Sting on Bogus Taxis:Newcastle-u-Tyne

July 8th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Rogue Taxi Drivers have been caught in an undercover sting operation on the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle City Council put the sting into operation,targeting illegal Taxis plying for hire. After Newcastle Taxi Drivers staged a series of protests, pictured right.

Officers of the Council posed as fares hailing Taxis suspected of being unlicensed to ply for hire from the streets. Once hailed the ‘Taxi’ was asked to go to a predetermined destination where the Police were waiting to arrest the bogus drivers.Â Nine Taxi drivers were caught in the operation and face losing their licence for driving whilst uninsured as their insurance is automatically invalidated when working in this way.Â Â Newcastle City head of Licensing Mr. David O’Brien speaking to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle said: “Aside from the safety issues,this deprives the legitimate hackney carriage trade ofÂ work. Hackney Carriage licence holders pay money to us to have their badges and expect to be able to work without having to compete with cars operating illegally.”Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Well said! an enforcement officer who realises we expect some enforcement. Mr. O’Brien can you give North Tyneside Council a Ring!Â Â Â I wonder how loud the Bogus Taxi Drivers would shout if Hackney Carriages deprived them of their legitimate work?

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There Are 51 Responses So Far. »

Comment by central enthusiast on 16 July 2008:

As some of you may well know now that I have been causing a stir on here, but I just did not want Central Taxis to take blame for everything wrong in the Taxi trade at the coast, attacking the company just has a knock on effect to the Drivers who are just earning a crust!!!!!!!!!.
Anyway getting back to the issue of out of town Hacks, I would just like to update you all from a recent experience that I had.
I jumped ship at the weekend, and moved to a well respected coastal Taxi firm, this firm is renowned for it’s standards and service, I started a late shift on Monday, not even imagining the horror that lay ahead, as I logged on it was clear it was a slow night with lots of Cars still working from probably the day shift, I was Position 7, , I moved to several other zones and was still 4&5 in position, anyway back to Whitley pulled along side the 6 cars in front, 4 of them were Berwick bandits, two of the Drivers were related!, keep it in the family eh??, 30 mins passed still no movement, moved to another zone “Car 4″, two cars in front bloody Berwick, I was like a lost Dog chasing my tail, I looked at the Lighthouse to make sure I was still in Whitley Bay, not Berwick.
After all these UFO sightings in the Press, I wonder if it was just well lit Berwick top signs!, I stopped for a minute and thought about how much I could earn, if these Berwick Cars were stopped!
It was sad to see a top Taxi firm full of these folk masquerading as Taxi drivers!
There is no effects of the Credit Crunch within the trade, it’s the Berwick crunch only that is robbing us all, North Tyneside need to stop this or Berwick need to limit it’s plates, I hear they have massive amounts of applications(Berwick), I wonder where they will all end up??, The Council will have to open up the lower Prom in Whitley to house all the Bandits on a Saturday night, they can Rank up outside the Down Under Cafe!!!!!!!!!
Anyway back on the Rank now.
One thing is for sure, I will not be renewing my Berwick Badge, Berwick is hitting my income and personal life as a Driver and I no longer want to be part of it, and to the CB Boys, if they think the North Shields McD’s rank is the only problem then type Whitley Bay into your SatNav’s!, and I will have to say “Good hunting”

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Comment by jimmy1 on 16 July 2008:

In August last year Ace Cars, a Darlington taxi firm, had its licence revoked by Darlington councillors who ruled that the firm was jeopardising public safety by licensing some of its taxis with Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council.

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Comment by yt on 16 July 2008:

Thats very interesting Jimmy1.I wonder if Alan and Christine know about this!

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Comment by a berwick plated driver on 30 September 2008:

is it just my imagination or have all north tyneside and newcastle drivers just gone paranoid or what ? the cars in front of you would still be there even if the case is lost by berwick cos we’re not NEW DRIVERS DOWN HERE TO TAKE YOUR MONEY OFF YOU ………WE’RE ALREADY TAXI DRIVERS WHO HAVE BEEN LICENSED BY NORTH TYNESIDE OR NEWCASTLE BEFORE CHANGING TO BERWICK IN ORDER TO SAVE A FEW QUID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU LOT ACTUALLY THINK WE’RE ALL NEW DRIVERS !!!!!!!! yes there are a few rogue drivers who have jumped on board , and i too would be happy to see the back of these FEW drivers who are giving us money consious drivers a bad name !

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Comment by admin on 30 September 2008:

It’s been said before mate and I agree not everyone is a flimper but the saving money bit doesn’t wash! there are blue line drivers coming on here telling of their Â£900 to Â£1100 per week takings.By going to Berwick for a licence you are saving about Â£2 per week. I couldn’t be arsed mate,why would I get a Berwick plate for such a pittance of a saving when I make that much?

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Comment by ian shanks on 1 October 2008:

is it not sinking in you lot !!!

its about vehcile conditions such as slighty tinted glass not being aloud when its standard, its the time it takes to get a test. and the attitude of the staff etc etc etc !!

its got sod all to do about the saving of money it can often cost more money running up and down the road !!

lets drop the money saving garbage now for christ sake !!

enofrcement is what we ALL need ! that one thing could sort the whole problem yet the councils dont see it but can spend fortunes of court cases.

