Driver – Guildford. Scoot2boot is the smart alternative to a taxi in Surrey. Based in Guildford we drive people home in their own cars after a night out. Our chauffeurs travel between customers on a small folding scooter that fits into the boot of most cars. We are seeking additional drivers to cope with increased demand for our services during the week, specifically from 7pm – Midnight between Sunday and Thursday. If you are looking for some interesting part-time work, are able to work late during the week and have a full clean driving licence and a full, clean motorcycle licence then we would like to hear from you. This position will suit someone who doesn’t need to wake up early for work during the week, so either someone who is self-employed, semi-retired or who has another part-time job not too early in the mornings. You can expect to earn between £10 and £15 per hour plus excellent tips. You will be supplied with one of our unique monkey bikes which you will need to keep securely at your home in either a garage or locked shed. We take care of insurance and maintenance, you just need to supply the fuel, a tank is £3 and it will get you around 100 km! If you can demonstrate great people skills, flexibility in your approach to work, a can-do attitude and some experience of driving a wide range of vehicles including some prestige then please get in touch for more information. You will need a clean, full car and motorcycle licence and a good knowledge of the local area. Please email some details about yourself and why you would make a good scoot2boot driver to: contact@scoot2boot.com. Immediate start available for the right people. Weekend work also available.

Laura Esberger and Jason Bailey booked a Chrysler 300 limousine for £300 for their wedding day which was due to take the bride to the service in nearby Sheffield – but things took a turn for the worse a month before the wedding when they discovered the car waiting outside their house.

The family could not believe the limousine had turned up four weeks early but was apparently assured by the driver that it was a mistake and the future booking was secure and would go to plan – but Laura and Jason had no idea that this was the very start of their problems.

Laura commented; “I was so happy when I was able to book a car, as it seemed most companies were too busy with school proms, so when I found the limo and they said they had availability, I was delighted.”

On the day, the car, already 15 minutes late did not arrive and with only 45 minutes before the wedding, Laura phoned the limousine company and was told someone would ring her back – she was then forced to book two taxis at the last minute to get her to the wedding with minutes to spare. Not exactly the glamorous arrival the bride had planned for her wedding.

She was apparently told by the company they did not have her name on the computer, and they would pass on Laura’s contact details and someone would get back to her later.

Laura added; “I was absolutely devastated, I didn’t get any beautiful photos of me getting out of my dream wedding car. That put a complete downer on the start of my big day. To top it all off, I still have not been contacted by the company which let me down and there has been no offer to return my deposit.”

A spokesperson from National Limousine Hire told us; “As far as we are aware, we passed the correct dates and information to our limousine supplier which was based in Manchester – but somewhere along the line, obviously a mistake has happened.”

He added; “We are very sorry this occurred and will try to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime we would like return Laura’s £60 deposit.”

Chauffeur/ private hire driver – Oxford. Must be reliable and smart in appearance. All applicants must have a clean driving licence for insurance purposes. Ideally you will hold a current and valid vale of white horse private hire licence or be willing to apply for one. This entails a CRB check that will take 6 weeks. Flexibility will be required as hours will differ each week depending on bookings taken. Position is part time and would ideally suit a retired/ semi-retired professional who will work on a self-employed basis and live locally to Oxford. Apply here

Ignoring the problems within the limousine industry will not make them go away – that is the warning from the National Limousine and Chauffeur Association.

NLCA Legislation Officer, Bill Bowling has told thechauffeur.com that 2010 will be an important year for the limousine sector, and the association needs more support from the industry to allow it to continue with its work.

Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford, Yorkshire

With 300 members, the NLCA has been accused of not doing enough for its annual fee of £120 – but Mr Bowling has expressed his frustration of working hard ‘behind the scenes’ and be presumed to have been doing nothing and publicity only going to the ones who ‘shout the loudest’. Well, perhaps the NLCA should be shouting the loudest!

Getting the support it deserves

I was personally involved with the NLCA re-branding a few years ago, and the commitment and excitement within the board was evident – everyone was determined to make a real difference and bring together the industry once and for all. So, what happened?

