PROTEST PLIGHT
HYNDBURN CABBIES VOW TO GO ON STRIKE IN BITTER ROW WITH COUNCIL OVER MoT FAILURES
Taxi drivers have vowed to go on strike if their frustrations with Hyndburn Borough Council’s (HBC) procedures for taxis are not addressed and if they ‘continue to experience unfair treatment’ at the council’s MoT testing centres. Around 70 taxi drivers attended a meeting with the council, they say they are frustrated with the it’s MoT procedures as well as being frequently failed on their tests. Many workers who attended the meeting at Portland Street Community Centre in Accrington at the beginning of this month say that if no resolution is made soon they will consider going on strike. However, in a response to the complaints the council says the safety of residents is a top priority and they are willing to help any driver who has any questions about the procedure. Mohammed Safdar Younis, of Accrington, who has worked for Max Cabs for ten years, said: “We are just fed up. They are taking the mick and I have challenged them on this in the past and they aren’t interested. “We don’t want to go down this route but if things aren’t addressed we will end up striking because no one is listening. I used to get drivers complaining to me about this and I know how it feels now that it has happened to me. He says two-and-a-half months ago his car failed its MoT test at the council’s testing site due to the lower subframe to engine mount being worn and it cost him £170 to replace this. Mohammed took his car for retest and it failed on emissions but passed in three
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other MoT stations. He says when he shows paperwork from other garages where his MoT passed, the council will not accept those documents from other garages because it is not their machine.
Mohammed said: “I would like to know what the full standards for emissions are at Hyndburn Borough Council compared to the national MoT standards for cars along with the testing procedures. “For MoT tests the emissions should be tested 2500 revs, why was my car tested at 4400 revs? “This induces unnecessary stress to the engine and can cause damage to the injectors.” He says it is ‘unacceptable’ that he was unable to see his car being tested due to the monitors being off, which he says has been the case for more than a year, and that drivers have the right to see their car being tested throughout the procedure. On another occasion his car, which was ‘immaculately clean’, was taken in for an MoT test. However, he said it was returned with dirt all over the mats, carpet and the door. He says he finds it frustrating that in his experience if the car comes into the testing site dirty, the MoT testers refuse to test and tell drivers to get a valet done before it
can be tested and yet his car was returned to him in a filthy state. Mohammed and other taxi drivers have also raised concerns over how frequently they have to have MoT tests which cost £100 and how this adds financial pressure on them. He says taxi drivers in Hyndburn are required to have an MoT test every four months while those in other areas such as Rossendale, Blackburn, Clitheroe have their tests six months. He continued: “Hybrid cars are tested every six months in Hyndburn but non-hybrid cars, which can be newer than the hybrids, require testing every four months. Where is the logic in that? More than 50 taxi drivers have left Hyndburn, including myself,
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join other boroughs even though they live in Hyndburn as a result of the unfair treatment they have received and the poor reputation of Hyndburn licensing. “This is costing the council money and benefiting other councils instead and it creates a negative image amongst the taxi drivers.” HBC says regular tests are done to ensure that the safety of residents is upheld.
Mohammed says there are also issues with regards to testing only being done on Fridays when the car will be needed all weekend and can’t be retested until the following Monday. He says this should be done another day during the week so that it minimises the time the drivers are out of work or the testing station should be open on Saturdays to allow the drivers to get the cars back on the road.
MARCH 2023 PHTM
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