Taxi Company Goes the Extra Mile to Help Passengers

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar 22, 2012 -
Charanjit Mannu commented ‘It’s great to help passengers know their rights, there is so much smoke and mirrors when it comes to taxis as a lot of passengers do not know their rights, and rogue taxi and private hire drivers prey on venerable passengers, I hope the advice I give helps passages get a better deal, but it also goes into detail on what to do if you do encounter a problem. The information on the blog is written and approved by the managers at yellow taxis, we have over 100 years combined experience, and it’s time we gave something back to the public for the years of fantastic custom their have given us.’ Charanjit went on to explain that he hopes the information would help clean up the stereo typical view of what a taxi company is and the way drivers operate.

Below is a snippet of one of the articles already published on his site. Visit http://www.yellow-taxi.co.uk/Table/Blog/ to see the blog.

Travel Safety

One of the questions I most often get asked as the owner of a taxi company is how do I get a good deal on taxis when I am aboard, how do I spot rogue drivers, I will try and cover as many if these questions as I can. The answer really depends on the amount of driving you intend to do. If you intend to go places within walking distance perhaps only use a taxi as needed. Contrarily, if many of the places are far away, then it might be more prudent to rent a car for the duration of your trip.

Whenever you are flying to your travel spot, try and use the airport limo or a possible airport pick-up service. This ensures that you do not have to wait in line for a taxi and that you can promptly arrive at your hotel with the least possible frustration.

If you are traveling overseas, always have local currency in a variety of denominations. It is much easier to be ripped off by a taxi driver or shopkeeper if the smallest bill in your wallet represents a week's or even month's profit. Small change can sometimes be difficult to come by, so hang onto your coins when you get them.

When traveling in a strange city by taxi, ask an independent third party i.e front desk clerk or baggage porter what the right rate is for a trip to your destination. Also confirm the rate with the driver before you get into the cab. This helps prevent you from getting ripped off.

If you are arriving in a new city and don't yet feel comfortable there, consider asking your hotel provide for an airport pickup service. This will allow you to avoid the pitfalls of baggage porters and taxi lines which trap many first time travellers. It also ensures you don't get lost in the city and go straight to your hotel.

To save energy when traveling in hilly or mountainous areas, consider taking a taxi to the highest point in the town or area you're visiting, this lets you see the whole town, including any mountain vistas, without having to cover too much altitude and wearing yourself out.

When you're traveling and you're in need of a taxi, make sure you pay attention to the meter. When you first get into the taxi make sure that the meter isn't broken, it is properly zeroed out, and it is turned on and off when you get out. It is easier to be scammed in a foreign place. Paying attention to these simple meter tips can ensure you're charged a proper rate and not swindled.

When traveling in other countries, be wary of what taxis you get into. Make sure the taxi actually is legitimate before getting in. Any idiots can slap a "Taxi" sign on to their car and you never know who they might be or where they might end up taking you.

Whether you are traveling within the United States or in a foreign country, always make sure the taxi cabs you use are certified with the city. There is usually a sticker visible from the back seat of the vehicle. If you are unsure, research city-licensed cabs before you travel. This way, you can avoid unlicensed cabs that overcharge their patrons, and save money to do more fun things during your travels.

Carry a business card or book of matches from your hotel with you everywhere you go. If you are out on the streets of a foreign city and find yourself lost, this small item will be very useful when trying to get directions from a taxi driver or a local on the street. It is especially useful for anyone without a firm grip on the language.

When you're traveling and you're in need of a taxi, make sure you pay attention to the meter. When you first get into the taxi make sure that the meter isn't broken, it is properly zeroed out, and it is turned on and off when you get out. Taxi scams are famous all over the world, and in a foreign place it is easy to get scammed. Paying attention to these simple meter tips can ensure you're charged a proper rate and not swindled.

If you are arriving in a new city and don't yet feel comfortable there, consider asking if your hotel provides an airport pickup service. This will allow you to avoid the pitfalls of baggage porters and taxi lines which trap many first time travellers. It also ensures you don't get lost in the city and go straight to your hotel.

Visit http://www.yellow-taxi.co.uk/ for information.

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Doping Rule’s Extra Consequences

But making the Olympic team is not her only goal. A positive drug test weeks before the 2008 Beijing Games cost her the experience of competing there. After serving a yearlong doping suspension, she is looking to clear her name.

A binding sports arbitration panel reduced the standard two-year doping suspension in Hardy’s case after she argued that she had ingested the banned weight-loss and muscle-building drug clenbuterol by accident. It was discovered in an over-the-counter nutritional supplement she was taking.

But Hardy’s road to the London Games remains a treacherous path of red tape and unknowns because of a relatively new and confusing International Olympic Committee rule.

