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If there are six local firms, how is that not a liberalised taxi market?

There is high unemployment - but without demand, there is no call to supply. I would assume that the demand for taxis at that time of the morning is not sufficient for it to be profitable for drivers to work those hours - certainly, drivers I know prefer to work nights because there are more fares to be found.

ask for a taxi in the next year or two and it will be driven by an ex LibDem MP....the taxi will be owned by the Tory MP...

You'll probably find that most of the Durham taxi drivers are up here in Newcastle, as are drivers from Berwick, Carlisle, Northumberland etc. There are times when you can barely move near the Central Station for taxis.

As an unemployed resident of the beautiful City of Durham, I am shocked to hear that the Taxi issue within the city and surrounding villages is due to the failure of 'deregulation within the local taxi market so as to preserve the stranglehold enjoyed by existing firms and their drivers.' I have to admit, if I were a driving licence holder, it would seem plausable to me to be employed in this fashion as it affords the opportunity of 'freelance' hours, where one could spend effective time with one's family. Please be assured Durham does have it's employment issues, there arn't nearly enough positions/opportunities.

When I was employed I was forced by the woefull situation of the Arriva bus service from my village of Bearpark, to employ a taxi to work on morning shifts as I could never guarrantee arriving on time at 7am. However in order to be guarranteed a car for 6.40am I had to book no less than 14hrs earlier! At a huge cost of £10 for a mere 3&1/2 mile journey! This cost took a huge toll on my travel expenses, not to mention my family budget where I was the only earner as my wife was raising our baby daughter and eventually was to become one of the reasons I lost my management position within a well known pub group. On 2 seperate occasions I was unable to book a taxi and was late due to the Arriva bus service being unreasonably tight scheduled, arriving at 6.58am with my 6 minute walk to work from the bus station still to complete. This to my employers was unnaceptable, especially as their trade hours were changing from a 9am opening to 7am. Their question to me 'how can you possibly guarrantee turning up for work at 6am if you can't turn up for 7am on time?'. I could see their point.
As a non driver it is a crutch in most opportunities that I will be directed towards by government employment services however, isn't it a joint responsibility to assist in employment and reasonable transport, wether public or private?

Forget about Taxis, Carol Woods is a local laughing stock...

Crick wrote:

"It was, by the way, the second time I've been given lift round Durham by a local politician. The first was by the young Tony Blair, 20 years ago."

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What favour did you return in kind?

If you had a daughter trying to get home from a night out on the town in the small hours of the morning...and slightly worse-for-wear, would you be happy for her get home in a deregulated cab?

I fail to see where regulation is the issue here...the problem is there were simply not enough cab drivers employed by the regulated companies.

Surely you must remember what financial deregulation achieved for the UK's sovereign balance sheet once The City effectively became deregulated?

You really should disguise your libertarian ideologue values rather more discretely!

Laughing stocks can be generated in a variety of ways.

The inability of a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ film crew to get a taxi when they want one, and rushing to their personal national media outlet to stamp dainty feet to vent, seems lower on the totem than others I can think of.

Mind you, maybe a bullet was dodged....



A different league, in all senses.

Surely the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ would usually just hire a helicopter ?

A Labour supporter accepting a lift from a Lib Dem. Whatever next ?