| |
Cabbies’ boycott in hotel black cabs row
Drivers allege staff are being paid by minicab firms
BLACK cab drivers are set to boycott a prestigious hotel after alleging that staff are taking “backhanders” from minicab firms to supply customers.
The body that represents Hackney carriages, the London Taxi Driver Association (LTDA), accuses front-of-house staff at the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch of pushing guests who request taxis to take minicabs over black cabs waiting in the rank.
Cabbies say they have sent their own bogus tourists into the hotel to prove the practice takes place.
Bosses at the hotel, part of the Thistle/ Guoman group, strongly deny having an “arrangement” with any minicab firms. They say they are simply following orders from their guests.
Bob Oddy, the general secretary of the LTDA advocated the “mystery shopping” tactics, using people who look like “foreign tourists” to play the role of prospective passengers, to confirm drivers’ suspicions that they were being conned out of business.
Emergency talks between the LTDA and hotel management failed to mend long-frayed relations, prompting a week-long boycott of the hotel – the first such action in two years. The situation has deteriorated so much that the hotel recently reported a number of irate drivers to the Public Carriage Office (PCO) for alleged unruly behaviour.
Mr Oddy claimed guests at the 1,000-room, four-star hotel were being “duped” and drivers being “robbed of trade” by some staff.
He said: “We had to put in undercover guests because so many drivers were coming to me complaining about the situation. This hasn’t got anything to do with a grudge against minicabs.
“If a guest wants a minicab that’s fine. But what is happening it that tourists are coming down and asking staff at reception or on the door for a taxi and, instead of being pointed in the direction of the nearby rank where there are usually about eight cabs, they are being told to wait to one side while whoever it is books a minicab.”
He added: “We don’t take boycott action lightly. It’s not unprecedented but we haven’t done it for two years. We have tried to talk with management but they’ve just ignored it. We don’t know whether there is a formal arrangement in place or whether some staff are getting paid on an ad-hoc basis, but you’ve got to ask yourself why would they be doing it. It’s very underhand.”
One member of the hotel’s staff, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The LTDA are definitely not whiter than white and I would say this is another instance of their militancy. Some taxis turn down trade if it means a five-minute journey round the corner. They want the flyers so they can go to Heathrow, come back again and go home.”
A spokesman for the hotel said: “The Cumberland recognises the valuable part London’s black cabs play in keeping the capital moving and, as such, our concierge service is happy to order them for customers as requested.
“A very small number of those staying at The Cumberland request a more executive class service and on occasions we do order them luxury chauffeur-driven vehicles.
“These are supplied by a fully licensed operator in accordance with the law.” |
 |
|
|
Your comments:
I FEEL that if the allegations are true then so what! Black cab drivers think that they rule the roost - just because they have passed the 'knowledge'. They stop where ever they want, do u-turns where ever they want and just because they passed a test. Further more they constantly moan about how 'little' they earn and how business is always down (always the government's fault!) Good luck to the staff of The Cumberland if they are prepared to take the time to arrange alternative transport and probably save their patrons money (and the obligatory ear ache!)
Jack Carter
|
| |
