiscerning ladies during this annual event, billed as theUK’s premier art and antiques fair.

London Marathon (22 April 2012):The annual London Marathon sees London’s streetsshut to traffic as tens of thousands of runners’ pound a26.2 mile route through the city.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show (22 – 26 May 2012):One of London’s loveliest events, the RoyalHorticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show bloomswith perfumed buds and imaginative floral displayseach May.

Diamond Jubilee (2 – 5 June):There’ll be celebrations throughout the country tomark the occasion, and not just because the nation hasbeen bequeathed an extra bank holiday. Expect streetparties, bunting galore and a rousing display ofnational pride.

Hampton Court Palace Festival (7 – 18 June 2012):An annual mixed-genre music festival in the manicuredlawns and well-tended squares of Hampton CourtPalace, this is altogether more refined than your typicalsummer festival. Previous headliners have includedElton John, Andrea Bocelli and Eric Clapton.

Wimbledon (25 June – 8 July 2012):An event adored by London, it needs no introduction.

Trooping the Colour (16 June 2012):The Queen’s official birthday, this annual display of pompand ceremony might not glisten quite so grandly whencompared to the Diamond Jubilee shortly beforehand, butit’s another reliable display of British majesty.

Greenwich & Docklands International Festival(21 – 30 June 2012):There are over 200 free performances taking placeduring this festival. It’s been going for a few years now,but with this being the Olympics year; expect abumper program from this East End event.

Meltdown Festival (10 – 19 June 2012):One of many, many events held at the SouthbankCentre, the annual Meltdown Festival is a repositoryfor all manner of music, literature and comedy events.There’s a different curator each year and the festivalhas established a knack of enlisting some of the world’sbest musicians to steer its course. Massive Attack andDavid Bowie are among those who’ve taken charge atthis event before.

London International Festival of Theatre LIFT;(11 June – 8 July 2012):There are theatre-themed events held in Londonthroughout the year, every year, but this biennialcelebration provides a point of focus.

London 2012 Festival (21 June – 9 September 2012):After four eventful years and some 7 million freeopportunities to participate, the UK’s CulturalOlympiad concludes with the London 2012 Festival.Events throughout the capital will aim to cement this asthe most culturally engaging Olympics Games ever held.

The Lord Mayor’s Show (10 November 2012):November’s a quiet time for festivals, but the gloom’sbrightened up a bit by the Lord Mayor’s Show.The world’s oldest civic procession and it weavesthrough central London and concludes with a hugefireworks display.

Events Calender

The 684th Lord Mayor of LoTHE WEATHER FORECAST WHICH ISALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE TAKINGpart was overcast and dry, so we could all dispensewith raincoats and brollies and just wrap up warm.

I met Michael Epstein (H54) the same place asI did last year. Michael is our support taxi driverwho is sometimes needed for emergency work

during the show. He told me that lastyear he had to rush to hospital with aBeefeater in the opposite direction to the

main route, as the poor man had suffereda heart attack. Fortunately, because of the

hasty service that Michael provided theBeefeater survived his ordeal (see the letterof praise on this month’s letters page).Michael is gearing himself up to becomeLord Mayor himself one day. “When I gotthe phone call from Tracey at driver’sservices, whilst I was on a job climbingHighgate Hill near the Whittington Hospital– not quite Dick Whittington I admit, butwho knows one day I might have a hospitalnamed after me – How 54.”

This year Radio Taxis supplied fourof the very best vintage taxis available.Most of the London Vintage Taxi

Association (LVTA) were away with theircabs at the Classic Motor Show, NationalExhibition Centre, Birmingham.The Chairman of the association, DougCheshire even lent us one of his own LowLoaders which proved to be very popularwith the crowd. Three of the drivers werefrom Radio Taxis with the fourth being

Alderman David Wootton became the 684th Lord Mayor of London on the12th of November 2011 with thousands of people lining the streets in thecity to watch the Lord Mayor’s Show. Featuring 71 floats, 21 carriages, 150horses and 20 marching bands, and of course 4 vintage taxis provided by...Radio Taxis.

entrusted with the – low loader.Silvi Oliveira (T42), who I first met at last year’sparade was there once again with his pride and joyhis 1952 Morris Oxford ‘Nuffield’. His taxi is verypopular for weddings and he told me; “touch wood ithas never let me down yet on the bride’s special day.”

Eddie Zetlein (K36) was here with his 1966Beardmore, he explained that this was his secondMayor’s show; the first was about nine years before.He told me he bought the cab about 1989 and spentalmost three years restoring it. “It was originally onthe Radio Taxis circuit and still has the old stickerwith the phone number in the partition window” herevealed. We were left wondering which type ofantiquated wireless system was originally installed!Eddie joined Radio Taxis in 1978 and has only hadthree cabs since he started. He now drives a 1999TX1 – T reg which will be forced out of servicewithin the next couple of years. “What will you dowhen it has to go, rent or buy?” I asked him. “No Iwill retire gracefully” he said.

John Slade (W26), was driving StephenDimmock’s FX3, while Stephen was in Birminghamfor the Classic Motor Show. John normally drives anew TX4 and changes his cab every two years. Hewas here with his wife who seemed to also be a taxi

enthusiast like John. He joined RT in the lateeighties, and has recently suffered some ill healthand the loss of his mother. He is about to go intoBart’s soon for some treatment and I know I speakfor everyone when I wish him well.

Mark Bernie, the only non taxi-driver from ourquartet drives a limousine (no not a minicab) andtoday was driving a low loader for Doug Cheshire.

“The Beardmore still has theold sticker with phone number

in the partition window!”

Some of the Action for Kids Supporters

Michael Epstein

16

Kyra; they both had to get up at six in the morning so as to beready to get to the show on time.

We again shared our float in the show with the charity Actionfor Kids and after our own group pictures were taken we joinedforces with them for another photo shoot. Then after a couple ofhours of hanging around it was all systems go – start up theengines – always a tense moment with vintage cabs – and off wewent! The three-mile route of the 800-year-old spectacle took usfrom London Wall, Gresham Street, (giving a wave to the desertedPiccolo as we went by) Princess Street, Bank Junction, Cheapside,New Change, Cannon St Paul’s, Fleet Street and the Strandstraight through to the Law Courts. These are places we all know

so well – only today people were cheering and waving at us.Even Stephen Fry (see photo below) came into the

road to share a joke with one of our drivers saying“I’d rather have your vintage cab than my TX4.”

The children, one as young as five, were havinga wonderful time, and after walking such a longway their little legs must have been getting tired.

I must admit I was running out of steam chasingafter the cabs which normally move at walking pace.

I jumped into the lowloader and enjoyed a pleasant

drive with Mark at the wheel.Following some way behind us

was Alderman David Wootton whohas now become the 684th LordMayor of London and all of us atRadio Taxis Group Ltd wish him thevery best. � � � Roger Sligo.

He told me that he and Doug worked together for CardinalChauffeur Services “They do funeral services and not private hire”he explained. He went on to say “I sometimes do work forLeverton’s Funeral Directors of Eversholt Street, but otherwise Iwork out of London.” The low loader has no side windows (wasthis a forerunner for air con in cabs?) he also produced a stick

painted orange at one end. “What’s that for?” I asked. “It’s the lefthand indicator” he replied. I could see he wasn’t joking either!The other end of the same stick acts as a fuel gauge heinformed me – very impressive. The temperature gaugeis on the bonnet and also acts a pressure cap valve.

