CONTINUATION OF THE REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOME OFFICE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY ON TAXICAB FARES.
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A further sitting of the Home Office Committee on Taximeter Fares was held on Monday the 24th ultimo, and we now report the principal statements which were made by the new witnesses.
Mr. A. SMITH, president of the London Cabdrivers' Trade Union, in reply to an inquiry as to the information which he could give the Committee as to the proportion of fares to extras, etc., thought that it would be better for the men who are actually driving motorcabs to answer such questions as these. Asked by the chairman if an arrangement. existed with most of the proprietors that 75 per cent, of the extras should belong to the owner and the balance to the men, he said that an agreement wile arrived at in 1906 between the motorcab proprietors and the Cabdrivers Union, whereby the men should have 5s. per day and 10 per cent, of the gross takings. This arrangement is stated to have been in force for rather over a year, and to have affected the men employed by four companies owning 150 machines. " In 1907," said Mr. Smith, " the General Motor Cab Co. was formed, and the Union was approached to know if it, would be willing to supply drivers. The terms were to be 25 per cent. of the takings, and the men were to buy their own petrol." The members of the Union are reported, after several meetings, to have refused these terms. " We have over 30 years experience,'' continued the witness, " and we do know that the cab industry is essen
tially a middleman's or a poor man's industry; you cannot make it pay large management or establishment charges. The General Co. did not agree with our criticisms, with the result that. a large number of men accepted their terms, and eventually we had to accept them. Business under these conditions was started in March, 1907, and there were then no extras. All the machines were two-seated vehicles only. The proprietor was not able then to charge for extras. It was not until the seats were altered that the question of the payment of extras arose. The question of their allocation was not the subject of a definite bargain, but the drivers assumed that the extras belonged to them. The taximeter dials had nothing on them with regard to extras." Mr. Smith stated that the men looked upon the extras as their own property and that the owners tacitly agreed.
The witness contended that the cab industry was in a special position, because the cabman has to find employment for the vehicle, and that the employer does not have to find it. He quoted Mr. Byrne'a figure of £40,000 odd, which was stated to be the cost of maintaining the Public Carriage Office at Scotland Yard, as being an undue tax upon the industry, but the chairman reminded him that this sum, of course, covered the administration of the department with regard to the control of all other public-service carriages, such as omnibuses and trams. Mr. Smith stated that he much objected to the discussion in the columns of the Press of matters affecting the cabmen; he did not like " washing dirty linen in public." " If the proprietors," he continued, " will allow to us that they cannot rue the business under present conditions we can make a suggestion to them." He was of opinion that the cab industry could not be worked on ordinary commercial lines, mid that i. could lint bear Such large expenses as directors' fees. Some of the companies would have been in a better position, in Mr. >Smith's opinion, if they had had practical cabmen as foremen, " Mr. Davison Dabeel," the witness continued, " says that Scotland Yard goes thoroughly into our characters, and that clears up to a very large extent the charge thatis made that the men are dishonest and do not ring up the extras. I do not say that a man is dishonest if he does not punch up his extras; I do not think the police say so. I am giving you rev opinion. I_ am no advocate for a dishonest man; we hold DO brief for a man who tampers with his taximeter or anything of that sort, We are out in all weathers, and when I hear a gentleman like Capt. Lynch talking about 25s. a week, I hope he may hear alr. Crooks in the House, talking about 30s. a week minimum. We cannot live on cold food ' we cannot live on bread and meat like a labourer ; we have to buy our food out, and that should be taken into consideration. the life is a hard one, and the remuneration ie not excessive."
Mr. Smith was of the opinion that the industry could be run on much more economical lines. lin reply to the chairman is to when the question of the allocation of extras was first raised, the witness stated that dile did not occur at any definite time. He then repeated much that he had already stated with regard to the history of the taximeter and the motereab. He added: " The extras question has been a very hazy arrangement. Drivers have not always paid 8d. for their petrol. When we first started, it was 11d. ; 7d. is the lowest price ever reached."
With regard to the policy of raising the fare, Mr. Smith stated: " I think it is the most ill-advised policy that I have ever heard of, on the grounds that the carrybig of the public shout London is so well organized that we cannot afford to do anything to risk it. In the tubes at night you see people strap-hanging who could well afford to take cabs. If the fares were raised everybody would suffer on account of the reduction in the number of passengers." THE CHATRMAN :-" What is your view with regard to the suggestion that there might be an increase of trade if the stale were revised, and if, instead of 8d. for the first mile, the initial fare was 6d. for the first half-mile? "
MR. Senna es-" My view is that it would not work; it means the whole alteration of the taximeters. The feeling of the majority Pf men is that the fare had better stop as it
is. . . I think that a wage system might be introduced. The men have empowered us to discuss such a system for thena-so much per day and so much commission."
Mr. Smith was also understood to say that the mon would be willing to revert to the old terms of 1906, namely, Sc. a day and 10 per cent. of what they earn, but he was enable to state whet were the earning capabilities of the cabs.
