York taxi drivers in shake-up plea
MORE than 100 angry York taxi drivers have called for a shake-up of the way talks on their industry are held after claiming they are being isolated.
A petition signed by members of the city’s hackney carriage fleet has been handed in to City of York Council complaining they feel excluded from discussions about the trade.
The group say they have not been consulted on issues such as Bank Holiday fare rates and changes to “working practices” and do not believe they are represented by York’s current hackney carriage bodies.
Their 101-name petition will be discussed when the council’s licensing and regulatory committee meets in the new year, although officers have recommended keeping the consultation policies which are already in place.
A letter from the drivers which accompanied the petition said: “We are writing to inform the members of the committee at our dismay as to the way our role in the hackney carriage trade is being portrayed.
“There is no cohesion within the trade as we are all individuals with our own personalities, who come under the banner of hackney carriage owners or drivers and the few of us who are renting the plates [licences].
“Presently, there are two associations called the Independent Taxi Association (ITA) and the newly-formed York Hackney Carriage Drivers’ Association (YHCDA). However, when the numbers in these are realised, you can see the trade is, in fact, being disproportionately represented.”
The group claimed that, while the two organisations have 131 members between them, the majority of York hackney carriage drivers are not members, and added: “Therefore, all the decisions which are being made are not, in fact, with the consent of the trade.”
A report by the council’s head of licensing, Dick Haswell, said York currently had 179 hackney carriage licences and 309 drivers, and the authority’s officers held bi-monthly meetings and “bespoke consultations” with the ITA and YHCDA. He said all drivers were informed of “significant messages” through newsletters, and notices surrounding issues such as fares and licence fees were published in local newspapers.
The committee has been recommended to maintain the current policy and encourage drivers who are not part of an association to either join one or consider forming their own “which will better represent their needs”.
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8767670.York_taxi_drivers_in_shake_up_plea/
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