ROUND THE COUNCILS BRADFORD:
CABBIE APPLICATIONS AT ALL TIME HIGH
Applications to be a cabbie in Bradford are at “an all- time high” – with 1,893 new applications since April. But this high number, and a shortage of staff in Bradford Council, means many of these drivers are facing delays in getting a licence. Members of Bradford Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee were given an update on Bradford’s Private Hire and Hackney Carriage service at a recent meeting. The report said the district currently has: • 5,207 private hire drivers • 3,686 private hire vehicles • 111 private hire operators • 303 hackney carriage drivers • 213 hackney carriage vehicles A report into the service said: “New driver applications are at an all-time high. Progress can vary, often depending on the personal circumstances of the applicant. Since April, 1,893 new driver applications have been ongoing and these are at various stages such as awaiting documentation from customer, waiting for DBS certificates and waiting to complete a driver standards assessment. There are currently 802 ongoing applications of which we are awaiting required documentation from the customer so the officer can progress to interview stage.” It added: “We are experiencing extremely high numbers of new driver applications which means that applicants are waiting for a longer period of time for their application to be progressed.” At the meeting Carol Stos, Licensing Service Manager, said: “There is a real backlog of new applications. New applications are taking a long time. At the moment we’re working on applications from September and October.”
She said the team dealing with applications was currently “short-staffed.” When asked how many of the newly licensed vehicles were compliant with Bradford’s Clean Air Zone, she said while she didn’t have an exact figure, the number was “very high” adding “there aren’t many taxis in Bradford that aren’t". When asked why so many people were applying in Bradford, she told members that Leeds had also seen an increase in people applying to become taxi drivers. She said: “We’re relatively cheap compared to other authorities.” Members were also told that CAZ-compliant vehicles
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can be licensed until they are 15 years’ old – and the ability to operate a single vehicle for this period may be attractive to many drivers. Referring to complaints about taxi drivers, Mrs Stos said most companies worked with the council to resolve any issues at an early stage. She added: “The most recent issue is mobile phone offences. The law has recently changed – it is much tougher if you use a mobile phone while you’re a professional driver.”
COLCHESTER: CABBIES’ ANGER OVER CREDIT CARD RULES
Cabbies have criticised plans by Colchester City Council to penalise drivers for not installing card machines in their vehicles. The council’s licensing policy could be changed to require local taxi drivers to fit their vehicles with a means to accept electronic payments as well as cash. Drivers who fail to comply could receive up to 12 penalty points on their taxi licence. In a consultation with drivers, 36 out of 48 who took part responded positively to the proposed changes. The survey also suggested most drivers in the city already accept card payments. However, not all taxi drivers were in favour, with some appearing at a licensing committee meeting on the evening of 18 January, to oppose the plans. Stewart Beer, said: “The penalty for drivers failing to comply, that’s horrendous and draconian.” According to a council report, four points would be issued for a first offence, eight for a second and 12 for a third. Cllr Roger Mannion said: “I am uneasy with the forced use of card machines. As members of the trade have said, it’s a business. They should have the voluntary ability to choose if they want a card machine or not.” He later said: “The points here, when you get to a second offence, it’s pretty harsh.” Cllr Tim Young responded by saying that because drivers are ambassadors of the council, it should be able to decide the conditions they work under. He also said he was concerned about signal black spots in the city which would prevent card machines from working. However, he agreed drivers would be able to identify these in advance when they asked customers where they wanted to go. The committee voted to recommend the changes to full council, meaning there is one more vote left before the policy is amended.
FEBRUARY 2023 PHTM
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