Greedy London cabbies at it again

The cabbies are revolting. They certainly are. Not content with being the most expensive cabs of any city in the world - and I've been to Tokyo and New York - our venal cabbies are demanding more and more even in the grip of a recession. We're all feeling the pinch but they make the most noise about their financial woes. Seems they might have to give up their golf club memberships so they've been demonstrating. About what? Well, guess... They want to get rid of rickshaws. They want to close down mini-cab offices and "the madness of clipboard operators" as it says here: http://ltcpr.blogspot.com/2009/01/london-taxi-cab-public-relations.html

What madness is that exactly? You come out of a club at 4am in south London and there isn't a black cab in sight. There never is. So, you go to the guy with the clipboard and ask for a mini cab. Well, our cabbies think that's a crime against nature.

They want "meaningful consultation" between themselves and Transport for London. But as anybody who has ever travelled in a cab will know, that really means accepting their point of view on all occasions. Their idea of us acting reasonably is when we agree to all their demands 24/7.

London's cabbies remind me of the Teamsters or the New dock workers in the 1950s. A cosy cartel that nobody dares disrupt. But I think most Londoners are fed up with being charged sky high fares. And many businesses are telling their employees to use the tube instead. Did you know, by the way, that some cabbies believe in charging PER PASSENGER!!! Because it's so unfair, they say, that we can club together and get a taxi and it costs less person than going by tube.

These guys are going to price themselves out of the market. We will see some attrition. Welcome to the real world oh cabbies of London town.