Taxi Driver Online

'Unfair and undermining': council to ask government to take action on Uber as taxi drivers lose out

https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/16 ... -lose-out/

Uber is making life “unfair” for taxi drivers, according to the council.

More than 100 taxi licence holders in the borough signed a petition in June demanding Bracknell Forest Council take action against Uber and now the authority is set to push national figures for action.

A report produced for the council read: “Under the existing legislation, private hire vehicles are not restricted geographically, meaning they are not limited to working in the area in which they are licensed.”

As long as the driver is licensed by Transport for London (TfL), they can operate anywhere in the country.

The report continued: “Recently there has been a rise in the number of TfL licensed vehicles working in Bracknell.

“While this is lawful, it causes issues from a regulatory standpoint, particularly in relation to enforcement matters, as the local authority has no powers to test vehicles and TfL will not be carrying out enforcement checks outside of their area.

“It is also asserted by individual operators and drivers licensed by Bracknell Forest that this amounts to unfair competition because...drivers licensed by TfL do not have to undergo all of the same checks as those in Bracknell before a licence is issued or renewed.

“This is an unsatisfactory position. It is also the case that whilst one authority receives the fees, another may be tasked with the policing of the regime, again placing unfair demands on the local licensing authority.”

The council is set to write to Bracknell MP Phillip Lee, TfL, the relevant minister of state, and the Local Government Association about their concerns after discussing the report at a meeting on Thursday, October 18.

According to the letter sent to the council in June, Bracknell drivers are forced to shell out a minimum of £519 every year to run a taxi in the borough.

The petition, signed by 108 drivers, read: “The number of Uber drivers plying for trade in Bracknell has risen over the months.

We pay a lot for our badges whereas Uber doesn’t pay a penny to Bracknell Council.

“This has had an effect on our earnings - we the licensed drivers find this unfair and undermining.

“This is affecting our living.”

The council will meet to discuss what actions it could take in response to the letter.

Well let's hope they support the recommendations in the Task Force report.

Should any of them have actually read it.

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IDFIMH

Don't these 2 paragraphs contradict each other?

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

Well spotted. However, it may be that when referring to "no powers to *test* vehicles" the council means the annual or other inspection test procedure rather than on-the-ground enforcement more generally.

Again, the second paragraph refers to "policing the regime", so maybe referring to things broadly rather than formal vehicle inspection procedures.

The second paragraph also says that another authority *may* be tasked with policing the regime, thus could be talking about the legislation more generally rather than Bracknell-TfL in particular. So there are different enforcement procedures and protocols (or none) throughout the country, therefore Bracknell's comments may just be a general criticism of the legislation as it's being applied country-wide.

Bracknell taxi drivers losing business facing 'torturous' Uber issue as council intervenes

https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/17 ... ntervenes/

UBER is taking work away from taxi drivers in Bracknell, councillors heard at a meeting last week.

One councillor described the issue as “torturous” for the taxi drivers after learning that Uber drivers are free to pick up people in the area.

Haseeb Hanif, a representative of private hire company Taylor Hanson, told the council’s licensing and safety committee: “Uber is really taking away private hire work from us. Work from London has decreased over the last five years.

“I just want to know if anything can be done to protect us.

“It is really having an affect on our work and if it increases it will no longer be sustainable for us to be private hire drivers.”

Councillors decided to send a letter to Bracknell MP Phillip Lee and Windsor MP Adam Afriyie, Transport for London, the relevant minister of state, and the Local Government Association asking them to look into how Uber can be restricted in Bracknell.

Licensing officer Charlie Fletcher told the committee that Wokingham was experiencing a similar problem with Uber and Chairman Nick Allen said he would be speaking with Wokingham Borough Council about the issue in November.

Councillor Allen also told the committee’s members that Uber drivers can live and operate in Bracknell but don’t need to be licensed by the council, as long as they are licensed by Transport for London.

Preet Gill, the MP for Edgbaston, wrote to the relevant Secretary of State about a similar problem and Cllr Malcolm Tullett asked what would be achieved by writing to more members of parliament.

Charlie Fletcher replied: “It is an awareness raising issue and the more it is raised the more likely it is to be in their agendas.”

Councillor Ian Leake gave his thoughts on the issue too, saying: “I’m getting the impression this issue is as torturous as planning.

“I do think in general terms the situation is unsatisfactory. I think it should get to the MPs and I think they should be persuaded to raise the matter in parliament and raise it higher.”

