Addison Lee and London Cabbies!
Discussion
Got a few questions out of curosity...
After a weekend in London I noticed alot of 'Addison Lee' people carriers and on two occasions, Addison Lee drivers getting a bit shouty with black cab drivers, Is there a rivalry between these two or is it just the nature of money
making?
Secondly, Do London cabbies make alot of money? There never seemed to be many sitting around but loads and loads constantly scooting around? Are these guys the last of the UK cab drivers that still earn big dollar?
And last but not least, When we were at Harrods or near by, We noticed alot of big black Merc saloons sitting with drivers in them. Are these ridiculously rich people's car and drivers that just say where they want to go and the car waits however Long it waits?
Sorry if these seem silly questions to you Londoners but I'm interested in the answers haha.
Thanking you!
After a weekend in London I noticed alot of 'Addison Lee' people carriers and on two occasions, Addison Lee drivers getting a bit shouty with black cab drivers, Is there a rivalry between these two or is it just the nature of money
making?
Secondly, Do London cabbies make alot of money? There never seemed to be many sitting around but loads and loads constantly scooting around? Are these guys the last of the UK cab drivers that still earn big dollar?
And last but not least, When we were at Harrods or near by, We noticed alot of big black Merc saloons sitting with drivers in them. Are these ridiculously rich people's car and drivers that just say where they want to go and the car waits however Long it waits?
Sorry if these seem silly questions to you Londoners but I'm interested in the answers haha.
Thanking you!
Addison Lee - big licensed cab company, bit cheaper than black cabs, not a fan though, smaller local companies tend to be better and cheaper. Black cabs don't like any competition but it's only a black cab you can flag down on the street, Addison Lee and the like you have to book in advance.
Black Mercs - yes
Black Mercs - yes
Someone I know is 'private hire' in London and one of his neighbours had a 'taxi' (hackney carriage black cab) - he said the black cab guy needs to work far less to make the same amount of dough. But obivously you need to put in the effort to pass the knowledge exam and there may be mroe costs associated with having a black cab.
Its normally 3 to 4 years of hard graft learning and passing the Knowledge then a Taxi specific driving test. A black cab costs way over £30K new but if you put the hours in you can make good money.
Addison Lee was a big minicab company when I joined them for a while in the 80s whilst I was supposed to be learning the Knowledge, but as an owner driver (a Vauxhall Cavalier) I found I was making good money just working 4 nights a week.
I left and then things got harder and guys I knew were working 7 nights in order to to make the same money.
Now they are massive and have loads of drivers, a lot of them uselessly relying on Sat-Navs, in black MPVs which are hired to them by the company. IMO the company have flooded the streets with their MPVs meaning that there is not enough work for their drivers who have to do a lot of account jobs just to pay off the weekly hire charges.
Addison Lee was a big minicab company when I joined them for a while in the 80s whilst I was supposed to be learning the Knowledge, but as an owner driver (a Vauxhall Cavalier) I found I was making good money just working 4 nights a week.
I left and then things got harder and guys I knew were working 7 nights in order to to make the same money.
Now they are massive and have loads of drivers, a lot of them uselessly relying on Sat-Navs, in black MPVs which are hired to them by the company. IMO the company have flooded the streets with their MPVs meaning that there is not enough work for their drivers who have to do a lot of account jobs just to pay off the weekly hire charges.
Cheers for that.
At one point at Traffic lights there was 6 of them around us with the Addison Lee logo on the rear screen.
And the Mercs we seen pulling up at Harrods and someone getting out the back being helped by a Harrods worker just seemed a bit 'overkill'. But if you've got the money then why should you open the car door yourself haha.
At one point at Traffic lights there was 6 of them around us with the Addison Lee logo on the rear screen.
And the Mercs we seen pulling up at Harrods and someone getting out the back being helped by a Harrods worker just seemed a bit 'overkill'. But if you've got the money then why should you open the car door yourself haha.
s1962a said:
Will there be a glut of black Ford Galaxy's at auctions when these leases are up?
AL usually sell them direct to the public via one of their websites mainly once they reach around 100k.They also flog their mercs there to and the prices aren't to bad either. Whether you want an ex-taxi is another matter though.
toxgobbler said:
And I think it's a requirement that all Addison Lee taxi's must not use their mirrors at any time.
