Taxi Driver Online

Cardiff could be left without taxis after cabbies threaten to strike over council crackdown


Cardiff's Hackney Driver Association said its members will strike on four nights in April because of their unhappiness with new guidance issued by Cardiff council

Cardiff's Hackney Driver Association said its members will strike over two weekends

Clubbers and partygoers in Cardiff could be left without taxis on four weekend nights this month after cabbies threatened to go on strike.

The city’s Hackney Driver Association said members are planning to take action on April 15 and 16 and April 22 and 23 because of their unhappiness with a council crackdown.

The planned move would hit taxicabs – black cab-style services that can be hailed on the street – but would not affect private hire drivers.

It comes after the council clamped down on taxi complaints in the wake of a series of reported sex attacks in the capital last year.

In September, concerns were raised that lone women had been refused journeys by drivers which they deemed to be too short a distance.

As a result, Cardiff council issued guidance from the head of the licensing committee, Councillor Jacqueline Parry, saying that if anyone felt they were wrongly turned down for a journey they should take the driver’s details and report them.

The council subsequently announced 90 complaints were made within three weeks.

But the association says these complaints were simply a result of the increased number of people visiting the city for the Rugby World Cup .

“The alleged victims have never stated in any interviews that they had to walk home because the taxi drivers refused to take them home , based on the ground that the journey was too short,” said Mathab Khan, chairman of the Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association.

“The council received some 90 complaints in three weeks mainly during the Rugby World cup tournament, when 70,000 to 100,000 rugby fans filled up every nook and cranny of the city especially whenever Wales was playing at home or away, and most of them are fairly drunk and some of them are heavily drunk or too drunk to travel in taxis.

“Hence the degree of complaints increased significantly, due to the fact that there was 10 times more people in the city, compared to the amount of people we normally have in any given time, and most of them were heavily under the influence of alcohol.”

The group alleged that drivers have been punished unfairly – with five drivers since having their licences suspended.

And it claimed those complaints had been dealt with through the council’s licensing sub-committee to “punish the drivers with a vengeance” in a forum which requires a “lesser level of scrutiny” than if they had been pursued through a court hearing.

Mr Khan said: “Unless the full committee of Cardiff council ceases such malpractice with immediate effect and remove Councillor Jacqueline Parry [committee chairwoman] and Dave Holland [Head of Service – Regulatory & Supporting Services] from their position immediately, we will be considering industrial action on Friday, April 15, and Saturday, April 16, between midnight till 4am and will repeat on April 22 and 23.”

Cardiff council has defended its right to take disciplinary action against individuals who refuse a fare without good reason, and explained its reasoning behind pursuing complaints through a committee rather than through a prosecution.

A spokesman said: “Last autumn the issue of refusal of fares became prominent in the local media and the council received many complaints. Council officers decided to deal with these by taking them to the Public Protection Committee to consider potential disciplinary action. This was in view of the volume of complaints, public concern, the committee’s function to protect vulnerable members of the travelling public, and the desire to simplify the process for the complainant, who is the ultimately the service user.

“During the time in question, the council did appeal to the taxi trade to take vulnerable women home. A view shared by Mr Khan’s media statement on September 27, which stated that ‘99.9% of drivers were helpful ’ and ‘Our (Hackney Carriage Association) advice to our drivers is to be as helpful as you possibly can, especially when it comes to lone female students. We say ‘Please take them, they are vulnerable’.

“Rather than threatening strike action, we would advise all drivers to understand and abide by their licensing conditions, or face enforcement action for breaching the law.”

source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local ... s-11118762

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

This cabby is refusing to go on strike because he AGREES with Cardiff council's clampdown on drivers



Alan Grant, 61, says the local authority is right to get tough on drivers who refuse short-distance fares

A Cardiff taxi driver says he won’t take part in any planned strike action over two weekends this month – because he agrees with the council’s clampdown on cabbies.

Alan Grant, 61, from Caerau in Ely, says Cardiff council is right to follow up on taxi complaints over drivers refusing short-distance journeys.

He said he is considering putting a sign in his taxi letting members of the public know he is willing to take short-distance customers.

Clampdown on refusing fares

The local authority has recently issued guidance from the head of the licensing committee, Councillor Jacqueline Parry, saying that if anyone felt they were wrongly turned down for a journey they should take the driver’s details and report them.

It subsequently announced 90 complaints were made within three weeks.

The move came after a series of reported sex attacks in the capital last year, with concerns raised that lone women were refused journeys deemed too short by drivers.

In response, the Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association said members are planning to take strike action on April 15-16 and April 22-23.

The group’s chairman Mathab Khan says the 90 complaints were made during three weeks of the Rugby World Cup, when “70,000 to 100,000 rugby fans filled up every nook and cranny of the city,” most of who were “fairly drunk.”

'You cannot refuse to take them'

But Alan says the drivers who do refuse short journeys are giving cabbies in the city a bad name, and supports the council looking into matters.

The Hackney-badged driver said: “I agree with the council crackdown. It’s something I feel really strongly about.

“Unless the person [customer] is drunk or abusive you can’t refuse to take them. If a young lady wants to go home, whatever the distance, the taxi has to take her.

“It’s difficult to know how to solve this problem.

“The ones refusing the fares are the ones causing the problem, and I’m seriously considering putting a sign in my taxi saying ‘I will take short fares.’

More: This is how difficult it is to get a taxi on a Friday night

“I’ve taken girls home for free before to make sure they get home safely. I’ve got daughters and I would like to think other drivers would do the same for them.

“I also read the other day that a taxi driver wanted £60 for a journey from Cardiff Castle to Cardiff Gate. It’s an £18 journey on the meter, and that’s if you hit traffic.