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Comment by tc on 1 October 2008:

Well Mr Berwick plate haway then tell us exactly what youâ€™re saving? Or more so what you hiding? You just donâ€™t get it do you, the Berwick syndrome come along to get foreign drivers in to take your job & not save you any thing! if Ian is honest the issuing of all the Berwick plates has opened 1 big can of worms that has reeked havoc for EVERY one connected with the trade, I bet it wasnâ€™t supposed to get this much out of control but it has !!

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Comment by Stephen (FKA Central Enth.) on 1 October 2008:

Berwick plated driver!
Wakey Wakey!!!
Their is dozens of bandits who have not been or are licensed elsewhere, I could name and point out about 50+, I am too a Berwick Badge holder, people like us are a minority!, the rest just have no respect for themselves or other drivers and just jump on the Berwick gravy train, they can’t or won’t get properly licensed!, I would like to see how many foreign Bandit drivers have a NT or NC badge now or in the past???, howay man!, bloody husbands, wifes, grannies the pet Dog etc have run up to Berwick so they can be a Taxi????Driver.
Including myself, their is only few who are joint or triple Badge holders!
Regards
Central Enthusiast!

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Comment by admin on 1 October 2008:

“WEâ€™RE ALREADY TAXI DRIVERS WHO HAVE BEEN LICENSED BY NORTH TYNESIDE OR NEWCASTLE BEFORE CHANGING TO BERWICK IN ORDER TO SAVE A FEW QUID”

I was replying to the above statement! You can shout about things sinking in as much as you like Mr.Shanks but this is a platform for all to say their piece, I respect that as much as the next man. There’s a lot of crap spilled here and I allow it all to be aired.
So! The simple message I think you’re trying to convey is “stop the Backbiting and give the Council some grief” I’m all for that but i’m going to winge about Berwick plates cos every weekend I see Blue line Berwick cars flimping in Whitley Bay Blatantly and one or two from Central every day of the week in shields. So I am not going to let that go without saying something about it OK!

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Comment by JD on 1 October 2008:

one office I know who has a few berwick plates and derwentside, out of 10 I can think of 2 yes 2 are ex haq drivers, the rest have started due to how easy it is to get a badge.

so thats 80% at this office are NEW drivers,,, I believe if some people say the ‘were just saving money, we’ve been taxi drivers for 20 years’ palava enogh times then they think the rest of us will start to believe it!

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Comment by Stephen (FKA Central Enth.) on 1 October 2008:

This site should be called “too many pathetic hapless excuses for having a Berwick badge.com!, the Bandits are on the run so lets blame North Tyneside Council!, I said this in a early statement on here and another website, if you get shot of the bandits then NT Council would get the blame and NT PH drivers!!!!
Mr Shanks!, you are a respectable, sucessful business person so why don’t you be bloody honest and say that you have enjoyed the increased revenue from these Bandits!, instead of saying that NT would’nt license Ex Warsaw Pact folks and Cars with Tinted windows!!.
If you have raked up 100 bandits at £100 per week each good for you, us humble drivers don’t knock extra custom do we??, if we the Normal get ten £10 jobs off the rank and their is chance of another 10, we don’t refuse!.
As for the “bandit only’s” on here, you are saving nowt really, last November I renewed my Flimp License and it cost me £20 Diesel, £38 for the yearly CRB, and the Badge at nearly £50!, so Bandits tell the truth you just want to have a flashing Top sign so the P heads jump in your Car at the Pizza Cottage (W/B) or the Magic flame (N/C) on a Saturday night!
I await more pathetic explanations
Regards
Stephen

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Comment by SC on 1 October 2008:

Admin, anytime i get a job in Whitley Bay I always get paranoid Hacks tooting when I pick up, all thinking i’ve flimpped the job just because I’ve said no to a couple of people I am not booked for! TBH it would loose more money sitting waiting to get a good flimp then just taking a job off the Blue Line system!

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Comment by Captain Cab on 1 October 2008:

Mr Shanks, you’re as aware as the rest of us that if you feel a condition is burdensome you can appeal it through the courts. From memory section 48 (7) of the 76 act?

If staff have attitudes there are complaints procedures.

regards

CC

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Comment by JDredd on 1 October 2008:

Stephen (FKA Central Enth.) - or Ameens and Athena (2 regular of Mr. S. Cars the Gold Mondeo Estate and Blue Mondeo), Pizza Hut, Mushroom, Flairs, Floritas, Station Hotel, The Bus Station behind the yard, The Gate (Harder at the moment for them with building works) Stowell Street, The Irish Centre, Premier Travel Inn (yes NODA park on the hack rank) Anywhere round clayton street (who one city centre firm belive is the start of their office!) the auld firestation, Dobson street the list goes on and on in newcastle. What amazes me is when the police and enforcement were active in the city, (after the sting) how few out of town PH, and GH haqs there were in the city centre! We all took that as an indication of just how servere the problem is!