I met up with one of my colleagues, PennyCuckston from the Finance Dept and who alsoacts as our Mountview News Administrator. Pennyis the main organiser for Radio Taxis at the show.

Sandra Kennard from Station Road used totake her two small boys to the show, this was beforeshe worked for RT and now every year she takes part inthe parade!

Anita Belnevis one of our ladies from the call centre was herewith her children and grandchildren; it was their very first timeand she said she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Other call centreoperators attended too, Margaret Barry was there with her fiveyear old daughter Millie and her niece, Rebecca, who is also stillat school. Linda Dixon was another first timer who said she waslooking forward to the show. She attended with her daughter

ondon Show

17

RTG staff, drivers with just some of the children

Three of the cabs from days gone by

The Lord Mayor in his coach

“Some of the legislation, particularly relating totaxis, is archaic. The key statutes date back to Victoriantimes and refer to “hackney carriages” when taxis wereliterally horse-drawn vehicles. Case law and guidanceare indispensable in interpreting the law. This alsomakes the legislation less able to reflect more moderntechnology like the telephone, internet and GPStechnology.”

WHO ARE THE LAW COMMISSIONAND WHY ARE THEY, NOT POLITICIANS,

MAKING THE LAW?

The Law Commission has been established by theGovernment to review the legal system ensuring it is‘fair, modern, simple and as cost-effective as possible.’It conducts research and consultations before makingrecommendations for change that are then consideredby Parliament. It describes the focus of its work asbeing to codify the law, eliminate anomalies, repealobsolete and unnecessary enactments and reduce thenumber of separate statutes. Most of its work takesplace on subjects deemed to be technical rather thanpolitical in nature.

While the Law Commission can makerecommendations, only Parliament itself can changethe law.

Historically, more than two-thirds of theCommission’s law reform recommendations have beenimplemented. More information about the LawCommission can be read at:http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission/index.htm

EARLIER THIS YEAR, the LawCommission announced it was toundertake a review of the existingframework of taxi and private hirevehicle regulation with a view topreparing formal proposals for athree-month consultation whichwill begin in April 2012.

They then plan to publish a final report withrecommendations for new arrangements and a draftParliamentary Bill that would amend existinglegislation covering Taxis and Private Hire.They have published the following terms of reference:

“Taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) are animportant part of local transport. They operate inhighly regulated markets where safety and qualitycontrol are paramount. Licensing covers key areas suchas the quality of services, the fitness of drivers, fareregulation and restrictions on the number of licensesissued. The current law on taxis and PHVs has beencriticised for being complex and out-dated.

“One problem is the multiplicity of legislation.Taxis, which can “ply for hire” so customers can stopthem in the street, have different rules to PHVs whichcan only be pre-booked. In turn each of the taxi andPHV trades is regulated by multiple statutes. There arealso different legal systems along geographical linesdistinguishing Plymouth, London and the rest ofEngland and Wales. Whereas some distinctions areclearly justified others are less clearly so.

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Major Review of Taxi and PrivateThe Law Commission is reviewing the existing framework of taxi andprivate hire legislation which could lead to a major shake-up in how theindustry is licensed. Mountview News explains…

The Department for Transport has given its full backingto the work of the Law Commission and says that itseems ‘clear that a sensible and desirable outcome fromthe review would be a single Act of Parliament coveringboth taxis and private hire vehicles.’

WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUESIN THE REVIEW?

The Law Commission’s terms of reference, set outabove, demonstrate that all areas are subject to reviewbut there will inevitably be certain priority issues thatwill command the most focus.

At its heart the review is looking at whether thereought to be common licensing standards for taxis andprivate across the country and the extent to whichstandards ought to be nationally imposed or left tolocal authorities to determine.

The single biggest issue that has prompted thereview is “cross-border hiring” outside of London andwhether an operator from one licensing area ought tobe able to pick up radio jobs from outside its licensingarea. The small sizes of many licensing areas outside ofLondon make this a major issue.

Other questions that the review team are beingurged to look at, including by the Private Hire ReformCampaign (PHRC), which has been created tochampion change, are whether:

� Operators should be able to sub-contract a bookingto an operator anywhere else in the country;

� Vehicle standards need improving or changing,including the conditions of fitness, and whetherthese standards should be national;

� There should be national driver standards, includingpassing criminal records background checks anddemonstrating topographical knowledge.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR LONDON?While the pressure for the review was driven byconcerns arising largely from the licensing systemoutside of London, any national review of legislationand standards will by definition have to include thearrangements in London which are governed byspecific legislation and regulated under the policydirection of the Mayor of London and Transport for

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Hire Legislation UnderwayLondon. If a new Act of Parliament is introduced thatcovers the entire industry it will have to decide howLondon’s taxi industry, admired nationally andinternationally for the standards that it sets, isaddressed within the legislation. At present London’slicensing regime regulates a considerably large sector ofmore than 85,000 drivers.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

In the next few weeks, the Law Commission willcontinue to meet with interested parties and travel toinspect licensing models across the country. It has alsoestablished a formal consultation forum that includesthe following organisations; the Disabled PersonsTransport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the Instituteof Licensing (IoL), the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association(LTDA), the London Taxi Company, the NationalAssociation of Licensing and Enforcement Officers(NALEO), the National Association of Taxi Users(NATU), the National Limousine and ChauffeurAssociation (NLCA), the National Private HireAssociation (NPHA), the Private Hire Reform Campaign(PHRC), Transport for London, and Unite the Union.

Geoffrey Riesel, Chairman of Radio Taxis, said of theLaw Commission review into taxis and private hire “It isvery important that everyone in the London Taxi industrytakes a close involvement in this review which has thepotential to make significant changes to the way in whichour industry operates. That is why Radio Taxis are workingalongside Dial-a-Cab and ComCab to ensure that theviews of those who work in the Radio Taxi industry are fedinto the review team’s work.We have already met with theteam conducting the review and will attend theirstakeholder groups. In our first meeting with the LawCommission we stressed the importance of any reformsupholding the high standards that the London Taxiindustry is deservedly renowned for worldwide and ofensuring that the Private Hire industry also meets goodquality standards and is subject to effective enforcement.”

Once a formal consultation is published in April2012 the law Commission will invite everyone who hasan interest on the subject to make a submission forconsideration. � � �

What made you want to sign up for this course?I thought it would be something interesting to do as I have always been fascinated by London and itshistory – I also thought that my passengers might like it and the knowledge would add something toa sometimes mundane job.

Did you do it on your own or with somebody else?I did the course on my own but with some input from my family testing me by asking mequestions and me telling them what I had learnt.

How many people were in the classes?There were about 14 in the class two dropped out fairly early on.

Where and when are the classes held?The actual classes were held at the Clore Learning Centre at The Museum of London on aMonday evening for two hours as well as practical walks around the city of London on a Sundaymorning for about two hours.

How long did the course take?The course took two months in total with study, mock exams and final exams written andpractical test.

Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?I would not say the course was easy at all as there was a lot to take in with the classroom work and walks plusmy own research and there are plenty of handouts to read.

