Bill Edwards - Private Hire News

Tribute to...
Bill Edwards
by Steve Wright
It was a considerable shock to receive a call telling me that
sadly Bill Edwards our friend, colleague, operator, mentor
and inspiration had passed away following a lengthy battle
with cancer. Although hardly anybody realised it, Bill had
been battling this terrible illness for nearly 5 years, many
people simply had no idea just how unwell he had been as
he looked so well.
Typically, Bill had told hardly anyone about his battle, carrying
on with business and life in his usual ‘full-on’ manner. In the
last weeks and months of Bill’s life, if anything, he had been
even more active battling away for what he believed was
good for his beloved Chauffeur and Executive section of the
Private Hire Industry.
In those very early days campaigning for Licensing in London,
Bill was soon the Chauffeur and Executive spokesman,
forming the Chauffeur and Executive Association that
affiliated to the LPHCA, which again was typical of Bill’s
foresight as he recognised that together the industry would
be stronger and more effective.
Before telling everyone all about what Bill had been up to
recently I would like to tell you more about Bill Edwards the
Industry Champion.
At the time the ‘front line’ team consisted of Bill, Eddie
Townson and myself, greatly assisted by Robin Hulf (our
Political Advisor) all working closely with Diana Lamplugh
OBE of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. That group of people was
in reality, the heart and soul of our campaigning, with Bill
always reminding us of the differing needs of the Chauffeur
and Executive part of the industry.
At the back end of the 1980’s the industry was, not for
the first time, without a structured trade association.
The LPHCA was just about to launch via a mailshot to
every London Operator.
Expecting replies primarily from the minicab part of the
industry, we were quite shocked that some considerable
Chauffeur and Executive companies were very interested in
what we were doing.
Amongst those astute Chauffeur and Executive companies
was a company called Brunel. All we knew about them
was that they were based in East London in the Aldgate
area. Following the expression of interest from Brunel they
registered for Membership with the fledgling London Private
Hire Car Association.
We set up our Grading System and Brunel was one of
the first companies to be visited. They were also the first
member company to be featured in our Private Hire News
magazine, which in those days was just a few pages.
When we went to Brunel, we were shocked to see the
level of technology, precision and the sophistication of
its operation. We were soon to learn that there was an
inspiration behind what we were seeing and that inspiration
was Bill Edwards.
Bill, as was always the case, had the wonderful gift of
foresight and he knew that the Chauffeur and Executive
side of the industry was as much ‘in scope’ for regulation
as were Minicabs.
6 | Private Hire News | issue 63 | autumn 2013
In the mid-nineties the LPHCA, as it does today, believed in
showing the industry in its true light and this was achieved by
‘whistle stop tours’ for dignitaries, officials, regulators
and politicians.
Brunel, because of Bill’s involvement, was an immediate
choice for us to show to the old Public Carriage Office
(PCO), MPs and Ministers. Brunel was ideal as a venue to
showcase the Chauffeur and Executive industry, to the then
Head of the PCO Roy Ellis, who was potentially to become
our regulator in London, which proved to be the case.
Bill, with the skill of a highly professional ‘tour guide’ come
‘top class salesman’ (alongside his IT guru Kenny Edgit
and Frank Barnett his great friend and International Sales
Director) conducted the tour of Brunel.
The ‘furry dice and rusty old minicab’ stereotype image of
Private Hire went into terminal decline that day as they
swept Roy Ellis and his colleagues around Brunel. They saw
cutting edge technology, some of which was projected onto
a massive screen in the Brunel operating centre. They saw
vehicles on the projected image being tracked as they went
along the M4; all this way before Satellite Tracking was in the
marketplace.
The tour continued through the customer care section, the
call centre, the conference facilities and the training areas.
Roy Ellis was truly taken aback with what he was seeing and
as we left he said, “My God the Taxi Industry are in for a big
shock”. Bill, as usual, had ‘done the business’ in his stylish,
eloquent way and the PCO were left in no doubt that there
was a very serious industry waiting to be regulated.
When success came our way and licensing was upon us,
once again, it was Bill, who brought a different dimension to
all the processes that were about to be thrust at us.
www.lphca.co.uk | [email protected] |
@LPHCA
As the licensing started, we were joined by John Griffin of
Addison Lee and representatives from other trade bodies like
the PHB, the GMB and the Lambeth Minicab Forum.