'I won't go on strike'

“Within the boundaries of the city you have to put the meter on – it’s only for journeys to outside, for instance Penarth and Newport, where you can negotiate a price.”

Asked if he would participate in the strike, Alan added: “No, I won’t go on strike because I agree with the council – I know many fellow drivers who also do.

“They can’t force us to strike.”

In announcing the action this week, Mr Khan said: “The council received some 90 complaints in three weeks mainly during the Rugby World cup tournament, when 70,000 to 100,000 rugby fans filled up every nook and cranny of the city especially whenever Wales was playing at home or away, and most of them are fairly drunk and some of them are heavily drunk or too drunk to travel in taxis.

Complaints 'during Rugby World Cup'

“Hence the degree of complaints increased significantly, due to the fact that there was 10 times more people in the city, compared to the amount of people we normally have in any given time, and most of them were heavily under the influence of alcohol.

“Unless the full committee of Cardiff council ceases such malpractice with immediate effect and remove Councillor Jacqueline Parry [committee chairwoman] and Dave Holland [Head of Service – Regulatory & Supporting Services] from their position immediately, we will be considering industrial action on Friday, April 15, and Saturday, April 16, between midnight till 4am and will repeat on April 22 and 23.”

In response, Cardiff council defended its right to take disciplinary action against individuals who refuse a fare without good reason.

A spokesman added: “Rather than threatening strike action, we would advise all drivers to understand and abide by their licensing conditions, or face enforcement action for breaching the law.”

source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local ... e-11128842

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

Where's John ?
He's our man on inside track is this the majority o minority view?

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

My take on this and after watching TV footage I think it's the Asians who are causing the problems. It's the same round here, they won't take short fares, they'll tell people they're booked when they aren't but, when someone comes up to them wanting to go out of town suddenly they aren't booked.

Just the usual hot air! Even if it were something to strike about........Fri & Sat would not be sacrificed + lack of unity will stop it being effective. In a few years when it is totally Asian it will be a totally different story.

Nidge2 is on the nail, it is the usual culprits.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

An all-night bus service will run in Cardiff if planned taxi strikes goes ahead



The first-of-its-kind service would include a travelling security guard and would not have a premium fare

Transport bosses will lay on an all-night bus service in Cardiff if the planned taxi strike goes ahead this month.

The service will run every 30 minutes through the night on the X1 route, which connects Culverhouse Cross to Pontprennau via the city centre.

There will be no premium fares for the night buses – understood to be the first of their kind in Wales – and each vehicle will carry a travelling security guard.

Cardiff’s Hackney Driver Association is planning a strike on four weekend nights this month , in protest at a council clampdown on taxicabs.

The strike is scheduled for the nights of April 15, 16, 22 and 23. The night buses have already been organised by managers at New Adventure Travel, which is based in Cardiff’s docklands.

'How we can help our customers'

Kevyn Jones, NAT’s managing director, said: “Having learned of the upcoming taxi strikes, we’ve considered how we could help our customers.

“With the X1 service linking many of Cardiff’s main housing areas – Ely, Canton, Albany Road, Llanedeyrn, Pentwyn and Pontprennau – with the city, extending the service to 24-hour operation on the strike days will help our customers continue with their plans and not be inconvenienced too much by the strike.

“Our £3 daily tickets and £10 weekly tickets, sold on both our X1 and X11 services, will be valid on the night buses during this period.”

The X1 service normally operates between 6am and 9.30pm.

Passenger demand for the night buses is likely to fall off after bars and nightclubs have emptied, but the buses will continue every 30 minutes until the normal daytime schedule begins. Mr Jones admitted that the night buses might lose money for his business.

He said: “The reason for us doing this is to help out people living along the X1 route. I know how difficult getting to, and especially home from, the city centre can be, even with all the taxis on the road, so when there’s no taxis or even less taxis it’s going to be impossible.”

He said that if the night buses are a success, NAT would consider running all night on the route as a routine.

'If there's demand, we'd continue it'

“Cardiff is constantly growing and there’s a lot happening here 24 hours a day,” he said. “If there’s enough demand for a 24-hour service, then we would seriously consider it seven days a week.”

Night buses have been provided in London for many years. All-night London Underground trains were due to start last year but were deferred amid a dispute with trade unions. Other cities with all-night bus services include Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol.

First Cymru recently launched its Swansea Night Out service, which continues into the small hours on Wednesday to Saturday nights during university term time.

When NAT launched the X1 service last May , it hurriedly removed advertisements on the backs of the new buses which caused a furore because they featured models holding signs inviting people to “Ride me all day for £3”.

source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... f-11146132

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

All night buses, , how the hell would the driver cope with 50 dunk idiots

It never works - however there is no such a thing as bad publicity (for the bus company).

I will be shocked if anything like a strike takes place.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

surely a complaint is one thing ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,an investigated and upheld complaint is some- thing else ??

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All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

If you invite complaints as Cardiff LA have, if you issue an instruction i.e take images of the driver/take the reg of vehicle/take the drivers badge number as Cardiff LA have.......then you can be rest assured - you will get complaints.

No other business that I know of - issues instructions on complaining........ to pizzed up customers.

Cardiff LA are an absolute disgrace.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

No its the unorganised lickspittle drivers that are the disgrace they should stamp out this practice of selecting jobs!

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All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

I feel that it is nevertheless the fault of the Council who have driven the tariff down.If they took a more responsible stance of making sure that the tariff allowed the drivers to earn a decent return, as other LA's do, then this situation would probably never have arisen.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

They are a thing of the past due to funding cuts.

I wonder if those buses will be driven by unionised drivers.

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IDFIMH

I pity the people who have to clean the night buses plus there's no chance those busses wil be in a fit condition to use the next day.