Was it enjoyable?I found it really enjoyable seeing London in a different light instead of behind a steering wheel. You see so muchmore on foot and a get real feel of the history.

What surprised you the most as far as what you now know about London and haveyou used his new found knowledge on any passengers yet?What surprised me most, as a born and bred Londoner, was how little I knew about the place – an example isSmithfield, the original name Smoothfield was pastureland where horse fairs and hangings took place. There arealso plague burial pits on the Smithfield site and we drive over them everyday.

How did you study for the City of London (walk about) test without notes?To study for the actual walk I made sure I knew all my information off pat I then kept saying it aloud to thefamily, a bit like calling over on The Knowledge, not going too fast and trying to keep it interesting. Even the doggot an ear bashing when I was practicing. My two topics were the Bank of England and the Temple Bar about fiveminutes or so on each followed by an obligatory health and safety chat.

Would you recommend this course to anybody else?I would definitely recommend the course to others, it was really interesting and I met some very nice guys, whoI think will remain friends for a long time.

Now you have successfully completed this course – what’s next?Now the course has finished I actually miss the walks and talks. I still keep up my research on London and I amkeeping in touch with the chaps I met on the course. We all had our presentation on the 24th November at theCutlers Hall in the City where we were presented with our certificates and badge. I have had some business cardsprinted with my details on and I will now start doing cab guides around London.

So you think that you know London... read on...LEE COOPER (W130) is a driver on Radio Taxis and recently finished a London

Knowledge course that is run from the premises of the London Museum.

We asked him why he did it and what it was like to complete. His answers are

below. If you would like information on this course or would like to join the next

course which starts on February 6th, please contact Tracey Fuller, Drivers

Services: 020 7272 2626.

20

Non PC AdvertsGOING BACK OVER THE LAST FIFTY TO HUNDRED YEARS,advertisers were able to make claims which were not onlyunsupportable, but in this day and age they were absolutelyPOLITICALLY INCORRECT. These adverts in our current eraseem outrageous – however they may make you smile whenyou think how far we’ve moved on from those times.

21

22

A Look Back Throu

JANUARY:� 4th of January, gave us a rise in VAT from

17.5% to 20% another unnecessary price rise.� New Knowledge information packs

containing a Knowledge of Londoncandidate’s introductory booklet togetherwith a covering letter, the ‘Blue Book’ anda ‘Guide to learning the Knowledge’ DVDwere being sent out.

� Applicants no longer had to wait toattend an Initial Talk before commencingtheir studies. The new changes, we weretold, represent better value for money forsuccessful applicants whilst making moreefficient use of examiners’ time.

FEBRUARY:� According to the BBC blog “Mind the

Gap” after a request under Freedom ofInformation reveals; Boris Johnson’s biketransporters have been involved in 24incidents. Twenty of these are said to beminor scrapes and scratches, the otherfour however involved collisions withcyclists.

MARCH:� 1st of March saw the Advertising

Standards Authority (ASA) clampingdown on misleading internet advertising!

� The “Rank at the Bank” taxi demo –Wednesday 30th March was organised byLCDC. James Whale began his 4pm driveshow on LBC with phone calls on illegalmini-cabs touting, and gave LCDCChairman Grant Davis the chance to airtaxi-drivers’ views.

� Taxi-drivers and other motorists wholeave their engines running are to facenew £120 fines under plans drawn up byBoris Johnson.

� The New Vito 5 Launches.

APRIL:� Transport for London’s (TfL) Board noted

a below-inflation average taxi fareincrease of 2.7 per cent for the 2011/12financial year.

� Alan Fleming the ex-chairman of TheLondon Cab Drivers Club and currentChairman of the Taxi Drivers & OwnersLegal Protection, considered mounting alegal challenge through the courts againstBoris Johnson’s 15 year cab rule. Trafficrestrictions introduced on Wilton Roadfor Victoria Station Upgrade.

� Taxi and Private Hire Licence Fees Frozen.� Royal Wedding day 29 April 2011.

MAY:� Westminster City Council brought a legal

action against Addison Lee’s 21advertisements at seven sites – six ofwhich are in conservation areas. AddisonLee has sponsored more than 19,000cigarette waste bins for more than threeyears, and now a judge ruled the companyacted illegally by erecting some of thebins without planning permission.

� New York City Choose The NissanMinivan As Their Next Taxi-Cab.

� Radio Taxis rear window sticker campaignbegins with winners receiving £1.00discount every time they visit BubblesHand Car Wash for 6 months inside andout.

� Consultation began on Monday 23 Maywith decision on exemptions to age limitsto be made later this year.

� The Docklands Light Railway’s (DLR)three-car upgrade was completed on timeand within budget with the launch ofthree-car trains on the Tower Gateway toBeckton route.

JUNE:� On the evening of June 14th in

conjunction with the London Chamber ofCommerce, Radio Taxis hosted anOlympics Travel Question and Answersession at the London Transport Museumin Covent Garden.

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JULY:� St James’s Street and Pall Mall – reverts to

a two way stretch after 50 years; onSunday 3rd July.

� A convoy of 100 taxis packed withyoungsters headed off from Victoria Parkin East London for a day out at Southend-on-Sea on July 5th 2011.

� Southend Airport Railway Station, openedon the 18 July 2011 and is now providingfast and frequent train services direct toStratford (for Docklands and CanaryWharf) and to central London’s LiverpoolStreet Station.

� Work has now begun on both sides of theRiver Thames on the two stationspassengers will be using for the cable car;this includes piles being driven deep intothe ground to support the construction ofthe building foundations. Work to installthe piles for the new North Station in theRoyal Victoria Dock is taking place from abarge rig moored in the dock and on theGreenwich Peninsula for the SouthStation. Work in the river is alsoprogressing to probe for obstructionsprior to the river piling.

� First air conditioned Tube trains nowrunning in central London.

AUGUST:� On Monday 1st August 2011, councillors

at Westminster City Hall decided to bringin Sunday charges for parking, as well asno waiting restrictions on single yellowlines to the area around West One.

� The new TFL building in Blackfriarswhich incorporates T&PH (PCO) wastaking no chances with the recent riots.Tuesday 9th August, the day after thebiggest riots all over London, I foundworkmen boarding up wooden shuttersall around the new glass building. Nighttime parking is also to change and applyuntil midnight, with residence parkingbays operational for 24 hours a day.

� Mayor Boris and TFL chief Peter Hendyare angry over Home Secretary TheresaMay’s plans to allow taxi and private hiredrivers to have only standard CRB checksinstead of the current enhanced versions.

SEPTEMBER:� Howard Hotel closes its doors for the last

time.� Tower of London Taxi Rank suspended

for 18 months for re-building workopposite.

OCTOBER:� Thursday 6 October, St John’s Wood

round-a-bout was chosen for the latestvenue for the Olympic Lane Demo,bringing much of this area to a completestand still. Organised by the (UCG)United Cabby’s Group.

� Boris Johnson has set up a website andtelephone hotline to complain aboutroadwork’s which are taking a long timeto get finished without anyone appearingto ever work on them.

� John Mason, Director of London Taxi andPrivate Hire, said “There has been quite abit of speculation and misinformationabout the restrictions that are in placearound Liverpool Street station – as a resultof long-term Crossrail works.” He put therecord straight by announcing; “Thetraffic restrictions do not apply to the wholeof Old Broad Street. Taxis and private hirevehicles can in fact enter Old Broad Streetup to Broad Street Avenue.”

