ROUND THE COUNCILS BABERGH:
BURY: ‘CONFUSING’ NEW TARIFFS DELAYED
Cab companies in Babergh have suc- cessfully secured a fresh look at pro- posed changes to taxi fares, after unit- ing to urge councillors not to introduce changes they claim will con- fuse both drivers and passengers. In a joint letter sent by eight Babergh cab firms, a cata- logue of issues were raised about the new fare proposals including concerns about the different distances used between each tariff. At a recent Babergh District Council cabinet meeting, councillors agreed to send the propos-
als back for further work, and pledged to set up a meeting with taxi firms in order to address their worries. Steve Hale, from Hale-a-Cab, one of the signatories of the letter, said that “common sense has prevailed”. He added: “It has proven that some councillors have no real understanding of how our trade works. Mr Hale has offered to take any council- lor on a journey to show them how the system works for drivers. Councillor Elizabeth Malvisi, cabinet member for the
environment said: “The primary aim was to remove per- centages Babergh’s
from tariff
table,” adding that this was because some would apply the percentage uplifts on the basic rate while others would apply it to the final cost of the jour- ney. The proposals will go back to the licensing committee which will attempt to simplify the struc- ture and make the fares as transparent as possible for pas- sengers and drivers, and set up a meet- ing with cab companies to iron out the issues.
MEASURES TO HELP THE TRADE RECOVER
Urgent measures to help taxi and private hire drivers recover from the economic effects of coron- avirus have been approved. The proposals will ensure that licences up for renewal will not lapse and that drivers and vehicles can continue to operate despite dif- ficulties caused by the lockdown. They are: • To extend by three months all current vehicle licences which were due for renewal between July and Septem- ber.
• To extend by three months all vehicle
licence tests, both renewal and inter- im, that were due this financial year.
• To postpone medi- cal examinations for three months due to drivers hav- ing difficulty in getting appoint- ments, with drivers required to self- certify in the meantime.
• To issue 12-month licence renewals rather than the usual three-year licences, so drivers have to find only one-third of the cost now.
These proposals were presented to the council’s emer- gency powers group
on Tuesday 14 July. All taxis will contin- ue to operate safely and meet MoT re- quirements. Cllr Jane Black, cab- inet member for the cultural economy, said: “Taxi and pri- vate hire drivers have been badly hit during the coron- avirus lockdown, and suffered a major drop in their income due to the require- ment for people to stay at home. “We hope that the measures we’ve announced will give them some much- needed help as we leave the lockdown and go back to busi- ness as usual.”
SOUTHEND: CABBIES COULD KEEP PASSENGER LOG
Southend council papers have rev- ealed that taxi and PHV drivers may be asked to take the contact details of their passengers if the town goes into local lockdown. A “scenario plan- ning” document has been prepared by Southend Council detailing the steps it would take if further restrictions are put in place in the event of a spike in coron- avirus cases. Cabbies would be “encouraged” to take down their cus- tomers’ details and keep a log of every journey made in case they or their passenger
tests
positive for the virus. In the event of
22
a positive test, the vehicle licence will be suspended until “proper cleaning” has been carried out and the driver, and possibly their col- leagues, will be prevented from working again until they have proof of a negative test result. The Local Democra- cy
Reporting
Service asked the council how the pas- senger data would be secured if taxi drivers were to col- lect it, and when it would be destroyed as well as how the passengers’ right to privacy would be respected. Councillor Trevor Harp, who oversees health in Southend said: “As part of this
scenario planning in the event of res- ponding to a local outbreak, the taxi and PHV trade could play a key role in helping contain an outbreak. “One possibility is that taxi drivers could help with con- tact tracing by being encouraged to ask for passen- gers contact details and to keep a log of all
journeys for
example. Where they are private hire vehicles this could already be available to the operator.” He added: “If it was to happen, then more work would be needed to ensure compliance with the relevant data pro- tection regulations.”
AUGUST 2020
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