Taxi News and Views From Around The English Speaking World

Braking hard: Dubai Taxis go off road

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:44:19 +0000

Hundreds of taxi drivers staged a sit-in Wednesday to protest unreasonable fines and lack of a regular monthly salary.

Most of the drivers were from Dubai Taxi, the largest of the five taxi companies in the city which has over 3,000 units.

"We are all participating. There are 800 of us here," said one driver. The turnout represents about one third of the morning-shift employees.

Drivers congregated at the taxi depot in Muhaisnah as early as 5am. Scores of cabs were parked all around and more were inside the complex with drivers warning that approximately 2,000 vehicles would not operate until their demands were met.

Rumours

Rumours of job action have circulated since last week.

"I am not working now, we have a strike," said one driver as he was flagged down in front of the depot by a customer.

"We cannot work like this. The RTA [Roads and Transport Authority] issues fines for every thing, they then take money for visa, health insurance and accommodation," said one driver.

"We are standing by the men on this. Our working conditions are unfair and the system is really bad," said a female cab driver who joined the sit-in.

Reports among the drivers’ community state that a large number of old cabbies have resigned and left to work for competing companies.

An Asian driver said: "We are prepared to continue for as many days as it takes to get a solution," said a driver who has worked for Dubai Taxi since 2002.

"We are dogs, not human beings," yelled another driver. "We’re not allowed to even keep a bottle of water in the car."

"If we have an accident, whether we get the green or red paper, we still get fined Dh2,000 no matter how little the damage," added a driver.

"I got fined for going to the mosque to pray while on duty," said another.

Ammar Bin Tamim, Director of Dubai Taxi, said the RTA met with the drivers for talks.

He confirmed there were hundreds of drivers involved but didn’t have a precise number. He said the talks were successful but did not disclose the issues.

"The drivers listened to us, they were happy, and they went back to work," he said.

Driver demands

Respectable treatment
A labour contract
Fine investigation system
Free accommodation
Free health insurance
Restructuring pay – with a n monthly salary, plus commission
Hard times

Taxi drivers work seven days a week without paid leave.

Commission is calculated after traffic fines, company penalties, visa fees, training fees, and medical insurance expenses are subtracted from the total fee.

"This protest is not about the fines … but we are telling the RTA that these are our problems and you have to have a solution.

"They [think] that [we] are needy people you have to use like tissue paper, clean your face and throw away, this is not the way, sir," said a distraught Indian taxi driver.

http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20008416.html

Taxi companies have no plans to raise fares

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:40:51 +0000

SAINT JOHN - Local cab drivers are feeling the pinch from rising gas prices, but so far are holding off on increasing fares in the city.

Enlarge Photo Peter Walsh/Telegraph-JournalUniversity Taxi’s Kenny Khanes said he and fellow owners recognize that a large number of clients are on low or fixed incomes so it is difficult for them to handle price increases. There is a lot of talk going on amongst the drivers, but it is difficult for them to get together since they have to work 12 to 14 hours a day to make a living, said Ahmed (Kenny) Khanes, owner of University Cab.

Gerry Lowe, owner of Vets Taxi, is also hearing talk but says owners are reluctant to increase fares in the summer because people will look for alternatives.

Although gas prices have been rising, taxi use was up over the winter because the weather was bad, so now they are holding off on any price increase, said Lowe.

The majority of cabs in the city are privately owned, so Lowe believes it will take pressure from those owners before prices rise.

"There is no big push, even from among my private owners to do anything, definitely because of the summer," he said.

Khanes said the owners recognize that a large number of clients are on low or fixed incomes so it is difficult for them to handle price increases.

Prices in Saint John are not regulated, but are based on an agreement among the taxi drivers. The last time prices increased was in the summer of 2005 when it was agreed to increase the basic fare for the shortest trips from $5 to $6. Trips costing between $10 to $20 were increased by $2 and those over $30 were increased by $3.

Khanes said one thing the provincial government could do to keep taxi fares from rising is to give drivers some relief on insurance.

"Over the past two years the insurance companies have raised prices on taxis, only taxis," he said.

Cab drivers in Montreal pay $100 per month per car, but in New Brunswick the price is between $250 and $350 per month, he said.

"It’s ridiculous," he said.

The government could help by legislating lower prices in New Brunswick or by allowing the drivers to shop around and buy their insurance from out of province providers, he said.

