DERBY:
Taxi drivers could be banned from using hands-free phones while taking passen- gers around Derby. The Derby Telegraph reports that after com- plaints about drivers being distracted by phone conversations while driving, the city council wants to con-
ROUNDTHE... GEDLING:
TAXI DRIVERS FACE BAN ON HANDSFREE
sult with them about a new policy.
Its suggestion is to ban drivers from engaging in any mobile phone conver- sation, even hands- free, while carrying passengers.
In addition, the coun- cil’s licensing team is suggesting sat-navs
FYLDE: REVAMP OF DEPOT WORKSHOP SAVES CASH
Taxi drivers are set to benefit after Fylde Council revamped the workshop at its St Annes depot.
The work means cab- bies will now be able to save time by having their MoT-style test con- ducted at the Snowdon Road site - which is reg- istered with VOSA. The council estimates the work will keep thousands of pounds
within the Fylde area. Cllr Albert Pounder, the council’s cabinet mem- ber for Customer and Operational Services, told the Blackpool Gazette: “Taxi drivers currently have to take their vehicles to Black- pool for the MoT-style annual tests and that means they lose valu- able time when they could be on the road earning a living.
“We expect to use council employees to conduct about 400 tests per year.
“It will keep approxi- mately £12,500 within the Fylde boundaries, while saving time for hard-working taxi driv- ers. We can also now test and repair the coun- cil’s own vehicles in the same workshop, which will save thousands of pounds per year.”
NORTHUMBERLAND: TAXI DRIVERS CAN NOW GET INTO THE ZONE
Taxi operators in Northumberland are set to be given more freedom in how they can ply for trade after county councillors agreed to ease tough operating restrictions. Six separate licensing zones for hackney cabs are set to be scrapped and replaced by a single zone cover- ing the whole county - in a move aimed at bringing benefits to both passengers and the taxi industry. The six existing zones are based on the for- mer district councils which were abolished to create the unitary county council in 2009. According to the New- castle Journal, last month the council’s licensing and regula- tory committee voted unanimously that a single hackney car- riage licensing zone
PAGE 14
should be created in Northumberland. If approved by the full council, it will mean drivers can ply for hire and take their place on ranks anywhere across the county. A 12-week consulta- tion exercise on the proposal was carried out earlier this year. Of the 54 responses, 30 were in favour of hav- ing an open system and 24 against.
The meeting was told by Philip Soderquest, the council’s public- safety and enforce- ment manager, there are advantages and disadvantages in hav- ing a single licensing zone. Benefits include increased availability of hackney cabs for passengers to hire, greater customer choice and the removal of public con- fusion when taxis
licensed by the same council can’t pick up in other zones.
He said drawbacks included worries over a potential drift of taxis to what are seen as more lucrative areas, resulting in a shortage elsewhere and poten- tial traffic and pollution problems. In addition, there were concerns about competition issues between exist- ing operators.
Mr Soderquest said both the Department for Transport and the Office of Fair Trading advocated the aboli- tion of separate licensing zones, in the interests of benefits to passengers. Commit- tee chairman, Jeff Watson, said: “We are not here to prevent people from making a living and if this helps taxi operators to do that, all well and good.”
should not be operat- ed by the driver while the cab is moving. If the consultation goes ahead and the new standards are introduced, a poster would be put in each taxi informing passen- gers and providing a contact number if they need to complain.
NEW LICENCE PLATES FOR TAXIS
PHV drivers in Gedling Borough have wel- comed a council move to issue licence plates which are tamperproof and have a security hologram.
The old plates will be gradually phased out.
Cllr Marje Paling, who chairs the licensing committee at Gedling Borough Council, said the council had “very positive” feedback from taxi firms who have the upgraded plates. She told the Notting-
ham Evening Post: “We believe it will help people be more sure they are hailing an offi- cial council licensed taxi due to the higher visibility and the fact the plates can’t be easily tampered with.”
NOTTINGHAM: DRIVERS’ ANGER AS CITY CRACKS DOWN ON PARKING
Taxi drivers who block bus stops and flout other regulations faced an instant £35 fine from last month. Council transport bosses say problems with hackney cab driv- ers blocking bus stops and spilling over from ranks onto double yel- low lines and pay-and-display bays have been raised repeatedly with them. But cabbies say the move is unfairly penal- ising them during tough trading times, and ignores their repeated concerns
over a lack of taxi rank space around the city centre.
Councillor Jane Urquhart, the city council’s portfolio holder for transport, told the Nottingham Evening Post: “This will come as no sur- prise to hackney cab drivers. We’ve been meeting with them regularly and raising these issues for a long time and made it clear that, if they didn’t com- ply with the traffic rules, we would have to take action.”
David Astill, Notting- PRESTON: COUNCIL CUTS A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION
Taxi drivers who strug- gle to understand English will no longer be given the help of a taxpayer-funded inter- preter - to save £300 per year.
Hackney and private hire drivers currently get help with transla- tion at town hall meetings, such as when they are apply- ing for a licence. The service has been used seven times since 2008 at a cost of more than £1,000 to the council but licensing chiefs are considering scrapping the service to save cash.
And they are also look- ing at changing the procedure currently in place for drivers to appeal against penalty points imposed for
offences such as rank- ing in the wrong place, to cut bureaucracy. At the moment, if a driver wants to chal- lenge the points, they can state their case in front of a committee of councillors.
But the new plan is for them to simply write an appeal letter which will be considered by an independent mem- ber of town hall staff. Mike Thorpe, head of licensing, said it fol- lowed “a significant use of officer and member resources” last year when 24 out of 25 drivers appealed points given for rank- ing offences.
Mr Thorpe said the council had consid- ered the Equality Act 2010 in making the
recommendation. Mark Selley, secretary of the Preston Hack- ney Carriage Assoc- iation, told the Lan- cashire Evening Post: “The translator has to be paid for so you could argue, if times are hard for the coun- cil, you have to cut costs where possible. “Given the rigorous tests and qualifica- tions needed to become a hackney driver, one would expect them to have a reasonable grasp of English to get that far.” And he said he was in support of the change in the appeals process as long as the person deciding the cases was “independent from the licensing department”.
PHTM AUGUST 2011
ham City Transport commercial manager, said: “This is excellent news for all bus opera- tors and their passengers who are often delayed and put in danger as a result of this inconsiderate driv- ing.”
The Nottingham Licensed Taxi Owners and Drivers Associa- tion says it may take legal action against the fines. Association spokesman Nassar Ahmed said: “For the city council to imple- ment this is clear-cut victimisation.”
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