Taxi Rights for Revellers

I recently shared a cab with a few friends after a rather drunken evening. We were all in a good mood, as people often are after several shandies and a packet of cheese & onion crisps. During a gap in the jollities I caught a glimpse of the speedometer and casually remarked on the driver's 'enthusiastic' speed. 'Busy night' was his justification. I would like to make one thing perfectly clear; I do not drink drive. It is an idiotic and dangerous practice, and in my opinion those who choose to have that extra drink deserve to be served a chaser of twisted automotive parts. With that in mind, even after very many shandies, I could never speed through a semi-pedestrianized 30 zone at 45-mph. After a moments awkward silence, I remembered something my uncle, he himself owning a minicab business in West London, had told me. Don't pay. It seems petty on the surface, but it is a matter of principle. I keep to speed limits stringently on the road, and I see no reason why someone driving on my behalf should act differently. By violating road law he had effectively quashed his contract of service to me and my friends as customers. This particular driver did not like me.

It may be a tame example but it highlights a broader, more national problem. In London alone there are 2000 Taxi and Minicab operators (excluding Hackney Carriages), employing some 40,000 drivers. Unlike the rest of the UK, London public hire vehicles are regulated by the Public Carriage Office. Elsewhere, it is the responsibility of the local councils to police firms and drivers. There are of course incidents of violence and sexual abuse by taxi drivers becoming unfortunately frequent; many involving unlicensed drivers. This in has quite rightly led to a crusade on licensing enforcement. But it seems a shame that professional misconduct seems to be so overlooked. I have heard numerous accounts of friends who have been (forgive me for this), taken for a ride. The most common qualm is when a driver hailed from a rank and asks for the fare upfront. In a pre-booked private hire car this is perfectly acceptable. In a ranked taxi it is illegal. I have experienced this first-hand, and living in a rural location I was asked to leave the car once my fare had elapsed. In the middle of nowhere. Again, Illegal. By asking for my fare upfront the driver has effectively given me no power of contract for his service.  Of course, you can complain to the operating company, but again from experience, it does nothing. How much credibility does a drunken oaf who doesn't like speeding very much really have? Taxis are a very important service and I have met some fantastic drivers in my life, but there is mass public ignorance of  consumer rights of the passenger. That's something I would very much like to see change. I'm not thinking of anything on the scale of a huge billboard campaign with leaflets through every letterbox; I just want people to celebrate the fact that even though it is 3 o'clock in the morning and they smell of kebab and maybe wee, they still have rights.

Here are a few points which could be useful;

• Speeding, or any other deliberate infringement of the law whilst driving gives you the right to refuse fair on the grounds of misconduct
• You have the right to select any taxi on the rank (it's true)
• You have the right to go by any route you want
• Unless you have agreed a price, you don't have to pay up front

And this may seem like common sense, but if you do feel you need to make a complaint, get as many details of the driver and car as possible. If there is no driver ID card on display or he/she refuses to provide one, don't kick up a fuss... run away. And if things ever get tense, never threaten to call the police. That will make you really unpopular.

Badger out.