..IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS
COSTS OF FAILED BID TO REMOVE CAP IN HALTON WILL BE PAID BY THE TRADE
John Roberts (centre) took Halton Council to court
A taxi proprietor’s failed attempt to lift the cap on taxi numbers in Halton will end up costing the taxi trade £30,000. Last year John Roberts took Halton Council to court over the rejection of his application for 13 taxi licences on the grounds that it would exceed the bor- ough’s cap on taxi licences. The process cost the council £15,000 in legal costs. But the judge ruled the cap was based on out-of-date statistics and ordered the
council to carry out a new survey of demand for taxis which cost the council another £15,000. However, a meeting of the council’s regu- latory committee on Wednesday 2 September heard that the survey backed up its original decision to keep the cap on cab licences at 267 as there was no sig- nificant unmet demand for taxis in Halton. Cllr Tony McDermott said he was “galled” by the costs incurred by the council, given the “overwhelming evidence” in support of its position. He said: “Who is going to receive the bill for carrying out all the work and the court costs in particular? Surely it can’t be right that what turns out to be a frivolous appeal costs us £30,000?” John Tully, the borough’s solicitor, said: “The costs are borne by the hackney car- riage trade, there’s no other way of this happening. We have spread the cost over a five-year period. I think the trade have been quite appreciative of that.” Mr Roberts, owner of Frodsham and Dis- trict Taxis, did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.
QUICK-THINKING TAXI DRIVER GETS PIC OF £50,000 SCAM SUSPECT
Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to regarding a fraud which took place in March costing compa- nies £50,000. Fraudulent credit cards were used in the scam to buy large quantities of meat and beauty products over the phone from busi- nesses in North Yorkshire. The products were then delivered to Southend in Essex. However, a quick-thinking taxi driver who had been delivering the products became suspicious and took a photo of the man collecting the meat from the address in Southend-on-Sea. North Yorkshire Police Financial Investiga- tor, Kevin Ross, said: “This fraud has had a significant impact on these businesses who sent large quantities of premium products in good faith and have now lost thousands of pounds which they have no way of recov- ering. “These fraudsters are clearly very well- organised and have used the Covid-19
OCTOBER 2020
situation to their benefit, claiming the virus as a rea- son for having the goods delivered quickly and to a pick-up driver at the side of the road. “The taxi driver’s quick thinking ini- tiative which has resulted in this very clear photo, could
well be the difference between us finding the unscrupulous individuals behind this crime and I would urge anyone who can help identify the man to get in touch immediately.” If you can help identify the man pictured, please call 101, press option 2 and dial the extension 4170 to leave a message for Kevin Ross.
ODE TO OUR TRADE BY CABBIE ROB HAWKINS
Taxi driving in Runcorn It's not as good as it looks Sitting around for hours and hours Reading plenty of books
You get a job and then wait around You may have to wait quite a while Then off you go, pick another job up And all you can do is just smile
If only I'd picked another career I wouldn't be wasting my life I'd probably be working from 8 till 5 Then relaxing at home with my wife
So if you're thinking of this kind of job Don't expect to earn a lot The hours are long and the money is low And after time your health goes to pot
Competition is fierce and numbers are high The council is so unconcerned It wasn't like this all of those years ago When a wage could easily be earned
You're social life may disappear You won't spend much time with your wife. You'll miss the kids as they grow up Is this what you want from your life?
I've been doing this job for many a year And I've seen drivers just fall away It's not as glamorous as many will think And you're paying out every day
Now as I look forwards to when I retire I'll remember these 30 odd years The mistake that I made all those years ago Choosing this over other careers
It's not a job that I'd recommend The good times are all in the past I started this job when it was so good Not realising how long it would last
There's a lot of better careers out there Because this job is just not that good If only I could turn back the clock I certainly would if I could.
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