Too bloody right, lost count of the number of times I've been cut up by a people carrier with one of those logos on the back. In contrast, most of the proper black cabs seem to be rather more courteous.As I understand it doing The Knowledge is a pretty incredible feat, so fair play to them. You notice some very comfortable houses around here with black cabs parked on the drive, so it clearly has its rewards.
Chris71 said:
toxgobbler said:
And I think it's a requirement that all Addison Lee taxi's must not use their mirrors at any time.
Too bloody right, lost count of the number of times I've been cut up by a people carrier with one of those logos on the back. In contrast, most of the proper black cabs seem to be rather more courteous.As I understand it doing The Knowledge is a pretty incredible feat, so fair play to them. You notice some very comfortable houses around here with black cabs parked on the drive, so it clearly has its rewards.
I suggest nobody uses them until they get the message and improve driving standards. It is a shame as the vehicles are clean and in good shape for private hires, if not too expensive for what they are.
Things have changed since I worked for them back in the 80s and I do find most of the modern Addison Lee driving alarming to say the least.
Saw one lose it in heavy traffic and then overtake everyone on the wrong side of the road making the oncoming cars swerve and then he cut in but there was no space as I was there with my mum and my kids in the car. I had to drive onto the pavement to avoid him. He was possessed and determined to crash into someone.
I called the police with the reg number and Addison Lee themselves but as usual the cops were not interested and AL said that they would have a quiet word with the driver. Yeah sure!
Back in the day you had to pass a basic knowledge test to join them and if you didn't know your way around London, you would not make any money as they called out the jobs on the radio by street name only and you had to be within minutes of the address if you called back to say you wanted the job.
Now it's all allocated by computer and the GPS gizmo in the car tells it if the driver is near, who then gets the job if he is the closest. The driver then uses his Sat-Nav.
I have had so many arguments with the driver about routes home as they will only follow the Sat-Nav and not go the best way that any local would know.
There are a few good drivers amongst them but the majority are hopeless. Not like the good old days
Saw one lose it in heavy traffic and then overtake everyone on the wrong side of the road making the oncoming cars swerve and then he cut in but there was no space as I was there with my mum and my kids in the car. I had to drive onto the pavement to avoid him. He was possessed and determined to crash into someone.
I called the police with the reg number and Addison Lee themselves but as usual the cops were not interested and AL said that they would have a quiet word with the driver. Yeah sure!
Back in the day you had to pass a basic knowledge test to join them and if you didn't know your way around London, you would not make any money as they called out the jobs on the radio by street name only and you had to be within minutes of the address if you called back to say you wanted the job.
Now it's all allocated by computer and the GPS gizmo in the car tells it if the driver is near, who then gets the job if he is the closest. The driver then uses his Sat-Nav.
I have had so many arguments with the driver about routes home as they will only follow the Sat-Nav and not go the best way that any local would know.
There are a few good drivers amongst them but the majority are hopeless. Not like the good old days
Did you know that any damage to a black cab and it has to be off the road until it's fixed, so a loss of earnings nightmare.
Even if it's just a dent or a crease.
The police have the power to stop cabs to check and can take them off the road even if they have something minor like dirty head lining.
Even if it's just a dent or a crease.
The police have the power to stop cabs to check and can take them off the road even if they have something minor like dirty head lining.
Mojooo said:
Someone I know is 'private hire' in London and one of his neighbours had a 'taxi' (hackney carriage black cab) - he said the black cab guy needs to work far less to make the same amount of dough. But obivously you need to put in the effort to pass the knowledge exam and there may be mroe costs associated with having a black cab.
Depends on the private hire company though... The private hire company I use don't have their drivers rent their cars - the cars they have are company cars plus the company pays for fuel (but the drivers are expected to get x mpg, depending on the car they drive). However the cars are tracked and drivers cannot use the cars other than for jobs. The drivers get a basic + overtime + bonus so they are paid regardless of whether they drive that day or not. Council Baby said:
Mostly they have no idea what they're doing, where they're going or who they're close to. Cycles, motorbikes, bollards, pedestrians... all fair game to an AL driver. World of their own, and that world isn't in London.
Can we not also forget a basic grasp of the English language?Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff