Quota conundrums  (21/7/2004)

Guildford and Stratford de-limit, while Bideford drivers stage 'go-slow' in initial salvo against council.

Guildford Borough Council has voted to lift the limit on the number of taxi licenses in the Surrey town, with a close vote splitting councillors along party lines.  Despite opposition from the local trade, who packed the public gallery at the meeting to decide the issue, councillors approved the de-limitation move by 22 votes to 19.

T&G industrial organiser Pete Kavanagh led the fight against lifting the lid on taxi numbers, telling the meeting that surveys up and down the country showed that customer satisfaction was higher in areas limiting taxi numbers, while unrestricted areas have significantly fewer vehicles overall.

However, Surrey Police representative Sgt Sian Mills told the meeting that delimitation would provide an "increased transport capability to remove drunken people from the town centre late at night, which can only be of benefit".

But Deputy Mayor Tamsy Baker said that there was only a shortage of taxis late at night, with plenty available at the ranks at other times.  She questioned whether more drivers would work the unsocial hours since they were increasingly faced with abusive and violent customers who were often sick or run off without payment.

Disagreeing, Councillor Sheridan Westlake said that an unmet demand survey and controlled issue of licenses would not be the end of the matter, since recent experience in Durham indicated that the arguments against a limited issue of plates were the same as those employed in Guildford against total de-limitation of numbers.

However, independent councillor Keith Childs expressed disappointment that the vote would be split along party lines, and claimed that this meant that doctrinal considerations were taking precedence, rather than what was best for Guildford.

At an earlier meeting of the council's executive committee, around 20 members of the local trade staged a protest and sat with their placards and banners in the public gallery.

They argued that delimitation would increase fares and decrease the number of private hire vehicles, meaning increased waiting times for passengers in the early hours.  The number of taxis in the town has been static for 15 years.

Labour Councillor Keith Chesterton said: "My concern is that I don’t think anyone would disagree with the objective of having more taxis available but I don’t think what is being recommended will actually achieve that. I was very impressed indeed with the Federation of Guildford Taxi Drivers’ evidence. It shows to me perhaps that a system where you have got control of the numbers gives a better service than one without. I do hope members will look carefully just how far the suggested solution will achieve what they want."

But in response Councillor Tony Rooth said: "Guildford’s taxi trade is a closed shop. The fact that taxi licences change hands for £30,000 clearly shows this cartel in operation. Such monopolies are a relic of the 1970s and have been swept away in so many other services sectors."

Subsequent to the de-limitation decision, a letter published in the Surrey Advertiser accused the 22 Conservative councillors of 'sheer political bigotry' and of 'not having the interests of the public in mind'.  The letter, from Christine Atter, also said that the councillors did not 'care in the least about the untoward repercussions that will be suffered by the town' and called on them to resign when the 'inevitable, perhaps even disastrous, consequences of taxi deregulation in Guildford become a reality'.

Stratford-upon-Avon
Trade representatives in Stratford have called on members of Stratford District Council to resign following the de-limitation of numbers in the town and a requirement to change vehicles every six years.

New applicants will be required to present wheelchair accessible vehicles for licensing, and a backlog of 35 applications are pending, compared to the past limit of 64 vehicles.

Licensing committee member Councillor Clive Thomas told the press that he was concerned that he new taxis would result in business being spread too thinly.  He claimed that if the trade had provided an additional four accessible vehicles when asked then the policy change might not have occurred.

But committee chairman Richard Adams said that this was not deregulation in its 'purest terms' and that the move achieved the demands of the council and Government to provide wheelchair access.

As we reported recently, the Stratford Taxi Trade Association has appointed a 'war cabinet' to fight the proposals.  It has now called on the regulations to be reversed or it would refer the matter to the Standards Board for England.

But Councillor Chris Saint, Leader of the Executive, told the Stratford Journal that the board only dealt with individual breaches of the Code of Conduct and not policy decisions of committees as a whole.  He added: "If they've got an issue to deal with, it would be far better for them to approach the decision-makers, the council, rather than issue attacks in the press."

Continuing the war analogy, STTA president Brian Emeney said: "This is like the 40s when the forces of good eventually overcame the forces of evil."

"If the board agree that we have been unfairly dealt with, which is our contention, we would seek compensation for our members.  It would probably go some way to helping clear up the mess that they have made if they ask for those responsible to tender their resignations.   However, we feel that there is insufficient will to admit that they have been wrong and this fiasco will therefore run and run."

Bideford
Meanwhile, cabbies in Bideford have staged a 'go-slow' protest on a busy afternoon to protest against the possibility of deregulation.

Torridge District Council currently limits the number of taxis in the town to 46, but its environmental and leisure services committee recently discussed the implications of the Office of Fair Trading's and Government's recent recommendations to lift any restrictions on the number of taxis operating.

Cabbies say that this would lead to a price war, lower standards, and part-time working would lead to bankruptcies for drivers.

Scott Cable, proprietor of Scott's Taxis in the town, said that there was insufficient room on the ranks for the current number of taxis.  He said: " Opening it up would cause a massive increase in competition and would mean drivers who have been here 20 years, being forced out. These guys know the road, and offer a good service. All that would happen is standards would drop and good cabbies will lose their jobs.

A council spokesman said that councillors had discussed the implications of de-limiting numbers but that further consultations would be held with the trade before any final decision was made.

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