MOBILITY MATTERS
TAXI AND PHVS CAN USE BUS SHORTCUT THROUGH OXFORD CITY CENTRE
Oxford’s taxis and PHVs are being given permanent daytime access to a shortcut through Oxford which is usually only open to buses. The route, known as the Castle Street bus link, is around the back of the Westgate Shopping Centre and is guarded by one of Oxford’s bus gates. It will be accessible for taxis and PHVs for a six-month trial period. Concerns had been expressed that grant- ing cabbies would lead to queues of buses stuck behind taxis dropping people off or picking them up at spots where they should not. However, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport, Yvonne Constance, said her ‘personal faith’ in the drivers to only use the route as a shortcut, and not to stop,
had been proven correct. Ms Constance approved the measure at a council meeting on September 17 and now they will be able to use the route between 7am and 7pm every day of the
week, but drivers can neither stop along it to drop off customers or pick them up. Sajad Khan, a representative of COLTA, City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Associa- tion, said: “Drivers have been able to shuttle passengers in and around the city centre without the stress of congestion. Passengers journey times are quicker and waiting at ranks is quicker.” He added that drivers were ‘fully aware’ of their responsibilities and the terms of their ability to use the link route, and were regularly reminded they could not stop there. Cars which use the route without being allowed can be fined £60, or £30 if they pay it off in 30 days. It is guarded by automatic number plate recognition cameras.
HARROGATE COUNCIL TO ISSUE MORE WHEELCHAIR TAXI LICENCES TO TACKLE SHORTFALL
The number of hackney carriage licences in Harrogate looks set to increase for the first time in 30 years in an attempt to improve transport options for people with disabilities and those who rely on wheelchairs. Harrogate Borough Council has licensed 148 hackney carriages since around 1988 but only 11 of those have been wheelchair accessible. And a study conducted by the council in March found that wheelchair users faced “increasing difficulty obtain- ing the services” of suitable taxis. Therefore the local authority pledged to take action at a recent licensing commit- tee meeting. Committee member, Cllr John Mann said: “I think this is a very difficult issue and it is replicated across the district and in other big towns. I do think we need to increase the supply of wheelchair vehi- cles for wheelchair users. At the same time, we need to protect the sustainabili- ty of the local taxi trade.” However, because the council caps the number of hackney carriage licences, the only way to obtain one is to buy an exist- ing vehicle – which the council said can
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inflate the price by more than £10,000. In a letter to the council’s licensing com- mittee, Garry Sadler-Simpson, chairman of Mainline Taxi Association, said it could be difficult to recruit drivers for wheelchair accessible vehicles because the vehicles were less profitable, cost more to buy and generated at least a quarter less per mile than saloon cabs. He said: “Add to this the length of time spent on each job making sure your pas-
senger is comfortable and safe at both sides of each job and it can be another reason for drivers of these vehicles taking far less money than their colleagues. “It does not take too long for some to want to move on to other vehicles.” However, Mr Sadler-Simpson did accept that the issue needed to be resolved. The council agreed to issue 12 more licences for wheelchair accessible hack- ney carriages to increase supply. It said it would review the impact of the new licences in 12 months’ time. Although the council cannot force taxi firms to provide more journeys to wheelchair users, it said its measures would help to increase supply. The committee also agreed that the maximum length of a hackney carriage with wheelchair access should be increased to 5.2 metres and that the council continue to publish contact details of firms which offer wheelchair accessible taxis. A further report will come back to the committee with more detail on the pro- posal at a later date before a final decision is made at a full council meeting.
OCTOBER 2020
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