ROUND THE COUNCILS HEREFORDSHIRE:
DISPUTE OVER PROPOSED LICENSING CHANGES
The spokesman for Hereford’s taxi drivers has been blocked from contacting the council in an acrimonious ongoing dis- pute over proposed changes to the county’s licensing regime. According to the Hereford Times, Hereford Hackney Car- riage and Private Hire Association chairman John Jones said that, frustrated by the official consultation on the changes, which recently ended, he had tried to email all councillors via their council email addresses instead, but found his email address blocked. “So I used my secretary’s email instead,” he said. “Councillors have a right to make decisions and those should be informed ones. They need to hear both sides of the argument.” Mr Jones had earlier fallen foul of the council’s unreasonable behaviour policy as “he would not desist
from sending
defamatory and rude emails to both staff and the cabinet member”, the council said. However, it said it had forwarded Mr Jones’ emails to councillors anyway, as “this process does not impact on his right to lobby members”. Mr Jones said even the extended consultation did not enable drivers to put their concerns across adequately. “There has to be some debate and negotiation, but they are simply telling us how it’s going to be, and offering to ‘clarify’ that,” he said.
He has set out a list of over 60 concerns over the planned changes, which include tight restrictions on which vehicles can be licensed. “They want to bring in restrictions on vehicles’ ages straight away in spring,” he said. “Contracts to provide transport services to the council will be handed back in, because 90 per cent of those vehicles won’t pass as they are over ten years old. When you tender (for council work), they take the lowest bid, so drivers can’t afford to replace them.” And he said of a ‘Knowledge’-style test of routes around the county, due to become a requirement of all new and re- registering drivers: “I’ve had a licence for 38 years, and I wouldn’t pass. This in an age where you have satnav to take you anywhere.”
He said about 50 drivers had intended to protest at a full council meeting at last week, which was cancelled due to the weather and rising Covid-19 cases. “I am under pressure to hold a strike, which I don’t want to do – that would leave no taxis for those who rely on them,” Mr Jones said. “But it’s inevitable if this goes through.” Herefordshire Council’s spokesperson said that during two online consultation meetings in November, “the trade were able to ask questions, and did so”. These questions “will be used in the policy review”, he added. “The council is very aware that the trade is concerned about its viability following the departure of many of its drivers, and will endeavour to find a way forward that will not impact unduly on the trade, although not at the cost of public
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safety,” the spokesperson said. The resulting final version of the revised regulations will have to be approved by full council, likely to be in May.
PORTSMOUTH: CABBIES IN UPROAR OVER LIVERY PROPOSALS
Portsmouth councillors have rejected proposals requiring taxi drivers in the city to have permanent city council livery on their vehicles following widespread industry opposition. The News reports that members of the council’s licensing committee unanimously agreed not to push on with a planned consultation on changes to its policy due to concern not all options had been fully considered. A report said the 2019 relaxation of rules allowing taxi and PHVs to use magnetic livery was being ‘repeatedly misused’ and not correctly displayed, forcing the council to ‘divert resources’ from more important issues. The change had been made to allow drivers to remove the signs when working for different companies but more than three per cent of drivers have since been recorded without correct displays, the report said. But the proposal drew significant opposition from the taxi trade for what they said was ‘a blatant restraint of trade’ amounting to a ‘cartel practice’. Uber representative Peter Sutherland said the data provided to councillors was ‘limited, and selective at best’. He said: “Yes, there have been offenders. Yes, some of these are repeat offenders, but there are over 1,000 licensed vehicles in Portsmouth. I have suggested that there are dif- ferent punishments that can be given to offenders, especially repeat ones, to eradicate the problems swiftly. “The trade wants to see warnings or short-term suspensions, up to perhaps a longer term suspension or cancellation of a licence and the vehicle licence if the driver is a repeat offender. Punish the offenders and not law-abiding drivers.” His comments were echoed by five other taxi drivers. Support within the industry was not unanimous. Aqua Cars general manager Bruce Hall supported the proposal saying standards within the industry were ‘slowly eroding’ and that the reintroduction of permanent livery would make it safer. However, councillor George Madgwick said it would have a ‘terrible’ effect. “I think it’s really unfair that we’re penalising self-employed drivers because we as a council can't afford to hire more people to enforce this,” he said. “That’s some- thing we have got to sort out internally. “The three per cent of drivers who break the rules are going to break the rules even if we make livery permanent. “We’ll lose drivers to another area where they don’t impose these rules which completely counteracts the point about having taxis available for people.” The committee agreed unanimously to ‘reject’ the proposal and requested more evidence and alternative options be brought for consideration when it meets in March.
JANUARY 2022
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