NOVEMBER:� The New Routemaster Bus Launches The

first new “Boris Bus” has rolled off theproduction line of the Wrightbus factoryin Ballymena, Northern Ireland. It willenter passenger service next year.

� Transport for London (TfL) has beguninstalling Trixi mirrors beside trafficlights along the 12 new blue lane cyclenetworks. The mirrors are fitted besidetraffic lights and allow HGV drivers tospot cyclists on the inside of theirvehicles.

� The 9th of November will be a day toremember as protesters gathered aroundLondon. The City of London had thestudents marching, the Embankment withthe Electricians and plumbers marching,whilst Trafalgar Square had a drive-in bytaxis driver organised by UCG and RMT.

gh the Year...

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LONDON HAS PLENTY OF MUSEUMS, SOME OFTHEM LARGE AND WELL KNOWN – OTHERS SMALLAND OBSCURE. Within them they hold a unique insightwith collections and artefacts which many of us are alreadyfamiliar with. I would like to enlighten you with a story of oneof the rarest; a museum which is certainly a hidden gem ofLondon – not only a museum but also an active workingenvironment where history is still being written.

Attached to the Metropolitan Police MarineUnit in Wapping High Street, is the museum ofthe marine police, which can only be viewed byspecial request; and for security reasons themuseum will be permanently closedthroughout 2012 while the Olympics takesplace. I contacted the trustee of the museum, aretired marine police officer Robert Jeffries,who allowed Mountview News an exclusivenarrative of the history and mysteriessurrounding the Thames River Police.

THE BIRTH OF THE POLICE FORCERob began by telling me that what we have here at Wapping is thespiritual home of policing as we know it today. People believe policingbegan with Sir Robert Peel’s police force in 1829, but the river policepredates the “Bobbies” by some thirty-one years. “Why, you might ask,did London need its own riverside police? The answer lies in the fact thatduring the late eighteenth century, London was the richest nation in theworld. All of London’s trade was brought up the river to the legal docks,where every year 13,500 ships would unload their cargos. Many of theloaders who removed the goods were “thieves” although they did not seethemselves in quite that way; to them it was plain and simple – one of theperks of their job!

Merchants of the West India Company during the 1790’s, operatingthe largest cargo fleets, were facing a serious problem. The pilfering oftheir cargoes was causing huge losses. It was estimated that £500,000worth of goods each year was being stolen by the loaders – taking theirperks! In today’s money this would equate to around £70 million perannum in losses – a whacking great sum to lose.

Master Mariner John Harriot devised a plan to curb the problem in1797 along with Essex Justice of the Peace Patrick Colquhoun; they alsoprocured the help, of a Scottish merchant, statistician, magistrate, andutilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham.

Armed with Harriot’s proposal and Bentham’s insights, Colquhounwas able to persuade the West India Planters Committees and the WestIndia Merchants to fund the new force. They agreed to a one year trialand on 2 July 1798, after receiving government permission, the ThamesRiver Police began operating with Colquhoun as SuperintendingMagistrate and Harriot the Resident Magistrate.

With an initial investment of £4,200, the new force began with about50 men charged with policing 33,000 workers in the river trades, ofwhom Colquhoun claimed 11,000 were known criminals and “on thegame.” The river police received a hostile reception by riverfront workersnot wishing to lose their supplementary income. A mob of 2,000attempted to burn down the police office with the police inside.

The skirmish that followed resulted in the first death in the line of dutyfor the new force, with the killing of Gabriel Franks.

THE FIRST OFFICIAL MURDEROF A POLICE OFFICER

Kept in a glass cabinet in the museum, is The Roll of Honour, whichcontains the name of Gabriel Franks, the first police officer ever to bemurdered. The account of what led up to his murder involved a perk ofthe job – coal!

Ships would arrive from Newcastle, laden with coal and the lumperswould unload them.

Gabriel was a master lumper, a man in charge of a gang of lumpersand he was employed by the police. A ton of coal would be stolen by theheavers from each ship, submerging the sack into the river to make thecoal wet and therefore if questioned by the police they would claim tohave gathered up bits of coal, lost from the ships and found on the banksof the river.

On the 13 October 1798 Charles Eyers plus two others were chargedwith the theft of coal and fined 20 shillings (£1).

As they were leaving court, John’s Brother James arrived and askedif they were fined; on hearing that they had been fined he told them todemand it back!

They threatened to set light to the place and to kill the magistrate.A riot ensued as stones and bricks were thrown at the courtroom inWapping High Street. The doors were all bolted as the fire alarms rangout and Harriot ordered everyone upstairs.

Unlike today the early police force was heavily armed. They took uppositions on the rooftop and commenced to shoot. One rioter was killedand the angry mob dispersed only to return armed and re-grouped.

At the same time Gabriel Franks had just come out of the nearbyRose and Crown public house in the company of some friends.Upon hearing the commotion, he made his way to the police office withtwo other men (Peacock and Webb) and asked to be admitted. He triedto gain entry into the police station. He was told that no one was to leaveor to enter and for some reason Gabriel started taking notes. He decidedto go back to his pub and to arm himself with a cutlass, as he turnedaround he was mortally wounded by gunfire and died a week later.

The murderer was never found but James Eyres was charged with themurder of Gabriel Franks, on the grounds that he started the riots.He was found guilty at the Old Bailey on the 9th January 1799 andsentenced to death by hanging.

Nevertheless, Colquhoun reported to his backers that his force was asuccess after its first year, and his men had “established their worth bysaving £122,000 worth of cargo and by the rescuing of several lives.”

Word of this success spread quickly, and the government passed theMarine Police Bill on 28th July 1800, transforming it from a private to apublic police agency. Colquhoun published a book on the experiment;The Commerce and Policing of the River Thames. It found receptiveaudiences far outside London, and inspired similar forces to beestablished in other countries, notably, New York, Dublin, and Sydney.

The Marine Police Force continues to operate from the sameWapping High Street address. The Thames Magistrates Court originatedin this building. In 1839 the force merged with the Metropolitan PoliceForce to become Thames Division; and it is now known as the MarineSupport Unit of the Metropolitan Police Service.

The Marine Police Museum

Robert Jeffries

THE GREATEST TRAGEDY ON THE THAMES On September 3, 1878, SS Princess Alice, a passenger paddle steamerwas sunk in a collision on the River Thames with the collier BywellCastle off Tripcock Point (near the present day Thames Barrier) withthe loss of over 650 lives, the greatest loss of life in any Thames shippingdisaster. The Princess Alice was making what was billed as a “MoonlightTrip” to Gravesend and back. This was a routine trip from SwanPier, Swan Lane EC4 to Gravesend and Sheerness. Tickets were sold fortwo shillings.

By 7:40pm, the Princess Alice was on her returnjourney and within sight of the North Woolwich Pier –where many passengers were to disembark – when shesighted the Newcastle bound vessel SS Bywell Castlewhich had just been repainted at a dry dock and was onher way to pick up a load of coal. Her Master was CaptainHarrison, who was accompanied by an experiencedThames river pilot. Harrison was following the traditionalroutes used on the Thames instead of the 1872 rule aboutpassing oncoming vessels on the port side.