Let’s look at the current members elected to be on the committee. Chairman, Peter Wright from Leeds runs Star Limos and a limousine parts business, he has been the head of the association for a couple of years now. Bill Bowling is basically a legend, he is the backbone of the association and he could pretty much educate the people who make the rules. Bill also runs a hire firm in Yorkshire and has done since the year dot.

Vice Chairman is Lancashire Limos boss Russ Jones, Jason Earl was elected as Legislation Assistant, and also runs Earls Limousines based in Manchester the list goes on. Notice anything all of these people have in common?

Do not get me wrong – all of these operators together make a very powerful voice and their knowledge and experience is paramount for the future of the industry – and at the end of the day, these are the only people who have the balls to give up their time and actually attend the monthly meetings unlike the rest of industry who can only but criticise their dedication.

Personally, I believe we need a chairman who is actually employed to do the job in hand. The revenue which is generated by membership should be spent on getting the right people in to concentrate on pushing the association forward and getting results. According to the NLCA, it currently has 300 members, so my calculations show it turns over £36,000 per year! If this figure is true, then this should be plenty enough to employ a part-time Chairman and buy some good coverage on the internet and trade magazines to promote membership. Somehow I don’t think this is correct.

So, we are going to go round and round in circles. If operators don’t join, then there isn’t the revenue to do the above, therefore the association is more likely to continue to make developments slower than we would all like.

It frustrates me so much as every operator I speak to has a gripe about the government agencies – I could spend days, even weeks talking to them about how they think it should be different, why they think its wrong, what should be done and why they think they could do a better job.

Are there benefits?

So why should operators part from their hard earned £120 when in reality all they get is a direct line to Bill Bowling – which at 3am in a dark lay-by with a curious constable in a traffic car, is actually a great benefit in itself.

Kevin Towler has run a hire firm in Essex for the last six years and believes there isn’t any group or association in the industry now that gives value to his business.

Kevin told us; “I am always very frustrated with the limousine industry, just like most operators but I simply feel that it market is far too small for the government to recognise – that is why there are still illegal limos on the road.

He added; “We have always kept our noses clean and complied with any laws that have come in, so in that respect I just do not feel an association would have any benefit for me. However, if one comes along which offers substance, I would be happy to join.”

What do we want from the NLCA? We want some more committed board members with as much dedication as the current ones, but with more time on their hands. Perhaps a much lower annual fee should be considered which would generate more members giving it a larger backing. Meetings at different locations around the country have taken place – perhaps there should be more rather than the regular gatherings in Yorkshire.

How about some PR – the NLCA should be educating the general public about the risks of using unlicensed and uninsured operators by using the media which is more powerful than people think.

Mr Bowling is hoping this years AGM will generate more members, as it reveals its plans for 2010. He told us; “The main thing is that we are now involved at a lot deeper level with the government on matters from side facing seat exemptions, consultations on type approval and categories for limousines in the future. We could do with a united front on the scene rather than the unlicensed operators making waves and bringing the credibility levels down.

He added; “We have to take time to educate operators on the way forward, the stop gap of self drive looks like it will die a death in September when the three major insurers withdraw from the self drive market. With no one left to insure the vehicles there will be a sudden grinding to a halt. Again these problems have been caused by the numerous fire claims for larger limousines, all bar one were un-COIF’d vehicles and caused a massive insurance industry loss.’

There is much to talk about and lots of hard work ahead, so now the association needs your support more than ever, so if you are serious about the industry, show it! The NLCA will only ever have power if it has large numbers supporting it.

Paul Gibson

You will be:
Experienced in security
Well presented, personable, polite with excellent manners
Be a safe and confident driver and have a good knowledge of central London
Live locally to East Sussex
Be happy to work a 4 days on 4 days off shift over 48 hours per week

They will be an excellent employer, you will be part of a team, a very competitive salary is offered along with a mileage allowance for your own travelling. Apply here.

