Cabbies told to clean up their actInspections by licensing officers found many Cardiff taxis in "poor condition" October 4 2011Strict new measures could be introduced to raise the standards of Cardiff’s ageing hail-and-ride taxi fleet.
It comes after inspections by Cardiff council licensing officers found many of the city’s 950 hackney carriages were in “poor condition”.
Over the past six months, 388 warnings were issued to cabbies about the condition of their vehicle, such as damaged bodywork, missing wheel trims and defective headlights.
It compares to 295 warnings over the same period last year.
In May, a joint operation between the council and South Wales Police stopped and checked 79 vehicles.
Of these, 26% were given a verbal warning, 18% received a Stop Notice prohibiting use until the fault is fixed, 15% received a Pre-Stop Notice and 16% were referred to the council’s public protection committee.
However, the taxi trade hit back last night, saying many of the problems were only “cosmetic” damage and did not pose a danger to the public.
The rise in complaints comes after the testing regime changed last year so that hackney carriages were no longer tested only at the Cardiff Bus Testing Facility on Sloper Road.
Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association chairman Mathab Khan, who is calling for the maximum age restriction for cabs to be increased from 10 to 14 years, labelled the suggestions “nonsense”.
Mr Khan said replacing standard saloons for purpose-built, London-style black cabs would cost drivers “millions of pounds” and would be unaffordable.
Source; http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonl ... -29531620/
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