Taxi Driver Online

Crackdown on taxis in Worcester set to be watered down after cabbies' court threat



A CRACKDOWN on the age of taxis in Worcester is being watered down - with cabbies shelving threats of a bitter High Court legal battle.

Your Worcester News can reveal how the city council is on the verge of scrapping a policy launched just over one year ago aimed at improving standards following a driver outcry.

In November last year licensing bosses decreed that once a cabbie's vehicle is deemed to be in need of replacement, they must buy a brand new model straight off the production line.

After months of wrangling, with cabbies complaining that new taxis cost up to £40,000, the council has now suggested changing it to "under three years old".

The city's licensing committee is meeting on Wednesday night to vote on relaxing its rules.

In the past, once a car reached about 12 years of age, taxi owners were allowed to replace them with vehicles aged up to three, meaning the committee is being asked to effectively perform a u-turn and go back to historic guidelines.

It comes despite concern in recent years about the poor standard of taxis in Worcester, with many failing safety checks during on-the-spot council investigations.

But Worcester Taxi Drivers Association says the current ruling could put cabbies out of business unless it gets changed.

It has scrapped a legal challenge, subject to the licensing committee backing the alteration.

Lesley Borthwick, from the association, said: "We are hoping they will back us - it wasn't the right decision in the first place, they only did it because at the time they couldn't stop new taxis coming in and saw it as a stop gap.

"Even starting to take the legal action has cost us a fair bit, I can't say how much but it's thousands.

"Things are all about cost in this day and age, if it goes to three years we will be happy with that verdict."

The price difference between a brand new taxi and one just under three years old is believed to be around £10,000.

Councillor Roger Knight, who sits on the committee, said: "I've got mixed views - if you were starting from scratch you'd focus on creating a common identity, a corporate focus for the fleet so they were all the same colour.

"But where we are today, it's very difficult to do anything other than what's being suggested."

Back in February the council set a 'cap' on the number of hackney carriages in Worcester at 230.

The current tally is 264, unchanged since last winter, meaning no more are allowed in until at least 35 have quit.

source: http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/116 ... rt_threat/

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