It was unanimously proposed and agreed that Bill would
Chair the Platinum Chauffeur and Executive Committee,
fighting for that corner of the industry right until the very end.
This group was collectively known as the Private Hire User
Liaison Committee, which it certainly wasn’t. It was in fact
a group of industry savvy people who understood what was
needed to license and regulate it successfully.
Earlier this year, Bill generously hosted Isabel Dedring, the
Deputy Mayor for Transport in London and Deputy Chair of
Transport for London with Leon Daniels, Managing Director of
Surface Transport at Transport for London on the first leg of a
‘whistle stop’ tour of Operators.
Bill led us through a minefield of proposals that were being
thrust upon us, in particular as to what level of topography
and knowledge a private hire driver would need in London to
obtain a licence.
We attended dozens of meetings and there were all manner
of potty proposals being thrust at us. To a degree, we all
knew the answers, but collectively, we would have probably
struggled to get to the right ones easily.
Typically, Bill quietly went away and produced a complete
outline by way of a comprehensive report, which broadly
answered all the questions and solved most of the problems.
That report produced what is today still being used as
the measure for driver’s skill requirements in London
‘The Topographical Assessment process’ rather than an
unrequired and unnecessary knowledge test.
Like many things, Bill’s quiet, considered and thoughtful
approach delivered the solution that collectively we strived
for. This was Bill’s way and this is why Brunel is now a World
leader in its field and also the reason that the Industry in
London, in the main, has sensible regulation.
As the LPHCA grew and developed beyond London into the
Licensed Private Hire Car Association, Bill became even more
committed and involved with representing the Chauffeur and
Executive side and after 9/11 he launched BruCab, so he
was then also in the Minicab part of the industry. Alongside
another sadly missed industry leader, John Scott of Greater
London Hire, Bill committed to the Platinum Membership
structure that has taken us so far as a trade body.
As with previous ‘whistle stops’ Bill hosted our guests in
his immaculate manner, giving them a full tour of Brunel’s
incredible operation, which is now based in the Twelvetrees
Business Park overlooking the spectacular view of Canary
Wharf.
The purpose of the visit to Brunel was for us to show the
powers that be that ‘we know our business best’ and we are
therefore best placed to advise on how it should be regulated
and controlled.
Bill had been very critical of the Transport for London’s Taxi
and Private Hire Directorate’s direction in recent times and
alongside me, PHB Chairman Eddie Townson, Addison Lee’s
John Griffin and Patrick Raeburn of the Lambeth Minicab
forum, we formally wrote to London Mayor Boris Johnson
expressing our concerns.
In particular Bill was very unhappy with the Directorate’s
Grading system, which had been introduced with little
discussion with the primary Trade Representatives and other
proposals that were universally unwanted by the trade like
new signage with plating and other ‘in car’ paraphernalia.
Following a private presentation at Brunel to Isabel Dedring
and Leon Daniels on how a worldwide Private Hire Ground
Transport service is provided, done in conjunction with his
son Anthony, we convened to Bill’s office to see his proposed
solution to the signage problem via an innovative number
plate based attachment.
As with the topographical assessment solution that Bill
conceived all those years ago, the number plate bracket
based solution is brilliant and we will be pushing for its
adoption initially in London, the concept being outlined and
explained following this tribute.
In a strange irony Bill and I had been seeing each other
a great deal in the weeks before his sad passing and just
a few months ago he had presented the number plate
bracket based solution to Platinum Members. He was also
the person who spotted the small print in the last budget
that changes the parameters of capital allowances for the
purchase of new, environmentally friendly vehicles in our
sector. As usual Bill was ahead of the game.
The very last conversation with Bill was all about that signage
solution and we mapped out how we should move things
forward, which I will be following meticulously to Bill’s wishes.
The first thing agreed upon was the showcasing of his
‘Sensible Signage’ idea to the wider industry and the very
next article in this magazine will do this.
Bill Edwards was a lovely man, universally loved by friends and
colleagues, he was also a great advocate of ‘less being more’
something that he taught many others including myself.
He is truly irreplaceable and will be sorely missed. Our
thoughts are with his family who will continue ‘the Bill
Edwards way’ at this difficult time and into the future
I am sure.
www.lphca.co.uk | [email protected] |
@LPHCA
Private Hire News | issue 63 | autumn 2013 | 7