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/344824

Treasury: Insurers raised car insurance fees, not us

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:36:29 +0000

The Treasury has said rumors that it had increased car insurance premiums were untrue, noting that insurance premiums have been set by insurance companies since July 1.

In a written statement on Friday, the Undersecretariat for the Treasury claimed that recent news stories which had appeared in several national newspapers and mentioned increases in car insurance premium payments did not reflect the exact truth. The statement said the state had previously determined insurance premiums and insurance sums but added: "In order to create a healthy atmosphere for competition, to provide consumers better services at lower prices in the medium term and to integrate the Turkish insurance system with international examples, the Treasury decided that insurance companies will decide how much they will charge for insurance premiums and the state will determine insurance reimbursement amounts." The explanation said the Treasury had, however, increased insurance sums by 25 percent from July 1. This does not aim to increase the insurance premiums that consumers have to pay, but raises the insurance sums companies will pay to the victims of traffic accidents, the statement said.

The explanation emphasized that insurance companies were responsible for the increase in insurance premiums. The Treasury said there are 26 insurance companies in Turkey competing against each other and added, "Insurance premiums have been determined by insurance companies since July 1 in accordance with vehicle type and city of registration." Meanwhile, Turkish Drivers and Automobiles Federation (TŞOF) President Fevzi Apaydın said that regardless of the reason, taxi owners have been affected negatively. Apaydın said car insurance premiums increased 147 percent in İstanbul and 100 percent in Ankara and added, "This dramatic increase in car insurance premiums in a period when oil prices are increasing and there is economic stagnation affected owners of taxis, minibuses, buses and trucks negatively."

Apaydın said that when they demanded a 10 percent increase in taxi fare rates they had been refused and added: "Why do they increase insurance premiums at a time when taxi, bus, minibus and truck owners have had no increase in income? Car insurance premiums, which were YTL 575 in June, have increased to YTL 1,300 to 1,500 in İstanbul and YTL 1,026 to 1,097 in Ankara. This is unacceptable."

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=146678&bolum=105

Cabbies reach taxi camera deal with city

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:34:47 +0000

Little Brother is watching you.

Stripped-down, simplified surveillance cameras have been installed in approximately half of Ottawa taxis after the union representing 1,100 city cabs reached a deal with city hall.

Yusef Al Mezel, president of CAW Local 1688, said the union agreed to the contentious cameras after demanding concessions from the city.

The proposed GPS tracking unit that Al Mezel said was an invasion of driver privacy is gone. Also gone is the G-Trigger, a device that automatically activates the camera if it detects a sharp swerving motion, or a sudden acceleration or braking of the vehicle.

Susan Jones, the city’s director of bylaw enforcement, said those features were "nice to have, not a need-to-have."

"Now it’s only taking pictures," said Al Mezel. "That’s what we were looking for, really. A basic camera to take pictures for safety."

The price tag has also been slashed from the original $1,500 to $800.

FAIR FOR ALL

"It’s fair now for us and for the passengers," said Al Mezel. "When we pay more than we have to, we have to collect the money from somewhere, and usually it goes to the taxi company. That’s why we asked to remove the unnecessary features."

In mid-May, the city’s community and protective services committee unanimously recommended mandating the cameras at a cost of $1,185 per cab.

Jones said the city will pay for $485 per cab up front, clawing back the money through increased licensing fees over the next three years.

The committee tacked a 10cents surcharge on each cab fare to offset the cost of the cameras, effective from June 1 until October 2008. The surcharge adds to the 5cents levy already in place since October 2005.

Al Mezel also said the union demanded that only police are allowed to view the still pictures, captured at a rate of one frame every two seconds.

"Initially I was looking at being able to download photos for the purposes of bylaw violations," said Jones.

"Once we had a look at practices across Canada … we agreed that these photos should only be downloaded by police in the event of a criminal investigation," she said.

"We didn’t want the city to look at those pictures for privacy issues," said Al Mezel. "Any person could pick up the phone and make any small complaint against the driver, (the city) would call the driver right away and do their investigation. That’s what they were looking for, and we don’t want to do that."

Jones is conducting meter inspections throughout July, and is sticking to her guns that cabbies who fail to comply could have their licences revoked.

http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/05/pf-6071811.html

Taxi bosses use law to cut pay

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:32:24 +0000

For taxi drivers it’s bad enough that petrol prices are escalating, bus routes are being planted along taxi routes, and commuters are finding alternative modes of transport - but now some of them are facing the prospect of lower wages.

