Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers revolt over 'escalating licence fees'

Taxi drivers have threatened to "go off-air" on some of the city's busiest nights in a row with the council over escalating licence fees. Angry drivers from across the district staged a protest outside Wakefield Council’s licensing office on Tuesday and threatened to stop work if fees for car tests and badges are not lowered or justified.

Richard Gillam, the council’s licensing manager was confronted by around 80 drivers – owners of both private hire vehicles and hackney cabs – as he stepped from his car outside the office based at Horbury Community Centre. Mr Gillam said he did not appreciate being “ambushed” as the drivers surrounded him while he was questioned by their spokesman Javed Iqbal.

Mr Iqbal said the drivers wanted the council to justify the “unnecessary increases in fees” which they claim go up every time they renew their badges or test their cars, and give them an explanation about why they get nothing in return for their money.

He said: “To say we are not happy is an understatement. We want the council to recognise the role we play in safety and public order. “We want to be more than just a money-making machine for the council.

“This sort of thing will be a common sight in Wakefield over the next few weeks unless people start listening and we can get assurances that this won’t keep happening.”

Mr Iqbal said the council was going to need more taxi drivers as a result of the regeneration of the city, adding: “We might decide it’s not worth our while to drive taxis if things carry on the way they are, and you know what would happen in terms of public order if we stop driving for one or two nights.”

The drivers say they have to pay more than £200 to have their badges renewed every three years and two council MOT tests set them back around £170 each time on top of their normal MOT test. Mr Gillam said the fees were set to cover costs.

He said the council made no money from the charges and that the service had been running at a loss. He said: “For a number of years the council has subsidised the cost of the licensing service and that position has now been rectified.”

Mr Gillam said increases were advertised in the Wakefield Express, a legal requirement, and that objections received would be considered. He said he did not have the power to deal with the complaints made and urged the drivers to write to the head of administration and law, Jackie Pepperell.

But Mr Iqbal said the group was not going to go away. He said: “We are sticking up against the bullying tactics of Wakefield Council and would like it to be known that we, as taxi drivers, are not happy with the service we get from the council.”

He added: “We want to get the message across that we intend to take this to the top and will pursue whatever action we have available to us to make the council listen.”

All drivers are invited to a meeting at 1.30pm on Tuesday at the WAWA Community Centre on Montague Street, Agbrigg, to discuss how to move things forward.

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IDFIMH

Gosh, Taxi drivers not happy with the service they get from the council. You don't hear that one very often, do you?

I like the idea of mobbing the LO.

I think he got the message.

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IDFIMH