PLEA TO ALL COUNCILS:
OUR INDUSTRY IS AT BREAKING POINT - WE NEED URGENT ACTION NOW
Our industry is an intrinsic part of the UK transport infrastructure. It is our operators and drivers – hackney, pri- vate hire and chauffeurs - who work in all weathers, 24/7, 365 days a year to ferry the young, the old, the professional, the holidaymaker, the student, the drunk, the sick, the vul- nerable and the disabled; often abused and unappreciated while doing so, but always ensuring that the general public reach their destination safely and on time.
It was members of our trade, thousands of operators, and hundreds of thousands of drivers, who despite the obvious health risks, were on the frontline throughout the pandemic. Unsung heroes who continued to work to support their local communities: transporting NHS staff and key workers; deliv- ering food and prescriptions and taking the elderly for their Covid jabs; often doing this at heavily discounted rates or in many cases, for free – acting as the 4th emergency service!
We are in fact the largest industry in the transport sector, and yet we have been, and continue to be: ‘The Forgotten, Ignored and Neglected Industry’. We have received little financial support compared to that given to buses and trains. We are also an industry that is burdened by outdated and flawed licensing rules and regulations.
Furthermore, at a time when our industry is already strug- gling to survive, new Government guidance has been introduced for the implementation of National Standards, including the recommendation to make in-vehicle CCTV and regular training courses mandatory. Additionally, there is a nationwide push to reduce CO2
emissions with the introduc-
tion of clean air zones in many towns and cities, forcing our trade to invest in costly new electric vehicles and charging points or face daily charges. These are measures currently in consultation or which have already been sanctioned in council meetings across the country.
We accept that much of this legislation is necessary and long overdue BUT we have to ask has anyone actually considered how members of our trade, who have been starved of proper financial help for so long, are going to pay for all this?
PHTM and the NPHTA predicted last year that continued lack of adequate financial support would result in licensed drivers handing their vehicle plates and badges back in droves. Sadly, this is now the case with an estimated 40% shortage of drivers across the country.
We are now in a time of high inflation instigating a sharp rise in fuel, energy, food and general living costs. Meanwhile, our
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industry is hindered by: the need to buy or rent costly vehicles, expensive insurance premiums, lengthy licensing processing procedures and increasing driver attacks. So realistically how on earth can we compete to maintain and keep our drivers and/or attract new drivers, when there is an abundance of easier, safer and potentially more lucrative alternative jobs, such as food and parcel deliveries, readily available with far less investment, little red tape and zero council involvement.
PLENTY OF WORK BUT EXTREME DRIVER SHORTAGES
Operators nationwide are currently being forced to offer financial incentives from their own pockets to attract drivers to their circuits, some even paying for licensing fees and training, plus guaranteeing earnings for a period of time. After struggling through covid with limited financial support and now facing escalating overheads this is unfair, unacceptable and is certainly not viable as a long-term solution.
OUR TRADE NEEDS HELP - COUNCILS MUST ACT NOW GRANTS AND INCENTIVES
• Government or council incentives to attract new drivers to our industry and train them
• Standardised substantial national grants to help our trade, wherever they are licensed, to: upgrade to EVs, purchase home chargers and install fast charging stations at taxi bases
• Protect our drivers - allow easy access to funding for installation of in-vehicle CCTV (where this has been made mandatory) from sources such as community safety part- nerships, Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Safer Streets Fund, which allocates funding for the installation of CCTV on our streets.
END OF RIDICULOUS BUREAUCRACY
• Speedier licensing processing: There are currently vast variations in the time taken to process new licence applica- tions. Considering we live in a digital world, it is unacceptable to expect new drivers to wait weeks, or even months in some cases, before they can start working due to council administrative delays. Whilst we appreciate that certain checks must be done, in reality the entire licensing regime is archaic and unnecessarily complicated. The whole system needs updating and streamlining, as it is now vital that the processing of both new and renewal licence applications is handled swiftly and efficiently.
NOVEMBER 2021
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