CAPITAL NEWS
A FIFTH OF LONDON TAXIS ARE NOW OFF THE ROAD AFTER CUSTOMERS ‘EVAPORATED’ DURING PANDEMIC
Twenty per cent of all taxis in London are now off the road after customers have ‘evaporated’ during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Daily Mail, TfL data reveals that the number of taxis licensed in the capital plummeted from 18,900 on 7 June to 15,000 on November 8. Black cab rental firms have been forced to hire fields and farmland dotted around the edge of the city to store vehicles handed back by drivers in recent months. Robert Conteh, 62, has worked as a cabbie for 32 years and is now provid- ing Christmas light tours around the capital next month after failing to pick up passengers despite driving around for hours at a time. He told MailOnline: “Last week I went to work for almost five hours and didn’t do one job. It gets to you as you’re doing everything you can and all you can see is other taxi drivers with their lights on going around. My taxi rent has been halved from £200 to £100 and last week I didn’t even earn £100, so I’m actually losing money.” Farley Freeman, fleet owner at R.E. Cantwell Ltd and Vice Chairman of London Motor Cab Proprietor’s Associ- ation (LMCPA), told MailOnline: “Black taxis in London rely heavily on business in the city, theatres, entertainment exhibitions, tourism, nightlife, restau- rants and clubs - all of which has disappeared, leaving drivers no choice other than to obtain jobs in other trades and industries. “Some have even decided to retire, putting fleet owners under extreme financial pressure. We are helping drivers with hugely discounted rents, meaning our taxis are running at huge losses.” The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) believes only 20 per cent of cabbies are still driving their vehicles. General secretary Steve McNamara said they are earning ‘starvation wages’
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month waited an average of nine hours before being dis- patched to pick up a passenger. North London based rental company GB Taxi Services has seen the occupation rate of its fleet of 100 black cabs plummet from 95 per cent before the crisis to just 10 per cent,
around a quarter of normal levels and are ‘doing desperate things’ such as selling their taxis for well below market value to ‘get through the next few months’. He added that the pandemic has been a ‘complete and utter nightmare’ for drivers who have ‘fallen through the gaps’ in the Treasury’s furlough scheme. These include those who recently bought a new £65,000 electric taxi, or receive a small pension from a previous job. Many have received ‘no income at all’ since March, Mr McNamara said. He commented: “We’re in a position now where London could lose this icon. We’re a very viable business. We’re an integral part of this city’s DNA. ‘We need a specific package that’s tar- geted towards taxi drivers in London just to help us get through this.” Howard Taylor, who has been a cab driver in the capital for more than three decades, said he goes to work with ‘no expectation at all’ of being hailed for a ride. “I’ve never seen London like it. In 33 years I’ve never seen it as quiet, as des- olate and depressing.” The 60-year-old said he had three cus- tomers in five hours on Tuesday. That earned him a total of £30, but his costs mean he made a loss on the day. LTDA figures show drivers arriving at Heathrow Airport’s taxi feeder park last
despite halving its fees to encourage drivers to hold on to their vehicles. It is one of two firms using an area of farmland in Epping Forest, Essex, to store around 220 unwanted taxis so they can stop paying to insure them. But the plan backfired when intruders stole catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters from around 50 of them. Simon Georgiou, a director at GB Taxi Services, said: ‘We got our knees taken away with Covid and loads of vehicles getting handed back. Then this theft happens, which cost in excess of £120,000. We’re in a right mess.’ Another rental firm, Sherbet London, has hired a car park to help store 400 unoccupied cabs, representing two- thirds of its fleet. Chief executive Asher Moses said: ‘The whole trade has suffered. There must be 2,000 taxis on fields at the moment.’ He accused ministers of failing to deliv- er on their commitments during the pandemic. Mr Moses added: ‘When Covid struck, we had the Government say "don’t worry we will support businesses like yourselves". But unfortunately they did not, and they left us out to rot.’ TfL said it has provided drivers with ‘practical advice on a number of issues’ during the crisis, and insisted black cabs ‘remain an integral part of the transport network’.
DECEMBER 2020
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