ROUND THECOUNCILS BLACKPOOL:
CEREDIGION: TAXI AGE LIMIT BID ON HOLD
Plans to control the maximum age of Blackpool’s taxi fleet have been put on hold. The council’s execu- tive committee has agreed to defer a poli- cy which would have put age limits on the vehicles.
Council leader Cllr Peter Callow stepped in to request the defer-
ment after being lob- bied by drivers. Town hall chiefs had been proposing to introduce an age limit of 12 years for wheel- chair accessible vehicles and 10 years for saloons by 2013, compared to the cur- rent limits of 14 years. Bill Lewtas, of the Blackpool Licensed
Taxi Association, told the Blackpool Gazette: “We have always said there is no need for arbitrary vehicle age limits on taxis.
“Since the council increased the frequen- cy of taxi tests and made the standard higher we have already achieved an improvement.”
COTSWOLD: GETTING CABBIES ON BOARD FOR SCHEME
Taxi and private hire drivers are being con- sulted on pioneering plans to reform licens- ing procedures. Cotswold District Council is going to firms, police and the public for feedback by September 20. It aims to simplify licensing requirements, cut
bureaucracy and pro- vide better protection for customers.
New measures include a penalty points scheme for breaches, extending the duration of licences to avoid annual renewal and more robust random inspection of vehicles. Cotswold District
Council cabinet mem- ber for licensing, Barry Gibbs, told the Gloucestershire Echo: “This new policy is a huge step forward because it clarifies exactly what is required to conform with hackney carriage and private hire licences.”
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CAB SAFETY SCHEME IS AXED
A council scheme introduced to help safeguard taxi users has been scrapped after it was used by just 51 passengers in 12 months - an aver- age of less than one person per week. According to the Car- marthen Journal, the Cabsafe service was introduced by Ceredi- gion Council in 2008 to help the public gain safe access to licensed hackney carriages throughout the county, particularly at week- ends. Taxi users texting the service received telephone numbers of their four nearest approved licensed operators direct to their mobile phone and
the system was heavily promoted last spring throughout the tourist industry and at univer- sities, colleges and secondary schools. County taxi trade rep- resentatives agreed the scheme, funded by Dyfed Powys Police’s Community Safety Fund, should be dropped after meeting licensing committee members and council officers at a regular yearly meet- ing held between the two. The decision has now been ratified by the committee.
Ceredigion Council said although the Cab- safe scheme received funding of £1,000 per year over its two year
existence, savings would be made with regard to officers’ time.
In a statement the council said: “Ceredi- gion Council will save on officer time by not running the scheme with officers being able to divert their time to other important duties.” Confirming the very low use of the scheme within Ceredigion the statement added: “The county council could not justify its contin- ued existence having to balance between the cost of its adminis- tration - mainly in terms of officer time - and the minimal bene- fit derived from the scheme.”
DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL: VIEWS WANTED AS TAXI DEBATE BEGINS
A shake-up of taxi services could prove costly to hundreds of cabbies as they face increased competition for fares. Licensing bosses in County Durham have launched a review of the way they distribute licences to hackney carriage and private hire drivers.
The review has come after the formation of the unitary council in County Durham, replacing seven dis- trict councils that all had their own arrangements.
A number of options are being looked at, with different plans either likely to hit cab drivers in the pocket or leave passengers with longer waits. Durham County Coun- cil’s head of environ- ment, health and con- sumer protection Joanne Waller told the Newcastle Journal: “I’d encourage anyone who regularly uses taxis or private hire vehicles to make sure they have their say
during this consulta- tion process.
“These are complex and sensitive issues and this is an impor- tant opportunity for everyone to help shape the way this service is operated in the future.”
Despite the scrapping of the county’s seven districts last year, taxi drivers still operate within the rules set down for their zone. Currently only two of the seven zones - Durham City and Chester-le-Street- have a cap on licences. The limit means only 74 drivers can operate in Durham with 92 in Chester-le-Street, but there are no restric- tions in Derwentside, Wear Valley, Sedge- field, Easington and Teesdale.
Removing the restric- tions could open the floodgates for any cabbies to try and pick up passengers, driv- ing down business for those already working in the zones. People living in Coun-
ty Durham are now being asked to select one of five options for the way taxi services in their towns could change. Possible outcomes include: • Scrapping the seven zones and removing all limits on hackney carriage numbers.
• Keeping the current system, keeping the zones but having no limitations.
• Maintaining the zones and carrying out demand surveys.
• Removing the zones and limitations and- carrying out further surveys.
After a series of meet- ings, groups rep- resenting the trade have already ex- pressed their pre- ferred options.
Staying the same comes top for groups in Durham and Chester-le-Street, while the majority of groups in other areas of the county favour scrapping the zones and limits and carrying out further surveys.
PHTM SEPTEMBER 2010
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