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Comment by SC on 2 October 2008:

Or maybe we had jobs and didn’t need to be sitting around blocking the streets like the hacks? nice to see 90% of the place you have listed are not even next to a rank, time the hacks realised they dont own the town!

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Comment by mick on 2 October 2008:

Well ian we sure do hope that you are sweating now good and hard!! as since these bandits appeared my takings have droped £140 a week on average, but running costs have increased now i not going to brag on here on how much i earn i can pay my bills. (just) But i am not living in comfort and i am worried about the wolf could take my house as the credit crunch takes effect i seen 1 other blt driver loose his house and 2 people in my street lose thers so ressesion is bitten hard on our pockets and i have very few reserves left incase of a disaters that happen so if newcastle council win this battle i am sure u will feel the pinch as yore own sister jane said it will blow up in ure face for being to greedy and this is not for you ian this is all ph operators. The local drivers and councils made you and I dont apprecate being called an ASS HOLE if u want respect u earn it.

BY THE WAY WE SHOULD BE TAKING NO LESS THAT A GRAND A WEEK FOR ALL THE SH!T WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH LIKE PROSTITUES AND DRUG DEALERS THAT WE HAVE TO FERRY AROUND.

Right i have vented my spleen now good luck on the result of the hearing

mick

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Comment by JDredd on 2 October 2008:

sc did you not read this part???

” What amazes me is when the police and enforcement were active in the city, (after the sting) how few out of town PH, and GH haqs there were in the city centre!”

so you telling me sc that when the police did there active checks, and for a few weeks after the enforcement sting, the public booked far less taxis to go home on those evenings? Come on! WE know what goes on, Enforcemnet know it, and admit it YOU know it!

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Comment by Ian Shanks on 2 October 2008:

Mick,

why should i be sweating ? if things don’t go certain ways you turn around and head in another direction.

If your takings have dropped and your feeling the pitch you are the prime candidate to take me up on the offer and make more money here. The blue line driver you say lost his house may not be down to BLUE LINE it may be his bad living or lack of coming to work which could be proved if that person wished to accuse the business of lack of work we would happily go through his working hours and jobs.

i am please you speak to my sister more than i do !! i will ask her tonight how she came to that comment ? if she in fact did ?

oh and i do very much respect the drivers and staff of this industry and correct they did make me and this business and i don’t forget that !! so maybe your wrong on that as well !!

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Comment by SC on 2 October 2008:

JD tbh, this so called sting went unnoticed, do you have any figures on how many drivers got caught? tell me when it happened and i’ll do a freedom of information request and get them. I have never said flimping isn’t happening, what I am saying is every Private Hire car that is parked up is not flimping, 99% of cars are waiting for there customer at a pre arranged point. I for one have been stopped by the transport police in the station because a paranoid hack driver had seen me turn away a couple of people, then take someone, once the police man check the customers name against my data head he agreed that the Hacks are over paranoid. This only strengthened my customers negative opinion of the Hack trade.

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Comment by SC on 2 October 2008:

Mick, if you work for Blue Line and are not making good money, you want to try “working smart not hard” work the hours that make money not sitting around in car parks moaning about the lack of work.

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Comment by S.Craig on 2 October 2008:

SC. There’s Technology out there to hack into your Datahead. If that happened and you started turning up for jobs that had been taken ,How would you feel? Paranoid? Give us a break man! this site is about too many taxis. The hacks are at bursting point and theres room for no more. If The council and people like ian Shanks get their way, not too long from now there will be far too many Private Hire (no limits on numbers of P/H) and you may start to feel the pinch. Why are Foreign drivers being started?is there not enough home grown drivers? Think about it Drivers are being harvested from everywhere,when I started there were about 40 drivers at Blueline and every year there are more. Good luck to Ian that’s his business,but there are only so many fares out there. When you start to struggle in maybe 1 year or 2,you are going to look for somebody to blame,you will start to feel how a Hack feels now. We never complained a few years ago when everyone was making good money but as soon as things get tight you start to get protective of your livelyhood,not paranoid,protective. That’s a Human thing not a Hack thing and it will come to you aswell mate.Each new driver chips away at your income without you noticing and then one day you can’t pay a bill so you put a few extra hours in,then when you’re putting all the hours in that you can and the bills still don’t get paid that’s when you will kick off because somebody is to blame. So keep coming here and spout off about Paranoid hacks until the same thing happens to you!

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Comment by JDredd on 2 October 2008:

“99% of cars are waiting for there customer at a pre arranged point” - is this a Homer Simpson quote?

SC appearing every Thursday night at the Hyena Comedy Cafe !

Well it was from the Horses mouth, Mr. O’Brien that 10 were caught on plate night. 6 were newcastle PH. And 4 were not. I believe if you as Berwick licensing they will tell you that they have revoked one badge for ‘flimping’. Now if the sting lasted 8 hours, the time it takes to deal with each car and get the ’stingers’ back into town even 1 and hour is good. Especially on plate day when so many ‘flimpers’ will be out to rob aswell.

like I have said, the proof is in the pudding. After the sting all was very quiet for a few weeks, no ph blocking one lane of traffic, sitting there pretending to be on the phone. And we could also tell in our job quality, back were the Whitley Bays, Chester le Streets etc. Now take a look on a weekend, back to normal, MORE PH out of town Hacks in the city than N/cle Hacks!!!

