Ours is a limited company by guarantee, and certainly lives up to its name as “not-for-profit”!
But we do need a bit of dosh in the coffers to enable us to travel to your locality if required, for council meetings, setting up of local asso- ciations, court appearances and the like. As you may be aware, I was a member of the Government’s Task and Finish group whose Chair produced the report containing 34 recommendations which are cur- rently being responded to by the Transport Minister. That involved a lot of transport back and forth from Manchester to London, and a lot of time away from the ol’ keyboard. And also a great deal of working of the “leetle grey cells”, and input accordingly at those meetings.
We shall very shortly see what the outcome of it all will be. Meanwhile, there are 374 local authorities out there that are still doing their own thing, still considering pages of taxi/PHV licensing policy changes, still thinking about making all hackneys a uniform colour for both safety’s sake and “civic pride”. Why don’t they all just hang fire a bit and seewhat, if anything, will be changed when the Minister replies to the T&F report.
Yes, I hear you shout: Youmean theway the (then)Minister replied to the Law Commission??!!! That debacle has been very much discussed and taken into consideration, believe me; although we’ve had a change of TransportMinister in recentmonths, theDepartment for Transport assures us that there will indeed be a response to the 34 recommendations.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, here’s what one very supportive NPHTA member has to say about us:- “Your association is very helpful and cre- ates a wealth of knowledge in Private Hire & Taxi Monthly. You are presenting a united approach to the trade on a daily basis and when they need it. It’s the local associations’ responsibility to form a united front with the National Association to combat their technical or legal issues. Sometimes we get bogged down due to lack of communication and knowledge. The National Association provides a nationwide plat- formboth at the annual PHTM Expo and through PHTM, with details of what is happening in other councils.
“The GMB Union is concernedwith commercially operating and provid- ing legal assistance, but the National Association provides moral
support and technical support; both have a role to play but in different capacities.
“The way the National Association was represented at the Task and Fin- ish group is a matter of pride and acknowledgement of our membership’s understanding of daily issues up and down the country. The National Association is always first to bring attention to burning issues. I encourage all individuals, companies and local associations to join this association to help yourselves; this is extremely essential to pro- vide a united front for the trade if we want to make positive progress.”
That says it all really… There’s such a lot to do, and such a lot to be lob- bying Government about: notwithstanding the most controversial of the 34 T&F recommendations, what about generic industry training (not just CSE or disability but the whole package)? What about police response times and support? What about a revamp of the child seat belt laws, especially as pertains to licensed vehicles? (See the feature in this edition about children travelling in taxis/PHVs.) What about standardising the Group 2 medical for licensed drivers? What about making the DfT Best Practice more than just guidance?
What about driver safety? So verymuch timewas devoted, understand- ably, at the Task and Finish groupmeetings to passenger safety, but very little timewas spent discussing the safety of licensed drivers. This iswhy thisAssociation and PHTMlaunched our campaign for heightened driver safety last year, and it’s ongoing. Hundreds of “No Excuse for Abuse” stickers have been sent out across the country, alongwith distribution of the Zero Tolerance poster for bases. We’re still banging on about CCTV as well, so we’ll see how that fares with the Minister.
Look at it this way: If we can get just one driver his badge back on a Friday afternoon, or one vehicle saved from replacing tinted windows, or one operator secure in the knowledge that legal processes must be met before his business is put under threat… then it’s allworthwhile. But this Association needs YOU for the heavyweight lobbying, the unified voice to Government, and the mere strength in numbers people are always talking about. Your membership fee would help too, of course.
Until next time, sayonara.
JANUARY 2019
9
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