PROTEST PLIGHT
TAXI DRIVERS IN CARDIFF SAY PLANS TO ALLOW MORE WILL ‘DESTROY’ LIVELIHOOD
Cardiff taxi drivers have staged a protest against plans to lift the cap on HC licences. Protestors gathered outside County Hall on September 20, while Cardiff Council (CC) met to discuss plans the protesters claim will “destroy” their livelihood. CC said it has received complaints from the public about the number of taxis as well as their quality. With the current moratorium on issuing new taxi licences there are 946 HC licences in Cardiff but only 707 of those are being actively used. The removal of the cap will only pertain to vehicles that are fully
electric or, in the case of WAVs, that are under five years old and meet the Euro 6 standard. But some drivers in the city believe that the lift of the cap will put more pressure on an already struggling
UNHAPPY PORTSMOUTH UBER DRIVERS STAGE “MORNING OFF”
Portsmouth Uber drivers elected rep, Peter Sutherland, told PHTM, “Uber’s GM, Andrew Brem, has let Portsmouth drivers down again. “As a result, well over 170 Uber drivers in Portsmouth, and sur- rounding areas, staged a “morning off” on 20 September, in protest at the lack of any meaningful fare review in five years. “Despite promises from Andrew Brem, made six months ago at a meeting with drivers in Southam- pton, there has been no move- ment from Uber to action a much needed fare review in Portsmouth. “Drivers haveno direct access to Uber management to discuss their grievances, so have resorted to a series of co-ordinated down times, the second of which is today. Drivers argue that the only way Uber will pay attention is if it suffers financial loss.
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“Ridiculously low fares - which are ever decreasing - just isn’t fair. Even our local competitors have had three price increases in the last 15 months, but Uber seems to be in a race to the bottom. “No price review in five years simply isn’t fair. The lowest Uber fares in South England are no longer justifiable or tolerable. Uber management cares little for drivers, so long as it gets the 25%. “Local drivers just want meaning- ful discussions with Uber manage- ment - face to face. They want Uber to understand the issues, and respond accordingly.” “It is planned to stage regular co- ordinated time off in the hope Uber management takes notice. “As dissatisfaction grows, the drivers joining in continues to rise. It’s anticipated that over 250 will participate next time.”
trade. Tariq Majid has been a taxi driver in Cardiff for six years, he said: “The trade is already suffering in many ways. If they open up the cap and allow another 200-300 taxis in Cardiff, this business is finished for the people working in it. We can’t understand why rather than supporting existing drivers in the trade, they want to introduce more.” Tanveer Nawaz has been a taxi driver for 32 years. He says the service is the “worst” he’s ever seen it. “There are not enough ranks in the city, and we can’t park on the street. We don’t want any more hackneys because at the moment we are suffering a lot. There has also been a lot of problems because of the narrowing of the roads and cycle lanes and traffic problems around the city.” To protest against the council’s plans, taxi drivers working in Cardiff joined with chants of “keep the cap.” Many held placards reading “save our jobs” and held Unite Union flags. Over 50 black and white taxis drove a procession around the car park of County Hall while beeping their horns in protest. A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: “The removal of the cap is in line with guidance from the DfT and the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA).” “A six-week public consultation took place at the end of January on whether to remove the moratorium for HC licences. The results have been reported back to Cardiff Council’s Public Protection Committee and they have decided that the moratorium should be removed this morning.”
OCTOBER 2023 PHTM
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