4 | Private Hire News | issue 68 | Winter 2014/15 www.lphca.co.uk | lphca@btinternet.com | @LPHCA

Talking ofGRADING...

This year there has been an extreme furore about ‘App Only’ Operators, Apps, Pricing Methods and Metering with some ‘App Only’ Operators claiming they are the best thing for everyone since ‘sliced bread’.

‘App Only’ Operators will clearly suit a certain amount of Drivers but for many Drivers who have ‘dipped their feet in the water’ with these Apps, certain realities are now dawning upon them.

We have looked at the ‘apparent’ benefits of working with ‘App Only’ Operators as opposed to working with Traditional Private Hire Operators and we do our best to set out here what’s fact and what’s fiction.

FREEDOMNobody can argue that Drivers are completely free to do what they want, when they want, with ‘App Only’ Operators however, does that translate into better earnings and job satisfaction at the end of the day?

With Traditional Private Hire Operators, employed and self-employed Drivers are encouraged (but not forced) to maintain stable hours. This is often done by calling Drivers out in the mornings, advising them when to work, when to get the vehicle serviced, etc., etc.

Traditional Private Hire Operators do this to balance and match the number of drivers against the workload. This ultimately increases income for the Drivers and the number of jobs covered by the Operators.

Freedom also extends to where you are likely to work as clearly ‘App Only’ Operators are far more likely to take Drivers ‘far and wide’ whilst Traditional Private Hire Operators will have ‘known work’ from ‘known areas’, with

‘known customers’, and there is a considerable value and time saving in that alongside better driver and customer relationships.

EARNINGSSome myths about the potential earnings that can be made by Drivers working with ‘App Only’ Operators are being laid to rest as the unsustainable heavily subsided promotional fares and freebies are drying up.

When some of the dollar-laden ‘App Only’ Operators arrived, they literally threw money at getting work by offering all manner of free trips, subsidised journeys and other promotions.

As the saying goes “there is no such thing as a free meal” and inevitably these promotions have wavered because they were never sustainable. The latest thing being used to entice more new Drivers is a guaranteed income for the first month only.

I haven’t been an operator for 15 years but I can tell you that my Drivers were regularly making those incomes back in 1999 and of course these current guaranteed incomes are before costs are taken into consideration.

With some of these ‘App Only’ Operators spiriting 20% commissions away from the Drivers and every journey paid for by credit card (no cash) a reality check has arrived for some Drivers.

No doubt when the freebies were being thrown around Drivers incomes were beating those earned at Traditional Private Hire Operators but the Halcyon Days for these Apps are now over.

CONTINUED PAGE 6

As you may have noticed this edition’s ‘Talking of Grading’ has been superseded with another article ‘Talking of Drivers’, in fact we have two ‘Talking of Drivers’ articles, one here and one in our Recruitment Section.

We have not published a ‘Talking of Grading’ this time around because our usual columnist Geoff Wright (our Chief Grading Officer) has been unwell. The good news is that Geoff’s condition has been assessed and it is hoped that a ‘hip replacement’ operation will bring him back to full health soon.

A look at the initial attraction for Drivers and the challenges for Traditional Operators, alongside some observations and thoughts about why Drivers have had a look elsewhere but are now returning to their usual operators, having seen that the grass is not greener in ‘App Only’ Operator world.

Talking of GRADING...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

DRIVERS ARE NOT FOOLS!The heart-warming news that drivers are now returning with tales of woe is no surprise as the business model of some of the ‘App Only’ Operators is built on straw.With the taxman now taking a keen interest in how these companies have set up in the U.K. yet are transacting from abroad, the whole way that some of them operate is being brought under the spotlight.To get more work to sustain more Drivers the same panic measures used by many failed Traditional Private Hire Operators of driving prices through the floor is now being deployed. It is therefore no surprise that Drivers don’t want bargain basement prices when they have invested heavily in an expensive vehicle and the associated overheads.Many of these ‘App Only’ Operators have received a great deal of money from investors who will want a good return on their investment and losses running in millions are not what they are looking for.

