DEREG DILEMMA
This month’s Dereg department highlights a rather dramatic change of direction. Suddenly in four different locations – Cardiff, South Tyne- side, Grimsby and (continuing) Reading – the brakes have been put on the issue of further hackney licences. These councils have recog- nised that business is bad out there: too many taxis, too few ranks, a drop in customers, a rise in fuel costs once more, tired drivers. Would that more local authorities would realise that it’s not about plate val- ues any more – it’s sheer financial viability of an entire trade. Within that is the licence holders’ ability to maintain their vehicle – which rather ties in with most councils’ primary remit of public safety. This is a round-robin situation that is escalating in so many local authori- ties, and we only hope that it does not result in something dreadful happening to any drivers or their passengers before more councils take action.
GRIMSBY DRIVER NUMBERS CAPPED
North East Lin- colnshire Council has agreed to put a cap on the number of hack- ney drivers following an investigation. A meeting room packed with taxi driv- ers at Grimsby Town Hall heard the number will be held at 235. It followed arguments from the Hackney Car- riage Association that
too many new drivers were signing up. The council and the Hackney Carriage Association agreed to split the cost of the £15,000 investigation into whether there was any need for more drivers.
Since 2004, the council has fallen in with nation- al guidance to de-restrict the number
of drivers who could get licences in the borough. Halcrow Group con- ducted the indep- endent survey which included rank observa- tions and inter- views with the public; as well as taking in the opinions of the tourism industry, police and disability officials about the role of taxis in the community.
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SOUTH TYNESIDE COUNCIL LIMITS NUMBER OF TAXIS
Taxi drivers in South Tyneside are unlikely to have more competi- tion as cabbies face up to a large drop in trade. South Tyneside Coun- cil has pegged taxi numbers in the bor- ough at 239 after hearing that customer numbers have fallen significantly in the last decade.
A survey of more than 1,000 people in the borough has revealed a steady decline in recent years, with 51.5 per cent stating they use cabs “rarely or not at all”. Ten years ago that fig- ure was 33 per cent. As a result, cabbies say they are having to work longer hours for less money, members of the council’s Regulato-
ry Committee heard last month.
The survey also con- firms that there is no unmet demand for hackney carriages in South Tyneside. South Tyneside Hack- ney Association supports the cap on numbers.
Michael Wilkinson, chairman of the asso- ciation, told the Shields Gazette: “We have voted for the last three years not to take a pay rise.
“Our tariffs have been frozen because, if we put up fares, fewer passengers would use taxis. That would kill the trade even more.
“There has been a definite decline in the last few years. You notice it on a Friday
and Saturday night in Shields. The pubs are a lot less busy.
“The lads who work in the day from the rank outside McDonalds have noticed a decline. The economic downturn has really hit the trade.”
A report to the commit- tee says: “The South Tyneside Hackney Association has
ex-
pressed concerns for some time now that the trade has seen a decline in customers, forcing drivers to work longer hours for less money.
“The survey provides the council with the appropriate evidence to justify the contin- ued application of its policy to operate a capped licensing sys- tem.”
COUNCIL LIMITS CARDIFF LICENCES
A cap has been placed on taxi numbers in Cardiff in a bid to com- bat traffic chaos and crime.
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No more hackney car- riage licences will be issued after Cardiff City Council bowed to pressure from taxi drivers and the police to impose a limit. The moratorium, sanc- tioned by the public protection committee last month, will only be lifted if it can be proved there is still unmet demand for taxis. But dozens of drivers who descended on County Hall to lobby committee members said this is unlikely because there are now approaching 1,000 hackney carriages competing for cus- tomers, which has left them struggling to make a living.
Norman Griffiths, 59, from Cardiff, a taxi driver for 31 years, said the decision by the committee to impose a ban contrary
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to a solicitor’s advice that this might leave the council facing legal action from dis- gruntled prospective cabbies was “a victory for common sense”. “Six years ago I would average 20 to 25 fares per day. I am now aver- aging between ten and 15 fares maximum,” he told the Cardiff Echo. Senior police officers Chief Insp Steve Mur- ray and Insp Tony Bishop backed the drivers’ call for a cap because the sheer number of taxis has led to what they dubbed “chaotic”
scenes at official city centre ranks.
Illegal ranks have also started springing up around the city centre on Friday and Satur- day nights which, added Chief Insp Mur- ray, have become hotspots for drunken fights and cherry pick- ing, where taxi drivers will refuse all but the most expensive fares leaving some revellers stranded.
Mathab Khan, chair- man of the Cardiff Hackney Association, told the committee taxi numbers had now reached “saturation”.
PHTM APRIL 2010
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