Taxi Driver Online

A 'glimmer of hope' in Leeds taxi driver dispute

Taxi drivers in Leeds say there is a "glimmer of hope" in their fight for an overhaul of the city's licencing policy.

Leeds has a huge taxi community of more than 5,500 private hire and hackney drivers.

Frustration has been mounting in the past year following several unpopular new policies.

Now, after several rounds of behind the scenes talks, a meeting to discuss a review of the unwelcome policies is being organised between union chiefs and licensing bosses.

Representatives of the hackney car trade also met with council chiefs this week to air their concerns.

Bill Chard, from the GMB Private Hire Association, said: "There is nothing nailed down in policy form but in terms of process we are getting somewhere," he said.

"They have agree to review a number of policies and have asked us to identify when those policies were introduced and to put forward (ideas] for a future plan. It's a glimmer of hope."

The YEP understands new research is now being undertaken by senior councillors and licensing chiefs to set down an "appropriate schedule of reviews".

The suggested reviews will then be put into a forward plan for future Licensing and Regulatory Panel meetings.

A full public consultation is also expected.

source: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/

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