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Cabbies carry fight to airport shuttle

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Published Date: 18 January 2008
By CHRIS MARSHALL
THE Capital's cabbies have hit back at an airport shuttle bus service they claim is muscling in on the city's taxi trade.
Taxi firm Onward Travel is to offer fixed-price fares between the city centre and Edinburgh Airport from as little as £12 return.

The same fare applies no matter how many people are travelling, making a trip for five passengers work out at £2.40 e
ach.

The firm's Allan Napier said: "This is a fairly direct response to two things – the shuttle service that Lothian Buses are running, and a new black cab rank at the airport run by our competitors."

He added confidently: "We are certain that when travellers learn about our new service it will fast become Edinburgh Airport's premier taxi service."

Customers will pay either £12 or £15 for a return ticket, depending where they set off from in the city.

Cab drivers reacted angrily after the Lothian Buses' Edinburgh Shuttle service began offering trips for a flat fee of £5.

The service, which departs from George Street, costs £8 for one person, £15 for two, £21 for three and £6 pounds for every further passenger.

Jim Muldoon, the Edinburgh representative of the Scottish Taxi Federation, said: "We're still of the opinion that the shuttle bus service is working illegally and we're seeking legal advice.

"Our opinion is that they need a private hire operator's licence. We're looking into it at the moment."

But Lothian Buses says it is operating within the law and has a statutory duty to have a fare structure in place because the shuttles are registered bus services.

The company says that the service operates like any other bus service and does not fall within the scope of private hire operation.

A new system for taxi drivers began at the airport earlier this month. Use of the public rank was put out to tender and now only selected cab firms have the right to supply taxis to the airport.

Airport bosses made the move after problems with taxis blocking an exit road for buses.

Murray Fleming, of Central Radio Cabs, said financial pressures meant fare cuts were unrealistic for the majority of cab drivers.


COST OF AIRPORT TRIP

• Edinburgh Shuttle £8 (single)

• Airlink, bus run by Lothian Buses, £5 (return)

• Onward Travel £12 (return)

• City Cabs £20 (average single fare)

• Central Taxis £20 (average single fare)



The full article contains 406 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 18 January 2008 11:11 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

john 1,

18/01/2008 12:09:12
Despite having much sympathy for men trying to make a living driving cabs, there is no reason that they should have a monopoly on the service, however they may find that the taxi using public will stand by them for the door to door service they supply.
2

alex paterson,

embra 18/01/2008 12:18:06
Typical cab way of thinking they are just a bunch Greedy money grabbing horrors.
3

JulesF,

18/01/2008 12:27:20
Waiting for Lidl and the Gold Bros to reveal what they're going to charge :)
4

Dave101,

Edinburgh 18/01/2008 12:40:48
"The company says that the service operates like any other bus service and does not fall within the scope of private hire operation."

Yes - because I phone up Lothian Buses every morning and get my bus to comes right to my front door and wait for me to come out.

The shuttle bus is clearly a taxi service.
5

Finbarr Saunders,

18/01/2008 12:59:07
I'm not even gonnae read the article.

Whatever fight they are fighting, I hope they lose.

Edinburgh taxi drivers are generally inconsiderate, selfish, greedy, lazy, rude, liars and I wish them every misfortune.
6

raythebear,

edinburgh 18/01/2008 13:05:13
oh how awful for the 'poor' taxi drivers, a bit of competition. maybe if their prices weren't so over the top people would use them more
7

gggrumpy,

18/01/2008 13:06:50
The LRT "ghost" buses run all day long on empty journeys.
Its time the Edinburgh Evening News investigated them.
It would not take a journalist long to discover that 90% of there journeys are empty.
With the obvious problems the tram works are going to cause, getting these useless vehicles off the road as quickly as possible would do everyone in Edinburgh a favour.
8

Jingling Geordie,

Sunshine on Leith 18/01/2008 13:23:04
Mmm, interesting, a true visionary is young Napier, I wonder what the Onward Travel drivers and owners will have to say about this.
As a company Com Cab, emracing Onward Travel, have no policy of consultation with their cabbies, a decision is taken and implemented with no consideration given to what or how their cabbies feel.
£20,000 to £32,000 for a private hire mini-bus or a black cab, £12 return to the airport, good luck to them, can't see this policy enhancing the Onward Travel recruitment drive.
The Romanov of the taxi trade.
9

Bill MacD,

18/01/2008 13:30:28
Pure protectionism, to fleece customers more. Yeah, great idea, let's have more cabs wasting more fuel causing more pollution causing more congestion costing visitors and traveling residents more and so reducing tourism revenues to the rest of the city... all so jobsworth cabbies can keep their snouts in the trough. Not!

