94 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
MARCH 2009 DURHAM:
Consultation is under- way over plans to reorganise taxi licens- ing in the region. Public meetings are being held across County Durham before the creation of a new super unitary authority. Proposals have been drawn up to harmonise licensing arrangements in the seven districts that will be abolished in April.
All taxi drivers will have to use white cabs and there will be a unified policy on fares, as well as condition and age of the vehicle, if the plans are backed.
The first public meeting was held at the Abbey Sport Centre in Durham last month.
Drivers were talked through the new policy by Jane Kevan, licens- ing manager at Durham City Council, but driv-
ers are concerned. Driver Philip Bell, from Sherburn Road, told the Durham Times: “People are concerned about whether we have to drive white taxis and what zones we will be able to work in. “We know all of the rest of the policies. We have been in the game long enough. We are con- cerned about the future and all we are being told is what we already know.”
Durham taxi firm owner Jonathan McManus said he was concerned that new vehicles with wheelchair access would not comply with the new policy.
He also does not want to be forced to have a fleet of white cabs. Mr McManus said: “We have already been to court over this matter and won the case.
CARDIFF:
The patter of Cardiff cabbies could be har- nessed to welcome tourists to the city, under plans being considered by the city council. The authority is looking for ways to improve drivers’ knowledge of what is going on in the city and ensure cars are well maintained. Senior officers are planning to adapt a vol- untary accreditation system which has been dubbed “gold-star”cab- bies. It would also be a boost to tourism as the training would raise awareness among driv- ers of their role as ambassadors for the city and help them fill visitors in about Cardiff’s development. Gareth Owen, who runs Dragon, one of the city’s biggest cab firms, said he would welcome any extra training for drivers.
He told the South Wales Echo: “It’s a good idea. I would welcome any extra training to make taxi drivers better. “People don’t choose to become drivers. They fall into it as a way of making money and they don’t always think about
PLANS TO MAKE CABBIES AS GOOD AS GOLD David’s Hall.
the bigger picture. Ulti- mately, if you provide a better service you’ll make more money.” He said Dragon was already encouraging drivers to take a BTEC training course.
The city council’s plan is to offer incentives for cabbies to undertake the training and win the gold-star accreditation. The local authority would advise hotels and businesses to always ask for gold-star drivers when they booked cabs.
And drivers could also be given transponders to access areas of the city centre that would be behind bollards when the city centre redevelopment work is completed.
He said the council was drawing up a charter of simple promises that “any reasonable taxi driver would be happy to make”.
And he said the transponder access would be an advantage to drivers as it could allow them access to pedestrianised areas to drop disabled passen- gers directly outside venues such as St
A similar system is already running in Basildon where it is called the Quality Taxi Partnership and prom- ises include operators providing a “pre- sentable, courteous, helpful driver” who drives safely, provides clean, well-maintained vehicles and drivers who do not smoke or use a mobile phone. In Basildon, drivers tak- ing part in the Quality Taxi Partnership have to promise to be punctual, display a fare chart, charge fares at an agreed price, help pas- sengers with mobility needs and maintain their cars to a high level inside and out.
A consultation on Cardiff’s proposal is due to begin with drivers and cab firms in the city. In papers presented to the city council, officers said: “In view of the changes that have been taking place as a result of the major develop- ment work in the city centre, the licensed taxi driver’s ambassador role will vital in helping to provide an excellent visitor experience.”
DRIVERS VOICE CONCERNS AT PUBLIC MEETING
ROUND THE HEREFORDSHIRE:
TAXI LICENSING RULES IN AN ‘APPALLING’ STATE
“We do not want white cars. We do not want to be the same as those in Chester-le-Street.” Zones that the region’s 2,500 drivers can oper- ate in are due to be discussed at public meetings in the near future.
Cllr Simon Henig, leader of Durham County Council, assured the drivers their views would be taken on board. He said: “All of the feed- back will be taken down by our officers. “We want everyone to know this is a real con- sultation process. “We are here because there is going to be one council for the whole of County Durham and council boundaries are going to disappear. “It is an important change and it is impor- tant we get this transition period right.”