On the bridge of the Bywell Castle, Harrisonobserved the Princess Alice coming across his bow, making for the northside of the river; he set a course to pass astern of her. The Master ofPrincess Alice, 47-year-old Captain William R.H. Grinstead, wasconfused by this and altered Princess Alice’s course, bringing her into thepath of Bywell Castle. Captain Harrison ordered his ship’s enginesreversed, but it was too late. Princess Alice was struck on the starboardside; she split in two and sank within four minutes.

Many passengers were trapped within the wreck and drowned: pilesof bodies were found around the exits of the saloon when the wreck wasraised. Additionally, the twice-daily release of 75 million imperial gallonsof raw London sewage from sewer outfalls at Barking and Crossness hadoccurred one hour before the collision: the heavily polluted water wasbelieved to have contributed to the deaths of those who went into theriver. It was noted that the sunken corpses began rising to the surfaceafter only six days, rather than the usual nine. Between 69 and 170 peoplewere rescued: but tragically over 650 died. 120 victims were buried in amass grave at Woolwich Old Cemetery, Kings Highway, Plumstead.A memorial cross was erected to mark the spot, “paid for by nationalsixpenny subscription to which more than 23,000 persons contributed”.

The Marine Police Museum has the only remaining artifact from thePrincess Alice, the Company ensign of the Princess Alice (1878).Found by William Grinstead’s grandson with the same name.

Waterloo Pier; situated next to Waterloo Bridge, Thames Division’sWaterloo Pier was the only floating police station in the world.The present pontoon was constructed in 1873 (now the RNLI lifeboatpier Victoria Embankment).

Officers based at Waterloo Pier patrolled the Thames from TowerBridge to Richmond. The base played an important role in the policingof London because of its strategic location.

Another floating base was established at Blackwall opposite thepresent day O2 Arena. When a vessel was anchored here it was termed asbeing ‘Stationed’ from where the words ‘Police Station’ originate from.Rowers would work a 6 hour on and 12 hour off shift. The rowers wouldpatrol to the beat of their oars – and this where we get the words,‘patrolling the beat’ from.

Today, the River Police are concentrated more on river security onthe Thames with so many potential targets. Take for example, the Housesof Parliament, with all its crash barriers in place, at the front and sides;and yet the riverside is totally unprotected. Add to this all the bridgescrossing the Thames, and the MI5 and MI6 buildings down atMillbank/Vauxhall.

Rob the museum trustee explained “Silvia Stevens the patron of themuseum accompanied me on a boat trip to the Thames Barrier and sheasked me “what do you think about the possible threats on the river?”

I replied; “if someone hijacked two lorries and filled them withexplosives; then loaded them both onto the Woolwich ferry at high tidewhen the barrier is closed, then hijacking the ferry, holding a gun to thecaptain’s head and ordering him to ram into the barrier, detonating the

bomb as it hits the barrier.”Rob went on to say “if this broke up, the barrier water

would crash through potentially flooding London.”Because there is real threat with terrorists on the river,the museum will not under any circumstances beallowed to open throughout 2012.

Rob was a serving police officer for 32 years andretired in 2009. “I started at West End Central and didfive years on the diplomatic section before transferringto the river police.”

What did he prefer, ‘D’ division or policing the river? “Oh without question the marine police. I saw my job here

as primarily a life saving role, along with advice to boat users on navigation.Are you aware that anyone can bring a craft along the river?” He asked.“You don’t need a licence or anything, unless you are doing it for hireand reward?”

I had to admit I wasn’t aware of this! “You don’t need any insuranceor pay river tax all the way up to Shepperton and then it’s run by the RiverAgency from there on.”

“Where do boats get their fuel from?” I asked. “There is one placeopposite Parliament and another at Hermitage Wharf but there is onlyDiesel, there is nowhere you can obtain any petrol on the Thames, as thelicense to sell petrol is too expensive”.

Rob said his most notable day with the river police was withoutdoubt the dreadful; Marchioness Disaster.

“When I left West End Central my mates said you’re off to join NAPO(National Association of Retired Police Officers); you could say that I toldthem, but the 15 years I spent with ‘D’ division I didn’t save any lives – threemonths into my job here and I had saved three already.”

Rob summed up “The primary object of policing is: number one tosave life; number two stopping crime; and number three detecting crime.”Our thanks go to Robert Jeffries for this unique insight into RiverPolicing. � � � Roger Sligo.

Ensign of the Princess Alice

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26

To see how it all works Mountview News Editor, Roger Sligo, wasinvited to meet with Helen Chapman, Deputy Director for Taxiand Private Hire, along with TfL press officer Sandeep Dhillon andfour Eco Marshals. The Eco Marshals were made up of CarriageOfficers Steve Algar and Phil Hutchinson; both are VehicleCompliance Examiners, and David Hall,Knowledge of London Examiner was theretoo along with Paolo Vienali from TfL.

Roger explains what happened on the day…As he stood by Roger watched Steveapproaching a taxi about halfway along a lineof cabs and he starts to talk to the driver.

“Hello Sir” Steve begins “I just wantedto ask you a couple of questions, and I willtry not to keep you. We are from TfL and thecarriage office and over the next few weekswe are asking taxi drivers about theirapproach to driving? We are enquiring abouthow drivers rank and how long they keeptheir engines running before switching off?”Steve continues “Also we are helping withthe marshalling, we’re helping passengers load their luggage and wewant to help to keep the ranks moving. We are going to busyrailway stations such as Waterloo, Paddington and St Pancras,handing out leaflets and a questionnaire for you to complete.”

Steve’s whole approach was spoken in a friendly mannerwhich seemed designed to put the driver at ease.“We have not had any bad responses or anything like that, becausewe are asking drivers for their help, this is the thing, which is a

good way to approach it” Steve added.Roger adds, I asked one driver on the rank, Terry Martin,

what he thought of the Eco Marshals and did he think it is agood thing?

“Yes” was the reply “anything which helps to cut down onpollution has got to be good” Terry responds.

Another driver in a Fairway said “It must be a good thing toinform drivers, yes a good idea.”

“What will you do next year when the 15 year age limit comesin?” asks Roger. “Buy a lottery ticket” was his reply. “Yes, but whatif you don’t win?” “Buy a TX1 – I don’t want a TX4 they are toojuicy on fuel” he said.

After well over an hour without sight of any Radio Taxis orXeta drivers (the radio circuit must be busy I thought,) one ofour drivers Kevin Donovan, Duke 114, suddenly appeared!Kevin thought it was a good idea to switch his engine off anyway.“Why use more fuel than necessary?” He said, and as he pulledforward Roger says he noticed that Kevin had a rear window sticker!

Steve then explained the technique which is employed inmonitoring the cabs. “We pick out a cab atthe back of the rank and give them aquestionnaire, and then time how long ittakes for them to get to the point of the rank.Waterloo on an average day, when cabs aredown at the bottom of the rank by thetunnel, to get to the front, is about 15minutes, that’s 15 minutes of dead time” heexplained. How many times would theyswitch off in that time realistically? The topof the rank holds eleven cabs at the front,and it is constantly moving and is whereyou would not expect them to switch off;unfortunately it’s undercover and it is alsothe worst place to be.

