PROTEST PLIGHT
TAXI BOSSES CALL MEETING AFTER GO CARZ DRIVERS STRIKE IN TELFORD
Drivers at Go Carz, now owned by Veezu, went on strike on 15 November, in a dispute with bosses over pricing. The Shropshire Star understands that a meeting was to be held in Shrewsbury that day with bosses, with the potential for more strike action if the outcome was not positive. Drivers are asking for an open dialogue about a price rise that had just come into effect. Drivers feel that with the rising cost of fuel, the latest price rise is not enough to cover their extra running costs and the cost of living.
Saf Khan, one of the taxi drivers affect- ed, said: “We just want a dialogue with
the company. We waited outside the offices for two hours this morning, nobody came out to speak to us. “Veezu seem to want to do it all online, they have an online driver portal where you can raise a ticket, but nothing ever seems to happen. What we want is to be able to sit down together in a room and talk about these issues.” Over 100 drivers gathered at the offices in Ketley, but as no progress was made they travelled in convoy to Telford town centre and flashed their hazard lights to draw attention to their plight.
CHELMSFORD CITY COUNCIL’S PLAN TO DIMINISH SAFER STANDARDS QUASHED
A council regulatory meeting to create a separate private hire licence in addition to the current long-stand- ing dual HC/PH licence was unanimously rejected by councillors following a detailed defence by the vast majority of HC and PH drivers and PH operators within the city. Part of the council’s plan, was to remove the geographical knowledge testing. A member of the trade said: “By removing the roads knowledge testing and accepting PH drivers would be fully reliant on Sat Navs served no one.” It was also pointed out that the fact that the majority of the PH trade ran jobs on meters would in effect increase fares through drivers not knowing the most direct routes or alternatives should congestion occur, this especially in a city that is susceptible to highway gridlock within minutes. Spokesperson Ian Vernon, chairman of the Chelmsford Taxi Drivers Associa- tion (CTDA), said: “The fact the trade accepted and fully understood its roll in adopting the DfT and Chelmsford City Council policy to improve safety
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take card payments and display a statement on the door as a condition of licence.
• Drivers are not allowed to charge extra to visit a cashpoint to get payment.
levels and professionalism, they couldn’t accept that rookie drivers with no sense of direction on routes would be allowed on our roads.” The trade supported, by over 100 drivers within the council’s chambers, was delighted by the opposition sup- port from councillors on this proposal. Mr Vernon went on further to report: “This is the third time in 15 years that the council has attempted to diminish standards in this way and each time, involving mainly different elected councillors, it has been vigorously rejected. I sincerely hope that this unpopular policy proposal will never be presented again.” Other policies that were adopted that concerned the trade included: •Compulsory for all HCVs and PHVs to
• Within the newly proposed Dual Licence Conditions, the council also rubber stamped that drivers only have four attempts to pass the Safe- guarding course and test and the Knowledge test. If they fail after four attempts, their licence won’t be granted or renewed and drivers won’t be able to reapply for 12 months.
The trade associations state that this is wholly unreasonable when drivers are expected to fund vehicles to a certain age/specification and risk bankruptcy with any planned future EVs. • In addition to the two plates and two door stickers, displayed vehicle and personal work badges, drivers must now install headrest signs with QR codes to enable passengers to make a complaint about the driver.
The trade is very concerned at the prospect of spurious complaints that could victimise drivers over time by means of a potential totting up policy.
DECEMBER 2021
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