Like the Hull piece, this is largely a rehash of the ops' and proprietors' propaganda
Some quite interesting nuggets, though.
Glasgow faces 'beyond the norm' taxi queues at Christmas and New Year as driver shortages continuehttps://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... i-22480686Glasgow is suffering taxi queues unlike any seen before and, with the threat of omicron looming, the situation could deteriorate further before Christmas.Glaswegians will be facing taxi queues unlike any seen before this Christmas and New Year.
The city is facing a shortage of drivers due to such a high number leaving the trade during the pandemic because of 'financial pressures and inadequate external support'.
Despite recruitment drives for both taxi and app drivers, gaps in staffing have still yet to be plugged. The pace at which omicron is being transmitted is also threatening to disrupt services.
Lengthy queues have become a common sight since the reopening of the nighttime economy but have been exasperated by festive nights out and Christmas shoppers.
The public has been urged to plan ahead if heading into the city over the next few weeks.
Glasgow Taxis chairman Dougie McPherson said: "It’s not accurate to say there is a shortage of Glasgow taxis per se, the greater issue by far is a shortage of drivers.
"A shortage of drivers was a challenge we were already facing pre-pandemic but covid exacerbated the problem with many drivers leaving the trade, most due to financial pressures and inadequate external support.
"In the long and illustrious history of Glasgow taxis serving the city, we have always been stretched at peak times so queues are nothing new to us, but it’s fair to say recent peaks have been beyond the norm.
“We stepped up our recruitment drive after each lockdown and this has had some success however not enough to plug the gaps, not by a long shot.
"A huge obstacle remains in that it can take around or more than a year between an applicant registering interest to becoming fully qualified and on the road, something we continue to speak to Glasgow City Council about with a view to bringing that timeframe down significantly. Changing that hasn’t proved easy but we are on it."
Glasgow City Council has said that there is currently not a big demand for licences from new applicants and that those who are applying can see a turnaround of three months. However, they are only currently dealing with eight applications.
Taxi bosses are also concerned about how the spread of covid could impact trade over Christmas and New Year.
Drivers could be forced to isolate due to a positive test or by being a close contact further depleting the number on the road.
A number of ScotRail services were disrupted last week due to the number of staff off due to the virus.
Mr McPherson adds: "The unknown today is the impact of omicron. In the absence of a crystal ball, nobody can know if that will make the city busier or quieter between now and Christmas, or if (and when) further restrictions and even – hopefully not – another lockdown is coming. What is almost certain is that, with increased transmissibility Omicron will affect taxi drivers in the same way it affects the public – so we may see our fleet further depleted by positive tests, close contacts and enforced isolations.
“Our message to Glasgow and Glaswegians remains the same. Plan your night ahead, stick together in groups and if going for a taxi at the end of the night always use marshalled ranks – the queues may be long but these are staffed and the safest place to wait. "
Eddie Grice, the Glasgow Chair of the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU), has said that the industry is 'on its knees'.
He explained: "The primary thing is that during the pandemic, the level of support just wasn’t there for drivers. It’s forced a lot of drivers to leave the trade and in some cases, they’ve just gone bust. They tried to weather the storm and but it wasn't sustainable and they just went bankrupt. That applies to taxi drivers and private hire - all the effects hurt both sides equally.
"We’re now at the point where there is a massive driver shortage but trade is starting to increase and demand is coming back because restrictions are gone. People are out and about more but the damage is already done. There are not enough drivers to cope with the demand."
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council added: "The challenges currently facing the taxi trade are directly linked to the impact of the covid pandemic rather than any measure required by the licensing system.
“There are around 7000 individuals currently licensed to drive taxis and private hire cars in Glasgow but unfortunately it seems many are now engaged in alternative employment.
“At the moment we are dealing with just eight applications from potential taxi drivers and we anticipate that all of these will be processed in approximately three months.
“Throughout the pandemic we have sought to ease the requirements of the licensing process where ever possible.
“However a recent proposal to adjust the topographical or knowledge test for taxi drivers could not be advanced as agreement could not be achieved with all taxi trade stakeholders.
“Public safety will always remain the focus of the licensing system, but we will give due consideration to any reasonable proposal to support taxi and private hire trade at this time.”
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