SOCIAL WORKER? AN INDUSTRY IN CRISIS!
renew their licences etc. East Suffolk Council will only see you on two days of the week so again this prolongs any new driver application.
I have been in this industry for over 50 years, and I have never known it to be as bad as it is now and in my opinion it is only going to get worse unless the Government and councils actually start working with the industry. Like many other cab companies around the country our work- load is excessive because driver levels are so low and none of the councils in our area are interested in helping to correct the problem.”
WE ARE ALREADY AT BREAKING POINT – WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR HELP TO COME OUR WAY?
We have posted the reports, the pleas, and the results of council and government failures several times, including the article we published in November last year, where we explicitly stated:
“To be clear, without swift intervention, our trade will be decimated forever with driver numbers, so depleted that it will be impossible to service the needs of local communities. This in turn will cause chaos on UK streets and inevitably result in dire consequences. We hear repeat- edly: ‘We have a duty to protect the public’, and we agree, you do! Especially when you acknowledge that members of our trade are also members of the public! Just ask yourself one question: when there are no taxi or private hire drivers left, through lack of protection and support, how safe will the public be then? But to date, very little has improved!
We are not alone in our views, this is nationwide, industry-wide and is being picked up on all media platforms, including this headline from the Express:
‘MORE MEASURES’ NEEDED TO PROTECT TAXIS AMID CALLS TO BAN PRIVATE VEHICLE OWNERSHIP
Industry experts are warning that the fuel increases could lead to more operators placing some of the cost onto people using the services, resulting in more expensive fares.
Data has found that 72 per cent of regular UK taxi users missed or were late for an important event due to the lack of taxis, more than one quarter of these people were trying to attend a medical appointment. The Government must do more to help the taxi and private hire industry if it wants to lessen car use.
APRIL 2022 15 DRIVER SHORTAGES
Pre-Covid, there were 552,000 people working within the taxi and private hire sector. Last April, according to the ONS, this had dropped right down to 372,000 - that’s a loss of around 180,000 in the first year of a three-year badge renew- al cycle. This year’s figures are due shortly.
Passengers usually decide which mode of transport to take based on convenience and reliability. If you have an impor- tant meeting you need to get to, or are vulnerable and travelling to a medical appointment, are you willing to rely on two buses to get you there on time? For many of us, the answer is probably no, an alternative is a taxi, but the ongoing driver shortage is rendering this a less reliable option.
The Government must put more measures in place to aid driver recruitment and help local operators to satisfy demand. Around 70 per cent of people have struggled or completely failed to book a journey since December 1, 2021, with many operators blaming the lack of help available to them.
INCREASED RISK TO PUBLIC AND DRIVER SAFETY
The driver shortage problem has been widley publicised and clubs and pubs have pointed out that in many cases, young girls and vulnerable people having had to walk home late at night, alone and at higher risk. Those who were fortunate enough to be able to book a journey, were waiting much longer for the vehicle to arrive, which left them cold, fed up, frustrated and angry, which has manifested in a huge increase on the number of attacks on drivers.
In November 2021, PHTM and the NPHTA appealed to ALL local councils and the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Governments to listen to our plea:
HELP US NOW! BEFORE IT REALLY IS TOO LATE! We are now in April, the following year:
WHERE IS THE HELP?!?!
Article by Dave Lawrie, Director NPHTA 0161 688 7777
info@nphta.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
