Gloucestershire cabbies can have their say
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ ... ticle.html
CABBIES in Cheltenham have been given hope their voices will at last be heard.
The town's taxi drivers, who have suffered a chronic dip in trade, rounded on the borough council last month saying a lack of support from the authority had "brought the industry to its knees".
More than 100 hackney carriage drivers signed a vote of no confidence in the council's licensing office after complaining their views had been consistently ignored.
But it is understood talks are afoot to establish a working group to improve communication between hackney drivers, licensing officials, and enforcement officers.
The group, which could be set up early next year, would give drivers a forum to express their views.
Gary Knight, an independent cabbie from Springbank in Cheltenham, said the news was a step in the right direction.
"It shows that the council recognises there is a problem, and that the status quo cannot continue," he said.
"Quite honestly the relationship between taxi drivers and the licensing office had deteriorated to the point where it couldn't get much worse.
"But at last it seems that our views are being listened to, and that is what we have wanted for a long time."
Criticisms of the council by the drivers included lax enforcement which allowed private hire vehicles to encroach upon their trade.
They also accused it of issuing too many taxi licences while cutting back on the town's prime hackney rank space.
Drivers were left at the end of their tether when the council told them they would have to bankroll a new scheme to crack down on unlicensed drivers, which would add £20 to £30 to their annual licence fee.
The scheme, which could be incorporated as soon as next April, would see drivers having to pay for new licence plates every year, redesigned ID badges and annual DVLA checks.
Taxi drivers in Cheltenham have been hit badly by a drop in trade in recent months, with many of them struggling to bring in more than £30 per day.
Diane Mitten, secretary of Cheltenham's Hackney Carriage Association, said discussions to set up the working group were at an early stage but it was welcome.
"If the group goes ahead it will be positive news for taxi drivers," she said. "But we need to make sure all parties come on board with it in order to make it work."
Councillor Diggory Seacome, (C, Lansdown), chairman of the borough council's licensing committee, said: "Anything which helps to create a greater concord between the taxi drivers and the council is to be welcomed."
He added: "A working group would help to ensure that in future, decisions are not taken in isolation."
Login
Register
FAQ