While we're at it, when are they going to end the scandal of one-way trips? Let's have a sensible system where black cabs can pick up at the airport, and airport cabs can accept fares from town (phoned in to base probably). As long as the Council tolerates the current abomination of a system, the longer any claims to caring about the environment will be laughed out of court.
10

gorgeousgorgieboy,

Edinburgh 18/01/2008 13:32:30
#8 Grumpy
The 100 airport bus service is superb and I believe it runs at a very good profit.

Taxis on the other hand are unbelievable. It cost me £16 to go from the new town to Morningside on hogmanay. I can get a flight to Dublin for eleven quid.
11

eric-shaun,

Lothian 18/01/2008 13:39:51
12. one becomes with F,
Fist?
12

,

18/01/2008 13:41:12
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
13

,

18/01/2008 13:43:06
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
14

mrmoneypenny,

18/01/2008 13:44:22
#11 have you no feet?
15

gggrumpy,

18/01/2008 14:03:57
11* I am not talking abot the no.100 airport bus.
I am talking about the orange and black mini buses with no wheelchair access and no trained drivers.
You know the ones, they drive about all day empty!
As nobody has ever been on one im not surprised you dont recognise them.
16

Chip Stencil II,

Swan City 18/01/2008 14:09:15
To #1, John 1

Why is it that Edinburgh taxi drivers fall into the category of "decent, hard-working people, just trying to earn a living"?

Do you have any idea how much money these guys make? Edinburgh taxis are proven to be up there with the most expensive in the world, and these guys earn a salary comparable with bank managers, dentists etc, but I don't hear you referring to them as "decent people, just trying to earn a living".

And as for them being hard working, see comment #12.
17

gggrumpy,

18/01/2008 14:24:04
21*
Aye taxi drivers make the same as Bank Managers and Dentists.
Well when i am driving you into town for £15 return in February when Shandwick Place is closed, i will wait in the rank for half an hour to pick you up, it will take me an hour to get you to the Balmoral and another hour to get you back to the airport.
£15 for two and a half hours work, before the cost of my cab, maintenace,insurance,roed tax, Council licensing, and the money we pay the airport+ diesel.
I reckon i wil be on about £3 an hour.
How does that compare with Bank Managers and Dentist.
Not to mention no pension or holiday/ sick pay.
18

Paddi,

18/01/2008 14:27:49
Well done Airlink/LRT, £5 return is v good value when you look at the rip-off prices being charged by the cab cartel......£20 single,....you're having a laugh... the airport's only 8 miles from the city centre not 28 and they get to pick up punters from there to get themslves back in.
19

Jingling Geordie,

Sunshine on Leith 18/01/2008 14:36:20
#21 Chip Heid

My six monthly dental check-up last week cost me £29 though addmitidly I was in the chair for ten minutes.
An airport return trip at say an hour and a half, £12.
Is this parity with dentists?
20

Chip Stencil II,

Swan City 18/01/2008 14:45:21
#22 gggrumy
People might take you more seriously if you didn't talk complete b*ll*cks. I can do that return journey in about an hour, and that's without using the greenways, and any "loss" you make on the aiport run will be more than offset by the £15 you charge for a 10 minute one-way journey into town on a Friday evening (no journey back of course, becuase you'll be tucked up in bed on top of your huge pile of money by then)
21

Paddi,

18/01/2008 14:50:05
#24 what you travel to the airport in, one of those rickshaws from the grassmarket,45 minutes each way? That's about as fast as one of those things at 11mph
22

gggrumpy,

18/01/2008 14:58:49
25*
Did you read my comment.
I said in February when Shandwick Place closes.
It wont matter whether you drive a Formula one car or a taxi, it will take you about an hour at least to get to the Balmoral from the Airport at peak times.
By the time you get to Roseburn you would probably be quicker getting out and walking.
Just wait and see.
23

Chip Stencil II,

18/01/2008 15:14:02
#27 I'm sure you'll adjust your charges accordingly.

#24 Jingling Gyspy - if you're looking for parity, why not compare a journey from, say, Morningside to George St (£9, 10 minutes) with your 10 minutes (hmmm, more b*ll*cks methinks) in the dentists chair, not forgetting of course that the dentist has to employ a hygenist, and a receptionist.

