ROUND THE COUNCILS EASTBOURNE: NEW TAXI WAV REQUIREMENT SCRAPPED
New taxis in Eastbourne will no longer be required to be wheelchair accessible, as part of an effort to encourage more drivers to enter the trade. On 5 December, Eastbourne Borough Council’s licensing committee agreed a number of changes to the authority’s licensing guidelines for taxi operators. These changes, which went out to public consultation earlier this year, included the removal of a require- ment for any new hackney carriages to be WAVs. Removing this requirement had seen opposition from Mark Simmons, of the Eastbourne Access Group. Mr Simmons said: “The proposed reversal of a promise, that all new hackney carriages would be wheelchair-accessible, is not only unlawful under the Equalities Act but also unfair on those who rely on such vehicles to travel around the town. “We are not just talking about residents, but also tourists. As a resort that relies on revenue from tourists, why do we want to make it so difficult, if not impossible, for around 20 per cent of the population - those who have some form of disability - to use taxis. “If Eastbourne truly aspires to be a disabled-friendly and accessible place to live, work, play and visit we need to make sure there is provision and accessibility for everyone who needs and wants to use a taxi.” While committee members expressed sympathy with this view, they ultimately opted to remove the requirement both because the relatively high cost of WAVs has been seen as ‘a barrier’ to new drivers entering the trade and also because of concerns that such vehicles may not be suitable for all disabled passengers. Cllr Colin Belsey (Con) said: “I was all for the WAVs originally, but what has happened with Covid and all the other things that have happened in between … [then] and now, is that we have lost so many drivers and so many cars. “One of the reasons is … that the cost of purchasing these vehicles for the disabled is immense. You can’t go out and buy a secondhand transit and convert it; it’s not that easy. You have to buy something that is actually there and ready and operational.” Cllr Belsey went on to say that he would prefer to see the council offer some form of incentive for drivers to use WAVs, rather than make such a vehicle mandatory. He said this could take the form of a discount in licensing fees, or something similar.
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The committee supported this view, with their resolution calling on the council to both incentivise drivers to use WAVs and to work with local groups to encourage their use. The committee also agreed to a number of other changes, including a new requirement for drivers to sign up to the DBS update service when renewing their licences. Councillors also agreed to allow drivers to make audio recordings in their taxis, albeit in ‘limited circumstances’. This change is intended to reflect how in-vehicle CCTV (many with audio recording capabilities) recently became a mandatory requirement for all private hire and hackney carriage vehicles. Other changes include a reworded penalty point scheme and the introduction of a Customer and Driver Charter.
NEWCASTLE u LYME: TINTED WINDOWS ROW BREAKS OUT
A council row has broken out over calls for blackout glass in the back windows of taxis. Newcastle Borough Council rules mean taxis must be no more than seven years old and most newer vehicles now have tinted windows in the rear passenger seats. It leaves cabbies having to replace the tinted windows to comply with their council licence. The situation has led council officers to recommend the use of blackout glass in the back windows. But one councillor has condemned the idea. Cllr Gill Williams said: “Our taxi drivers carry vulnerable children around and we’ve all been on here long enough to know that things have happened in the back of cars. “We’ve got people who carry drugs around in taxis. I will never agree to blacked-out windows in a taxi.” The current rule means taxi drivers must have windows with 35 per cent transmission of light. But cabbies are struggling to comply with the rule. It comes as Stoke-on-Trent City Council and City of Wolverhampton Council have taxi drivers operating in Newcastle-under-Lyme and neither of those local authorities has the same rule. Cllr Joan Whieldon added: “We are requiring our taxi drivers to have a car that is no more than seven years old yet the majority of new cars have tinted windows. "We’re almost at odds with the manufacturers’ benchmark for tinted windows and that seems a tad unfair or unjust.”
JANUARY 2024 PHTM
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