...COUNCILS KIRKLEES:
TAXI RULES DOUBLE WHAMMY
Bill Chard of the GMB has been speaking against Kirklees Coun- cil’s plan to crack down on rogue taxi drivers with a new penalty points system. According to the Hud- dersfield Daily Exam- iner, officials plan to bring in a new system on January 1, 2012. Drivers would receive points for things like refusing to take a fare, failing to wear a dri- ver’s badge and eating in their taxi.
Any cabbie who col- lected 12 points within a year would have their licence reviewed. But taxi drivers have threatened to strike over the proposal. They believe it is unfair for cabbies to be gov- erned by the proposed Kirklees points regime and the penalty points system which governs all motorists.
Mr Chard spoke against the plan, at a Kirklees Cabinet meet- ing at Dewsbury Town
TENDRING: CABBIES WILL BE FORCED TO SMARTEN UP
Cabbies could be forced to smarten up and take a local version of the London drivers’ knowledge test. Tendring Council has drawn up plans to improve the district’s taxi service introduc- ing a new dress code, knowledge tests, plus new exams and char- acter reference checks.
Drivers who fit the bill, or surpass expecta- tions, would be in the
running for a best driv- er award, with a year’s free taxi licence as the prize.
Colin Bennett, of Ten- dring District Taxi Association, wel- comed the proposals. He said: “I’ve always been of the opinion you should be smart, polite and have your car clean and tidy and in tiptop condition. “I’m in favour of any- thing positive which will enhance the hack-
NEWPORT: MIXED REACTION OVER TAXI PLANS
There has been a mixed reaction from taxi firms over propos- als for age regulations for taxis.
Newport Council’s licensing committee was to discuss draft regulations for hack- ney carriages and private hire vehicles. They include propos- als to ban cars 15 years old or older from being newly licensed - although cars already on the road would not be affected.
The last time Newport council tried to intro- duce age limits - 12 years for hackney car- riages and eight for
private vehicles - it lost a judicial review over the regulations which forced it to reconsult over the issue.
Dennis Griffiths, owner of Servu Taxis, said he would be opposed to age limits being brought in.
“It doesn’t matter what the age limit of the car is,” he told the South Wales Argus, adding that as long as they are maintained they should be able to be passed.
Shahid Ali, co-owner of Globe Taxis, said: “As long as a taxi passes council plating regulations and an
AUGUST 2011 PHTM
MoT it should be a taxi. “No matter how old executive cars are they are still lovely. As long as they are still roadworthy there shouldn’t be a prob- lem with any car.” But he added that he believed cars should maybe be taken off the road when they get as old as 25 years. Mohamed Anwar, owner of Town Taxis, said he was happy with the new regula- tions: “It’s good for customers. There are fewer chances of breaking down and it would be easy to maintain the cars.”
ney carriage trade in the eyes of the public in Clacton and Ten- dring.”
Under the proposals - to be discussed by councillors next month - all taxis would be painted white, with green boots and bon- nets and the council’s crest on their front doors.
The council says the aim is to make Ten- dring’s the best taxi service in Essex.
Hall. He told council- lors: “Over-legislation leads drivers to go underground because they say it’s not worth the bother and the expense of being licensed. It causes ille- gal activities and increases danger. “I ask you to reject this proposal before incur- ring any further costs.” Cabinet member Councillor Ken Smith replied: “I hope the issues will be resolved fairly soon.”
Cabbies have been sharing their ideas on how to improve Stock- ton town centre as part of a multi-million- pound regeneration. Stockton Council unveiled its five-year, £20m programme to revamp Stockton High Street earlier this year, with the aim to create high quality public space.
High on the priorities are improvements to access, including on- street parking and remodelling of taxi facilities, both of which would help shoppers, says the authority. Council chiefs met with representatives from the local taxi trade to share ideas for improving High Street
STOCKTON: CABBIES HAVE SAY ON TOWN CENTRE PLANS
access, with the taxi operators. It followed a similar meeting with bus operators.
Options discussed included possible locations of taxi ranks, number of spaces and how taxis should cir- culate.
Proposed changes here would include new short-stay on- street parking, re- located bus stands, a possible new taxi rank and better pedestrian circulation, along with landscaping and other improvements to the street scene. Mr Javid Khazir, secre- tary of the Stockton Hackney Drivers’ Association, told the Middlesbrough Gaz- ette: “All our members
appreciate this oppor- tunity to work with the council and help cre- ate a better town centre for the future. “The council has agreed to consider some of our sugges- tions and we look forward to seeing the results.”
Councillor Steve Nel- son, Cabinet member for housing and com- munity safety, said: “The meeting was very constructive and the taxi operators accept- ed there will need to be some changes. “We asked for their ideas, giving them the opportunity to influ- ence what we do and they gave some very constructive feed- back.”
BASINGSTOKE AND DEANE: ANGER OVER TAXI DRIVER PENALTY
Hackney carriage driv- ers have reacted with anger to the news that a penalty points sys- tem could be introduced to disci- pline rule-breakers. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Coun- cil was to discuss whether or not to bring in tougher measures for hackney carriage and private hire drivers who commit a number of misdemeanours including being rude to customers, failing to display badges or making unnecessarily long journeys. Currently, these “minor” offences are dealt with by way of verbal advice and writ- ten warnings. How- ever, it is felt this does not clamp down hard enough on repeat offenders.
Under new rules, driv- ers would rack up points for small misde- meanours, and be made to appear before the council’s licensing sub-committee if they
reach a certain thresh- old. This could lead to a licence being revoked. Richard Ketteringham, chairman of Bas- ingstoke Hackney Carriage Federation, told the Basingstoke Gazette that having council officers carry out random checks is a much better method of enforcement.
He said: “I feel we are being walked over a little bit here - I don’t think this will work. If the council continues with the checks, and keeps a proactive approach, then the fact they would be checking drivers would be a deterrent.” A report to the coun- cil’s licensing com- mittee says drivers who are identified through enforcement activity or as a result of a complaint would be allocated points either on the spot or follow- ing an investigation. It states: “This can also include drivers who are convicted through
the courts for motoring offences such as speeding or using a phone while driving. “It is anticipated this will have a positive impact on the trade as a whole as those driv- ers will see standards rise in the trade and the less compliant drivers will be encour- aged to raise their standards.”
Members of the com- mittee are being asked to approve a consulta- tion exercise regarding the introduction of the penalty points system, and a proposed scheme will be pre- sented “in due course.” Mmmm… What about double jeopardy? Driv- ers “who are convicted through the courts” have already been penalised; now they have to lose their liveli- hood as well? “Making unnecessarily long jour- neys” is an offence – failing to wear the badge is an offence. What hap- pened to the legislative process? – Ed.
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