the knowledge
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Work out what you want, not what you don’t want hile sitting through what
high profile crimes even when they were reported to them that they have managed to park the “problems” and “solutions” at the door of the private hire and taxi industry. Very skilful indeed. Therefore, I find it somewhat shocking that trade organisations “welcome” the constant flow of “guidance”. Still, I guess it beats trying to actually establish what the industry wants and needs, which may of course be the status quo, and then lobbying, campaigning and championing it.
at times appeared to be an endless whingefest at the two recent trade shows in Manchester and Milton Keynes, I really tried to work out what it is that the industry actually wants. I failed completely. As an industry we seem to have a many and varied list of things we don’t like and don’t want. But the room goes rather silent when someone asks: Dr Michael Galvin “What do you actually want?” Policy-makers don’t generally sit in a room and dream https://mobility THERAPY SESSIONS HAVE THEIR PLACE up stupid ideas. They listen to, engage with and try to serviceslimited Do we really believe that pulling a few hundred people understand how to make industries operate better. They .com from the industry together to provide some form of mass try to remove barriers and unnecessary encumbrances, therapy session is useful to the industry? “My name’s Mike. I hate and generally achieve a balance for suppliers and the public. Clearly the local council and I don’t like filling in forms and I saw a cab from safety is paramount in any policy-making, but it should not be the only Budleigh Salterton pick up a punter in my area the other day…” If we consideration. do, then the format is probably fine. SO WHY ARE WE HERE? But if we are a serious industry, turning over billions of pounds, Much of what the industry currently moans about and wants changed employing hundreds of thousands of people, and the participants are were actually changes promoted by the industry itself. Let’s take people who want to maintain or build successful businesses and then cross-border hiring. The previous system, if you could call it a system, exit profitably or pass on a thriving business to their children then was a patchwork of original legislation and case law with some local maybe not. regulations thrown in, so it ended up as almost unworkable. HOW IS POLICY MADE? WHERE DO Therefore, the 2015 Deregulation Act was received with open arms NEW LAWS COME FROM? and gratitude. But following the realisation that it pretty much enabled Policy leading to legislative and regulatory change will continue to any private hire driver to work anywhere in England and Wales, be made whether or not the industry chooses to participate. Policy together with the growth in platforms to support that concept together makers will be listening, watching and acting on the views, feedback, with the emergence of super-regulators, we’ve now decided that we comments and lobbying of those who exert the energy, brainpower and don’t want it after all. yes, the time and money to effect the change they want to see. Whether There are now siren calls for the previously-derided ABBA system, those changes, those new laws, new guidance and new regulations are whereby all bookings must start or finish in the area the vehicle and good for you, the person trying to build or even maintain a business is driver is licensed for. OK, let’s jump on that bandwagon, shall we, and highly questionable and frankly unlikely. let’s see how long the novelty of that “solution” lasts. That is why industries have trade associations. They don’t have It doesn’t take much imagination, let alone critical analysis, or even them to deal with the day-to-day dross of running a business, but to – heaven forefend – an impact assessment to start to unpick ABBA. ensure that their strategic interests are Using legislation or even regulation to thwart represented. competition, which is really at the heart of A good trade association is not one that many of these issues, is not their purpose. fills in the forms you don’t have the patience Nor is it ever successful. to fill in, phones up the council and whinges The recent slew of regulatory changes, about a new one-way system or the re-siting which no doubt will add bureaucracy and of a rank. No siree! cost, are clearly driven not by the industry Your business, your future is wrapped up but those who have been able to scapegoat in the legislative, regulatory and external the industry with blame for many of their environment. Simple solutions to complex own failings. No one transporting the public can deny that taxis and private hire should problems rarely work. Everyone has an have the highest levels of safeguarding in agenda and some are prepared to put their place. time, money, energy and expertise into However, it has been a skilful exercise on making it a reality. Others simply whinge! the parts of many of the public agencies that failed miserably to prevent serious n w ww.mobilityserviceslimited.com
“Policy-makers don’t generally sit in a room and dream up stupid ideas. They listen to, engage with and try to understand how to make industries operate better...”
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