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• #2
Good! If you wanted to be really snide, you could have taken his Public Service Vehicle /Public Carriage Office number and/or the Hackney Carriage number and reported him to the PCO. Always good for a laugh.
The driver has his own license to drive a PSV/PCO vehicle (basically certifies that he is who he says he is, and that he hasn't committed certain crimes against the person), the vehicle itself is also licensed as fit to carry the public. These apply whether it's a black cab or a licensed cab (the ones with the green disc inside the rear window).
The company I work for operates PCO licensed cabs - everyone at the company connected with the passenger car division, including the drivers, fears a PCO inspection.
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• #3
I had been travelling for 23 hours from Taipei via Singapore and could hardly focus let alone write down a number.
What saddened me is that when ASLs first appeared, a number of cabbies warned my about them and automatic points if you stopped in one. Now they don't give a toss. Then again, neither do the police.
I agree that the PCO is the way to go for all offensive cabbies.
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• #4
Just got back from a friend. Few beers, chit chat, all that.
Taxi home. Old bmw, big engine, fantastic driver. Smooth from lights, nice corners, no seat belts, one with the city. 30 at cameras, 50 the rest, lethal take overs.
I know it's not good from a cyclists view, but sometimes it's fucking great being completely free in someone else's passenger seat. Those rare occasions where London makes perfect sense. I think you know what I mean.
And this, lfgss. I haven't met a single one of you, but still, you're part of my london.
Second drunk post in two nights. This one's better
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• #5
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Second drunk post in two nights. This one's betterNo it isn't.
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• #7
Coincidence that on the same day taxi drivers protest against uber, they release this thumb-biting gem?
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• #9
I'm tempted by some UBER branded merchandise, my enemy's enemy and all that.
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• #10
Maybe a nice catchphrase like Deutschland, Deutschland über alles?
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• #11
http://www.wired.com/2014/04/how-uber-could-use-bike-messengers-to-take-on-amazon/
Would sign up to work on that in an instant if ever it comes to London.
It's so pricey I can hardly believe it'd work.
Messengers being paid a decent wage and a donation to the Messenger Emergency Fund with each booking? Not shabby at all. -
• #13
Minicabs are now up to 145% cheaper
What the fuck does that mean? It means the journalist isn't good at maths, or communicating.
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• #15
I see the cabbies have now turned on Hailo as they are developing a minicab app too. The driver with a full Hailo vinyl wrap of his cab covering up the logos with electrical tape = hilarious
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• #17
Christian Science Monitor? Really?!
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• #18
Actually Skully the CSM quite a highly regarded journalistic source in the USA.
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• #19
All the Hackney Carriage drivers seem to be complaining about really is that they feel under respected. That they have spent years learning The Knowledge is somewhat impressive but when that model of learning and employment becomes naturally outmoded they start to look like lunatics.
I don't know why any one would natually care about the livelihood of Black Cab drivers. As far as I can see, they charge a lot of money and take pleasure in sitting in traffic all day.
I'm sure many have already but really there is pretty much nothing stopping them from dumping their gas guzzling LTCs and joining Uber as drivers.
Isn't it sort of a natural progression?
If anything, their knowledge and experience would likely be greater respected there.
That Uber is so popular is evidence alone that the role of a taxi driver is a long way from dying out.tl;dr /rant etc.
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• #20
The knowledge is worth gold. Don't know how many times I've sat in pre-booked cabs going the long way round because of the gps
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• #21
Probably true. Strangely I always rely on perhaps twisted logic that, if I don't know where I'm going, I shouldn't expect any one else to either.
That said, I do recall visiting London about 10 years ago. I was at college and running late for a meeting. Got in a cab and got entirely fleeced. Kings Cross to Wardour Street. A journey now that I realise should've only taken about 15 minutes.
It's not as if The Knowledge saves them from on occasions, being dicks like this.
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• #22
It's a matter of time before some TomTom developer sits a retired cabbie down with a cheque for £10k and creates "The Knowledge" maps + routing
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• #23
The idea that The Knowledge is better / faster / cheaper at routes than even a freely available routing app is specious at best.
Unchanging pre-defined routes, versus real-time adaptive and reactive updates...
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• #24
Think I've been in a black cab once since moving here almost 8 years ago. From Victoria to Tufnell Park on a Wednesday afternoon, via Trafalgar Sq which was completely fucked because of the motorcyclists protesting against being charged to park by Westminster council. Like they did every Wednesday at the time.
Bollocks to the knowledge, I'd prefer they learned the highway code and how to use mirrors and indicators.
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• #25
Bollocks to the knowledge, I'd prefer they learned the highway code and how to use mirrors and indicators.
so true!
I took a taxi home from the airport last week. The driver stopped repeatedly in ASLs. I didn't give him a tip.