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Fall in licensed vehicles
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Author:  captain cab [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:09 am ]
Post subject:  Fall in licensed vehicles

Number of cabbies in West Midlands and Staffordshire falls by 1,000

One thousand fewer taxi drivers are on the streets of the West Midlands and Staffordshire since the recession – the first drop in eight years, new statistics have shown.

It comes despite repeated calls by cabbies for a cap on the number of licences issued as they complain there is not enough work to go around.

The figures are similar all over the country as the Department For Transport said the recession had resulted in a drop in the number of Hackney carriages and private hire licences since 2011.

In the West Midlands the overall number of licences of all types dropped from 15,866 to 15,076.

In Staffordshire the drop was from 2,693 to 2,461 with Stafford losing 170 of the 415 taxi drivers that were registered in 2011. Wyre Forest saw a drop from 225 to 200.

Walsall and Sandwell both bucked the trend with increases while in Dudley the overall drop was only six.

The recession resulted in a slight drop in the number of black cab licences in Wolverhampton, from 220 down to 212, even though drivers have been complaining that there are too many.

Parminder Sekhon, chairman of the Wolverhampton Taxi Owners Association, said: “It’s got to the point where drivers cannot make a living by doing just one job.

“We’ve had cases of people paying fees to private hire companies to work for them as well.

“In Wolverhampton the council is going to start letting people register older vehicles which will mean even more people can get licences.

“We also have to deal with drivers registered in other areas, where the licences are cheaper, coming into Wolverhampton to get trade.”

In its official report the DfT said: “This is the first reduction in overall licensed vehicle numbers since comparable statistics were first collected in 2005 and growth in vehicles has slowed considerably since the start of the economic downturn.

“The recent levelling off is similar to that seen in the early 1990s, another period of economic downturn.”

The figures show that the number of taxi licences in Cannock Chase fell from 327 to 305 over the past two years.

In Lichfield the drop was from 171 down to 160.

South Staffordshire had 300 licences in 2011 but currently has 246.

Dudley fell from 1,222 to 1,216.

There were increases in Walsall from 1,388 in 2011 to 1,445 in 2013.

And in Sandwell the figure also rose from 1,443 to 1,508. However, there was a drop across the West Midlands as a whole.

source: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013 ... s-by-1000/

Author:  toots [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 5:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

I read somewhere (don't know where) that we have less drivers now.

Author:  Sussex [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

toots wrote:
I read somewhere (don't know where) that we have less drivers now.

About a 1% drop nationally since 2011.

A very interesting stat which goes against the 'the unemployed or redundant will go taxi/PH during a recession' theory.

Author:  blackpool [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

Sussex wrote:
toots wrote:
I read somewhere (don't know where) that we have less drivers now.

About a 1% drop nationally since 2011.

A very interesting stat which goes against the 'the unemployed or redundant will go taxi/PH during a recession' theory.

Maybe they tried it and found the reality of wages wasnt what they thought !

Author:  Sussex [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

blackpool wrote:
Maybe they tried it and found the reality of wages wasnt what they thought !

Quite possibly, and hopefully they will spread the word.

But that's not normally what happen, in the past the trade has been flooded by new entrants.

Author:  yellowcars [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

very interesting I was expecting it to increase due to the fact of the recession.

Author:  edders23 [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

Are we sure that it isn't just down to cross border issues with drivers shopping around for the cheapest plates and there are 1000 more in shropshire perhaps :-$

Author:  Sussex [ Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

edders23 wrote:
Are we sure that it isn't just down to cross border issues with drivers shopping around for the cheapest plates and there are 1000 more in shropshire perhaps :-$

No.

The 1% is a national number.

Author:  edders23 [ Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

perhaps not so surprising if drivers in many parts of the country are working 24 hour shifts or up in the mill towns earning just £60 a week

Jusdt out of interest as London "mimicabs" don't have plates are they included in these figures ?

Author:  Sussex [ Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fall in licensed vehicles

edders23 wrote:
Jusdt out of interest as London "mimicabs" don't have plates are they included in these figures ?

They might not have plates, but they have those lovely discs.

And yes they were included, despite 40% of drivers leaving every three years. :shock:

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