Southend Council says special school taxi alterations will save £310,000
SOUTHEND ratepayers are to fork out £50,000 to modify taxis to take children to special schools in the town.
Contracts have been awarded to three cab firms outside Southend which use vehicles that would not normally be licensed by Southend Council.
As a result, the council has agreed to spend £50,000 modifying the vehicles to ensure they meet its licensing standards.
In a statement, Roger Hadley, Southend councillor responsible for children and learning said: “Following the award of these contracts the council decided to address perceived differences in safety standards between the requirements of the home-to-schools transport service and those required by Hackney carriage/private hire licence holders in Southend.
“The vehicles for these contracts had already been accepted by the council as having high quality and safety standards.
“However, it was felt necessary to address these perceptions to provide even greater reassurance to parents and one of our contractors undertook modifications at our request.”
Mr Hadley said in the long-term, the contracts would save the council £310,000.
However, Dave Clift, secretary of the Southend Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, criticised the council’s move.
He said Southend licensing department will not allow cabs where seats have to be moved/tilted to allow passengers to get in and out and the council modifications will prevent this.
He said: “Good luck to the companies who won the contracts, but it’s simply not fair to the drivers and companies in the borough who are competing against firms using cars which simply wouldn’t be licensed by Southend Council.”
source:
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4875815 ... ool_taxis/
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