Ironically, many taxi drivers will be worse off than before because of a new law, which came into operation this week, which stipulates a minimum wage of R1 740 a month for drivers in the taxi industry. Some of them now earn as much as R2 000 a month more than that.

However, some sharp taxi owners have already lowered the salaries, telling their hapless employees that this has been done to "comply with the law".

‘It’s hard enough to live on R3 000 with things becoming so expensive’
The Taxi Sectoral Determination states that drivers and administration staff should work 48 hours a week for a R1 740 salary.

Dumisani Radebe, a taxi driver who has been in the industry for four years, said: "It’s way too little - maybe if it was on a weekly basis that would be understandable."

His monthly income is generally about R3 500. For him to drop to half of what he is already earning is sheer madness, he said. "It’s hard enough to live on R3 000 with things becoming so expensive."

If drivers are generally earning way above the minimum wage, why did the department decide to set such a low minimum wage?

Department of Labour spokesperson Page Boikanyo said: "We did research, and we aren’t the ones who decided on this - it’s what the public says." He claimed that public hearings were held nationwide for research purposes.

Taxi owners alleged this is incorrect.

Under the law, employers are obliged to register workers with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

The sectoral determination also states that rank marshals should earn R1 392, and other parties, such as cleaners, should get up to R1 218 a month. It also means that drivers now have to pay tax.

Radebe said: "I don’t mind this at all. It shows the government is starting to take us seriously as working citizens of the country.

"Some drivers said they aren’t even receiving payslips, so they couldn’t understand how they were supposed to keep a record of how much the government would be receiving. Some owners said they didn’t know what the UIF is.

"We just want to be informed and made to understand what is going on. This is what usually causes us to rebel against the state," added Radebe.

The minimum wage law won’t be bad for all drivers, and those operating on minor routes, such as those in the townships, should see their pay packets increase because they are earning less than the minimum.

Musa Mthombeni, a taxi driver in a township said: "The thing is that with this industry you aren’t guaranteed anything, but at the end of the day, the owner wants his money. So this new law is better, as owners will stop cheating us."

Mthombeni added that because the demand for taxis was decreasing, it’s even more difficult to make a living.

Furthermore, the law will see drivers being allowed seven days a year of paid sick leave.

One taxi owner thought this was ludicrous. He complained, saying: "How can they expect us to pay someone who is not even working?"

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=vn20080705095258135C461135

Passengers can now rate performance of taxi drivers

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:30:40 +0000

DUBAI — Now, the many passengers travelling on taxis will have the opportunity to rate the performance level of the driver.

"A set of new machines have been installed in 50 taxis for this purpose," Issa Al Dossari, CEO of the Public Transport Agency (PTA) of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said yesterday.

He, however, said there would be no fines for the drivers on the basis of this.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dossari said the passengers would have to choose from four options — ‘Totally Satisfied’, ‘Satisfied’, ‘Dissatisfied’ and ‘Totally Dissatisfied’.

"This machine has been installed at the back seat of 50 taxis at the moment. In the coming months, the machine would be installed in 400 more taxis. The passengers have to key in their details (mobile number) followed by the rating. For example, if a passenger is satisfied with the service, he needs to press the ‘Satisfied’ button. The machine would be recording all the opinions which would then be checked by the authorities," he said.

Dossari made it clear that the taxi drivers would not be fined under this system.

"Though this system, we want to know the people’s reaction to the services we are providing. We would like to make sure the passengers are satisfied with the services provided. We would not fine any taxi driver based on this report. Instead, those whose ratings are not very good will be retrained," he pointed out.

Dossari added the authorities would be calling those passengers who have given negative ratings to know the nature of the complaints. Meanwhile, officials at the RTA’s Taxi Agency said they were giving quarterly prizes to those drivers who are behave well with the passengers.

"Our undercover inspectors are on most of the streets monitoring the drivers. There have been many complaints that many of them don’t pick passengers who intend to go to places like Sharjah and the other crowded places. Those drivers who are found to be good in their conduct are given prizes as well," an official said.

Earlier, the RTA had said retraining of drivers was on the cards.

Khaleej Times had reported recently that the Taxi Agency had asked all the franchise companies to retrain their drivers, giving emphasis on the English language skills.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/July/theuae_July188.xml§ion=theuae&col=

RTA plans more welfare measures for taxi drivers

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:29:23 +0000

DUBAI — No action will be initiated by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) against those drivers of Dubai Taxi who had stayed away from work for a few hours as a protest last week, Issa Al Dossari, CEO of the Public Transport Agency (PTA) at the authority, said yesterday.