At the point of the rank another marshaltakes the filled in questionnaire which is added onto the data base.

Helen Chapman then declared “This helps us to find outdrivers eco awareness and whether the driver has been on a driver’sawareness course, how long do they switch their engines off and allthose kind of things.”

Roger was then asked if he had been on the driver’sawareness course, the “smarter drivers’ course” they called it, saysRoger; “I had to admit I had not, they don’t teach you how to

Roger Sligo is invited excluTfL IS ENCOURAGING DRIVERS OF ALL VEHICLES IN LONDONto save money and improve the environment by switching offvehicles engines whenever possible. As professional taxidrivers TfL believes that we can make a positive difference toLondon’s air quality and protect the health of our passengersas well as ourselves. Over the next few months TfL along withT&PH are putting together a team of Eco Marshals who willvisit a number of taxi ranks to give advice, to hand out aquestionnaires and leaflets pointing out ways to reduce fuelconsumption as well as pollution levels.

The Eco Marshals at work

David Hall and Paolo Vienali

27

drive, or to do things you already know. They just teach you how tocoast up to the lights instead driving up to them.”

All the marshals have done the course, and it was suggestedthat Roger should go on it! “The selling point for taxi drivers”Helen went onto say “is a win/win you’re not only going to save onfuel and money but you’re also helping the environment.”

Helen asked Roger if I wanted to go on the course andarrangements are being made for him to do so. With a bit of luckhe will give you his account of it in the March issue ofMountview News.

Roger says “My thanks go to Helen, Sandeep and the EcoMarshals for promoting cleaner air for London.”

These are some of the things we can all do!� Switch off your engine when waiting at ranks as this helps

reduce pollution levels both outside and inside your taxi.� Keep your tyres pumped up and check the pressure regularly.� Remember air-con and electrics all contribute to your fuel

consumption.� Maintain smooth and progressive braking and acceleration to

save fuel and wear and tear on your vehicle.

The steps you take benefit you, your family, other drivers andyour passengers too. Roger Sligo

THE ECO MARSHALS SCHEMEBy Sandeep Dhillon TfL Press Officer� There are five eco-marshals.� The eco-marshals will be in place until March 2012.� The Department for Transport (DfT) has allocated Transport

for London (TfL) £5m of funding to help reduce emissions andimprove air quality in London. £300,000 of this set aside toprovide London Taxi and Private Hire (LTPH) eco-marshals.

� The eco-marshals are one of several measures to improve airquality in London. The Clean Air Fund will fund otherinitiatives including:

� The expansion of the Cleaning and Application of DustSuppressants trial

� Trials of green walls and screens and additional tree planting� The installation of Diesel Particulate Filters to buses on

selected routes; and

� A programme of business engagement to promote greenertravel and reduce their air quality impact.

The eco-marshals will be marshalling at the following keyhotpots across London where the air quality limits areexceeding limits:� Charing Cross Station � King’s Cross Station� Leicester Square� Liverpool Street Station� Marylebone Station� Paddington Station� St Pancras Station� Victoria Station

Part of the marshals’ work will include data gathering andresearch amongst licensees. This will include:� Awareness of smarter driving � Likelihood of undertaking an eco-driving course � Awareness and understanding of MAQS � Understanding and awareness of eco-driving and smarter

driving behaviour � Working patterns and behaviours � Reasons for idling, including what would motivate change� The eco-marshals are not law enforcement officers. The eco-

marshals are working in an advisory capacity to taxi and privatehire drivers advising them of the environmental and healthbenefits of switching off their engines when waiting at ranks.

� By switching off their engines whilst waiting at ranks taxidrivers will be reducing pollution levels both inside andoutside their taxi, benefitting the environment, passengersand drivers themselves.

sively to spend time with theEco Friendly Marshals

Kevin Donovan

Driver getting advice

THIS MONTH I AM STANDINGBENEATH THE RAILWAYARCHES WHICH CARRYTRAINS FROM WATERLOOSTATION TO VAUXHALLSTATION. There are tiled wall

plaques on both sides of the road with a Spanish theme, notsurprising as the street name recalls a famous battle, which tookplace between England and Spain, with our leader the Duke ofWellington. “Monasterio De Las Duenas” translated meansMonastery of the owners. Where am I?

Send your answers either to:mvn.editor@radiotaxis.co.ukOr you can post it to:Where Am I Competition,Mountview News Editor,Mountview House, Lennox

Road, London N4 3TX – Don’t forget yourname and call sign. The winner will receive a £25 Marks &

Spencer Gift Voucher.

LAST MONTH’S WINNER – was David Dowding,Whisky 96 Rightly naming 12 – 13 Widegate Street,Spitalfields, E1 – as the place to find our bakers.

The Story behind the Bakers’ Statues –An article in the Jewish Chronicle of 31st August 1928 joined acontroversy to name London’s oldest shop. A shop called Ellisthe Booksellers of Bond Street, established in 1728, had laidclaim to this worthy title. Not so, said the Jewish Chronicle,because Levy Bros, Matzo bakers of 31 Widegate Street,(present day number 12/13) on the corner of White RoseCourt, could beat this by 18 years, having been established in1710! The article went on to say that… Antiquarians who loveold pieces of architecture will find pleasure in studying thecurious old carvings in the front of the quaint pointed roofs ofthe premises of this well known matzo baker.

On a building newly erected on the site are reliefrepresentations of bakers making bread from the beginningof the process to the end. Levy Bros may be long gone, butlook above the modern shop front of 12 Widegate Streetand, metaphorically speaking, you will see that these sturdyfellows have been toiling away for nearly 300 years!

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Where Am I?

29

Roy Hughes, Radio TaxisGroup Head of Sales andAccount Management

OSCAR WILDE ONCE SAID: “THE CYNIC KNOWS THEPRICE OF EVERYTHING AND THE VALUE OFNOTHING.” Fast forward to the 21st Century and we have anaccurate description for the London corporate taxi market – whichby his definition, has become very cynical indeed!

Previously, I have referred to the trend for corporate decisions forground transport supply to become the responsibility of Procurement,Finance or outsourced Facilities Management, rather than theOperations Staff who actually manage the business and make thebookings. For these personnel, used to dealing with CateringBusinesses, Stationery Suppliers, Travel Management Companies etc

the Taxi charging structure i.e. Administration, Gratuity and/orbooking fees is unwieldy and unclear – confusion as to exactlywhat is being charged being the result. Although the taxi metercharges customers only for what they use (unlike Private Hire)and displays the fare accordingly, it is so complex to explain tothe client, that it would confuse a civil servant with OCD.In comparison, Private Hire suppliers, with their basic pricing

methodology, appear as not only more competitive, but alsosignificantly easier to understand. Moreover, the ‘value’ that a black taxiservice offers customers is obscured by the complexities of taxi pricing.

A simplification of taxi circuit pricing for corporate structure isprobably overdue. Indeed one of our competitors has already takenthis leap of faith, with ‘zero gratuity’ deals being offered to corporatecustomers, ostensibly to win business from Private Hire, butincreasingly in direct competition for the black taxi business. In onerecent tender, a large city financial institution stated that ‘gratuity’ bydefinition, was a discretionary (service related) payment and thereforerefused to accept this as part of our pricing submission.

