Coventry cabbies have said they are "struggling" as bills soar and they face rising competition for work in the city. One hackney cab driver said the trade is "on its last legs" and this is "the darkest period we have ever faced."
CoventryLive reports that the claims were made in response to council plans to increase licence fees for cabs in the city. The move was agreed by a council committee on Tuesday 12 March.
But papers for the meeting show the proposals were met with an outcry among drivers consulted on the move. More than 50 wrote to the authority opposing the scheme, with just two comments in support.
Many said they can't afford the rise as they are already coping with high inflation and the soaring cost of living.
One driver claimed they are struggling to make ends meet despite working a seven-day week, and another said their income is too small to support themselves and their family.
The drivers also raised concern over rising competition with out-of-own cabbies and those with app-based services such as Uber. One said there are "not enough jobs" and most customers are hardly using black cabs.
Another painted a gloomy picture of the traditional cabbie's prospects. They wrote: "I do not believe that it would be justifiable in the current circumstances that we as taxi drivers are having to face, what with rising costs across the board, with rising fuel and insurance costs and ever increasing costs for repairs and maintenance.
"Along with diminishing revenues due to Uber, the taxi hackney trade is on its last legs. It appears to me, having been in the trade for over 30 years, that this is the darkest period we have ever faced."
Several letters also called on councillors and the council's licensing office to do something about the situation. But a council report said the fees had to go up to make sure the service breaks even.
The report warned of the consequences of not doing so, stating: "Failure to increase fees in line with costs and to keep pace with inflation will result in a financial loss to the council and an increase in the council’s subsidy of the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Service."
Under the changes the cost of new driver licences will rise by £35-40, while renewing the licence - which has to be done by drivers every three years - will cost an extra £20.
Other fees will rise by between £2 and £17, the highest one being the driver licence renewal and licence fees for vehicles.
Operator costs will also rise by £100-£110. The changes will be brought in from 1 April.
Asked for comment on calls by cab drivers to do more, a council spokesperson said: "The points were raised in the objections made to the proposed fee increase.
"Coventry licensed drivers are aggrieved with competition from Uber and other out-of-town drivers that can work in Coventry but are not Coventry licensed vehicles and drivers.
"Whilst we have no enforcement powers to stop them working here, we have got a good relationship with enforcement officers from other licensing authorities."
Smoking behind the wheel is the public's biggest gripe against East Ayrshire's taxi drivers.
New figures have revealed that smoking has accounted for 22 complaints lodged by members of the public with East Ayrshire Council about the area's taxi and private hire drivers over the last five years.
According to the Cumnock Chronicle, abuse and/or rudeness towards the public accounted for the second highest number of complaints, followed by dangerous driving.
The figures were revealed by the council following a freedom of information request.
Since March 2006 it has been illegal to smoke in public places in Scotland which are 'wholly or substantially enclosed', including most workplaces, as well as in vehicles used for business purposes, including vans, lorries, buses, trains, ferries and taxis.
But East Ayrshire Council says that none of the complaints made against the area's taxi drivers since 2018, about smoking or any other form of poor behaviour, resulted in the driver being referred to the authority's licensing panel - the body, made up of elected councillors, that has the power to grant and to take away private hire driver licences.
And the authority says it doesn't hold any information on whether any private hire driver in the area has been dismissed as a result of a complaint being made against them.
A total of 71 complaints, for a variety of reasons, have been lodged with the council about the behaviour of East Ayrshire's taxi drivers since 2018.
The 22 smoking complaints comprise nearly 31 per cent of the total.
Seventeen complaints of poor behaviour and/or rudeness towards the public were made against the cabbies during the five-year timeframe.
Other complaints included:
An East Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: "East Ayrshire Council can confirm in the first instance, that as licensing authority, it carries out the administrative process of the licensing of taxi and private hire car drivers, and therefore does not hold information on whether a driver has been dismissed as a result of a complaint.
