'Scores on the doors' system planned for Bradford cab firms CABBIES' groups have given a thumbs-up to the idea of an official ratings system for minicab safety.
Bradford Council bosses are considering introducing a ratings system for private hire firms, similar to the Scores on the Doors food safety scheme for cafes and restaurants.
Deputy council leader Councillor Val Slater, whose portfolio includes cab licensing, said there could be gold, silver and bronze awards for operators to work towards.
She said this could help customers feel confident that the firms they chose took safety seriously.
She said: "If they are making the choice, they can think, 'I can be really confident in this operator because they have got the gold award'."
Cllr Slater said the awards scheme could look at factors like vehicle safety, transparency, or whether the firms co-operated with the council in tackling child sexual exploitation.
She said: "It is still early days. We are still coming up with criteria and maybe operators have some themselves."
Stuart Hastings, chairman of the Keighley Private Hire Association, welcomed the suggestion.
"I think it's a brilliant idea. I think it will sharpen everybody up because you have a goal to go for," he said.
"It will make people say, 'That's a good taxi firm, I'm going to use them', or 'That's a bad taxi firm, I'm not going to use them'.
"I think it's great."
Mr Hastings, who also runs the firm Metro Keighley, said unlike other public transport, such as buses and trains, customers were often under the influence of alcohol and on their own with the driver.
He said: "A lot of times, people climb into a taxi at 3 o'clock in the morning, on their own, and that's where safety should come into it and that's where quality should come into it."
He said it appeared Cllr Slater, who took on responsibility for taxi licensing this year, was intent on raising standards.
And he praised the team of council officers working in licensing enforcement.
He said: "A lot of people forget we should have better standards than everybody else, because we are a public service vehicle."
Nadeem Ahmed, of the Independent Private Hire Association of Bradford, said: "It does seem something she seems quite keen to push forward.
"I have got to speak to my colleagues about this but on the face of it, it seems like a pretty good idea."
But he said that generally speaking, the quality of firms and drivers in Bradford was already good.
He said they had two MOTs a year and criminal record checks every three years.
Khurram Shehzad, chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, said he too backed the idea.
He said it would give operators something to work towards.
source:
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... cab_firms/
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