(Dentists are rip-off merchants too by the way.)
24

Duncan in Edinburgh,

18/01/2008 15:20:49
#12 Lothian Buses runs an airport service 24 hours a day. Between midnight and, I think, 4am, the N22 runs every half an hour. Outwith those times the 100 runs either every 20 minutes (early morning and late night) or every 10 minutes (through the day).

So I'm afraid your complaint is a crock.
25

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

Newington 18/01/2008 15:42:25
They should make a Star Trek episode where the Transporter is invented and all the black cab drivers riot.
26

gggrumpy,

18/01/2008 15:45:38
29*
So many £9, 10 minute fares from Morningside?
Makes you wonder why 1200 taxis dont congregate on Morningside Road to replenish our illgotten gain.
Makes you wonder why every taxi driver and bus company is cutting each others throat to drive out of the Airport.
27

Chip Stencil II,

18/01/2008 15:54:57
#33 You've unhinged your own argument there gggrumpy. Why would taxi drivers be cutting each others throats to drive out of the Airport for £3 an hour?

Also, if there were 1200 fares in Morningside, I'm sure you would congregate there. The fact is, the same astronomical prices apply all over the city so the cabbies rake it in wherever they are.
28

Jingling Geordie,

Sunshine on Leith 18/01/2008 16:07:16
Morningside to George Street in 10 minutes, you must trvel by Concorde.
29

GZYTaxis,

Edinburgh 18/01/2008 16:12:30
This article is absolute nonsense. For a start Onward Travel are a PHC company, they only have around 5% Taxis in their fleet the rest as i said are private hire.

Also a typical taxi journey to the city centre from the airport would cost approx £15 not £20 as stated, yet another example of poor reporting from the Edinburgh Evening News.

I am sick and tired of poor reporting and unjust negative comments to taxi drivers. I work 60 to 70 hours per week driving a taxi and i can assure you that when broken down to an hourly rate, the pay is not that good. Also it is very unsociable with regards to working hours.

The public should also be aware that Taxi drivers and owners have no input as to the Tariffs charged for hiring a Taxi. These tariffs are set by Edinburgh council, not the taxi drivers.

If people think that Taxi drivers are "greedy money grabiing" whatevers, then go and drive a taxi and see how it is for yourself before making silly comments.

One more point for all the taxi haters out there, get lost as i work approx 60 to 70 hours a week driving a taxi and i can assure
30

Chip Stencil II,

18/01/2008 16:15:22
#35. It would be cheaper than a taxi.

If you look up google maps and get the timings for a Morningside to George St journey, it states "about 12 mins". I rest my case.
here you go: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

31

eveninglies,

BAA Edinburgh 18/01/2008 16:27:00
"A new system for taxi drivers began at the airport earlier this month. Use of the public rank was put out to tender and now only selected cab firms have the right to supply taxis to the airport."

Selected on the basis of who would pay the most money to BAA.
When you are at the black taxi rank at the airport and you are waiting for a cab, remember, It is the decicion of BAA to limit what taxis can pick you up.
You WILL see empty taxis drive past you empty because BAA does not allow them to pick you up.

It is all about generating money for BAA, If you are delayed getting home because of this system then it is BAA you should complain about not the taxi companies.

A large amount of what you pay to your taxi driver for a journey from the airport ends up in the pocket of BAA. An average of 20% !
32

Chip Stencil II,

18/01/2008 16:29:18
#37 If you work 60-70 hours a week, why can't I, or anyone else, get a taxi on a Friday or Saturday night?
You don't need to answer that, because we all know why.

33

Londonroadguy,

nearby 18/01/2008 16:44:08
#40 Maybe something to do with a lot more people going out at that time..Ps...Your not old enough to take a cab anyway!Bedtime now
34

Erk!,

18/01/2008 17:17:54
What a negative and spiteful debate. Oh, actually, its about cabbies.... fair point!
35

Draco Was a Wimp,

Edinburgh 18/01/2008 18:05:35
Ain't the free market grand? Especially when scabbies are being shafted. The think they own the roads.
36

Finbarr Saunders,

18/01/2008 18:51:00
#37 - GZYTaxis - Give it a rest.

I know several taxi drivers and they spend more time on the golf course than they do in their taxi.

