ROUND THE COUNCILS TELFORD AND WREKIN:
CEREDIGION: CABBIES’ ROLE TO PROTECT THE VULNERABLE
Taxi drivers are the “eyes and ears of the
community”
with new safeguard- ing training to be rolled out to protect vulnerable people. According to the Tivy-Side Advertiser, Ceredigion County Council is working with other authori- ties to produce a digital training pack, which drivers will be tested on, which highlights the im- portance of looking out for unusual or suspicious journeys or passengers. Senior licensing offi- cer Gareth Rees said that the Four Coun- ties Licensing For- um representing Ceredigion, Car-
marthenshire, Pem- brokeshire
and
Powys had decided jointly to produce its own bilingual training resource for local drivers, funded by the proceeds of crime
fund at
Dyfed-Powys Police. “It will be a way of ensuring all the taxi drivers receive train- ing. The purpose of the training is to give them the confi- dence to report back and what we will do about it,” he said. The new training will be rolled out in the near future. Mmmm…
being funded by the Proceeds of Crime fund from the local police,
instead of Now
you’re talking! Here we have a safe- guarding session
licence holders hav- ing to pay for this training. Why can’t this happen across more local authori- ties? After all, the police are the first beneficiaries of any alert triggered by taxi/PHV drivers… Yes, the police else- where may plead hardship, as will the council(s). But the assistance from our drivers is a valuable asset in crime pre- vention in any- body’s book. The powers
that be
must ‘pay up and look happy’, surely… Ed.
Ashford Borough Council has ap- proved a new strat- egy for 2019/20 and beyond to maintain and improve the borough’s air quali- ty. The new Air Quality Strategy will see a number of actions implement- ed,
including the
establishment of a Green Taxi Scheme. While Ashford’s pol- lutant concentra- tions are below the national limit, data from Public Health England suggests that air pollution is a contributory factor in up to 50 deaths in Ashford each year. To tackle this, the new strategy has been devised with three main priorities: • To ensure the council leads the way, modelling good practice.
• Working with its partners to secure their help and sup-
16 TOUGHER TESTS FOR HC AND PH DRIVERS
From last month, anybody applying for a licence from the council will have to undergo training before taking an exam on the rules on becoming a taxi or private hire driver, plus a practical driv- ing test. TTC Group, which will run the Knowl- edge and Driving Standards Test, aims to explore some of the challenges and scenarios facing the drivers,
including the rules and regula-
tions of holding a HC or PH licence and how to report collisions. Angie Astley, assis- tant director of neighbourhood and customer services at Telford and Wrekin Council, told the Shropshire
Star:
“Our partnership with TTC is to ensure the safety of anyone using a taxi or PHV. Every driver applying for
road safety expert before sitting a Knowledge Test on what it means to be a taxi or private hire driver
and the a
licence will receive one hour of training with an experienced
ASHFORD:
GREEN TAXI SCHEME LAUNCHED port
in safe-
guarding air quali- ty in the borough.
• Enable lasting be- havioural change - making sure all necessary steps are taken to deliver change.
The success of this strategy will rest on everyone working together to safe- guard air quality now and for future generations. To deliver the strate- gy a number of new initiatives will be implemented, which will
complement
several existing pro- jects that are taking place throughout 2019/20 - one of which will be a new Green Taxi Scheme. This measure has been designed to encourage the up- take of electric and hybrid
vehicles
within the taxi and private hire fleet, as follows:
• The scheme will subsidise in full the annual
licensing
fee for green taxis for the first three years they are on the fleet.
• The scheme will apply defined crite- ria to what a ‘green’ vehicle is (based on pre-existing criteria developed by other relevant schemes).
• The scheme will provide for ten vehicles per an- num for
three
years, and will operate on a first come, first served basis.
• Funding require- ments from Sec- tion 106 have been confirmed and will use the licence fee for 2019/20**
** Using the licence fee for 2019/20, the funding requirement from Section 106 over the three-year lifetime of
scheme is £28,800. MAY 2019
behaviour expected of them. “Drivers must also pass a Driving Stan- dards test, which is a one-hour practical exam on the road.” Andy Wheeler, busi- ness development director at TTC Group, said: “Educa- tion can play a crucial role in improving the safety of our roads.”
the
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