The fare rise aims to find a balance between maintaining income levels for drivers, who face disproportionately higher costs in order to work than average Londoners, while ensuring passengers still get a fair price for the high quality and unique service provided by the Capital’s taxi drivers.

TfL’s Board approved the new fares following consultation by TfL with the taxi trade and others, including London TravelWatch and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The increase is calculated according to a long established formula and will help drivers cover rising operating costs. The Board also approved a new deal on licence and testing fees for taxi and private hire drivers, including a freeze on some fees.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘’The Capital is blessed with wonderful cabbies and we’ve deliberated long and hard to come up with an increase we think is fair to everyone during these tough economic times. I hope this increase will allow cabbies to meet the annual increases in insurance and fuel costs. But also help those with older cabs bring their vehicles in line with our desire to improve the air we all breathe in this great city by driving the type of clean, green taxis that will achieve that aim.’’

John Mason, Director of Taxi and Private Hire at Transport for London, said: ‘’The new fares take into account an agreed increase in the costs of running a black cab and balances this with setting a fair price for those who want to travel by taxi. We are trying to work with the drivers and operators to help keep them out on the road and providing Londoners with the excellent service they are renowned for around the world.’’

Bob Oddy, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said: ‘’The LTDA welcomes this small but important increase. Like everyone else London’s cabbies continue to face significant financial challenges not least due to significant increases in taxi running costs such as fuel and insurance. This is the lowest increase in fares since 2004 and shows that hard working cabbies continue to face the same financial challenges as their customers.’’

Taxi fares are reviewed annually and calculated by TfL based on a cost index that has been used since 1981. They will come into effect from 1 April 2010.

The 2.3 per cent increase for the next financial year includes a 1.9 per cent increase based on the 2010 cost index, which takes into account the rise in average national earnings and an increase in insurance rates which have risen 19.5 per cent on last year; plus a one-off 0.4 per cent to remedy a calculation error from 2007 which the taxi trade chose not to introduce last year due to the economic downturn.

Chauffeur – Birmingham. Prestige chauffeur company is looking for Executive chauffeurs based in the Birmingham with a minimum of 3 years driving experience with no convictions. If you are interested please contact us on 07538753067 or you can email us on raj2009_81@hotmail.com. This position is open for at least 20 chauffeurs.

Close Protection Chauffeur. Libertine Global Solutions is opening a new arm of their ever growing business in the UK. We will now be offering a Chauffeur Service to include a Close Protection element to all our existing clients and hopefully lots of new ones too. We are therefore are looking for experienced, smart and professional part time drivers who have gained advanced driving training in the Police or Armed forces. Experienced PCO licensed drivers with or without their own car will be considered. All candidates will have to be formally interviewed and will have to have Clean CRB Check and will have to undergo a medical examination. Part of the appointment process will involve a driving test. Apply here.

The changes are needed because of differences that have arisen between new vehicles, which are fitted with speed limiters, and older vehicles which are not. This means that while newer HGVs are limited to 56mph older vehicles are able to drive at up to 70 mph on the motorway. Similarly, new passenger vehicles with over eight seats are limited to 62.5 mph on the motorway but older vehicles are able to drive at 70 mph.

This can cause confusion for other drivers and creates a disincentive for companies to invest in safer and more fuel efficient vehicles. In addition, vehicles with speed limiters are not allowed to use the right hand lane of three lane motorways but those without speed limiters currently are.

The proposals put forward in today’s consultation include:

* Setting a 65 mph limit for all buses, minibuses and coaches with more than eight passenger seats regardless of whether or not they are fitted with a speed limiting device;
* Setting the motorway speed limit at 60 mph for all HGVs over 3.5 tonnes regardless of whether or not they are fitted with a speed limiting device;
* Prohibiting all HGVs between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes and all buses, minibuses and coaches with more than eight passenger seats from using the right hand lane of motorways with three or more lanes.

Road Safety Minister Paul Clark said: “We want to provide clarity for everybody – drivers, operators, other motorists and the police – as well as making sure that there is a level playing field for those operating in the bus, coach and road haulage industry.

