TROUBLE BREWING IN LANCASTER
Article by Dave Lawrie, Director NPHTA 0161 280 2800
info@nphta.co.uk
A ROOF SIGN – OR A NEW DENTURE?
The following been sent to us from NPHTA member Lancaster Hackney Association:
“I’ve been a hackney carriage driver in Lancaster for over 30 years. I would like to put forward my point of view, which all the other hackney carriage drivers agree with. The council keeps adding extra conditions which the trade feels it has not had any real consultation on, although licensing say that we have. We have been told to use new roof top signs for which we feel we are not only being overcharged but which are dangerous and not fit for purpose.
“It is also worth noting that even the company, Carnforth Communications, which fits our PDAs, top signs and meters, has refused to fit these council imposed top signs which in their professional opinion they believe are not safe and not fit for purpose.
“Then there is the matter of cost; since the last time this came up, the figure of £100 was quoted per sign. However, I’ve heard that they are about £30 to buy direct, which makes me wonder how or where they get their figures from. A colleague has got the same size and shape, but the magnets on his are huge by comparison.
“In my opinion, the public can recognise a taxi sign - I’ve had mine for over 20 years with no problems. So it comes down to one thing as the old saying goes: “If it’ ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“To sum up: the problems we have been having should not exist, and in my opinion, ever since the taxi forum meetings we used to hold at the Town Hall stopped, there have been ongoing and increasing problems. When councillors listened to the trade it was always productive, but now it’s licensing we have to contact - that’s if you’re lucky enough to get through which is quite a challenge.
56 APRIL 2023 PHTM
“Unfortunately, the consensus is that we don’t really have a voice or a choice, face to face communi- cation with LRC councillors at Forum meetings used to be a good thing but they stopped.
“Sadly, there are a lot of old school taxi drivers here, some don’t even have an email address and don’t do technology, so even booking a test online is a challenge. So it seems we’re doing our own administration yet still getting charged for it.”
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
