PROTEST PLIGHT
PLANS FOR BLACK AND WHITE CABS IN NEWCASTLE APPROVED DESPITE CABBIES’ PROTEST
Plans to rebrand a Newcastle’s hackney carriages in black and white in a bid to deter bogus operators have been approved despite taxi drivers saying they will be a “huge burden” for them. Dozens of drivers gathered outside Newcastle Civic Centre on the evening of Monday 19 June, to protest plans that would require them to fit a white wrap around their bonnets. Council bosses have argued that the “distinctive” look, designed to match the famous colours of Newcastle United, will make licensed taxis easily recognisable and help crack down on crime – with concerns that offenders are posing as cab drivers to target vulnerable women. However, the Newcastle British- Bangladeshi Taxi Drivers’ Association said improved CCTV at taxi ranks would be a better use of money. So ahead of a Newcastle City Council cabinet meeting, more than 40 drivers staged a demonstration outside the local authority HQ calling for the idea to be dropped. The authority is also planning to give a £100 grant to each of the 597 licensed hackney
carriage
drivers in the city to help with cost of fitting the white vinyl wrapping - a cost of nearly £60,000. However, drivers believe they will be forced to pay out regularly to have them replaced. Mohammed Subhan, secretary of the drivers’ association, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “They [the council] think this will safeguard the public, but
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Labour councillor Paula Maines, the council’s cabinet member responsible for taxi licensing, said that the new look would help people recognise official taxis and find drivers who have passed the council’s vetting procedures.
She added: “Recent
we don’t understand how it will do that.
"It is a huge burden on the drivers and it does not make any sense. “At night time you won’t be able to tell if a car has a black or white bonnet or not. "We drive these cars miles and miles, a white bonnet is going to get dirty very quickly, the wrap will get ripped and it will lose its elasticity. “After three or four months they are going to need to be replaced and every time it will cost us £150. In a time of a cost of living crisis, how can we afford to keep doing that?”
Other concerns from drivers included criminals still being able to easily copy the new taxi design, passengers mistakenly thinking that drivers had been forced to replace their bonnet after being involved in a crash, and the black and white livery deterring non- Newcastle fans. A report to the council’s cabinet stated that 96% of drivers surveyed about the changes were against the proposal with concerns about its costs, but it was approved by leaders nonetheless.
police and licensing operations have shown that we must take some action to
safeguard
vulnerable people in our city who are a part of our night time economy. "A distinctive fleet of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles are seen as being essential to this.” Cllr Maines said that the new design had won support from the city’s street pastors, nightclub door supervisors and organis- ations trying to prevent violence against women. The new taxi policy was approved by the cabinet on Monday and will go before a full council meeting in July before it comes into force. The black and white branding will only be required on hackney carriages and not for private hire vehicles. Hackney carriages will also need to display red council crests on the front doors and have a taxi sign on the roof that is white at the front and red at the rear. Private hire vehicles will have to be adorned with a green council plate and display the operator’s details on the back passenger doors.
JULY 2023 PHTM
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