Cllr Dr Gareth Barnard added: “This is very important as it does have an impact on the livelihood of people here.”

The issue was brought to the committee after more than 100 private hire drivers signed a petition demanding the council take action against Uber.

However, because many Uber drivers are licensed by Transport for London, the council is limited in what it can do in order to restrict the motorists.

According to the letter sent to the council in June, Bracknell drivers are forced to shell out a minimum of £519 every year to run a taxi in the borough.

The petition, signed by 108 drivers, read: “The number of Uber drivers plying for trade in Bracknell has risen over the months.

“We pay a lot for our badges whereas Uber doesn’t pay a penny to Bracknell Council.

“This has had an effect on our earnings – we the licensed drivers find this unfair and undermining.

Later in the meeting the council approved changes to its hackney carriage licensing policy, deciding to introduce new regulations taxi drivers must cooperate with.

The changes included giving officers greater power to force private hire vehicles to undergo garage inspections after an accident, allowing replacement vehicles to be licensed for three months rather than two months, and rules to promote better disability awareness for both drivers and operators.

don't they do this already I thought every council did

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

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Probably just an oddball/loophole or suchlike, like the Rother thing about the three licence suspensions.

After all, if *all* councils did *exactly* the same then there wouldn't be much point in their existence, so they have to do things slightly differently, thus inconsistencies and discrepancies are bound to crop up now and again.

Councillors call for action on Uber after hearing taxi drivers are 'discriminated' against

https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/17 ... d-against/

TAXI drivers are being “discriminated” against by Uber, according to a Wokingham councillor.

The council’s licensing committee met last night (Tuesday, November 13) to discuss what action could be taken to limit the impact of Uber on private hire vehicles in the borough.

This comes after many Wokingham taxi drivers had voiced their concerns to the council that not enough was being done to halt Uber, and the committee agreed that stronger action was needed from the government.

Councillor Rachel Burgess told the News: “I was pleased the Licensing Committee pushed for stronger recommendations regarding the operation of Uber in Wokingham borough.

"It is clear that there is not a level playing field in Wokingham, as well as a potential public safety issue, as the local authority has no powers to carry out enforcement checks on Uber drivers or their vehicles who are licensed outside the borough.

“This is a classic case of legislation not keeping up with new technology. Legislation should be brought forward to allow Wokingham and other licensing authorities to carry out compliance checks for any taxi or private hire vehicle within their area. The Licensing Committee should also call on TfL to make it a condition of licensing that drivers cooperate with requests from compliance officers in areas such as Wokingham.

“We have an increasing number of drivers operating almost entirely at a significant distance from where they are licensed, making it impossible for licensing authorities to effectively monitor their activities. It is clear to me that all taxi journeys should start or end within the area in which the driver is licensed.

“We need the government to bring forward these legislative changes to protect public safety and to ensure fairness for all drivers in Wokingham borough.”

Councillor Chris Bowring told the committee that “drivers in the borough (were) being discriminated against by Uber”.

National rules mean Uber drivers can be licensed by Transport for London but can live in and operate in Wokingham without needing to be checked out by Wokingham Borough Council (WBC).

Councillor Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey said: “We should be asking the government to set up national standards so we have different areas able to deal with it.

“We want a national system so we can check everybody.”

Two taxi drivers submitted their concerns to the council before the meeting, with one writing: “It is felt by the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire trades that Wokingham Borough Council are not at all supportive of any valid concerns presented to them.”

Another wrote: “We drivers are upset about UBER drivers working in Wokingham. This is unfair when the Council is forcing us to buy wheelchair accessible vehicles but don’t care how we can afford these types of vehicles. The least the Council can do is help us to stop UBER drivers in Wokingham.

“This has had an effect on our earnings and we, the licensed drivers, find this unfair and undermining.

“This is affecting our living. We drivers believe the Council will take our concern seriously and take action.”

The council is set to write to the four MPs with constituencies in the borough, as well as the relevant minister for state, Transport for London and the Local Government Association voicing their concerns about Uber.

Bracknell Forest Council’s licensing committee met last month to discuss the threat of Uber in Bracknell, with one councillor describing the issue as “torturous” for taxi drivers.

Later in the meeting councillors agreed to change their licensing policy for private hire drivers.

A removal of a clause means drivers licensed with other authorities will not be able to apply for licenses in Wokingham.

It was also agreed to reject the creation of a new licence that would have been necessary as a result of agreeing to an operator’s request to exempt chauffeurs from the mandatory geographical knowledge test when applying for a licence.