Also for a few weeks after the ’sting’ we actually had ques again on our ranks, yes QUES! Again these are a thing of the past now that the rot has started to set in again!

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Comment by BLT driver and proud of it on 2 October 2008:

Christ what are you lot on about, ive done 41hours this week over 3 dayshifts and for just over 80 jobs i’ve grossed £546.60 the work and the money is out there, go and get it, just stop the moaning. im not new to this job so dont think i know no better, ive just renewed my badge for year 17!

Also thank you Ian Shanks for the free week you promised, as ever, a man of your word in my eyes.

also Mick who posted above, if you spoke to me the way you spoke to I.S. you’d not be working my circut. in my humble opinion you also need to show respect or are you that way because of years working for HH?

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Comment by Stephen (FKA Central Enth.) on 2 October 2008:

BLT driver and proud of it!
Nice to see you back, I thought you had been kidnapped or robbed as you were spouting on here how much you earned!, we know you are a liar, but “would be” robber would’nt would he???.
So who are you????, if you exist!
I believe Mick, Mr Shanks should give him a free Car for being honest!!!
BUT!!!
If you are that idiot who Flimps at Pizza Cottage on Saturday (Sunday Morning) @ around 02.15am, and has Newcastle Hack rates on his Meter then you may be telling the truth!
The BLT Driver kindly advised me to get Toon rates on my Meter a few weekends ago, he stated that “Shanksy has so many Cars he does’nt recognise his Drivers that’s how he gets away with it”, I replied No of course, our lot of punters at the bottom of South Parade complain enough, without sticking the Fares up!!!
Regards
Central Enthusiast…..and very proud of it!!!!!!!

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Comment by SC on 3 October 2008:

JD, when am on at the Hyena Comedy Cafe, cracking jokes about paranoid hack drivers, you might want to take a maths night class as all you have done is prove my point.

If this “sting” is to be taken as a reflection of what is going on in town, then 10 cars caught out of the 1000 or more private hire cars that pick up in town proves that 99% of the PH cars have/and are picking up pre booked jobs (10 out of 1000 =1%) which is hardly the ludicrous claim you’re make about every parked car flimping!

S.Craig, It happens now that I turn up for a job and its been taken (probably by other Blue Line drivers) but I dont let it run my life, worrying about what if? its just as easy to move on to the next job and not sit stressing about it!

I think people need to realise the industry is changing, the consumer has to be/ and is a lot more careful with their hard earned pounds, they expect a lot more for their money. One of the big things customers complain about to me as a private hire driver about hacks, is how long they once had to stand on a busy night, so now they try and make sure they have booked a car to take them home. This could only be solved by putting more hack on the road, but that in turn would make it even harder for the hacks to make a living.

IMO I think we will witness a massive change in industry over the next few years and those who fail to move with the industry will out of business.

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Comment by BLT driver and proud of it on 3 October 2008:

stephen, why do you bother with your postings on this site? everything you say is negative, and you disbelieve everything people say. go to BLT and ask Ian to look at my job history for this week am that will prove i’m no liar!

i have a feeling you wont do that because you will be proved wrong and as we all know you’re always right about everything!

No wonder some taxi drivers are struggling, if you pass your negative feeling on to the customer they will just stop using the company you work for and use a company with a more positive outlook on life.

Food for thought Stephen? - na its probably just gone way over your head because you know best!

And in regards to me flimping at the coast, do me a favour, i’d rather stick pins in my eyes than pick up flimps, especially down the coast. i’ve 1 rate on my meter, blueline office rate, i welcome the management @ BLT to check it anytime.

anyway cant sit and reply to your nonsense all day, i’ve got a car to hoover before work because as it happens i take pride in my car like most drivers at BLT

Have a good day………… i intend to

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Comment by BLT driver and proud of it on 3 October 2008:

Also Stephen…. whats this at the end of you posting …..

Central Enthusiast ….. and very proud of it????????

Its not 3 weeks since when you launched a bitter twisted attack on Graeme, his cars and his business right here on this site

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Comment by the nutty professor on 3 October 2008:

Well excuse me Stephen (fka central enth) but did you say you renewed your flimp license last November yet you seem to be whingeing on about the “bandits” what exactly is a flimp license and why do you have one the reason most drivers choose to go through berwick council is down to cost are you trying to tell me you would rather pay ntc £274 a year + the cost of a badge weather it be ph hc or combined or pay berwick £125 a year + £40 for your badge and yes £36 for your crb on a yearly basis but do the maths your still saving money so please explain are you a “bandit” yourself or not