Dossari said the authority was providing the best possible services to the taxi drivers and the protest was needless.

On July 2, a section of the drivers of Dubai Taxi stopped work alleging inappropriate fines and penalties. The drivers had also said that the RTA did not even inform them about the fines most of the times and a section of their officials were disrespectful towards them. The drivers had demanded that the fines and penalties should be immediately suspended.

The move, however, did not make any impact with the other four taxi companies working as usual. Also, the majority of the drivers of Dubai Taxi did not join the strike.

A section of the drivers, who had called off work, feared that the RTA would take a strong action against them soon. "We are not going to take any action against them though their move was unnecessary. The RTA has been providing the best possible services to the taxi drivers giving them a platform to address their grievances. In the future, we will be introducing more welfare measures for them," said Dossari.

The official re-asserted that only a small section of the drivers had taken part in the protest.

"There were just a handful of drivers who thought otherwise, even less than 1 per cent. And they made it a point to feed others with all the wrong allegations," he said.

"Only recently, the RTA hired a new residential complex to accommodate 2,800 drivers in addition to the accommodation unit at Dubai Taxi Agency site which accommodates around 3,200 drivers. A medical insurance system is also in place. Also, the RTA recently paid bonuses to 3,669 drivers based on their performance. The RTA gave Dh4 million in bonuses to the drivers," he said.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/July/theuae_July186.xml§ion=theuae&col=

Taxi receipts - have you ever been given one?

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:27:56 +0000

I don’t think I’ve ever received a receipt from a taxi driver since it became the responsibility of taxi drivers to provide a printed receipt upon payment for a taxi journey. Nor have I asked for one either.

Have you ever been given one automatically? Have you ever asked for one? What was the response - was it given or was the machine "not working at the moment"?

Just so you know, if you have a complaint against a taxi driver, you’d be much better off providing a copy of your receipt - it’s the best way to identify the taxi in question, and confirm that you actually used it on the time/date in question.

http://valueireland.blogspot.com/2008/07/taxi-receipts-have-you-ever-been-given.html

Walnut Creek cabs want fares raised to offset gas

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:26:49 +0000

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.—Taxi cab drivers are petitioning the city of Walnut Creek to raise the fares they can charge to help offset rising fuel costs.
The city currently allows cabs to charge $2.50 per mile and a $25-an-hour waiting fee. Taxi operators want that to go up to $3.50 per mile and $35 for an hour of waiting time.

Officials in neighboring Concord recently approved a rate increase for its cab drivers, from $2.50 to $2.75 per mile.

The Walnut Creek Transportation Commission is expected to consider the request from its cabbies by summer’s end. The last time taxi fares in the were raised was in 2004.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9795333?nclick_check=1

Meru suspends taxi services indefinitely

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:25:27 +0000

After a week full of protests by the Maharashtra Navnirman Vahtuk Sena (MNVS), Meru Taxi Services on Saturday suspended their services for an indefinite period. On the other hand, MNVS has been continuously putting pressure on the police to act as mediator between themselves and the Meru management to solve the settlement issue.
MNVS has once again written to the joint police commissioner (law and order) and the Malad police station saying that the Meru management is adamant about not entering into a dialogue with an outside agency. MNVS has warned that the consequences of the ongoing hassle will be the responsibility of the company.

Responding to the letter, the Malad police station — under whose jurisdiction the Meru office falls — has written to the company and has asked it to hold talks with the MNVS before Monday noon and resolve the issue. While suspending the services in the city, Meru Taxi Services has maintained that their drivers are scared of plying the taxis on the road in view of the ongoing MNVS protest.

“We are ready to hold talks with our drivers independently without the intervention of any organisation or party. But none of them have approached us. At present, they are scared, hence, we are suspending the services,” company spokesperson said. Sources from Meru also have said that 25 of the 450 drivers from their fleet are creating trouble as the company had taken disciplinary action against them.

Additional commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Suresh Khopde said that if the police are intervening in the issue, it’s well within their purview. “We are trying to bring the issue to a settlement so that no dispute prevails. I see no harm in the local police station summoning the company for talks as only dialogue can bring the dispute to an end,” he said. MNVS vice-president Rafique Sheikh said, “We have been trying to have dialogue with the company about the demands of the drivers, but have received no response for the past eight days. They have now been given a deadline of 2pm on Monday,” he added.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1175894