What would a ‘no gratuity’ account look like? It may have all jobs as‘fixed price’, it could have a ‘gratuity’ element submerged in a singlecombined administration and booking fee, it could even have anincreased ‘run-in’ to accommodate a gratuity element – it might be amixture of all three !

However, throw into the mix new entrants into the market,offering a simplified taxi pricing model direct to our corporatecustomers via ‘App’ based products and it is clear that doing nothing isnot an option. If we are able to compete on a level, pricing, playingfield then the value offered by the complete Radio Taxis service, willalways give us a better than even chance of winning business and newcustomers.

Onward and upward!

Between Gratuityand a Hard Place…

“A simplification of taxi circuitpricing for corporate structure

is probably overdue!”

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IN 1977 WE CELEBRATED THE QUEEN’S SILVER JUBILEE (25 YEARS).This I can remember distinctly as I was in charge of a guard of Honour of a group of pikemen from a civilwar enactment society. We were on top of Butser Hill in Hampshire, just off the A3 south of Petersfield

and were there for the lighting of a Jubilee Beacon by Princess Alexandra.Come 2002 and we were all celebrating the Golden Jubilee (50 years) and someof the family were parked outside Buckingham Palace for the celebrations.Now we are about to mark a truly historic 60 years of the Queen’s reign withnext year’s Diamond Jubilee. This feat has only been accomplished by one otherBritish Monarch, namely Queen Victoria in 1897.

The main action appears to fall in the first half of the year so that it doesn’tclash with the Olympics. There will be a Diamond Jubilee Pageant at WindsorCastle in the evenings of 10, 11 and 13 May 2012. This will be 90 minuteprogramme with dancers, musicians and military and equestrian displays fromaround the world.

For most of us, it will be the extended weekend of 2 – 5 June 2012 that willbring the Jubilee to life. The Queen will be at the Epsom Derby on Saturday,let’s hope she owns the winner. On Sunday 3 June, street parties for the BigJubilee Lunch should bring a rash of street closures as trestle tables, homemade cakes and fancy dress competitions take over. On Sunday afternoon(3 June), a huge flotilla of boats dressed overall will be assembled on theThames as The Queen’s leads the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. There willbe a gun salute downriver of Tower Bridge and an avenue of all types of Boatsto process past.

On Monday 4 June, which will be the bank holiday moved from the late MayBank holiday, 2012 beacons will be lit around the United Kingdom. See if youcan experience the countdown that I did back in 1977 as they coordinate thetiming of the lighting up. The BBC will be masterminding a concert fromBuckingham Palace with performers from all over the Commonwealth.

I wonder who will be up on the roof this time.Tuesday 5 June will be an extra new Bank holiday and schools will be closed to allow for more flag

wavers to exercise their skills. They will need these for the carriage procession though London that willfollow the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Apart from the Jubilee Emblem designed by 10 year old Katherine Dewar that will be appearing oneverything that moves, there will also be a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal to be awarded to ArmedForces, emergency services and prison service personnel.

Various exhibitions will be held by The Royal Collection to commemorate the Jubilee. Amongst these:The Queen: Sixty photographs for sixty years from 4 February 2012 to January 2013 at The Drawingsgallery at Windsor Castle. Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomy drawings at The Queen’s galley, BuckinghamPalace 4 May to 7 October 2012. Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration at the summer opening of BuckinghamPlace in August and September 2012. The National Maritime Museum will launch “Royal Power,Pageantry and the Thames” in April 2012 and the National Portrait Gallery and The Victoria and AlbertMuseum are staging special exhibitions.

As heritage items, The Royal Commonwealth Society has organised a special Jubilee Time Capsule towhich contributions can be made. There will also be 60 Diamond woods of at least 60 acres to be plantedfrom this Autumn to the end of 2012.

It will be some year for a great lady, get that bunting out of the attic in good time and be ready to join in.

The Queen’s Diamond JubileeBy Company Secretary Robert MacDonald Watson

Although my Birth Certificate bears the stamp of her father King GeorgeVI, I was not old enough to remember The Queen coming to the throneon 6 February 1952 or her coronation on 2 June 1953.However, my mother-in-law from New Zealand was in the crowd of wellwishers in the Mall.

2011 is the year of Twitter, writes Geoffrey Riesel

Are you a Tweeter aTwit or a Twitterer?@RadioTaxis_BossIN THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES,Mountview News looks into this newcommunication phenomenon and suggests someTwitter accounts you might like to follow.

Established just five years ago, Twitter is an online social networkingand micro blogging service that enables users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as “tweets”.

Twitter has rapidly gained worldwide popularity and now hasmore than 200 million users sending more than an incredible 220million tweets a day!

It is sometimes described as the text message service ofthe internet and has become one of the most popular waysthat news is delivered, important information relayed, and it’salso a form of entertainment. Twitter now regularly sets thenews agenda and allows for people with similar interests tocreate a dialogue with each other.

It is a service that can also be particularly useful to those out andabout in London all day.

Following a series of seminars where the potential benefit to ourbusiness was pointed out to me, I have now become a regular Twitteruser because I now understand that Twitter is an important tool forcommunicating with drivers, with clients and with other stakeholders.

It also allows me to stay up to date with key news items, stories about London and sports results. I hope readers of Mountview Newswill find my Twitter feed a good way of getting more information

about what’s important for London forour industry and of course for the workof Radio Taxis.

THE TOP TEN TWITTERS IN BRITAIN

Rank Twitter Name Followers Description

1. @coldplay 4.59 million Official Coldplay Twitter Page.

2. @rustyrockets 3.47 million Comedian Russell Brand.

3. @stephenfry 3.38 million Stephen Fry’s Twitter Page‘British Actor, Writer, Lord ofDance, Prince of Swimwearand Blogger.’

4. @MrsLRCooper 3.12 million Official site of Lily Allen“I can babble a little.”

5. @Fearnecotton 2.35 million Official Fearne Cotton‘Rockin in a free world.’

6. @BBCBreaking 2.2 million Breaking news alerts & updatesfrom the BBC.

7. @OfficialAdele 2.12 million Official site for Adele.

8. @eddieizzard 2.11 million Comedian Eddie IzzardI’m a British European, I thinklike an American and I was bornin an Arabic country.

9. @waynerooney 2.05 million Footballer Wayne Rooney.

10. @emwatson 1.88 million ‘British actress and fair tradesupporter.’

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TfL’s Lost PropertyOffice brings someChristmas Joy toHundreds of Children

� Over two hundred toys donatedto The Salvation Army

� Toys are donated to familiesand children across southLondon

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON’S (TfL)Lost Property Office is donating hundreds oftoys to The Salvation Army to give todisadvantaged children in south London overthe Christmas period.

The toys will appeal to children of all ages and range from softtoys and board games to sports equipment. The SalvationArmy in Deptford, south London, will work with the localcouncil to distribute the toys to families in need.

Paul Cowan, Manager of TfL’s Lost Property Office and TravelInformation Centres, said: “Of the hundreds of thousands of itemsof lost property received each year, toys and children’s gifts have aparticular significance. Many are unable to be traced to an ownerand, perhaps due to their perceived value or belief that they willnot be handed in, remain unclaimed after three months.Pre-loved items are donated to our charity partners on a regularbasis, however new toys and gifts are saved until the end of the

year, when their donation has a much greater impact. For thosewho have lost these items, their original intention of bringing joy toa child has still been achieved. The team at the Lost Property Officetake great pride in the work they do and it is rewarding for them tobe able to complete the cycle of giving through this donation.”

