Addison Lee outs Green Party candidate with cyclists lament
THE boss of Addison Lee minicabs, one John Griffin, writes in the company’s Add Lib magazine:
“These cyclist are throwing themselves onto some of the most congested spaces in the world. They leap onto vehicle which offers no protection except a plastic padded hat.”
He says the greens and bike uses are:
“…up in arms about what they see as the murder of cyclists on London roads”.
He says:
“Should a motorist fail to observe a granny wobbling to avoid a pothole or a rain drain, then he is guilty of failing to anticipate that this was somebody on her maiden voyage into the abyss. The fact is that he just didn’t see her and however cautious, caring or alert he is, the influx of beginner cyclists is going to lead to an overall increase in accidents involving cyclists.”
He says that cyclists undergo no training and pay no taxes to use the roads. Only, they do. And they’re not allowed to ride on the pavement.
“It is time for us to say to cyclists: ‘You want to join our gang, get trained and pay up’.”
The Times notes that Griffin says drivers ay “road tax”.
The paper says road tax was abolished in 1937.
Car drivers pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), which is linked to emissions and therefore not applicable to cyclists. The maintenance of Britain’s road network is paid for out of general taxation, garnered from the income and council tax paid by most adult citizens, including cyclists.
But the VED is a road tax. You need to buy one to use your vehicle on the roads.
Jenny Jones, the Green Party candidate for London mayor, sees the column and writes:
“I will not again use an Addison Lee taxi and am happy to join those calling for a total boycott of their organisation.”
A green used mini-cabs? Who knew? Note that she will continue to use cabs, just not that firm’s. Also note that she is happy to see drivers put out of work and for a company to go bust on the strength of an opinion piece in an in-house journal. Nice.
Perhaps better than that:
“Deputy Prime Minister, tweeted that he had cancelled his Addison Lee account and called on others to do the same, retweeting a comment by a user, Dan Rogers, who wrote: “Lots of corporate accounts will be cancelled over this.”
Two Jags has a mini-cab account?
It’s amazing what cab drivers can find out about their passengers…
Posted: 23rd, April 2012 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (12) | TrackBack | Permalink