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Comment by mick on 3 October 2008:

yes i do work smart u idoits yes i do work for blueline i want to know is how iam i only doing 15 to 18 quid per hour average.(are u blind?) I was doing that when we were gettin 90p per mile!!! now we are gettin £1.30 a mile i am still doing 15 to 18 quid an hour!! i explain that i do not sit in carparks moaning i just do my job it is only in the last 2 weeks were i averaged 26 quid per hour i been busy yes i do chase work all the time and go anywere the point is i go to work to work.I do not want to sit around i am there to work and i work hard and work when times are busy. Now i pay ian 100 quid a week i expect to be able to go out when i want to earn what i want and the in the time that iam out, ian i know u dont care about us drivers all you are intrested in is what u earn of us that part is your buisness i am only maoning beacuse why should any person regadless of race come into this contry without a proper checks no localaty test(just the berwick gravy train!!) and take work from the people that have had this done. I know north tyneside council is a pain in the ars£ but there regulations are there for a reason for public safety and to safegaurd the passengers, now some items that you are right ian like tinted windows but there is nothing else to nit pic over!! like i know i had a car of you and it was the most dangerus car i had ever driven it had no spare wheel no fire extigwisher the back door would not open and the windows did not work it had faulty tyres and brakes so these need to be keeped in check with the council if it were up to me all ians blueline cars should be mot every 6 months due to the lack of basic mantiance as ian takes note spend no money on them until they break down or overdue a service that part if it did happen u asked for yoreself ian. like all taxi operators not just shanksy r tared whith the same paint and it reads greed!!. Personly i think all the berwick plates should go and then go back to normalaty were every 1 is licenced were there work and then the council can deal with there own cowboys and not worry about any 1 else then we can get back to basics of doing out job without customers moaning that some bandit took them the wrong way and charged in some cases more than double than the jobs worth. speeking from experance some ex north tyneside drivers now bandits have told me that some passengers dont want to get into there cars and getting licenced back at north tyneside to stop friction.

ALL WE WANT IS A LEVAL PLAYING FEILD IAN U CAN HAVE AS MANY CARS AS YOU LIKE AS LONG AS THERE ARE LICENCED I NORTH TYNESIDE COUNCIL NO EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE.

MICKY

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Comment by ian shanks on 3 October 2008:

mick as far as what your earning now against years ago !! maybe you should address the government it could be them taking ore of you not me !!

sorry you feel so bitter towards me and feel that i am greedy but i have spent my life building a business and worked every day trying to improve things and took risks many other people would have never of done !! and here you are making a living from what we as a family have produced !! its sad your so bitter !!

as far as these EU citizens please know your facts they have all got full CRB checks from both home country and England, i have had all the checks needed for any driver.

as far as our cars go we have a garage that any driver can take his car into and have looked at we do not skimp on the maintenance of our cars and never will do ! i think your car has been in far worse condition that ours has ever been the, red skoda ????

and i would have never gone to any other council if i felt that getting tests within reasonable time scales and all the other obstructiveness i have witnessed was not in place.

so i am sorry you feel this way but i believe ever time you have need assistance you have had it from our team of managers and myself.

if you not happy with what we do why stay cause i presume there must be better out there Mr burns !

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Comment by S.Craig on 4 October 2008:

To SC “If this “sting” is to be taken as a reflection of what is going on in town, then 10 cars caught out of the 1000 or more private hire cars that pick up in town proves that 99% of the PH cars have/and are picking up pre booked jobs (10 out of 1000 =1%) which is hardly the ludicrous claim you’re make about every parked car flimping!”…………Your statement above is pathetic ! I know for a fact a lot of people had prior knowledge,upto 10 days before the ‘Sting’ That it was coming off. So 10 Captured was pretty good for the small window available plus the fact everybody knows that it’s a minority, out of your quoted 1000 cars,that actively Flimp. The proof was that miraculously All the operators seemed to have a lot fewer bookings in the weeks following the ‘Sting’ there have also been less well known stings since then which have caught even more and these operations are set to be a regular thing. Maybe you are not a Flimper but don’t be blind to the fact that it goes on. I was private hire for three years before getting a Hack and never needed to Flimp a fare but I knew plenty who did and they saw it as a right. And I don’t stress about the Flimpers, I don’t have to find Rent every week so I’m quite chilled about things. I come here to get things off my chest, It seems mostly Blue Line come here to Bite. There’s a lot don’t bother to come here as they probably do their shift and go home,But I have to wonder about the ones that do come here and bite, It’s almost as if you take it personally,why would you if you’re squeaky clean?

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Comment by Captain Cab on 4 October 2008:

Quote BLT;

“Also thank you Ian Shanks for the free week you promised, as ever, a man of your word in my eyes.”

ears surely?

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Comment by Sam Harrington on 4 October 2008:

BLT driver, the figures you quote may well be true, but you have to look at the bigger picture, before we do, from what i understand you worked 41 hours over 3 dayshifts, if so, thats almost 14 hours per shift, and you claim not to sit around, i for one would not feel safe getting in your vehicle late into your stint !!!!

