‘New rules for Dundee taxis are ludicrous’Dundee taxi drivers have hit out at “dog’s dinner” health and safety rules that ban everyday items from being stored inside cabs.
Passengers must store everything from walking sticks to groceries in the boots of taxis, whereas before they had been able to keep all their belongings with them.
The requirement is part of new regulations that city drivers are being trained up in. Willie Lees, secretary of the GMB Dundee WAV (wheelchair-accessible vehicles) Taxi Branch, said: “It’s just a complete dog’s dinner.
“If you are infirm and you need a walking stick, how are you supposed to get out the car if yours is not with you? We aren’t allowed to help them out because we’re not allowed to touch them.”
Willie says there are more than 20 different types of taxi cab in Dundee, all with different layouts, meaning an across-the-board rule regarding the storage of passenger goods isn’t always practical.
He says that in wheelchair-accessible taxi cabs there is often no boot or a boot not big enough to store shopping bags.
There are also changes to the way that children are looked after in taxis.
Willie said: “There are something like 22 different types of taxi cab in Dundee, so there’s a lot of contradiction in what they are teaching drivers. The drivers are responsible for children under the age of 14. Whether the purpose-built taxis are included in this, I don’t know. Nobody knows exactly what’s going on here.”
Union chiefs also claim only a small proportion of drivers in Dundee have undertaken the course to learn the new guidelines and, while new drivers will be required to take it, the course isn’t mandatory for current drivers.
Another city taxi driver, who did not want to be named, said: “Cans of soup and tins of beans, they’re basically saying you’re not allowed to have them in a taxi.
“It’s a situation where before you get your own taxi you have to sit this test and pass it. It’s ludicrous.”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: “The licensing committee were aware the GMB had raised issues about the wheelchair section of the training.
“That is why the committee held an investigation into that part of the course and were satisfied it represented an appropriate level of training.
“The course has to be completed by taxi drivers to allow them to renew their licence in May 2017.
“Any concerns can be raised by the taxi trade through the taxi liaison group.”
http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... s-1.566580
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