The rule, instituted just before the 2008 Games, bars from the next Olympics any athlete who has served a doping suspension of six months or longer. While Olympic officials say that eligibility restriction is necessary to rid the Games of athletes who dope, critics say it constitutes a second punishment for those who have served suspensions. No database of athletes barred for doping exists, so it is unclear how many London hopefuls may be affected.

The bigger problem for Hardy and other Americans facing the ban is that the I.O.C. will not hear their appeals unless they have made the United States Olympic team.

Conflicting rules by individual sports federations, the United States Olympic Committee and the I.O.C. create a vicious circle. In many sports that select teams through trials, like swimming and track, athletes deemed ineligible for the Olympics may not be allowed to vie for a spot at the trials in the first place.

“It’s just a bunch of dead ends that’s turned into a disaster,” the 23-year-old Hardy said. “For the sake of myself and for my U.S.A. teammates, I’m hoping that they’ll make a ruling before 2012. If not, I will not let it go because it’s not fair. I will not go down without a fight. It will be a huge distraction, but it’s not my fault.”

The I.O.C. adopted the rule to save the Olympic community the public-relations nightmare of having known cheaters in competition, said Arne Ljungqvist, the chairman of the I.O.C.’s medical commission. Some national federations were shortening athletes’ suspensions so they could compete in the Olympics, he said, which the I.O.C. considered wrong.

The rule serves as an additional deterrent to doping, Ljungqvist said, because drug testing alone has often not been enough to catch those who cheat.

Antidoping officials said that no athletes bound for the 2010 Vancouver Games contested the rule, which was instituted three days before Hardy’s failed drug test in July 2008. So the lead-up to the London Games is the first time athletes are expected to challenge or appeal it. A wave of appeals — particularly by Americans — will most likely be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport before the Olympics. That court’s ruling would be final.

Ljungqvist said the United States is one of the few countries that select their Olympic team through trials, which often occur close to the deadline for submitting a final roster of athletes to the I.O.C.

“There is an appeal process in place, and any athlete has the right to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or do whatever once they are named to their Olympic team,” he said. “The timing problem is a very U.S.-specific case, and international sports rules are not at all adjusted to what may be the selection of teams in various countries.”

Hardy and at least one other American, the runner LaShawn Merritt, have asked the I.O.C. to rule on their eligibility for the Olympics, but the I.O.C. has declined to do so. Merritt, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meters, tested positive in 2009 for a prohibited substance found in the male-enhancement product ExtenZe — which, according to its label, contained DHEA, a banned steroid. He received a 21-month suspension that will end next July.

An American arbitration panel that decided Merritt’s case found that the I.O.C. rule violated the World Anti-Doping Code, to which the I.O.C. adheres. It said a fair and just system would allow athletes to appeal the rule immediately and warned that the uncertainty of the rule could cause the U.S.O.C. “to face unnecessary and excessive litigation, with its resulting costs.”

David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said last month that the Olympic ban was an eligibility issue, not a doping sanction — a position the Merritt panel called skullduggery. Athletes and the I.O.C. would be responsible for resolving any conflicts, he said.

Howard Jacobs, the lawyer for Merritt and Hardy, said the timing of those resolutions could pose a headache for both sides.

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Wait for extra Olympic tickets

19 September 2011 Last updated at 14:51 GMT By James Pearce BBC Sports News Correspondent All sports apart from football sold out in the first rounds of sales. More than a million extra tickets for the London Olympics will not go on sale until next Spring.

The tickets, including thousands for all the most popular events, were held back from sale earlier this year while seating plans were finalised.

London 2012 organisers had initially said those tickets could go on sale as early as December, but that is now unlikely to happen before April 2012.

The only tickets which will be put on sale in December are for football.

Around 1.5 million football tickets were left unsold at the end of the first two sale phases. Football was the only sport which did not sell out.

There is bound to be enormous demand for the remaining non-football tickets when they are finally sold.

There will be several thousand tickets available for both the opening and closing ceremonies, which were massively oversubscribed, as well as other sought-after events like the athletics finals.

A spokeswoman for the London 2012 organising committee, Locog said that the organisation's focus is currently on the sale of Paralympic tickets, which continues until 26 September.

She added: "In December, we will put 1.5 million Olympic football tickets on sale on a live system. The remaining one million Olympic tickets, to all sports, will go on sale to the British public next year from the contingency seats, once venues are tested and licensed, and operational plans are completed."

It is still to be decided how the remaining tickets will be sold. It is likely that those who applied this year, and were unsuccessful, will be given priority.

The difficulty, though, with the tickets not being allocated until so close to the Games is that those who are lucky enough to be able to buy them could discover that transport and accommodation prices have risen in the meantime.

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