ROUND THE COUNCILS PLYMOUTH:
BOLTON: NO KNOWLEDGE TEST FOR PH DRIVERS
Plymouth’s private hire drivers will no longer have to pass the knowledge of Plymouth (KOP) test after the city council’s cabinet supported plans to remove it. Hackney drivers must still take the KOP test, unless they’ve previously been a PH driver for over three years. Livery rules have also been scrapped in changes that will take effect on 1 April. In a public consultation, 25% of respondents supported scrapping the KOP test. Over 80% agreed the green and white livery should be scrapped because it was “too expensive” for the trade. Drivers would continue to display an official door sign. Cllr Sally Hayden, cabinet member for community safety, said there were increasing reports of people unable to get taxis home from nights out. She said ending the livery requirement would remove the financial burden of people investing in new vehicles. The Plymouth-based Violence Against Women and Girls Commission said that fewer taxis had an impact on the perceived safety of people. After hearing reports of young women unable to find taxis after a night out, Cllr Jemima Laing said: “We want to do anything we can to encourage more people into the trade.” Cllr Keith Moore added: “The integrated system of job allocation and GPS navigation makes the KOP test obsolete for new PH drivers. We are also removing an off-putting requirement for new applicants.” He said he looked forward to other rule changes including drivers being able to wear “a practical range of affordable attire” such as black denim trousers or skirts.
CLACKMANNANSHIRE: 6-MONTH HC WAV POLICY SUSPENSION
Due to unforseen and changing circumstances locally, the Regulatory Committee at Clackmannanshire Council has agreed to temporarily suspend the policy to only accept taxi operator applications for wheelchair accessible vehicles. This will be for six months, or until a quota of 52 active hackney carriage plates is achieved, and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Anyone with an interest in applying for a plate should contact
the Licensing Team by emailing:
licensing@clacks.gov.uk or calling 01259 450000. PHTM FEBRUARY 2024
CABBIES CALL FOR PRIVATE MEDICALS
Taxi drivers across Bolton are calling for the right to go to private doctors to avoid long waits and “paying an arm and a leg" for a medical certificate declaring them fit to work. Under the current system taxi drivers in the borough must go through medicals with their registered doctors, who they have been with for 12 months or more, to stay on the roads. But drivers have said this has forced them to endure long waits and in some cases pay charges of up to £170 rather than go to more convenient and cheaper alternatives. Bolton PH Association secretary Yasif Khan said: “Getting an appointment with a doctor these days is like trying to get an appointment with King Charles. And they are charging an arm and a leg for it.” He added: “Bolton licencing doesn’t let drivers go to a private doctor. Instead they have to go to a registered doctor who they’ve been with for up to 12 months and since after Covid its absolute murder to get in to see a doctor.”
Mr Khan said that drivers have been holding long- running talks with Bolton Council, both the previous Conservative administration and now the Labour one, to let them go to private doctors to help get their medicals quicker and for as little as £50. Now Bolton Council’s leadership says they hope to work with taxi drivers and their representatives to come to a common agreement. Executive cabinet member for licensing, Cllr Sue Haworth, said: “Drivers are asking licensing to change its policy on medical statements and taxi driver licensing. “Bolton taxi trade representatives are aware that in some other council licensing authorities a wider range of medical professionals can provide statements about a drivers medical fitness and this choice means drivers can pay less for these medical practitioner services.” She added: “A policy options paper is being put together. “Some staff absence has impacted licensing policy work this year and reducing the impact of absence is being addressed going forward. “Working with taxi drivers’ representatives is valued at the council as they bring the regular experiences of many of the 1,500 plus Bolton licensed drivers to our attention and it’s important we meet them regularly.”
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