PROTEST PLIGHT
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE TAXI DRIVERS PROTEST NEW LICENSING POLICY
Over 200 taxi drivers from the newly formed Bucks Council slowed traffic on the roads in Aylesbury town with a protest drive to the Buck- inghamshire Council building at Gatehouse. The protest, on Tuesday 7 September, was against the new regulations, put in place the day before, stating that hackney carriages and private hire vehicles will be able to operate across the entire Buckinghamshire Council area. On arrival they filled the car park with their taxis and peacefully entered the building, with police arriving on the scene shortly after the protest started. The council has said they are support- ing the new measures outlined by the government to improve passenger safety.
A video on TikTok complaining about the requirements has been watched thousands of times. The new Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy standardises requirements and prices across the whole council area and also includes the items listed in the box below:
Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness
will take time for our licence holders to get used to and we will help and advise wherever we can. Not all of the changes will come into effect immediately and we are working closely with repre- sentatives from the licensed trade to listen to and act on feed- back as the transition period unfolds.” PHTM spoke to local taxi trade representative, Mohammed Isaq, who said: “The reason for the protest in the Bucks zone is
and Regulatory Services Nick Naylor has stated: “The new Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy that has come into force standardises prices and requirements across the whole county. As part of the process, we have con- sulted widely, including with local taxi drivers and firms, regarding these changes. We have listened to their con- cerns and have done what we can to act on them. “Many of the changes, including the requirement for drivers to pass an English language test, are part of new rules introduced as statutory changes by central government. We are fully supportive of all these new measures which are ultimately designed to improve passenger safety. “We know that these new requirements
• The Government’s new National Standards to improve safety for passengers
• Taxi and private hire vehicles able to operate across the whole council area
• More access to wheelchair-accessible taxis across the council area • New requirements for drivers and private hire operators to complete safeguarding training, including ‘refresher’ training every three years.
• Incentives for the wider use of low and ultra-low emission taxi and private hire vehicles.
• Some changes to the maximum age of taxi and private hire vehicles to ensure their reliability and safety.
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because the new policy was adopted during the pandemic. At this time drivers were not working during the pandemic due to lockdown and were trying save their own lives as well as their loved ones at home. “Most taxi drivers were unaware that the consultation was taking place as they were distracted and therefore were not able to give any feedback on these proposals.” He added that other councils are trying to help their local businesses and taxi drivers but our Bucks Council is trying to adopt new policies which the drivers aren’t happy about and that too during a pandemic. Mr Isaq did state however, that after the protest there had been some discus- sions with the council and whilst there are still a lot of issues that are ongoing, the council has agreed to change the wheelchair accessible taxi age limit back to 15 years from ten years.
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