Safety Checks On Taxis
August 18, 2009
A war of words has broken out among Rochdale’s cabbies over controversial safety checks.
As the Observer reported earlier this month private hire drivers complained about the way council vehicle inspections were carried out.
They claimed the checks can lead to the loss of a weekend’s takings because the test centre at Green Lane in Heywood, where they are required to go to have repairs checked and reclaim their licence if it has been taken from them for having a faulty vehicle, isn’t open on Saturday and Sunday.
But now hackney cab drivers have hit back at their colleagues - saying if their cars were up to speed in the first place there wouldn’t be a problem.
Warren Holt, a share holder at Rochdale’s largest hackney cab firm Town Taxis, said: "We are sick and tired of the private hire drivers whingeing when they get found out. Any self-respecting taxi driver would make sure his car was OK. Some of these cars are 15 years old and they are not in a good condition. If you book a taxi and an old H reg thing turns up, what kind of message does this send out to the public, and what image does this give visitors of Rochdale? If they kept their cars up to scratch we wouldn‘t have a problem and neither would the council."
In May a police crackdown found one in six taxis on Rochdale’s roads had mechanical defects.
And Warren says more checks should be carried out to ensure cabs are kept roadworthy.
He added: "We check our vehicles regularly and self regulate our industry as well as undergoing council checks. If the private hire guys kept their vehicles roadworthy as well there wouldn’t be a problem."
Source; RochdaleObserver.co.uk
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