"The council investigates any licensing complaints and would generally offer either guidance or a warning to a licence holder and can also, if appropriate, refer a licence holder to the Licensing Panel for consideration of suspension of a licence.
"The council can further confirm that none of the complaints listed in the FOI response resulted in a licence holder being referred to the Licensing Panel."
Taxi fares will increase in some parts of Cumbria from next month.
The Cumbria Crack reports that members of the regulatory committee for Westmorland and Furness Council approved to raise the maximum cost of taxi fares for hackney carriage vehicles by seven per cent from April 1.
According to a report prepared for committee members in November, the average cost of a two-mile daytime journey with no waiting time is currently £6.50 in Barrow, £6.60 in Eden and £6.70 in South Lakeland. This is lower than the national average of £6.97.
With the proposed increase, taxi fares will rise to £6.80 in Barrow, £6.80 in Eden and £7.20 in South Lakeland for the average cost of a two-mile daytime journey with no waiting time.
A consultation conducted by the council with hackney carriage drivers found 83 per cent of licence holders in Barrow support the proposal, with 61 per cent in favour in the Eden area as well as 91 per cent in the South Lakeland area.
Councillor Les Hall (Hawcoat and Newbarns, Conservative), said: “I think it’s quite clear from the consultation that the majority of the taxi trade want an increase, and we should go ahead with the increase, but I do believe there needs to be harmonisation and we know that work’s ongoing.”
George Harkin, a taxi driver in Barrow for ten years, objected against the proposed rise due to the unacceptable disparity between the areas in Westmorland and Furness.
Mr Harkin said: “Why should people like myself be treated differently in what we can earn as taxi drivers in the same district of Westmorland and Furness?
“The opportunity is now to deliver the same reward to all taxi drivers no matter what geographical location they are in in Westmorland and Furness. What is being proposed today is not inclusive and it is not fair.”
In response, chair of the committee Councillor Helen Ladhams said she agreed fares should be equal and told the committee a consultation and approval from the secretary of state would be necessary for harmonisation.
The head of public protection for the council Graham Barker told the committee work was underway for an overarching policy to cover all of Westmorland and Furness.
Source: https://cumbriacrack.com/2024/03/12/taxi-fares-to-rise-in-cumbria/
Taxi drivers in Sefton could lose their licence for five years if convicted of driving while using a mobile phone.
Under rules introduced at Sefton Council Licensing and Regulatory Committee on Monday March 11, licensed drivers face new and updated sanctions as the local authority approved changes to the Licensed Driver Convictions Policy.
The Liverpool Echo reports that three new offences were added to the policy and included guidance on what sanctions licensed drivers would face if they were convicted of using a hand held device while driving, convicted of discrimination, or convicted of exploitation.
For the offences of discrimination and exploitation, any driver convicted would have their licence permanently revoked and prevented from ever working as a taxi driver.
However, there was some debate around the clarity and justification for the new guidance on the offence of using a hand held device while driving.
The revised policy stipulated an immediate five-year ban would be imposed on licensed drivers if they were convicted of such an offence
Petitions were submitted by Frank West and Joseph Johnson, H&PH trade representatives on behalf of licensed taxi drivers and asked for a revision of the wording in the policy.
It said: "The petitioner will request on behalf of the Hackney and Private Hire trade that members amend the driver convictions policy in relation to the disqualification period for the use of a handheld device."
The trade representatives wanted the policy to reflect the modern working environment of taxi drivers who rely on mobile phone devices to confirm, amend or cancel jobs through associated booking apps.
The reps said an immediate five-year ban was unnecessarily harsh and unclear as some drivers may be punished for tapping their phone while managing booking apps.
The reps were clear a ban is understandable for drivers accepting calls with a phone in their hand. However, they said any instant ban should not be imposed on drivers who may have been using a device (mounted on the dashboard) to accept jobs.
Instead, the reps requested a change to the wording of the policy which would mean drivers would go straight to mediation (were a ban would be considered) rather than the imposing of an immediate ban.
