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Meanwhile in London - minicabs in bus lanes

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    "
    Chairman's
    Column

    Green party candidates and others are up in arms about what they see as the murder of Cyclists on London Roads.

    There has. as we all know, been a tremendous upsurge in cycling and cycling shops. This summer the roads will be thick with bicycles. These cyclists are throwing themselves onto some of the most congested spaces in the world. They leap onto a vehicle which offers thorn no protection except a padded plastic hat

    Should a motorist fail to observe a granny wobbling to avoid a pothole or a rain drain, then he is guilty of falling to anticipate that this was somebody on her maiden voyage into the abyss. The fact is he lust didn't see her and however cautious, caring or alert he is the influx of beginner cyclists Is going to lead to an overall increase in accidents involving cyclists.

    The rest of us occupying this roadspace have had to undergo extensive training We are sitting inside a protected space with impact bars and air bags and paying extortionate amounts of taxes on our vehicle purchase, parking, servicing, insurance and road tax

    It is time for us to say to cyclists 'You want to Join our gang, got trained and pay up'

    John Griffin Chairman

    "
    (of addison lee)

    http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/if-addisonlee-wasnt-worrying-you-before.html

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. Darkerside
    Member

    Nice response from road.cc

    http://road.cc/content/news/56999-addison-lee-chairman-airs-his-opinion-london-cyclist-deaths

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. chdot
    Admin

    Comment on road.cc article]

    "
    On twitter the hashtag #boycottaddisonlee is being used. Many bike companies have contracts with AL and they are now in the know thanks to Bikebiz.

    It is just not on for a private business to attempt to dictate law and tax, and to hold such dangerous attitudes towards others

    "

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. fimm
    Member

    That road.cc article won't open on my computer for some reason.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    "

    Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish)

    4/19/12 10:45 PM

    Ironically, I downright refuse to enter an #AddisonLee vehicle, after some of my worst car journeys were driven by them http://bit.ly/IXcMse

    "

    "

    Ross Lydall (@RossLydall)

    4/20/12 8:44 AM

    Just spoken to @AddisonLeeCabs boss John Griffin. Wants "holier than thou, gung-ho cyclists" to undergo training and get insurance. Views?

    "

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. Min
    Member

    "The rest of us occupying this roadspace have had to undergo extensive training"

    That is odd. When I began this "intensive training", I had to do it on the road. With wobbly people and all sorts on it. I am not sure what the difference is.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    "Green party candidates and other's are..."

    He deserves to be flogged simply for the ugly grammar. Typos I can understand (as many will testify), but ugly grammar is unforgiveable.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. chdot
    Admin

    "ugly grammar is unforgiveable"

    Perhaps

    THAT error is due to an OCR mistake I hadn't noticed!!!

    (Now corrected to add to confusion)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. Tom
    Member

    There's an article about the company and the chairman's tactics in today's on-line Guardian.

    I am a pessimist by nature but if Griffin is taking a stridently anti-cyclist stance presumably he thinks it will bring him more not less business because his views chime with those of his customers.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. Tulyar
    Member

    Tom John Griffin's thoughts of boosting business seem to have turned turtle - the star ratings of his i-phone and google apps have plummeted to 1-star, and a load of people are posting about their experiences - largely negative, or noting that they have cancelled their account with the company.

    The urgency to complete the journey may relate to the payment being per job rather than the taximeter calculation based on distance and time. Most A-L drivers it seems are not employees but 'rent' the vehicles and have their work delivered via A-L - there is obviously a target earnings level to ensure a living wage and payment for the car.

    We've had this issue with skip, tipper, and concrete trucks use in the construction industry, where the profit or payment is enhanced if a load is delivered or removed faster (eg payment by trip so more trips = more cash per shift). Drivers of any commercially operated vehicle should not be paid on the basis of tasks or trips completed, it runs counter to the employer's duty of care sections 2 & 3 to the employee and the general public under HSAW Act - the sooner the road as a workplace is treated as if it was the factory floor the better?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. Claggy Cog
    Member

    @Tulyar - that is absolutely right, drivers for AL are paid per job, and as you rightly say they "rent" the vehicle and are given the jobs by central control. They get a wage at the end of the week and money is docked for the "hire" of the van. Unless you complete an inordinate number of jobs the money is crap because the fee they charge is high for depreciation etc.

    I was surprised to learn that they had a big minicab business because that was not the case when I lived in London, it was a courier company. Hackney drivers have to sit the knowledge, minicab drivers do not. Minicabs cannot pick passengers off the street. Their licensing is different and they are considered sharks by the hackney carriage drivers.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. Baldcyclist
    Member

    Must admit I don't see what all the fuss is here! Let the courts deal with the issue of whether they can or can't use bus lanes, really nothing to be getting exited about!

    As for his view on cyclists, nothing controversial there either, his views echo those of a lot of people and he is entitled to them! He did state on a BBC London radio show that a lot of his comments in his article were just *journalism* and that he accepts that it is a tiny minority of cyclists breaking the laws etc.

    In the same radio program Carlton Reid accused him as being the same as someone who was sent to prison for inciting a riot, and that he "should be in jail" for his comments on bus lanes. So both sides of this argument can be sensationalist when they feel like it....

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. wingpig
    Member

    "Must admit I don't see what all the fuss is here!"

    I've been assuming there's some similarity between minicab/private hire cars down there and private hire cars up here, particularly with reference to their driving standards relative to black-cab taxis. One reason that bus lanes up here are currently relatively safe-feeling is that the aggressive speed-limit-ignoring ASL-blind private-hire-numpties-in-Octavias are not currently allowed in them during the bus lanes' hours of operation.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. Claggy Cog
    Member

    @wingpig - here's what you have to do in London to become a minicab/private hire driver. Most use their own cars, like they do in Embra.

    http://www.123-taxi.co.uk/guides/how_to_become_taxi_driver_in_london.html

    @baldcyclist - you are right that the courts should decide if AL cabbies will be allowed to use the bus lanes, but I hope that the judgement goes against them as it opens up the way for huge numbers of minicabs to use the bus lanes, and there are probably thousands of such like drivers/vehicles in London.

    I have been in some seriously clapped out minicabs in my time, how they ever passed an MOT is miraculous, or else the driver/owner paid the garage owner a huge backhander, because they were actually dangerous with bits hanging off. At least hackney carriages have to be compliant with so many standards and more to the point that they have to be 100% roadworthy.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. chdot
    Admin

    "
    APPCG (@allpartycycling)

    21/05/2012 16:59

    Minicab boss could face criminal prosecution over bus lane row

    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3421359.ece

    "

    Posted 11 years ago #

  16. gembo
    Member

    Addison lee people carriers were not in the London bus lanes this weekend

    Posted 11 years ago #

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