A formal complaint against the “appalling” state of Herefordshire Council’s licensing conditions is to be lodged by the county’s Taxi Association with the Local Government Ombudsman.
Claiming maladminis- tration by the council’s licensing department, the complaint centres on conditions that gov- ern hackney carriages and private hire vehicle and driver licences. Association chairman John Jones told the Hereford Journal: “The highly publicised wheelchair fiasco, which cost Hereford- shire’s rate payers a great deal of money, was the final straw.
“After dealing with that specific condition suc- cessfully, the Taxi Association then demanded that the many mistakes con- tained in the conditions should be corrected as a matter of urgency. “The fact that the condi- tions were ever put out in their present state in 2007 should be enough to prove incompetence. “Then to allow them to remain unaltered despite the fact that the entire licensing depart- ment are aware of the faults is surely negli- gence,” he said.
“The licensing depart- ment has backed itself into a corner, and it is now scrambling around trying to put its house in
order but it’s all too lit- tle, and much too late,” he told the Journal. A council spokesman told the Journal: “The overriding concern of Herefordshire Coun- cil’s taxi licensing service is to work with the taxi trade to ensure the safety of the travel- ling public, including wheelchair users, as well as children, young people and older peo- ple.
“The council refutes cat- egorically the claim of maladministration and is consulting the Taxi Association on revisions for licensing conditions which include stan- dards for the maintenance and con- struction of vehicles.”
£8 MILLION FOR TRANSPORT AREA SCHEME GRAVESHAM:
The council has agreed to accept funding to develop the next stage of Gravesend’s “trans- port quarter”.
According to the Gravesend Messenger, the Department of Communities and Local Government agreed to put £8 million into the scheme, payable over three years.
The next stage in the
project, which will see Gravesend train station transformed and the introduction of a bus stand, a Fastrack stop and taxi access, as well as improved parking and a set-down and pick-up area, is to sub- mit a planning application.
The money will be used to appoint a project co- ordinator and retain its
CARRICK:
A byelaw instructing taxi drivers to help pas- sengers with their bags is being amended fol- lowing concerns they could receive parking fines for doing so. Carrick District Council is making the amend- ment after seeking advice from the Depart- ment for Transport (DfT). It would apply in Truro, Falmouth, St Agnes, Per- ranporth and throughout the Carrick district. The council consulted on the Carrick Driver Byelaw, which says hack- ney drivers must help passengers if requested. But a driver complained this could lead to them receiving a parking fine if in a restricted zone. Responsibility for on- street parking enforce- ment was passed from the police to councils in
LAW MAY BE CHANGED TO HELP TAXI DRIVERS May last year.
After seeking advice from the DfT, Carrick councillors will consid- er an amendment which states that drivers do not have to comply with the byelaw if they are at risk of being fined. Carrick principal licens- ing officer Angie McGinn told the West Briton Series: “The driver was concerned that if they were helping people in a restricted bay they would be slapped with a ticket after ten minutes, so there is a conflict there. “So the amendment says they do not have to com- ply with the byelaw (compelling them to help) in these circum- stances.”
But strategic parking enforcement manager John Hasklns said offi- cers would cut cabbies
some slack if they are parked for more than the ten minute limit and genuinely helping a passenger.
He added: “Drivers are allowed to drop people off and help them with baggage and it only becomes a problem if they go on to do other things.
“If they are helping a passenger and are near the vehicle, our civil enforcement officers will see that and not give them a ticket. “And if a driver is not present after ten min- utes, but has a good reason, such as picking up a large parcel, that would be taken into account if they appeal against the fine.” The amendment was being considered by Car- rick council members.
master planners and commercial advisers to help draw up plans for the £75 million devel- opment.
Gravesham Borough Council’s cabinet also agreed to use £650,000 of this year’s budget, which must be used before April, to complete other projects delayed due to a change in spending rules.
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