Now to the figures, i will assume you travelled 600 miles to gross £546.60, which equates to running costs for your vehicle of £180 add your office rent (£105 i do believe), which totals £285, take that from your gross earnings and you are left with £261.60 so in conclusion it ain’t as rosy as you make out.

regards Sam

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Comment by BLT driver and proud of it on 4 October 2008:

SAM the rent is £100 at BLT yeah granted i did some long shifts this mon/tues and wed but THB its not exactly hard work is it? i put £95 of fuel in to earn my cash on the 3 shifts + my £100 rent which id pay if i worked 1 hour or 100 hours this week so take off my primary overheads (£195) from £546.60 and thats still £351 and ive still got friday nights earnings and saturday nights too.

For your info i did £248 last night for 12.5 hours

not so rosy? i was off Thursday and i’m off on Sunday for the run

Its hardly been a tough week workwise so far….

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Comment by SC on 4 October 2008:

S.Craig I had no knowledge (and tbh the juggle telegraph in Blue Line is usually very good) I have never denied flimping is happening, and I’d go as far to say any Private Hire driver that claims never to of flimped is telling lies. But what boils my piss is the attitude that the hacks have when ever I pull up, I have many a time had hack driver come to my window and tell me to move, even though I have a job to pick up. They need to get it in to their heads that they dont run the streets, not everybody is out they flimping.

Btw if the council let it be public knowlage that they had a sting planed, then sorry but they are taking the piss out of the hacks “yes we’ll clamp down on flimping (but lets make sure people know so we dont have to much work to do)”

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Comment by SC on 4 October 2008:

Mick, If you use to have a red skoda and now drive a zafira you want to get your story straight, last time I spoke to you, you did nothing but boast about how much you’d taken and how cheap LPG is? You were making more then me and am take around £900 a week!

Also, I am currently having to rent a car due to mine being of the road (but unlike you am pleased to still be making a living while I save to get my car fixed), yes I’ve had to take it in for the odd niggle, but all work has been do straight away plus extra stuff that they have spotted.

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Comment by Captain Cab on 4 October 2008:

Comment by Sam Harrington on 4 October 2008:

BLT driver, the figures you quote may well be true, but you have to look at the bigger picture, before we do, from what i understand you worked 41 hours over 3 dayshifts, if so, thats almost 14 hours per shift, and you claim not to sit around, i for one would not feel safe getting in your vehicle late into your stint !!!!

Now to the figures, i will assume you travelled 600 miles to gross £546.60, which equates to running costs for your vehicle of £240 add your office rent (£105 i do believe), which totals £345, take that from your gross earnings and you are left with £201.60 i.e. less than the minimum wage for the hours worked, so in conclusion it ain’t as rosy as you make out.

regards Sam

Dont you go shattering illusions here

regards

CC

[Reply]
Comment by BLT driver and proud of it on 4 October 2008:

for the benefit of people out there who doubt my takings and put a negative slamt on the industry then perhaps i should lie and then that will maybe please you.

so or the purpose of making all the doubters happy here goes

I HATE THIS JOB- IVE DONE 11 x 26HOUR SHIFTS THIS WEEK, MY TOP JOB WAS £5.10, IVE TRAVELLED 790 MILE AND TOOK £100.90, IVE HAD 75 BLANKS AND FUEL HAS GONE UPTO £1.49.9 PER LITRE!!!!!!!!!!!

But back to reallity look at the other BLT drivers who are starting to back up my claims on damn good takings at BLT, are we all liars?

And Micky, if you are hell bent in telling the world just how much you dislike BLT in your postings and at any slag the company off to other drivers who dont work at BLT (i can tell you of one instance recently and the drivers you were talking to thought you were a complete kn*b) then you wanna move to another office or go back to Phoenix taxis in Northumberland because i’d hate to think what you’re telling the customers who get in your car.

You appear to be the bad apple in the basket

I was told many years ago that it is 10 times harder to win a customer from another company than it is to loose a customer to the competition. I wonder how many customers you have lost BLT over the years but i guess i could count on 1 hand just how many youve gained us.

[Reply]
Comment by Ian Shanks on 4 October 2008:

mick while everyone is kicking you can i have another go !!

as far as being a uncaring greedy operator, can you tell me who offers their drivers the free use of a car for up to three days while they get their own car sorted and back on the road.

Do i really need to do that ?

i think if you are the driver i think you are ? you yourself have had the use of such loan cars on a number of occasions !! after you put a petrol gear box into a diesel car ! then tried to run you diesel car on cooking oil !! so please don’t criticise our vehicles as they are better maintained than most others, but we need the drivers to report faults to us not simply driver them until they stop.

anyway for the BLT drivers on this site may i thank you for being honest and positive ! i feel proud to have drivers like you

[Reply]
Comment by Stephen (FKA Central Enth.) on 4 October 2008:

Dear Mick, BLT Driver and proud of it, nutty professor & Captain Cab!
Mick - Nice to see someone honest on this site!.

nutty professor - In many of my postings I have stated that I ALSO have a Bandit Badge, (LICENSE TO FLIMP) Berwick!!!, I don’t hide behind user names or lie, if I am wrong I will admit, if I don’t know I will ask!.

