INDUSTRY EXPERT
We should all be able to say when asked what we want this industry to be and what our key policy concerns are. Ranting on about what has already happened, parodying the odd licensing officer who tripped over a clause in the legislation, or demanding national standards with not a thought to what that actually means and the implications of it is of no interest and bluntly no use to policy makers or the industry’s future.
Is self determination too big a dream?
Likewise, reluctantly throwing a few bob at one trade organisation or another to ease our conscience every month is not going to buy much action.
An industry that has no dream
When as an industry do we close our eyes and think about where we would like us all to be? Who is scanning the horizon for threats and opportunities and then importantly doing something about them before they become reality?
I’ll answer that - no one!
Where are our policies and our proposals? How can cabs play a bigger role in transport? Why are people not attracted to the industry? Why are cabs not seen as reliable anymore? Why is the industry not asking itself these and many more questions? We don’t because we prefer to moan about what has already happened, mumble about judicial reviews that are never going to happen, rightly in many cases, and just accept another obstacle to success.
Taxis and minicabs may not be the sexiest of industries, but they are an industry. An industry that employs (sorry another problem) many hundreds of thousands of people both directly and indirectly. An industry that undertakes millions of journeys and generates huge amounts of income and pays millions in tax every year to the government. This is an industry that should be proud of itself and importantly an industry that should have an authoritative voice. We should not be cowering from policy makers and regulators or leaving it to unelected groups to decide what licensing should look like in the future.
PHTM MAY 2023
I don’t go along with the conspiracy theories that everyone is out to get us….but maybe some are. I prefer to believe that policymakers, egged on by the hidden hand of influencers and lobbyists, are well intentioned and in the vacuum of a bona fide industry voice listen to the hidden hand and ‘do something’.
Self-determination, where the industry manages itself, may be some way off and may never happen, but that journey could start with establishing a credible and authoritative voice for the industry. Whether we get to self-determination or knowing what we actually want may help us to get it.
Maybe at the next trade meeting you attend, instead of moaning about what has happened, ask a few questions about where this industry should be going and how it expects to get there and what is stopping this from happening. I am not advocating hijacking any particular trade association or its officers, just asking that we actually begin the conversation and perhaps even the first tentative steps on that journey. Don’t be surprised if the answer includes lack of income, lack of membership push and as a consequence lack of priority.
Without a dream, without knowing what we want, without action the industry will remain a target, intentionally or not, for constant change that just makes running a business tougher and the inevitable consequences more likely.
7
Why is the industry tossed around in a sea of policies developed by people who rarely ride in a cab let alone have driven one or run a cab company? Why is the industry passively taking one attack after another on itself and doing so without any alternative proposals or policies, or heaven forbid, proposals and policies that the industry actually wants, believes in and needs?
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