“These proposals simplify motorway speed limits for buses, coaches and lorries so that everyone has to abide by the same rules regardless of the age of their vehicle.”

We all know these are decades old and its common knowledge the brand has been an outstanding one in recent years – and now the new Skoda Superb model continues that trend. We recently announced that a Chauffeur firm in Ireland has purchased 140 of them – so that is a testament in itself as to what to expect from this car.

When the Superb was launched in 2002, there is no way any chauffeur on this planet would have got into the drivers seat – due to its famous history of being cheap and unreliable.

I met my first ‘Superb’ chauffeur in 2003, he offered a traditional service, (with hat and gloves) and drove a fully-loaded Skoda in perfect condition. This was one of the first companies to recognise that some clients didn’t actually worry about the badge on the bonnet, as long as they got to their final destination safely and promptly.

Now, the all-new model brings even higher quality materials, better engine performance and economy and a rather bizarre boot configuration (a unique ‘twindoor’ system which gives you a hatch and a saloon in one vehicle) in which after spending seven days with the car – I still don’t see the point!

Council leaders, private hire, taxi drivers and more chauffeur companies have been flocking to the dealerships to get their hands on the new Superb which has already won 30 prestigious awards worldwide. It goes head-to-head with the likes of the Ford Mondeo, Citroen C5, Renault Laguna and Vauxhall Insignia. However, the Superb is both more spacious and has a larger boot than all its rivals and even offers more rear legroom than a standard Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Priced from a mere £15,500, our first press demo model had an endless list of equipment and housed the 2.0 TDi engine producing a whopping 50mpg and had a price tag of just over £23,000. Skoda has got it perfect – and it has done this by offering all of the creature comforts you would expect from a much more expensive German luxury saloon.

A brand-new touch-screen sat nav and entertainment system is offered which is fast and easy to use, full electric seats, climate, adaptive Zenon headlamps and an excellent parking aid system which I have only ever seen in a £90,000 Lexus.

From the outside, the new design is a great improvement. Sat alongside more popular luxury saloons, it certainly doesn’t look out of place as its long-wheelbase gives it a distinctive prestigious look. When driving our press vehicle, I was surprised when a passer-by had a double-take at the badge then told me he thought it was a BMW – surely this means a successful result already for the Skoda brand?

The engine in our 2.0 TDi was punchy and extremely economical, however much like the other models within the Skoda range, it does sound rather taxi-like on the outside, but when inside the cosy cabin, it’s quiet and comfortable. We have however had the pleasure of experience the flagship model, the 3.6 V6 version which is basically all of the above, but on steroids.

Housed under the bonnet is a whopping 3.6 V6 four-wheel drive version offering 260 bhp, which is a much smoother and refined engine than the diesel, but only delivering 30mpg you would have to be a real petrol head to choose this model. It is a pity that the 2.5 TDI V6 which was offered in its predecessor is not on the list this time round – as it offered a punchier engine with diesel economy.

This is touching the surface of what luxuries the beautifully bolted Superb offers – so what does the car offer the paying passenger when they are parting with their hard-earned cash?

Well, the legroom factor is probably the biggest selling-point. Sitting in the back amongst the wonderfully stitched leather, you would be hard-pushed to find another vehicle with this amount of space without spending £60,000, and nice touches still exist such as the umbrella neatly stored in the near-side rear door.

The long rear window behind the B-pillar proves the amount of legroom from the outside – so the £200 option of a rear and side blinds is a must and with a choice of silver paint and black leather, you have truly got yourself a great budget chauffeur car.

Paul Gibson

– Drivers will preferably live in and around the Twickenham / Richmond / Kingston / Heathrow/ Surrey area.

– Drivers MUST be PCO registered.

- No disqualifications/major endorsements on driving licence

- Company vehicle provided and fuel paid by company. You will just be paid to drive so do not have to worry about insurance, fuel costs etc.

- Current drivers are earning £450 – £600 per week

Please call Michael on 07702 125222 for further information and also send your CV to: mhunter@overlandcars.co.uk