DRIVER ANGEROnly a few months ago some of the ‘App Only’ Operators were bragging how Drivers loved to be with them, how quickly that myth has been laid to rest as the prices go down and these companies are needing the Driver levels to go up!The LPHCA receives a fair amount of calls and E-mails from Drivers and in the past few months the topic has been dissatisfaction with ‘App Only’ Operators. In fact Drivers that have committed to them are so angry that they have been holding protests about the way they are being used whilst other Drivers are simply returning to their old companies.

FIGHT BACKThe LPHCA only supports Traditional Private Hire Operators because we believe in the Two-Tier System of Taxis that can ‘Ply for Hire’ and Private Hire Operators with proper Operating Centres with total support for their customers and Drivers by way of fully staffed operating centres.At our recent AGM we focused on how members can retain Drivers and the importance of the traditional links between Drivers and their operator. Some members have reported great success in Driver retention and in some cases they have improved relationships with their Drivers.

It was pretty naïve and completely arrogant for the ‘App Only’ Operators to think they’d arrive and take the world over and the fight back by Traditional Private Hire Operators is only just beginning.

PRICINGAnother matter covered at the AGM was pricing, which the ‘App Only’ Operators are clearly on another planet with. The High Court will determine whether metering journeys is acceptable in PHVs in London, our view remains that it isn’t.The one positive thing ‘App Only’ Operators have brought to the fore in our view is ironically with regard to current methods of pricing, which is a long overdue debate.Not for a second are we advocating pricing that cannot be determined by the customer in advance in London, which is both flawed and unscrupulous in our view.We do however believe the time is right for different thoughts and time of day smart-pricing, which will be great news for Drivers with increased rates.It is really an act of madness to charge the same price for a journey that takes three times as long and uses twice the amount of fuel, so we discussed the merits of time of day smart-pricing at our AGM Private Session.Two very large members have now introduced time of day smart-pricing and have informed us they have covered more work, their Drivers have earned more money, less business has been turned down, more Drivers are showing up in the morning and less Drivers are going off early!Any Member who didn’t make the AGM who would like to know more about smart pricing and Driver retention please contact me personally and I will take you through it.As previously mentioned there is another ‘Talking of Drivers’ article, in our Recruitment Section. This deals with how to get the best results from Driver Recruitment.

Steve Wright

6 | Private Hire News | issue 68 | Winter 2014/15 www.lphca.co.uk | lphca@btinternet.com | @LPHCA

They think it’s all Uber – It might be now!overAs we went to press The Times journalist Jennie Russell wrote a piece called ‘Stop the Uber car now – I want to get out’.The LPHCA wrote to The Times to praise the article and we stated: “The legitimate Taxi & Private Hire Car (minicabs & chauffeurs) Industries have suffered a tirade of inaccurate and unfair abuse from Uber’s senior people, alongside the company’s ignoring of regulations worldwide, banning orders and the bad-mouthing of drivers.”Whilst Uber seduce spineless regulators, feeble politicians and celebrities with commissions, events and charm initiatives, they have now turned their bad-mouthing attention to journalists.The ‘Ratners Moment’ has arrived for Uber for turning on the very people who seek the truth and set the record

straight ‘journalists’. We believe Uber are showing their true colours, which in our view ranks alongside that of rogue bankers and corporate greed.The Times article, published on 20th November, finishes by saying: “Uber has betrayed its users and it’s clear that even now it can’t really see what the fuss is about. It can’t be trusted to police itself and no one is regulating it effectively. But if its customers desert it en masse, something better will replace it. Cancel your app now.”

The full article Stop the Uber car now – I want to get out can be obtained at:www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article4272612.ece?shareToken=b74cefbaa1cc11aae584fa4fc5c933bb