There isn't any question that having the PED in the back of the taxi could be a threat to driver safety. That is why in March 2011 we at DaC sought and obtained permission from TfL to site our PED's in the front of the taxi, although it is wired to the taxi and gives a printed paper receipt, the PED can be passed to the passenger in the rear of the vehicle or through the luggage window and the driver remains locked in the front of the taxi.
I sought permission for the PED to be sited in the front because I was convinced at some stage TfL would mandate the acceptance of Credit Cards, which they have now done. The difference is we at DaC understand our trade, those employed at Palestra do not!
Since the 3 March this year I have sent over thirty e-mails to TfL highlighting their error regarding having the PED in the back of the taxi and six months later they inform me that it is still being discussed!
Why are they being so pedantic about this situation? They have made a mistake and those of us that know our trade have pointed this out to them, why they choose to ignore our advice is beyond me, or is it they are so high and mighty and out of touch, they think they always know best?
They have got this totally wrong and if they persist on this disastrous course it is only a matter of time before one of our colleagues is badly injured or worse and the blame will be with TfL and they will have a huge lawsuit on their hands for negligence, especially as we can prove they were warned, but too stubborn to heed our warnings!
Brian Rice
I sought permission for the PED to be sited in the front because I was convinced at some stage TfL would mandate the acceptance of Credit Cards, which they have now done. The difference is we at DaC understand our trade, those employed at Palestra do not!
Since the 3 March this year I have sent over thirty e-mails to TfL highlighting their error regarding having the PED in the back of the taxi and six months later they inform me that it is still being discussed!
Why are they being so pedantic about this situation? They have made a mistake and those of us that know our trade have pointed this out to them, why they choose to ignore our advice is beyond me, or is it they are so high and mighty and out of touch, they think they always know best?
They have got this totally wrong and if they persist on this disastrous course it is only a matter of time before one of our colleagues is badly injured or worse and the blame will be with TfL and they will have a huge lawsuit on their hands for negligence, especially as we can prove they were warned, but too stubborn to heed our warnings!
Brian Rice
4 comments:
Brian there is a easy solution to this cc problem, TFL should make the cc acceptance on your license, ie when you pass the knowledge, your license states that you accept cc. then it is your choice as to what system you use to accept cc, and there are loads of devices that drivers can use. either static or mobile. the drivers would be happy and so would the customer. and TFL would just have to for go the bung money
I would like to applaud the efforts of Brian Rice in trying to bring to the attention of TFL the dangers which taxi drivers would face as a result of TFL imposing regulations requiring all taxis to have a fixed credit card payment facility positioned in the rear of the taxi. I would like to add other dangers which also arise and of which I only recently became aware.
My comcab credit card unit was recently fitted to the rear of the central partition in order to comply with flawed TFL regulations and I now realise that in implementing this regulation TFL have created serious dangers of which they must be aware yet seem oblivious to.
For many, many years the Comcab portable card unit has worked perfectly well. The unit was fitted to the lower partition in the luggage area and the flexible cable allowed the driver to pass the unit to the passenger.
The previous Comcab credit card unit and its positioning neither interfered with driver visibility nor created a risk of injury to passengers in the event of an accident; yet the positioning of the credit card unit now being imposed by TFL does interfere with driver visibility by creating an unnecessary blind-spot and furthermore TFL will now be exposing passengers to serious injury in the event of an accident.
In complying with this ill-thought-out TFL regulation there is now a disconcerting and potentially dangerous blind-spot in my rear view mirror created by the vertical credit card unit fitted to the passenger side of the partition. This same card unit can cause very serious injury to passengers in the event of an accident and whilst seat-belt laws may require passengers to wear their seat-belts we all know that many passengers choose not to buckle-up and of course there are some people who are exempted on medical grounds from wearing seat-belts.
I find it alarming that a State agency such as TFL fails to see these reported dangers which are so clear to taxi drivers.
Easy Lawsuit.. It's not there money!....
Easy lawsuit, its not there money. So they whoever they are, Tfl. A faceless employee. They Don't Care.
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