Captain Kevin Stanbury of The Salvation Army’s DeptfordCommunity Centre, said: “More people than ever are strugglingfinancially and this is never more apparent than around Christmas

time. Right across the country, TheSalvation Army provides toy parcels tothose families who would otherwise have togo without. “This service is made a littleeasier due to the kind donation fromorganisations such as Transport for London.Over the past five years they have donatedcountless toys, all of which help to bring joyand laughter into the life of a London child.

We cannot thank the Lost Property Office and its staff enough formaking this scheme possible.”

The LPO has handled over 200,000 items of lost property in2010/11. On average one in three items is reunited with itsowner. Over the years people have handed in many unexpectedand unusual items including, Rolex watches worth more thanquarter of a million pounds, £10,000 cash, human skulls, breastimplants and a lawnmower.

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Penny Cuckston,Radio TaxisGroup’s Sales Ledger ManagerReports on her Charity WalkSUNDAY 11th OF SEPTEMBER WASN’T JUST ANOTHER SUNDAY,as 14 members of Radio Taxis staff met up in Hyde Park at 10amto compete in the Adidas Womens’ 5K Challenge 2011.

Walking for Kids

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With more than 15,000 womencompeting in the race, raisingmoney via sponsorship, for

a charity that was close to theirhearts. The park was bustling with runnersand spectators.

All the Radio Taxis staff were personallysponsored by family and friends to raise money for

a local charity called ‘Action forKids’ based in Hornsey, which funds“bespoke” wheelchair facilities forchildren that have disabilities wherea normal NHS wheelchair would notcater for their needs. Matching whiteT-shirts with both Radio Taxis andAction for Kids logos on the backand our race numbers on the frontwere worn.On arrival at the park, a warm upand stretch routine was held by

Adidas for all racers to prepare us for the race.The queue began to form and at 11am the racebegan with the elite athletes from around the worldstarting off first, followed by the fun runners,walkers and wheelchair users.

Radio Taxis staff walked with the helpers andstudents of the charity, many of which were in theirspecialised wheelchairs. Everyone was very excitedto be part of such a great event. The crowds linedthe route waving and cheering the competitors onthe route around Hyde Park and the Serpentinefinally crossing the finish line in around one hour.

Everyone received a goodie bag, a T-shirt and amedal from Adidas for completing the race.

A great time was had by all the competitors.

34

Dear Roger,

I am writing further to yourarticle in the last edition ofMountview News about ThomasCrapper and our subsequentchat whilst at work a few weeksago. I sent this article through the post toa very old mate of mine, Harry (it would be wrong toquote his surname – but he lives in the Mill Hill area!)who unfortunately was christened with the name‘Crapper’ about 30 years ago whilst we were on a lad’sholiday in Spain! I don’t know whether it was thesangria or paella that was responsible, but poor Harryspent a lot of the holiday in the loo! Fellas being fellas,we have never let him forget it!

Harry and his wife, Mandy, celebrated their silverwedding anniversary a couple of years ago and to addinsult to injury, we all bought him a toilet brush!I think he was the proud owner of about 12 loobrushes! He is still a very good and valued mate ofmine regardless of his bathroom habits!

Kind regards –

Jeff Middleton (V70).

PS: I have enclosed an old photo of the holiday we wason when Harry took the nickname of ‘Crapper’.Harry is the guy in the middle and I am on the farright. What did we look like in them days?!

Letters & Emailsto the Editor...Dear Geoffrey,

The Lord Mayor’s Show – Saturday, 12 November 2011

This year’s Lord Mayor’s Show was once again atremendous success and I am very grateful to you foryour contribution, not only as a participant, but withthe much needed provision of the support taxis.

In an event like ours, so much depends on all thevarious elements of the day working togethersuccessfully and your drivers fulfilled their duties, withtheir customary good humour and efficiency.

Please pass on my appreciation to them, particularly inview of the additional work involved with the RiverProgress.

Yours sincerely –

Dominic Reid OBEPageantmaster, The Lord Mayor’s Show.

SEND YOUR LETTERS BY:

Email: mvn.editor@radiotaxis.co.uk

Or by ‘snail mail’ to:The EditorMountview NewsRadio Taxis GroupMountview HouseLennox RoadLONDONN4 3TX

@

The Mountview Puzzler PageCLUES ACROSS1. Man’s felt hat (7)5. It was (4)8. Radical (7)9. Wool fat (7)10. Spendthrift (7)12. Loud, rushing noise (6)15. Encroach (5)18. Instructed (6)20. Yorkshire town (7)23. Rotate (7)25. Thin coating of metal (7)26. Pace (4)27. Nightgown (7)

CLUES DOWN1. Empty (6)2. Morning (4)3. Unfasten (7)4. Valleys (5)5. A tenth part (5)6. Removing faults (8)7. Erodes (5)11. Agreement (4)13. Cloudy (8)14. Sharpen (4)16. Dividing into two equal parts (7)17. Silhouette (5)19. From that place (6)21. Scrimp (5)22. Inert elemental gas (5)24. Ultimate (4)

Jotting space

MOUNTVIEW SUDOKUThe object is to write in the missing numbers in the empty boxesbelow. But to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and3 x 3 box must contain the digits 1 through to 9 exactly once.What could be simpler?

Hooked? You can find more Sudoko online at: www.sudoku.cc

?

CAN YOU COME UP WITHA FUNNY CAPTION FORTHE PICTURE OPPOSITE?If you can, then please email it to:mvn.editor@radiotaxis.co.ukThe funniest caption will win itswriter a bottle of Champagne!

The Mountview News AmusingCaption Competition –If you spot something funny yourself,take a picture of it and email it to themvn.editor@radiotaxis.co.uk and wemay use it in the next edition.

The MountviewAmusing CaptionCompetition

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Mountview News – Graphic design, layout, print and distribution by DC-Graphics: 0208 440 1155 | www.dc-graphics.co.uk

CHIEF RENTALS is proud to announce that theyhave joined forces with Radio Taxis as their mainsupplier of replacement licensed Radio Taxis fortheir drivers who find themselves involved in theunfortunate circumstance of a non-fault accident.

This specialist service enables Radio Taxis drivers who areinvolved in such an incident to get straight back to work andmore importantly, back on the Radio Taxis circuit as allreplacement vehicles supplied by Chief Rentals are fitted witha Radio Taxis terminal.

Other aspects of this exceptional service also include repairmanagement of the driver’s own vehicle as well as the handlingof all personal injury claims, either from injured drivers ortheir injured passengers.

Not only are these services available to Radio Taxis drivers,but Chief Rentals has also agreed to expand them to drivers’

families and friends who may also find themselves in a similarpredicament following a non-fault accident and requiring alike-for-like replacement vehicle.

Chief Rentals look forward to working with both RadioTaxis and their drivers long-term into the future and endeavourto provide them with an outstanding service that will keepeveryone ‘on-circuit’ and at work during difficult times.

To find out more with no obligation, please call us FREEon the number above.