In message ,
Martin Underwood writes
"Richard Rundle" wrote in message
...
"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
...
I'm a London licensed taxi driver so I can speak with some authority
about the Heathrow system.

Taxis plying for hire at Heathrow have to first queue in a taxi feeder
park which can take as much as 3 hours before they get to the actual
terminal. The drivers are all 'green badge' drivers which means that
their knowledge is of the central London area, where the majority of
taxi passengers wish to go.

If taxis are waiting up to 3 hours between returning to Heathrow and
reaching a rank where they can pick up a passenger, doen't this suggest that
there are too many taxis? The ideal number would be such that there is no
queue in a feeder park and as a taxi leaves the head of a queue at one
terminal, another is just being marshalled to the end of that queue.
Obviously you need *some* slack in the system, but three hours seems to be
excessive.

The trouble is that there is no way of determining the demand. Although
there are roughly the same number of flights each day there are a
variety of factors which affect demand.

Rainy weather increase demand, train and bus problems increase demand,
bank holidays in other countries decreases demand. Road conditions also
have an effect Late flights are a prime example why there is a variation
of demand.

There is at the taxi feeder park a canteen which most drivers use,
particularly at 'normal' meal times. There are even a number of drivers
who live some distance from London, come to town for 3 or 4 days and
sleep in the taxi at Heathrow.

The number of taxis entering the feeder park is also partially
determined by the number of departures - the greater the number of
departures the greater the number of taxis taking them to the airport.

The whole thing is quite complicated. On the whole it works quite well,
giving an excellent supply of taxis. If only the marshals at the
terminals could get their act together when it's busy we could load up
the customers quicker - we get as frustrated as the customers by slow
'service' !

There seems to be a different outlook by customers when it comes to taxi
services. If it freezes and your pipes burst you don't expect to get a
plumber straight away. If you are trying to get to work at rush hour you
put up with it, but god help the taxi service if you can't get one from
your annual Christmas party to take you home. There is a huge outcry
that there's not enough taxis. The fact that everyone else is looking
for a taxi at the same time doesn't enter into the equation.

Now if we could just do as the minicabs can do and increase our prices
for the busy periods to encourage more taxis out on the road the
situation would not be as bad... (maybe) :-)

--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England