Local authorities across the Liverpool City Region have been working to 'standardise conditions' in relation to the convictions policy and all changes have been passed by Wirral, Knowsley and Liverpool.
The DfT published the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards in 2020 and have informed local authorities that any exception to the guidelines at local level must be predicated on a 'compelling local reason'.
The committee at Southport Town Hall did consider the petition put forward by the H&PH Trade Representative but did not believe the reasons reached the threshold as laid out in Government policy.
The committee also stated that there were caveats to the convictions policy that did include options for mediation.
The report by Sefton Council said: ”The recommendations to be implemented unless there is a compelling local reason not to and there is a risk that the council could be open to challenge if the new statutory guidance is not followed without sufficient justification.
“Adhering to the new statutory guidance will mitigate against any challenge to the council’s licensing regime."
Source: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/taxi-drivers-face-five-year-28799347
A Leicestershire MP has claimed Uber drivers are using local taxi ranks illegally and fears this could cause problems for passengers.
LeicestershireLive reports that Harborough MP, Neil O'Brien, has expressed concerns that it also takes trade and earnings from local drivers, who have paid to be able to work in the district.
MP Neil O'Brien said: “The taxi drivers in Harborough have to pay significant sums of money to operate in our area. Typically, this will be £320 for their taxi licences, a further £360 to EMR for use of the taxi rank at Market Harborough Station, plus other costs that can take the total bill to around £1,000.
"Additionally, taxi drivers here go through much more rigorous testing to get their taxi licences than in other areas.
“Despite this, Harborough taxi drivers are facing a challenge from Uber drivers who are licensed in other council areas. These councils have much lower standards and charge a lot less than the licences issued in Harborough.
"Despite this, I understand that Uber drivers are using the taxi ranks and picking up fares in the town, which they are not allowed to do.
"Often these drivers have come from quite far away. I am worried that if drivers from elsewhere are hanging around here, and doing illicit cash-in-hand work which they are not allowed to do, that there will be a safety problem at some point.
“Harborough taxi drivers told me that they want the council to take proper enforcement action to avoid these abuses and to ensure that they can operate properly, as per the terms of their licences.
"As such, I have written to Harborough Council to see what they can do to crack down on this kind of behaviour. Hopefully, they will take action.”
Regarding the safety fears, he added: "The fear is that if people from all around the country are coming and doing illegal cash-in-hand taxi work they may also have poor standards more generally and treat passengers badly. The whole point of licensing is that it should be simple to contact the council and get redress if there is a problem."
Cllr Darren Woodiwiss, Harborough District Council’s cabinet lead for environmental and climate change, said: “Out-of-town drivers who are not licensed through the council are prohibited from using taxi ranks in and around Market Harborough and picking up unsolicited fares.
"We understand the frustrations of our local taxi drivers and the safety concerns they have raised and will look to undertake some weekend evening surveillance.
"We will also discuss the issues with them at the next scheduled taxi forum meeting.
"If reported, we will always ask drivers licensed by another local authority to move on when they are observed using a taxi rank in the district and make contact with the relevant local authority so it can deal with the driver directly.”
An Uber spokesperson said: “Uber is committed to safety and raising standards across the industry.
"All private hire trips in the UK must be pre-booked and private hire drivers are not permitted to use taxi ranks.
"We are reaching out to Harborough District Council to discuss steps we can take to address any concerns.”
Source: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/mps-safety-warning-harborough-taxi-9146413
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Through this collaboration, FREENOW willl provide additional benefits giving drivers up to 25% off pay-as-you-go rates across the entire bp pulse electric charging network and discounted fuel at all UK bp branded sites.
Wakefield Licensing, working alongside West Yorks Police Roads Policing unit, NPT, Off-Road Bike Team, Police Intercept Team, DVLA & DVSA, held a Partnership Day of Action at Thornes Park.
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