ROUND THE COUNCILS OXFORDSHIRE: CABBIES CALL COUNCILS UNJUST
Cabbies have accused the council of being ‘unfair and unjust’ against them leading to a lack of drivers. Gazeka Khan, director of private hire firm, Her Ride, in Oxford, said she wanted to raise awareness of South Oxfordshire DC ‘penalising and discriminating’ against drivers.
She said that officers ‘rush’ to revoke or suspend taxi badges and vehicle licences leading to the ‘people of Abingdon and Didcot struggling as there aren’t enough drivers’ as well as drivers ‘struggling to get existing drivers taxi and vehicle badges renewed in a reasonable time frame’. “I have been witnessing this since the start of the pandemic,” she said. “During which they changed and implemented new policies with minimum consul- tation and made little effort to pass this onto drivers resulting in many losing their licences. “It isn’t the job of the district council taxi licensing to catch drivers out but to work together with them as both parties should work in unison. “There is a serious breakdown in relationship between the two, resulting in drivers leaving and a loss of earnings which during these times isn’t something an office of the council should be taking part in.” Taxi driver Kaiser Shah had to wait five weeks for a licence renewal which should take three to five days’. Another driver, Murali Gunarajah, faced delays due to needing a DBS check from India despite moving to Sri Lanka as a teenager and giving up his Indian citizenship.
Miss Khan said: “Are they trying to make life more tricky for their taxi drivers? The taxi licensing team is still not answering phone calls whilst most others do and most of their officers are still working from home. “This is a downfall of the public office and this team needs to be bought to account as they have caused havoc within the industry. We are struggling to recruit drivers and this team is not doing anything to assist.” A spokesperson for Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire DCs said: “The councils refute any suggestion that licensing officers are acting improperly. All decisions, including revocation or suspension of taxi licences are carefully considered, taking into account all of the information available. “The councils aim to process applications within three weeks of receipt but cannot guarantee timescales as
PHTM NOVEMBER 2022
there are a number of factors which may influence this such as availability of staff and the number of applications. “As such, the councils remind applicants to apply well in advance of their licence renewal - at least six weeks before or 12 weeks when they need a new DBS check.
BRIDGEND: TRADE FACES LICENSING CHANGES
Proposed changes to licensing conditions for taxi services in Bridgend county borough have been discussed at a meeting on 27 September. Among the proposed changes were a number of points for the hackney carriage and private hire vehicle licence conditions, specifically aimed at the safety of passengers. They included the addition of a log book, recording details of drivers using leased cabs in the borough, as well as the requirement for drivers to inform the council of changes in health or convictions. All changes proposed were set to be subject to a 14- day consultation period with the trade, however councillors in attendance felt the time-frame was too short, recommending the approval on the basis it was altered to a 12-week consultation period. The change would come for companies who rent, lease, hire or loan out their HCV or PHV in Bridgend, as they would be required to keep a detailed register where they enter the details of the driver to whom the vehicle has been rented or loaned. Things such as the the name and address of the driver, the plate and registration number of the vehicle, as well as the date and time the vehicle is rented by the driver would need to be kept for a minimum of 12 months. Officers say this would help the licensing authority as it would ensure those who drive licensed vehicles can be more easily traced when investigating complaints. Other requirements on the updated list would mean the licensee would have to notify the council in writing within seven days of any change or deterioration to their health which requires notification to the DVLA. They would also have to notify the council if they were convicted of any offence or received a caution, warning, fixed penalty notice or any other kind of penalty notice that was the subject of any pending criminal investigation.
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