32 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY DILEMMA DEREG
CHELMSFORD CABBIES’ ANGER AT INCREASE IN NUMBER OF TAXIS
Taxi drivers are revving up in their dispute with a licensing authority. Chelmsford Taxi Asso- ciation (CTA) has called a special meeting of its members to win sup- port for a protest against Chelmsford Council.
It is objecting to the num- ber of licences being issued by the council. Since delimitation four years ago, the number of taxis has increased from 82 to 157.
Secretary of the CTA, Terry Michel, told the Chelmsford Weekly News: “We have con- cerns about the quality of the service and warned this is what would happen if it was delimited. Drivers are
coming here from other council areas where they are more stringent. The test they have to pass is about 30 years old and needs updating.”
Mr Michel said the prob- lems had been made worse by the recession. I think the council has a moral duty, if not a legal one, to tell those apply- ing for a hackney carriage licence that there is just not enough work out there.”
Mr Michel claimed taxis using the Chelmsford railway station rank were so many that they were queuing up and blocking Victoria Road. “It is just common sense to stop issuing plates immediately and take a look at the situation.”
Mr Michel said the CTA believed 120 taxis were acceptable for Chelms- ford, “we are not in London”.
He said they wanted a high level meeting with the council and were lobbying their council- lors. “Although we would not strike, we shall be mak- ing a protest if they don’t listen.” Ian Grundy, cabinet member for safer com- munities, told a cabinet meeting the council would only limit licens- es if it was of benefit to the consumer. “So far, no evidence has been produced to that effect. But I am happy to meet with the CTA to discuss this.”
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BARNSTAPLE DRIVERS’ INCOME DROPS AS
TAXI NUMBERS INCREASE
Taxi drivers in Barn- staple say that their livelihoods are in jeopardy because of ever-increasing ranks of cabbies.
Rob Anderson, who has operated a cab from Braunton for three years, claimed drivers were suffer- ing because the district council was issuing “too many” licences.
He said a recent move to reduce the maxi- mum night rate from £5 after midnight to £3.75 was also a mistake. “The trade is so over- stretched that people’s incomes are down, so people can’t make a living,” he said.
Gay Lushington-Mur- ray, secretary of NPHA affiliated North Devon Taxi and Private Hire Association, accused the council of being greedy because it had not put a cap on the number of licences.
A hackney licence costs £57.50 and is £42.60 to renew. Mrs Lushington-Mur- ray said when she started driving a taxi five years ago there were usually eight taxis in the Boutport Street rank; now, up to 30 taxis vie for business there on weekend nights, she said.
She wants the council to allow drivers who carry more than four passengers in their cab to charge an extra half fare on top of the basic fare. “We are not being greedy,” she told the North Devon Journal. “We are not allowed to charge more than our meter but we are allowed to charge less.”
Maximum taxi fare tar- iffs set by North Devon Council are up to 120 per cent higher than the national aver- age. The average
national night rate for a 10-mile taxi fare is £23.31. In North Devon the same jour- ney could cost you as much as £51.25. The council’s licens- ing committee has recommended to increase the first three-quarter mile maximum fare from £2.50 to £3. There will be no increase in the “run- ning mile” rate. North Devon Council makes no profit from licensing taxis. The authority re- examined its policy of not restricting hack- ney carriage numbers in June this year and reaffirmed its decision not to regulate num- bers, based on guidance from the Government and Office of fair Trading. The council said it had worked hard to improve taxi and pri- vate hire vehicle and driver standards.
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