BLACKPOOL:
ROUND THE COUNCLS ABERDEEN:
CALL FOR ADVERTS ON PHVs REJECTED
A call to allow PHVs in Blackpool to display advertising has been thrown out by the council which was told cab companies did not support the move. It was feared it could lead to some rogue private hire drivers taking illegal fares. Currently only hackney cabs are allowed to display adverts. The Blackpool Gazette reports that Cllr Tony Williams, leader of the Conservative opposition group, had put forward a notice of motion asking the council to consider the measure to boost revenue for drivers. Cllr Williams had argued drivers were facing financial challenges including rising fuel costs. He said in his motion that to enable more drivers to “increase their revenue streams and promote local and regional business the council should permit advertising on both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles with an agreed type of content.” But the motion was lost by one vote after the Labour group voted against it. Bill Lewtas, secretary of the Blackpool LTOA, said the council's decision had been “the right one.” Taxi operators had been opposed to the proposed changes because it would have made distinguishing between taxis and PHVs more difficult for members of the public. Mr Lewtas said: “PHVs are by law not allowed to look like taxis, not allowed to put the word taxi on the vehicle and not allowed a roof sign. If this had been allowed PHVs would have looked even more like taxis. In Blackpool it is already difficult for people to recognise the difference. “Allowing advertising on PHVs would put the public at risk, due to a small minority of unscrupulous private hire drivers plying for hire and taking illegal fares.”
SHEFFIELD: WORK FOR MULTIPLE OPERATORS AGREED
A review of the rules issued by Sheffield City Council had been due to ban taxi and PH drivers from working for more than one company. However, the council has now agreed to allow drivers to continue to do this. The proposed rules were also amended so that drivers no longer have to display the name of the firm they work for on their cars. Instead, car signage will have to be approved by the council.
38 KNOWLEGDE TEST TO REMAIN
Councillors have agreed to keep the controversial street knowledge test in place for all of Aberdeen’s taxi drivers – but resits will be made easier in an effort to tackle a staffing crisis. AberdeenLive reports that drivers are required to prove their knowledge of the city before being granted a licence. But a cabbie shortage resulted in calls to overhaul the street knowledge requirements in July, with long queues blighting weekend outings for many revellers. Some argued the exam contributed to the crisis, making it too difficult for people to join the profession. On 6 September, councillors reached for compromise. The test will remain, but from now on if a candidate fails just one of the four sections they will have the chance to resit it. Should they fail more than one, they will have to sit the entire test again. The proposal was put forward by councillor Steve Delaney. He said: “We are very sympathetic to the fact that we need to get more taxi drivers on the road. “And it’s rather unfair that failing one section of the test means a whole resit.” Mr Delaney suggested that candidates would get three months to pass the final section. He said the time limit would “hopefully focus people’s minds and get people back on the roads nice and quickly.” This summer, a public consultation was launched with opinions sought on amending the test or axing it entirely. The consultation had the largest number of responses the council had ever received with 1,112 people taking part. Plans to scrap the test proved to be unpopular, with 665 people opposed to the idea. One taxi driver said: “Abolishing the knowledge test will devalue the trade and would be a kick in the teeth for drivers who have previously committed a lot of time and money into passing this test.” While another said that the move would “make a mockery of all the hard work us taxi drivers went through to obtain our badge”. ComCab Aberdeen, Rainbow City Taxis and Aberdeen Taxis asked for councillors to keep the test in place. Rainbow City’s managing director Russell McLeod said: “Aberdeen has one of the most knowledgeable taxi trades in the country, we do not want that to be eroded.”
OCTOBER 2022 PHTM
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