Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers get reprieve on new rule

LICENSING bosses have backed down over plans that could have forced older taxis off the road in Cheltenham.

The borough council's licensing committee meets today to decide whether to rubber stamp a compromise designed to quell the fears of cabbies across the town.

Taxi and private hire drivers feared the introduction of European restrictions on carbon emissions would mean cars built before 2005 could be rendered unusable.

Council chiefs have now proposed staggering the adoption of the rules to give firms and independent drivers more time to adapt.

Senior licensing officer Louis Krog said: "The council is committed to improving air quality and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere from motor vehicles. To achieve this, it is vital the most polluting vehicles are phased out of service, while recognising there is an impact on the use of natural resources to manufacture new ones.

"Officers are satisfied the revised sections of the policy address the issues raised by the trade."

Councillors approved the adoption of the Euro 4 test, which sets a stricter limit on the acceptable levels of nitrogen oxides and particles in emissions for vehicles built before 2005, in September.

It originally meant taxi and private hire drivers needed to have ensured their vehicles met the standard by the start of this month to be able to continue using them.

The change prompted outrage among cabbies, who said it unfairly penalised people who had older cars but had gone out of their way to keep them in a good condition.

Twenty-five drivers conducted a go-slow convoy through the town last month to make their point to the council.

Even if the amended rules are earn approval today, all vehicles built before 2000 will no longer be eligible for a taxi or private hire licence when their existing one expires, unless they pass the Euro 4 test. However, drivers of vehicles built between 2000 and 2004 will now have a four-year window from the date of manufacture to ensure they meet the new standards.

Dave Stokes, managing director of private hire firm 727 Car Co, said: "I'm glad the council has decided to give a little more leeway, although I think it could have been sorted out without all the hassle."

source: http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/news/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I wonder if Boris is reading that decision?

Are they considering getting the bus companies to follow suit.....or maybe their own fleet of vehicles?

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

In Plymouth it was only Taxi and PH fleets.

"Do as I say not as I do" seems to be the mantra.

They accept "Natural Wastage" for their own fleet of leased vehicles. They sold Plymouth Citybus last year - and "Natural Wastage" is OK for busses. No doubt a wholesale fleet replacement requirement would have reduced the price they got. But insist on Taxi and PH being compliant costs the Council nothing - proprietors pick up the tab.

I now save £1 per tyre by burning it (in small pieces) on my coal fire rather than letting the tyre provider dispose of the old tyre. This saves me even more by reducing my coal bill. I also use old engine oil combined with newspaper in papiermache bricks. It heats my house and with the back boiler, heats my water. It more than replaces any pollutants that this crazy policy saves.

A small protest, but my own.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related