Captain Cab - Why do you bother quoting what BLT has to say, we know he is full of sh*t, OR he gets fed, OR does he exist?, and he dropped himself in it by stating that he does 14 hours a day, I could beat his figures if they were true easily at Central! doing 14 hr shifts, remember BLT driver started on this site saying that he only worked mornings until about 16.30 hrs, and after a break he was back on here saying that he does 14 hours a day…poor chap!

BLT Driver and proud of it - First of all we should rename him
BLT(D) Driver and proud of it - Billy Liar Taxi Driver and proud of it!!!
“everything I say is negative” you quoted, so why do I get some “backs up” on here including yours, I fired a few comments at Mr Shanks and he admitted to it, remember the issue that their were two blokes in a BLT car picking up a lass traveling alone, he replied that it was a NVQ Assessor, so I was telling the truth and so was he!.
I THINK BLT and stress THINK that if you are real?, then you are the cheese in the Trap? What?……As you well know Mr Shanks and Mr Irwin (Eastcoast) like doing things togther, Mr Irwin is apparently taking a Driver to Court (NT Hack) for defamation, so Mr Shanks will fancy doing the same probably and this site is a good fishing ground for him, YOU are probably the cheese!.
I tell the truth so I don’t care, I see you lot in Wallsend Netto car park doing nowt all day and flimping at the weekend, so that says it all!, if you can make £900 per week then why are all the Cars sitting doing nowt, you only see the Company liveried Cars flying around Town.
When I first started at Foxhunters, I made a good living, so I never flimped or sat around because I was earning, so anyway who are you????…..or are you being NEGATIVE and hiding behind that Computer????
Stephen
Central Enthusiast

[Reply]
Comment by SC on 4 October 2008:

BLT driver and proud of it , your wasting your time, they would rather sit around ranked up moaning about the decline in work, rather then work out where the work has gone and follow it. I noticed no claims that you can make more money on the ranks?

[Reply]
Comment by mick on 4 October 2008:

Hey blt driver no hard feelings!! (are you micky mood?) i just keep my ranting on here and i do not rant to customers!! ok the other point ian i am not a bitter person never have been i just feel sometimes i feel the need to vent my spleen after a hard shift. you ask my wife!! we dont all agree on what ian will do and we have to live with that. i can, i am just putting my point across . Yes you can make money at blt i agree with that blt driver i am looking if i hit what i want this weekend i will be on £1100 this week and happy with that but i get tired and irratable as we all do and sept is my hardest month now it is over i can get on with my life now ian i do respect you in a way as i say we just dont agree on everything that is going on. I will look forward to yore reply

micky

[Reply]
Comment by SC on 4 October 2008:

Stephen, if you dont believe I took over £900 on a 51 hour week, go in to Blue Line and get Ian to show you my list of Jobs! am more then happy to put my money where in mouth is, unlike you!

[Reply]
Comment by Ian Shanks on 4 October 2008:

Stephen central enth,

while we have different views i have respected yours, but i now find myself irritated by your constant disbelief of others and the accusation they are liars or being frauds of some sort !

you have been offered the chance to have a insight into our office, to see the work load, to investigate drivers jobs records and hours, and even been offered a car for free for two weeks to experience this office for your self !!

as you are reluctant or maybe even scared to be proven wrong i think you should simply stop being a prat by making such comments you might have to face up to that there is a world outside of Central and things maybe different and of course maybe better ! your disbelief is only because you think it can not be done ! but then you go onto say you yourself could beat that !! so then it can be done are you one mixed up puppy !! have you declared you mental deficiency on your council badge application

come on Stephen your saying your can beat it therefore it can and is done so stop calling drivers liars.

PS no one does my fishing around !! i am a big boy, i sort my own problems. and be careful as you me loose the opportunity of other offices with your abuse remember what happened to you at Central not so long ago !! you have been thrown out once

[Reply]
Comment by Stephen (FKA Central Enth.) on 4 October 2008:

Mr Shanks
BLT Driver stated he made a fair amount of money on dayshift at your Office, something I found hard to believe at £120 for a shift 07.00-16.30, I could’nt beat that!, but now he returns to this site and states that he does around 14 hours a shift, so that’s a different kettle of fish.
If you average £10 a hour that’s £140! for 14 hours work, so a proper office like yours and Central, it can be done, but my point about BLT being a Liar was from his first comments he made on this site that started a frenzy of facts and figures on here.
Your comment about me being thrown out of Central was due to a misunderstanding, in which I was man enough to write a explanation on here, it was only a reference to a comment made by one of YOUR staff when I applied to work for you.
Like I have stated before, If I was not settled at Central, then I would have gladly taken you up on your offer to work for you, but not for free, However I am happy to be at Central.
Look up the terms “Banter” & “Rivalry”
Regards
Stephen

[Reply]
Comment by Captain Cab on 4 October 2008:

Quote Stephen (FKA Central Enth.)

