94 PRIVATEHIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
MAY 2009 CREDIT CRUNCH..
OWNER SAYS CREDIT CRUNCH IS ENCOURAGING RISK-TAKING
The owner of a
Northampton cab firm has blamed the credit crunch for the number of drivers who pick up illegal
fares, even
though they know what they are doing is wrong. To tackle the problem, Northampton Borough Council has held a number of stings to track down private hire drivers who illegally ply for trade. But cab firm owner Steven Ward told the council’s
licensing
committee that he knew many drivers seemed willing to take the risk of being caught. He told the Northamp- ton Chronicle and Echo: “It’s terrible for the drivers who’ve been caught, but I can see why they’re doing it. “There’s not a lot of work out there at the moment, but that does- n’t excuse them. Two of
my drivers got caught in the last operation, one for the second time. I couldn’t believe it.” So far, Northampton Borough Council has had 14 stings on pri- vate hire drivers and 52 have been caught out. Following the opera- tions, drivers are taken to court by the authority and the majority have been fined for their actions. Members of the coun- cil’s licensing committee said they realised times were hard but said they had no sympathy for those breaking the law and warned that the undercover
checks
would continue. Cllr Roger Conroy said: “They
know they
shouldn’t be doing this, end of story. So if they do it and they get caught, I’m afraid I don’t have that much sympathy for them.”
ROMFORD CABBIE FALLS ASLEEP ATWHEEL
A couple have called for restrictions on the hours taxi drivers can work after a Romford cabbie fell asleep at the wheel. Luke Tomlin and Keily Strain were on their way home when their driver - working for Romford- based A1 Network Minicabs - nodded off. According to the pair, the Volkswagen people carrier suddenly veered across the road before mounting the kerb, blowing its tyres, and narrowlymissing a num- ber of parked cars. Keily, told the Romford Recorder: “Wemissed a parked car by inches before he woke up. Luckily nether me or my partner were injured, apart fromabumponthe head. Luke sayshewastold by the controller at A1 that drivers were working a lot more hours because of the recession.
Luke said: “Who’s regu- lating this? Who knows how many hours they’re packing in a day? I do feel sorry for them because they needmore money. But it should never be at the expense of the people in the car.” Ian Jensen, manager at Romford Minicabs, said: “Unlike lorry drivers, minicabs andblackcabs are totally unregulated in the amount of hours a driver canwork- youcan work 24/7 if you want.” A spokesman for A1 said: “We admit the driver fell asleep slightly and clipped a kerb, but no-one was hurt, the driver was dealt with and the customer com- pensated.” Mmmm!!! A warning here for all Managers and controllers- check the drivers for signs of exhaustion and send them home for their own safety!!!Ed
NORWICH CAN’T MATCH CHEAP FARES OF OTHER CITIES
Taxi drivers in Norwich saythey arestrugglingto survive in the credit crunchandcannotafford to follow other places who are offeringa pound into town scheme. In Cambridge cabbies have introduced an innovative pound into town scheme, where customers can take a quick journey in or out of the city for the reduced fare. But taxi drivers in Nor- wich have said there is no way they will be fol- lowing suit, arguing fuel prices already mean they are finding it hard to make a living. Steve Rush, chairman of the city’s Hackney Trade Association, told the Norwich Evening News: “We aren’t doing anything like that. “But we haven’t any plans for any fare increases either after we put up our prices in
August last yearbecause of the petrol crisis.” A black cab fare cur- rently starts at £2.80 before travelling any- where, but drivers say it still is not enough. Cabbie Dennis Carroll, 55,
said: “I don’t think there will be a scheme like Cambridge’s in Norwich, we would be working for nothing, if that, I would be worse off.” Mr Carroll said things are becoming very difficult for cab drivers because more customers are turning to other forms of transport
from Costessey,
like buses,
bikes or walking. He added: “I was out there for one and a half hours on Good Friday and made £4.20. I gave up and went home. “We haven’t had discus- sions among ourselves but maybe we should get together and see what we can do.”
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