Mn. L. RUSSELL, who was 16 years in the employment of one firm as a horse-cab driver, and who has also had three years of experience as a motoreab driver, said that he was a member of the committee of the London Cab Drivers' Union. He is still in the employ of the General Motor Cab Co. The witness, by way of statement, repeated a great deal of the information that had already been given to the Committee by Mr. A. Smith. He then read what he stated was a speech made by the managing director of the General Motor Cab Co. at a meeting at the Horns, Kennington, when the officials of that concern were looking for more drivers. That statement was reputed to be as follows:-" The business of the General Motor Cab Co. could only be a success provided that all parties were satisfied with the work. We do not think a pittance would be a fair wage, and when you start driving your wages will be as before. viz., 25 per cent, of the gross takings, out of which the petrol has to be paid for, but there e ill be this alteration, that the directorate will gnarentee that your net wages shall be 7s. per day:" AL that time, Mr. Russell stated, the company was charging the drivers 11d. per
for petrol. There was no agreement, but it was understood that that the men would be allowed their petrol at its actual cost. The witness stated that it could be proved that the spirit, was then costing the company only 6d. With regard to the dispute as to the extras, Mr. Russell sleted that, although the original cabs were only licensed to carry two, they had seating accommodation for five, and he said that Mr. 'Cohen had given it to he understood that no vetra charge would be asked for the carriage el' the extra pa-ssengers. The result of this was that the drivers came tea look upon what they could get for these extra seats as part their remuneration. The witness stated that men could be: brought before the Committee who would prove that they ha& entered the service of the British Motor Cab Co. on the distinct understanding that they would not be asked to account, for the extras.
The witness .continued " With regard to the earnings of a: cab, we have had the statement of Capt. Lynch that the aver-age was 22s. per day for the past three months; that would_ be a very fair average ; it would be a great deal more in thee summer ; that sum of course represents the gross takings. At. a recent meeting between the drivers and Mr, Edgar Cohen,. the witness stated that the earnings of the General cabs for the last eight months were placed at 23s, Id. per day gross. This, represented the takings from August to March. Of the Mr. Russell continued, " the amount of wages would be 5s. 9c1To earn this amount of money my expenses would be 2s.; average for station charges (1d. for going into each station) andi cab attendance would be as near as possible 8d. per day. Om account of the peculiar nature of our calling, we are oblige to have our meals out in whatever part of London f tires have to he driven, and the least one can spend on meals is ls. 6d_ per day. If I were a bricklayer or a carpenter I could have one meal out and the rest at home. 1 do not go holm from 9 o'clock in the morning till 2 o'clock the next morning, so / am obliged to have all my meals out. A cabinen has to keep, himeelf so far as his in eals are concerned. I think the Committee should consider that point when dealing with the question. The net wages he is able to bring home, when he has taken home the eab, are is. 7d. His expenses do not store there, he has to pay for part of hie uniform. We are compelled to buy our boots, our breeches, our gaiters, and Our' cap. The company supplies overcoat, and jacket. . . Another item which the men have to boar is often that of providing additional lighting, owing to the insufficiency of that provided by the companies"
With regard to the question of tips, Mr. Russell agreed:with Mr. Davies, a previous witness, who had placed the tips
at 2s. 6d. in the £1. lie also agreed with that witness's estimate of the extras at is. in the £1. The average number of fares carried by cabs does not total more than 15 per day._ " The terrible number of hours that we are compelled to work is an absolute danger to the public," The witness stated that he knew of several cases of breakdown caused by the exposure, and straiu of the business. With regard to suggestions for-alteration in the remuneration that is paid to drivers, MrRnssell thoughttthat a Man was entitled to some wage. Bas put the minimum wage at 3s, per day, with a basis of 10 per cent, commission on the first LI and 15 per cent. on all above; that; proprietors to find the petrel; hours to be fixed at 7per week : and the proprietor to be entitled to all the extras._ The witness stated that the reason why many of the drivers only worked four or five days a week was because the cabs. were frequently stopped by the police as unfit. The driver had no chance of going out while the machine was being pre-pared for re-inspection.
The chairman stated that there were 7,165 cabs licence& in March of this year, to which Mr. Smith replied that therewere 7,458 licensed motorcab drivers at the same date.
Mr. Russell cited the conditions under which the drivers of the Kilburn Motor Cab Co. and of other proprietors work The Kilburn firm has 13 cabs; the extras go to the men. an those drivers who earn £6 a week get 25 per cent, of the
takings and 5s, additional as a bonus. Those who earn, £7 10s. get 7a. bonus, and a £9 total secures 10s. bonus. TheNational Motor Cab Co. has about 500 cabs said the witness_ Their men get 4s. bonus if they average 25s, a day on the clock or if they earn £7 10s. for a six-day or seven-day week_ Mr. C. II. May, of Kennington Green, has six Argyll cabs._ These be lends on hire to drivers at the rate of 4ad. gross per mile. The Eccleston Motor Cab Co., which has 20 cabs, lets the men have all the extras; a groste earning of ltle, per daynet for six days a week gets a bonus ; 25s, on the clock for elle day gets a bonus of 5s. On the hire-purchase ystem, a motorcat, including a taximeter, said Mr. Russell, costs £49a. Capt. Lynch fixed the cost of the Rcnault cabs at £400. With, reference to the contracts made by the General Motor Cab Co_ for the ITnies, they work out at £254. to which has to beadded the oast of tires. taximeter and lamps. The witnees considered that if any demand were made to raise the fares,. the total takings would be materially decreased. The was oF the opinion that there are undoubtedly far too many cabs ire; London ; there are sufficient he said to meet the demand anywhere, both in London nd the suburbs.