Taxi Driver Online

Is it just me, or does there seem to be an article like this every couple of days at the moment

And is it all just a coincidence, or because Uber on the march again?

But this is pretty thin gruel - not even a claim of illegality going on. Which I suppose is a good thing, because it's not making a misleading claim about what's going on.

On the other hand, the pitch is basically asking BNES Council to ban cross-border cars, which obviously it can't do

And nothing at all in this article about the HC/PHV divide, neither as regards the local cars, nor the cross-border ones.


Bath taxi drivers 'undermined' by out of area taxis

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/som ... ut-9344208

Over 200 people have signed a petition calling on the council to take action

Bath’s taxi drivers are calling on their local council to take action on out-of-area taxis undermining their livelihoods.

Taxi drivers need to be licensed by local councils, but since 2015 have been able to be licensed by any council — not just where they live or work. Now, drivers who have studied to pass the Bath knowledge test and paid the £582 cost of applying for a taxi licence from Bath and North East Somerset Council have warned that drivers licensed by other councils are taking the work in the city.

One local taxi driver who has been working in Bath for six years said: “Our earnings have been massively affected with Covid and everything.”

He added: “We can’t carry on if we are being completely saturated.”

Over 200 people have signed a petition from the area’s local taxi drivers calling on Bath and North East Somerset Council to do what it can to put a stop to the practice. A statement from a group of Bath and North East Somerset-licensed taxi drivers said: “The influx of licensed taxis from Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon, and Wolverhampton into Bath is severely undermining the livelihoods of local drivers.

“These out-of-area taxis are saturating the market, making it increasingly difficult for Bath's licensed drivers to secure fares and sustain their businesses. Local drivers contribute significantly to the community by paying their licensing fees, which support local regulatory and infrastructure needs. However, the presence of these external taxis, which do not contribute to Bath’s licensing revenue, creates an unfair competitive environment.

“We urge the council to take immediate action to ban these out-of-area taxis from operating within Bath. By doing so, the council would not only be supporting local drivers but also ensuring that the fees paid by Bath's licensed taxi operators are reinvested into the local economy, ultimately benefiting the entire community.

“Protecting local drivers is essential for maintaining a fair and balanced marketplace, and we call on the council to enforce stricter regulations to preserve the integrity of Bath's taxi industry.

“Please support Bath’s private hire and hackney taxi industry by signing our online petition and asking for the support of your local councillor or MP.”

You can view the petition here.

I think the article is trying to portray the driver as quite experienced. But I don't think anyone starting in 2018 will be best placed to, er, deconstruct the long-term trends in the trade, given what's been happening during that period, and even ignoring the cross-border stuff


Er, no.

But, of course, no quote from the council...

The petition isn't much better either - witters on about enforcement, but doesn't say what's meant to be enforced, presumably because there isn't anything.

Except, of course, if there's a ban. Which there won't be.

I suspect somewhere there is a campaign to try and make it an election issue

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

The problem that has been highlighted in our town is not the fact that the out of town cars arehere working on their respective app platform but the fact that many of them are giving their personal numbers to people to ring them direct and they don't have their own operators license or the blatent picking up flag downs and even going as far as parking on the town ranks.
But of course all this is mainly at evening or night when the licensing team have gone home and wont come out because "we have a life as well you know".
most local drivers have now given up working evenings and weekends because the Council rate is to low and they haven't got enough idea on how to present a tarriff review to get it through the licensing committee.
one driver who submitted a proposal for the last increase still thinks it went through but he doesn't know that I was asked by the Council to take a look and present it in the way in which it would be accepted.
I have offered my assistance to the drivers but they don't want the help of a Private Hire operator so they can carry on for months getting nowhere.

I think you could be right.

This is why I think change could be coming, whether that change is sufficient for most in the trade is another matter.

Clearly there will be more Labour MPs come the 5th of July, and many of them will have been local councillors, and they will have seen (he says hopefully) the frustration caused to councils and local trades by not fit-for-purpose licensing laws.

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IDFIMH

This isnt a campaign against Uber. Bath Uber drivers are also suffering the consequences of market saturation.
Cross border taxis now out number local cabs. The amount of illegal activity happening in the city is alarming,and our council does not do any enforcement. Which we have asked for many times. There is now an unofficial rank around the corner from a hackney rank that these drivers use like a Hackney rank.

We need enforcement and awareness raised about this issue. This is our last resort as all other avenues have been exhausted by a council that does not engage or be pro active on anything.

Please support our petition if you can. We are not against Uber we just trying to protect our local drivers.

Also we did manage to get a fare rise without help from anyone.

Welcome to the forum, and there is nothing wrong with being against Uber.

I wish you well in your quest to get the council and council officials to enforce licensing laws, in my opinion illegal ranking of non-local vehicles must be one of the easier licensing laws to enforce.

Uber can geofence ranks which stops their vehicles from logging on there, but as has been mentioned elsewhere doesn't stop illegal pick-ups.

As for the saturation issue, would those non-local drivers doing the saturation merely license locally if there was a miraculous change in cross-border laws?

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IDFIMH

So the only illegality as such is PHVs plying for hire?

Well I think others know more about enforcement and getting local authorities to do something about it than me.

But if it's as self-evident as you make it sound, surely you can get photographic and video evidence and kick up a stink about it with the press, police and the council? I mean, the article above doesn't even suggest any illegality.

As for not being anti-Uber and the market saturation thing, unfortunately market saturation is what Uber is all about, so good luck with that

Labour might stop the cross-border thing, which might help. On the other hand, they want open borders as regards immigration, so on balance they'll probably make it worse

We have already kicked up a stink about it. It is very hard to get evidence as when we are spotted it stops. We have submitted alot of videos to the police and licensing but we still see no enforcement from the council.

We are very aware Uber is here to stay, let them saturate the market with BANES drivers not Wolverhampton and South Gloucestershire.

This petition is supported by Bath PHV's aswell as Hackneys.

Enforcement is up to the council not drivers who are out trying to earn a living.

you might have more luck trying to get wolverhampton LO's to come down and carry out enforcement against Wolves plated cars

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Yes you are right, something has to change. Legislation is outdated. Times have changed, but change can only happen if asked for and if the public support it. So many things need to be discussed with those with the power to change.