ROUND THE COUNCILS
NORTH NORTHANTS: PLANS FOR TAXI DE-ZONING OPPOSED
Cabbies across North Northamptonshire have spoken out against the council’s plans to ‘de-zone’, with drivers overwhelmingly disagreeing with proposals. Plans to bring the four legacy boroughs of Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and East Northants under one unitary set of rules have been branded as “blind ambition” by a frustrated member of the trade. Harmonising the zones would mean that drivers would only need to apply for one licence to cover the whole of North Northants and with it would come a new all-encompassing knowledge test and freedom to pick up customers in all zones. North Northants Council (NNC) held a consultation on the proposal to remove the four separate licences at the end of last year with cabbies across the county taking part. Of the 168 responses received that clarified their opinion on the plans, 110 drivers disagreed or strongly disagreed and just 52 agreed or strongly agreed - the rest were uncertain. At a Place and Environment Scrutiny Committee held by NNC on April 30, disgruntled cabbies attended to voice their opinions on the potential legislation. One taxi driver said: “I’ve spoken at many meetings about the issues that the council created with a blind ambition to harmonise all services at all costs. “Myself and others have tried to explain the complex nature of our industry and how these changes will not only impact taxi operators but could also impact others due to the lack of drivers available. “You’re discussing the merger of zones, but one of the key points in it is the merger of the new knowledge test to include the whole of North Northants. If you don’t start listening to us, you’re going to see the demise of the hackney trade across North Northants.” Instead of sitting a test on their ‘home’ area, all drivers will have to take an exam assessing their knowledge of the entire county which covers 382 square miles. NNC said the new test - which has not yet been finalised - will consist of a mix of knowledge of key places across the county, such as train stations and town centres, and also being able to use a satnav to get to other locations.
Another cabbie said at the meeting: “The knowledge test at the moment says the following - English knowledge proficiency, general knowledge of local locations, driver and vehicle conditions, highway code, basic arithmetic. This is fundamentally what you
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would expect from a black cab - a detailed knowledge of the local area by zone, route planning and byelaws. We need to know where we’re going. “To know all the geographical area is impossible. It is in the interest of all parties that we work in our own local areas and the zones be retained.” NNC maintains that the de-zoning will allow businesses who want to trade across the whole of North Northants to be able to, without applying for four separate licences. It added that it is a ‘personal decision’ for drivers and that if somebody wants to stay in their original zone they have every right to. However, the same county-wide knowledge test must be taken regardless of the drivers’ intentions for where they work. Iain Smith, assistant director of regulatory services, said: “We do need to make sure that we set the test at the right level which effectively reflects what’s required in a modern test, the increased size of North Northants as an area and the key locations that people would need to know. It’s not in anyone’s interest to set the bar in relation to this geographical knowledge test so high that people can’t meet that.” The scrutiny committee recommended that the report be taken to the executive for their next meeting at the beginning of June to make a decision on the de-zoning. A recommendation was also put forward for officers to conduct a consultation on the relevant tests and ensure that it is ready simultaneously with the introduction of any single zone scheme that comes in.
WYRE FOREST: MORE SAFEGUARDING CONSIDERED
Wyre Forest DC is contemplating introducing man- datory safeguarding awareness training for all taxi and private hire drivers. The council recently consulted on the plans after a review of the existing licensing policy that currently only requires drivers applying for a licence for the first time to complete such training. These changes have been considered alongside additional consultation on the DfTs Statutory Guidance on Taxi and Private Hire Standards. Cllr Tracey Onslow said: “We introduced training for all new licensed drivers so they would be able to follow safeguarding advice to help identify issues and, help them deal with these issues and report concerns. “We are now considering bringing in the training for all licensed drivers.”
JUNE 2024 PHTM
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