An uncertain few years for the Dundee trade seems set to continue.

A period of uncertainty for the Dundee taxi trade seems unlikely to end in the near future, with the result of an independent survey, a decision on wheelchair accessible cabs and the judgment in an important court case all due within the next few months.

The trade had enjoyed a stable few years since the early 1990s (when plates had been issued until numbers were around 800 and the private hire sector disappeared) until around the turn of the century, when the number of taxis reduced to that specified by an independent unmet demand survey.

However, in 2001 the 507 taxis in the city faced a fresh threat in the shape of a new competitor, 203020 Private Hire, founded by millionaire brothers Peter and Jimmy Marr, who also control Dundee Football Club.  The company operates around 75 vehicles, mostly E-class Mercedes and a small number of wheelchair accessible Traveliners, all used from new, with trained and uniformed drivers, and charging the council-set taxi rates.

Unused to competition on this level, many in the incumbent trade were understandably resentful.  One industry stalwart commented: "They had adverts everywhere - in the papers, on buses, on the radio, even on TV.  They could afford to offer half-price fares, and our tariff is low as it is - we couldn't hope to compete with that."

Worse was to come last year, however, when the company applied for 71 taxi licenses and paid a five figure sum in application fees so that they could be formally heard by Dundee City Council's licensing committee, hoping to bypass the several hundred strong waiting list in the process.  In a highly charged meeting in a packed council chambers, the applications were unanimously rejected, to resounding cheers from the public gallery.

But 203020 appealed the decision, and earlier this year the sheriff court decided in the company's favour, on the basis that the council had not assessed demand between independent surveys, as required by case law.

Uncertainty persists though, since the Dundee Taxi Association decided to appeal the decision, thus ensuring that the 71 plates could not be granted until the case has been heard next year.  Perhaps ominously for the trade, Dundee City Council decided not to join them in their appeal.

Obviously keen to exert political rather than legal pressure, in August 203020 Private Hire offered to operate wheelchair accessible purpose built vehicles on the basis that they are awarded taxi licenses, in view of the dearth of such vehicles in the city.

In the meantime, an independent unmet demand survey undertaken last year is due to be discussed by the licensing committee in November, and the report will also address the issue of wheelchair accessibility.

Understandably, things have become somewhat fraught, and local newspaper The Courier and Advertiser recently carried a prominent article in which Dundee T&G official Doug Martin accused Dundee City Council of "sitting on" the report, which plate holders had paid for by way of a £35 levy.  However, licensing committee convener Bruce Mackie claimed that the report had not been finalised.

Plate leasing
Another burning issue in the city is the question of hire plates.  Since plates cannot be sold, those leaving the trade tend to hold on to them, and many illegally rent the plate to a driver who registers his vehicle in the name of the license holder and pays him for the use of the plate.  Despite attempts by Dundee City Council to crack down on this practice, it is claimed to account for a large proportion of the city's taxis, and has been instrumental in creating a waiting list as large as the number of taxis.

One source commented: "They [Dundee City Council] have effectively tolerated the problem for years.  They've managed to weed out some, but if they were able to really get to grips with it then the absentee plate holders would just run a car and do it legally instead."

A disgruntled driver complained: "I've been on the waiting list for nearly a decade.  It's a joke - hundreds of taxis are run by outsiders and there's nothing done about it.  If the plates are handed in any new ones issued often go to people who left the trade years ago, assuming they ever drove a taxi."

With uncertainty also surrounding the outcome of the Scottish Executive's consultation on its review of the licensing legislation, and the Office of Fair Trading report due soon, a period of calm for the Dundee trade seems unlikely, in the near future at least.