Today’s news refers to an incident in Brisbane. I have had a litany of bad service from taxis in the Brisbane area. Here is a letter that I sent to the Yellow Cab Company of Brisbane.

Dear Yellow Cab. I wish to make a complaint regarding the driver of taxi number [withheld] in vehicle [withheld] regarding an incident on Sunday morning… outside the Brunswick Royal George Hotel next to the Sun Herald Building. I know that this is not a taxi rank. Yet I waited in line with many others for one hour. If it is not a pick-up point, then a clear no-pick-up rule should apply. The place operated like a rank, and is therefore confusing. Finally after drunks were pushing and shoving, and 50% of all passengers jumping the queue and drivers of all taxi companies picking up people from the middle of the line and the back of the line, it became my turn as the first in the queue. The driver of [withheld] insisted that I tell him where I am going, before accepting me as a passenger. The Valley is super-charged with intoxicated rough youths. There were all sorts of unpleasantness while waiting in line. I told the driver that it should not matter where I was going and I opened the door and sat inside. He immediately started to petition the four or six youths whom he had just dropped off, and they began to threaten me, with one saying, ‘I will kill you’ and others shouting obscenities and hurling abuse. The matter was seconds away from flash point, and the driver would not accept me as a passenger. I was 100% sober (I never drink or take drugs). While in his cab, I was sandwiched between his abuse and the youths’ threats which he was inflaming.

While in the taxi I called 000 and spoke to the police. At this time, coincidentally, a police car stopped in front and the driver went to complain to the police about me. The police then asked me to step out of the taxi. The driver said to the police that he was going home and did not want to take any more fares. Please investigate this driver’s meter. You might find that he lied to the police, which is an offence. He refused me passage because I would not pre-advise him of my destination, which I presume is against the rules. He incited violence, which I believe is an offence. He was rude, obnoxious, and verbally abusive. The police immediately presumed that I was the problem passenger and asked me to move along, not listening to my story. I heard a police officer ask, ‘Has he not paid his fare?’ This is a huge presumption, and the taxi driver was allowed to leave while I was against a wall being surrounded by four or more police officers.

Now I was stranded for another hour, while aware of a gang of youths eyeing me out for a fight. The whole taxi situation in the Valley is an indictment on the authorities who are responsible. The place is over-crowded with drunks and drugged thugs, along with decent people out for a pleasant night out. The taxi stands are invisible to tourists like me from Sydney. Where thousand of people congregate, where is the nearest stand? Why are there no signs to assist in this matter? Why not a sign to point to the nearest stand? Why not a taxi administrator like they have at airports. The place is a mess with lots of pushing and shoving. No doubt you are not responsible for all of these matters, and the local council and the city needs to address this ghastly situation. Any taxi stand ought to be one block up so that the left turn is made on to the ramp to the bridge, rather than block the Mall area, which can take ten minutes just to move 100 meters with the fare running. The whole situation is bad. I have had other issues with taxi drivers in the area. This time, I would appreciate your assistance in this regard before I contact my legal counsel and take civil action as well as media action about a level of service that is absurd, made worse by police officers, including a Senior Sergeant who did not understand the situation and should not have been on the beat if he and his colleagues are unable to understand the basics. I have lodged an official complaint with the Brisbane Area Command about the Police officer in question. It now falls upon you to please meter out the necessary disciplinary measure against the driver. I would welcome your call and your written response so that I can advise my legal counsel with the result of this first step. Thank you.

After waiting 40 days for a satisfactory response, here is what Yellow Cab Company said:

Dear Jonar,

As previously stated the driver has been subjected to Yellow Cabs Rules of Conduct and Operating Procedures. Under current Qld Privacy Provisions we are unable to divulge any disciplinary action that may have been taken against this driver. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this unfortunate incident and thank you for your valuable input.

Respectfully Yours

This is not good enough. How can I know that anything was done? Privacy, my foot. And when a driver is attacked, it’s all out for the sympathy-card, with protests in the street and deputations to our Prime Minister. A range of people need to pull their head in, while another group must put its head together and stop licensing idiots, no matter their skin colour or country of origin. It has nothing to do with race or nationality, but with absurdity and stupidity!

Not long ago, people snapped-up the thick tomes to use them as door-stops or to raise computer monitors off desks. Pages from the books could have been used to light the barbecue or to help get the log-fire going. These days, most monitors come with adjustable stands. Fancy heating devices in the home have made open-fires less attractive in terms of maintenance. And the advent of a stable internet has taken the Yellow- and White-pages on-line.

So, what are we to do with all those books that seem to hang around for months? No-one wants them. What will the publishers do about it? They make millions from advertisers who wish to list their business. Over the years, we saw the introduction of the spot-colour, and later the full-colour, listing. Something dramatic will have to happen. They can’t keep printing and shipping such bulky books that no-one wants. Yet, they can’t admit to the advertisers that the circulation has dropped. Not unless there are similar reductions in the rate card.

Office buildings and residential apartment blocks are littered with books that tenants do not want.

This is one of those developing stories. Something big will have to happen. Keep an eye on the on-line versions. At the moment, their search capabilities are almost useless. Over the years, they have improved. Way back, I recall speaking with the White Pages people about the on-line listings not containing a post code. If one found a name and address, one had to go to another application to find the post code. The woman said that they decided not to list the post code so that direct-marketers will not use the White Pages as a quick search tool for bulk-mail campaigns. At the time, the company had other products that it wanted to sell to direct marketers. The problem was, regular users were frustrated. So much so, that the White Pages had to back down.

Twelve months ago, if one searched for ‘John’s Butcher’, one had to trawl through thousands of entries because anything with the word ‘John’, plus anything with the word ‘Butcher’ was returned, making it impossible to locate the said organisation. Not only that, the likes of ‘Johnson’, ‘Johnston’ etc, as well as ‘butchery’ and ‘butchers’ etc were included. After many protests from the public, and from me as well, they changed it. In addition, they now provide a national search so that one does not have to conduct the same search in a state-by-state basis.

Despite all of these improvements over ten years, the search engine is still juvenile. I would rate it a 5 out of 10. They have a long way go. The company had better get on with it, because the printed form will soon collapse, and it will need a richer alternative if it is to drag the same amount of revenue from advertisers who are reluctant to pay the thousands that they had come to expect from the paper days.

The environmentalists might soon have something to say about all that pollution. When you add up the tonnes of ink, as well as the paper and the pollution from the delivery-trucks that transport the raw materials and the finished products, these books can take their toll on the environment. Not to mention the thousands that end up in regular rubbish bins, despite the range of collection initiatives.

The books are shrink-wrapped in plastic, and then placed in a plastic bag. That's a lot of plastic bags for a society that is frowning upon their use, with threats from governments that bags will be banned and that some supermarkets are charging for them. My local supermarket does not provide plastic bags unless someone asks for them, or unless it is obvious that one is required.

These days, newspapers are delivered in plastic, secured with rubber bands.