Addison Lee drivers told to defy bus lane law (and to just say SMIDSY)

Addison Lee are the lowest paid of mincab drivers. Pay peanuts and what do you get?

Cholesterol.

How come black cabs are allowed to use bus lanes and AddLee/private cars aren't? I can understand why all taxis wouldn't be allowed to drive in the lane (otherwise it would be pretty easy to slap a taxi sticker on your car and drive willy nilly) but why give an exemption to (often equally shit/aggressive) black cabs?

Training and a level of route knowledge.

Black cabs are also allowed to stop to pick up and drop off fares on red-routes, which is something else that addison-lee is prone to spitting their collective dummy over.

How come black cabs are allowed to use bus lanes and AddLee/private cars aren't?

The latter are not taxi.

lower cholesterol.

ftfy

I kind of support this thing. Not because minicabs should be in bus lanes, but because black cabs shouldn't be.

It seems like the likely scenario is that Addisson Lee will win in court, which means that anyone could register as a private hire car and get a sticker that allows them to drive in the bus lanes. So the only reasonable response is to kick black cabs out of them. Which evens the black cab/minicab playing field somewhat.

With a tinfoil hat on, it's not impossible that Boris wants taxis out of the bus lanes so that he can report that buses are now x% faster. This is a neat excuse to do that without incurring the wrath of the cabbies.

Black cabs are also allowed to stop to pick up and drop off fares on red-routes, which is something else that addison-lee is prone to spitting their collective dummy over.

Collectg passengers mini cabs are pre booked or collection from an office.

Yes but they are not allowed to stop on red routes to drop off, black cabs are.

i really do feel sorry for you london cyclists, you seem to get a really shitty deal with the numpty motons and now more taxis want to kill you even more than before!

I kind of support this thing. Not because minicabs should be in bus lanes, but because black cabs shouldn't be.

It seems like the likely scenario is that Addisson Lee will win in court, which means that anyone could register as a private hire car and get a sticker that allows them to drive in the bus lanes. So the only reasonable response is to kick black cabs out of them. Which evens the black cab/minicab playing field somewhat.

With a tinfoil hat on, it's not impossible that Boris wants taxis out of the bus lanes so that he can report that buses are now x% faster. This is a neat excuse to do that without incurring the wrath of the cabbies.

Why is it likely that Addison Lee will win in court?

It takes at least two years to train to be a black cab driver and they're mostly an aware and courteous bunch. Most of the AL drivers don't seem to have a driving license. This is why I don't want to share a lane with those pricks.

^^ The M4 decision was not influenced by Addison Lee at all. It was a process already in movement that Griffin decided to exploit.

I'm not sure he will be as lucky with this one.

Report him

as soon as you get to the hospital

^^ The M4 decision was not influenced by Addison Lee at all. It was a process already in movement that Griffin decided to exploit.

I'm not sure he will be as lucky with this one.

I know that I just cannot figure out why mr_tom thinks that addy-lee will be successful with this, especially as they are not actually challenging it in court but seeking a judicial review.

I know that I just cannot figure out why mr_tom thinks that addy-lee will be successful with this, especially as they are not actually challenging it in court but seeking a judicial review.

The best a judicial review can come up with is that ALL private hire vehicles can use bus lanes which would rather bugger it up for the buses I think. My guess is that Griffin has got too big for his boots and is due for a rude awakening.

I hope anyway.

I had a meeting with one of his senior managers a few months back. I think it would be unprofessional of me to post here what they said about him.

Why is it likely that Addison Lee will win in court?

Because black cabs are a commercial operation being given unfair advantage over their competitors.

I don't think it's open-and-shut, but there's a strong case.

IANAL, obv.

For the record, I am no fan at all of Addisson Lee.

But I do think it's wrong that black cabs can use bus lanes.

i'd like to see Addison Lee drivers do the knowledge...

Oh wait, that would involve reading...

The best a judicial review can come up with is that ALL private hire vehicles can use bus lanes which would rather bugger it up for the buses I think. My guess is that Griffin has got too big for his boots and is due for a rude awakening.

I hope anyway.

This is why I cannot see the result going in Griffin's favour, in the unlikely event that this happens the whole idea of bus lanes would be made redundant overnight. There are many people who registered their private cars as minicabs in order to avoid paying the congestion charge when it was introduced, it is a very easy process and I would imagine large numbers of people would do so in order to use bus lanes.

Also judicial reviews are notoriously long and expensive, it could be ruinously expensive for them.

Because black cabs are a commercial operation being given unfair advantage over their competitors.

I don't think it's open-and-shut, but there's a strong case.

IANAL, obv.

There is a massive regulatory difference between black cabs and minicabs while they compete with each other they are two very different things.

^Addy Lee driver

ftfy

So if I keep eating Snickers I'll be good?

There is a massive regulatory difference between black cabs and minicabs while they compete with each other they are two very different things.

There are differences, sure. I think it's stretching things a bit to call them "massive". Ultimately, both organisations provide a service where you can hire a car and a driver for a short period of time.

Could you not just state that to enter a bus lane a four wheeled vehicle has to be able to turn within 27'?