Your claim that you work a 60-70 hour working-week is laughable.
37

Darren :-),

on ma way to ibrox 18/01/2008 19:22:02
or jump on the #35 for £1 single :)
38

Maxibus,

Edinburgh 18/01/2008 21:06:33
Small point gggrumpy, If the mini buses are running about empty all day how is that unfair competition?
39

Plantagenet,

18/01/2008 21:24:39
I think that a bit of competition is just what Taxi Drivers 'deserve', they've had it their own way on these airport journeys for far too long, the fares have now been exposed as being way over the top. Does anyone out there actually know a taxi driver that they would describe as being a 'hard working type'? In my experience taxi drivers are usually ex-something selse, the something else being a real job where effort and skill are required and I suspect that in many cases the taxi driver has been found wanting in their past careers. I mean have'nt you heard the saying 'only fools and horses work', so take up taxi driving, spend half your day cruising around in a cab, getting tips on top of the fare from some gullible mug, the other half standing in a rank, leaning on a cab blethering to some other chancer.
40

COLINTON.MAINS,

Oakville Ontario 19/01/2008 00:10:19
IPAID.240.POUNDS.GLASGOW.TO.COLINTON./RETURN.IN.2004
41

ednbru,

19/01/2008 02:39:38
Here's a solution that should keep every one happy, if all you moaning plonkers don't take cabs, there will be enough for everyone else, mario was that you that soiled you trousers in my taxi last week ???????????
42

John Chalmers,

edinburgh 19/01/2008 09:10:05
Again unfair reporting about cabbies by the Evening News .
Firstly the average fare from the town centre is £15-17 depending on what time of day it is, secondly Onward Travel is a Mini cab company as the photo in your paper suggests ( note the white car behind Mr Napier ) and thirdly it's against the rules of all taxi and private hire cars to charge a set price whilst doing a fare within the Edinburgh boundaries.
Onward Travel have come up with this campaign because since Jan 7 Forward Travel ( central and city cabs ) have been given the contract to run the main taxi rank at the airport, very successfully and it's hit the Onward crowd very hard, well tough, they've had the airport to themselves for too long now and they can't hack the competition.
43

mystery,

mystery 19/01/2008 10:14:41
#11. yes that plane would have maybe 300 people on it, but not in a taxi...its to tight a squeeze.
44

mystery,

mystery 19/01/2008 10:28:42
I HOPE EVERYONE THAT USES THE AIRPORT TAXI RANK KNOWS THAT "ALL" DRIVERS HAVE TO PAY £1.50 TO "BAA" (FACT)EVEN IN THE PICK-UP POINT,AND THE PASSENGERS NOT CHARGED.
45

GZYTaxis,

Edinburgh 19/01/2008 10:34:20
No. 40

Yeah you really are an imbecile. If you do not want to use taxis then dont!!

There are more than enough taxis most times of the week, the only trouble time is around 12 to 3am on saturday nights.

Bedtime now your mummy is calling!

One more point to all the taxi haters:-

On the day of your holiday pack all your cases for your family of 3 or 4, get the bus to waverley bridge (£3 or £4 depending on the size of you family), get the airport bus (£15 or £20), meanwhile lugging all your cases about. Fun, I think not thats why taxis do business its a door to door service. If you dont want to use a taxi dont!

Some of your comments disgust me and i am surprised a site like the evening news allows it.
46

GZYTaxis,

Edinburgh 19/01/2008 10:49:43
No 45

Quote
"#37 - GZYTaxis - Give it a rest.

I know several taxi drivers and they spend more time on the golf course than they do in their taxi.

Your claim that you work a 60-70 hour working-week is laughable."

Is it really, then i can tell you that you do not know any taxi drivers! Maybe you know a taxi owner, who rents their cab to someone like me? My rental is £300 per week, add to that over £100 fuel, the tax, then national insurance! I can state for a fact that i work 60 to 70 hours per week, something that the taxman can verify.

I work long hours and sure sometimes i can make reasonable money, but it aint all roses mate. I could make more driving buses but that would mean that i would have to pick up idiots like yourself.

You are very knowledgable......NOT.
47

earnabob,

19/01/2008 12:11:11
Yup, the hard done by taxi drivers.
Mostly to be found congregated near train stations and shopping areas where they spend their time reading papers, sleeping and complaining about their lot.
If you ain't making a decent living get another job and stop fleecing the public.

The comment stating the council sets the rates is partly true at least.
When the drivers whinge about prices the council cap them and don't let them get carried away with the charges.

If anyone would like to look at these two links :-
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/businessandpartners/london-taxi-fares.pdf
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Attachments/Internet/Business/Licensing/licences/Taxi/Fares/taxi_fares_2006.pdf

You'll perhaps notice that Edinburgh taxis aren't that much cheaper than london. Since I couldn't immediately find the latest pricing, I wonder how big the gap is now.

 

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