Captain Cab - Why do you bother quoting what BLT has to say, we know he is full of sh*t, OR he gets fed, OR does he exist?, and he dropped himself in it by stating that he does 14 hours a day, I could beat his figures if they were true easily at Central! doing 14 hr shifts, remember BLT driver started on this site saying that he only worked mornings until about 16.30 hrs, and after a break he was back on here saying that he does 14 hours a day…poor chap!

Stephen I tend to quote people, because some of us (well me mainly) cant be bothered to trawl through the postings.

I actually quoted Sam Harrington, so pay attention! I believe Sam was pointing out the obvious flaws in the fugures quoted.

I did quote BLT once though, he pointed out “Also thank you Ian Shanks for the free week you promised, as ever, a man of your word in my eyes”

In all honesty, I cant believe people are going on about how much they’re earning.

regards

CC

[Reply]
Comment by Blt driver and proud of it on 5 October 2008:

Micky stop ya twisting but for the record im not micky mood but i do know who he is and he seems to do quite well here @ BLT also.

Stephen, you are just so far removed from the real world, if you took your had out of your AR*E and looked further than your CO*K end then maybe you will see whats going on around you in the world of taxis instead of being so twisted and negative….

im away, i will leave you all to squabble amonst yourselves in the playground but remember, sticks and stones……….

[Reply]
Comment by BLT driver and proud of it on 5 October 2008:

Jesus- look at my postings and write it down, it wasnt £120 ahift for 12 or 14 hour shifts it was £546 for 3 long day shifts, not £360 for 41 hours check ya figures but you only believe what you want, get on with it, i’m done with you lot- all i was trying to say from the outset is that if youre prepared to graft you can make the money and ive never been as well off since i started at Blueline.

Yes Ian now does know who i am because the week after i had my free week and i was able to catch up with him (he was in London for the court hearing W/C 15th Sept) i made a point of thanking him for the frebie, he didn’t have to do it but to get it i did have to make myself known to him.

I also asked if he had any idea who i was and TBF i dont think he was bothered who i am, just happy that someone was prepared to speak the truth instead of telling lies.

So to finish, I’m no liar, everything i have stated on this site has been true and acurate, yes i agree some drivers make more than others at blueline but it is all to do with your approach to the job, your willingness to do the job efficiently and also a lot to do with the areas you work, i could not believe the working areas blueline cover and when i was told the type of area BLT cover on the day of my data training i didnt believe Frank either but i was soon put straight on that one.

Regards to you all…….. Stephen inc

[Reply]
Comment by Alan on 6 October 2008:

The real culprit with regard to Berwick plates is North Tyneside Council and their obstinate dictatorial stance over all things ‘Licensing’.

The increasing cost of a Plate, the increase in the price of an MOT and the difficulty in arranging a mutually agreeable time, the increasing cost of a badge, the insistence of tint regulations and the banning of certain ’standard spec’ cars (even when they are plated on ALL other council PH / Hack fleets) and the superscillious attitude of some of the staff all go together to force people to seek alternatives - that alternative is Berwick.
You may or may not be aware but not too long ago the council had a serious amount of surplus money (made through taxi plating) and that is what kept the prices down for so long. Now they have lost about 400 ‘plates’ to Berwick, that money has not been replaced - and they want even more of it from the faithfull North Tyneside drivers. You can see why so many have jumped ship and gone to Berwick.

The point Ian has made is valid - a fair service for a fair price or go elsewhere - unfortunately NTC dont seem - or want to know. Not everyone has gone to Berwick (me included) - for multitudes of reasons - and not all Berwick plates belong to ‘foreigners / newbies / criminals’. Lets kick the Council - not each other.

Couple of other points if I may - Maidstone Council - way down in Kent will not allow any car older than 5 (yes five) years old to be plated PH or Hack. So having a minimum of a 51 plate (7 years) is not too bad. We should give the customers some credit and provide decent transport for them - who wants a scabby old heap pulling up outside to take them to the airport or town or anywhere…

14 hours for a shift - is that safe? Is that 14 hours 5 days a week? Too long….

Finally - if operators have not had nor generated a significant increase in their customer base, (and I dont see a lot of evidence to the contrary) then the ‘taking on’ of more drivers (Berwick or NTC) could be seen as irresponsible - forcing existing drivers to work even longer hours and spreading the jam even more thinly than it ever was. Seems we should even consider lobbying to have the number of PH licences capped (ooohhh) …….

[Reply]
Comment by Deka on 15 October 2008:

Well here goes,
With the regards to locality tests,whats the difference between knowing your own area and others etc.
I.E.punter gets in cab and gives an address 10 miles away!!!do you refuse or do the job!!(HA)
As far as i am concerned it is a learning trade and always will be as i have been doing it for twenty years now and welcome new people as the older ones welcomed me when i came into the trade!!!!!!
Its a shame that there are too many small(greedy)minded people who come into the game these days and then think (f22k you i am ok).
Al i mean is i was welcomed into the trade,so why cant we welome our new brothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Reply]
Comment by Sasha on 6 November 2008:

Suggest argue, because only in a dispute born truth.

[Reply]

toomanytaxis

Sting on Bogus Taxis:Newcastle-u-Tyne

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