Taxi Driver Online

Aberdeen taxi drivers could be hit for over £20,000 due to wheelchair demands


The worried wife of an Aberdeen taxi driver has warned cabbies could be unable to keep working if controversial plans to make all vehicles wheelchair-accessible are adopted.

Aberdeen City Council wants all hackney drivers to make their vehicles wheelchair accessible by next year.

Union Unite has argued there is already enough provision, while others have argued that not everyone with a disability uses a wheelchair so the policy could discriminate against those with other mobility issues.

And last night Maureen Smith said the new rules could cost her husband Stuart more than £20,000 to switch from his saloon vehicle to a new wheelchair accessible type.

Mr Smith, 63, is saving for retirement after 35 years behind the wheel but could be forced to work for many more years according to his wife.

She said: “The cost of a second hand wheelchair accessible car can be as much as £22,000.

“If every taxi has to be wheelchair accessible then why not every toilet? Where does it all end?

“Everyone is suffering now with the oil crash so I don’t know why they would do this when it could put lots of people out of work.”

Taxi driver union Unite has claimed there is already sufficient wheelchair provision in the Granite City, with more than 500 vehicles equipped for wheelchair users.

After a stormy debate at the last meeting of the licensing committee, SNP councillor Michael Hutchison pushed for a motion to investigate the operations of the Dundee trade which operates with a “mixed fleet”.

The future of taxi provision will be decided by all councillors at a meeting of the full council on May 11.

Mr Hutchison said: “In my view we need a mixed fleet because we have a mixed population.

“I think anyone with concerns about this should get in touch with their councillors and let them know before the vote.”

But licensing convener Scott Carle said that the authority could be left open to legal action if they do not implement the national policy.

He said: “We have to follow the advice given to us by our legal options.

“We’ve been told that by not implementing the policy we could be in breach of our equality duties.”

source: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... -continue/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

And if they have a total wheelchair accessible fleet they are discriminating against those disabled persons who cannot access a WAV.
Councils must be seen not to be discriminating against anyone which they clearly will be if adopting the suggested policy.

Disabled persons bodies want a mixed fleet of vehicles licensed as TAXIS.

The Government are looking at implementing an all WAV policy for England and Wales by the end of the year. It is part of the DDA act that has not yet been implemented.

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Grandad,

Sledgehammers to crack nuts...fechin madness.

The cost of a second hand saloon can be £100,000 +. Your point is?

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IDFIMH

do my heed in these fookers !!! i hate them now (never used too)

Grandad if you read up on this 100% wav idea you will find that it is not cast in stone and an L/A would on application be allowed to refrain from implementing it.

(Answers Please)- Is it fair to allow just some operators to place on service expensive WAVs and some operators cheaper saloons cars as taxis Is this argument really about to much WAV provision or is it people trying to protect there Financial Interest-(cheap salon cars)in Dundee just like Aberdeen we have a variety of WAVs in Service with some WAV taxis very saloon type (Peugeot Premier-Ford journey-volkswagen kudos)to name but a few these taxis are as low as some saloon cars but have the benefit of taking a person in a wheelchair So what is the real argument?as the worried wife says these WAV taxis are expensive but in this modern age taxis should all be able to carry wheelchair passengers just like buses and trains.

Aberdeen city council said-

1)a mixed fleet could lead to a “two-tier” system which would be unlawful.
2The concern is that such an arrangement would create perceived unfairness and resentment between those drivers who have to purchase an accessible vehicle and those who can operate a saloon.”
3)The authority’s position is also supported by the Wheelchair Action Group, made up of taxi drivers in favour of a 100% wheelchair accessible policy.

In my view no.

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IDFIMH

Aberdeen council haven't got a clue - like most of them.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

D-day set for Aberdeen wheelchair taxi decision

A protracted battle over whether all Aberdeen taxis should be made wheelchair-accessible will come to a head next week.

Councillors will meet on Wednesday, May 11 to decide on the policy, which was first agreed by members in 1994.

However, no fixed date was ever set for implementation and the city has continued to operate with a “mixed fleet”.

Yet, following a meeting in 2012, councillors voted for a deadline of 2017 to be set to resolve the issue.

The trade union UNITE and concerned cabbies have opposed the plans, fearing their members may be forced to shell out tens of thousands of pounds on specially-fitted cars.

The union has claimed there is already sufficient provision in the Granite City, with more than 500 vehicles equipped for wheelchair users.

But council chiefs have warned they would not be meeting their “equality commitments” if they did not implement the national policy and could face court action.

A report to councillors reads: “The aim of the policy is to ensure there is proper provision of taxis and private hire cars to enable persons with a range of disabilities to access these services, whether on the street, at a taxi rank or by pre-booking.

“The aim of the policy is to eliminate discrimination and remove or minimise disadvantage experienced by persons with disabilities in accessing taxi services.

“It contributes to the public sector equality duty by promoting equality of access to taxi and private hire car services for persons with and without protected characteristics.”

It’s projected that no money would be saved by implementing the policy.

A motion by SNP councillor Michael Hutchison at the last meeting of the licensing committee was approved, moving the debate to Wednesday’s full council meeting.

He also called for a study into the way the Dundee taxi trade operates to see if any lessons can be learned in the Granite City.

Last night, he said: “It’s an important decision that will affect many people across the city, so it’s only right that every councillor gets their say.

“I would urge anyone with a view to contact their councillor and let it be known.”

source: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... -decision/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Aberdeen taxi drivers breath sigh of relief after wheelchair decision delay


Aberdeen taxi drivers were breathing a sigh of relief last night after councillors voted to delay a decision on whether all street cabs need to become wheelchair accessible.

Individual drivers and union representatives made impassioned speeches before the Town House debate urging members to reject the proposal, which was first agreed by members in 1994.

The city has operated with a mixed fleet although the number of disabled cars is thought to have increased fivefold in that time.

Dundee also operates a mixed fleet system while Edinburgh and Glasgow have traditionally used black cabs, which are wheelchair-accessible.

Yesterday councillors met to debate whether all taxis, except private hires, would have to be accessible amid backlash from drivers and unions.

They feared their members may have to shell out tens of thousands on new cars.

Christopher Davidson, a driver in the city, argued that some disabled people found it harder to access the supposedly accessible cars.

He said: “If this proposal goes through I estimate that lots of our drivers on the ranks would go private hire.

“(Currently) 52% of our fleet deals with the 2% of wheelchair users in our city.

“I can’t understand why the council is asking for this.”

He added he had collected nearly 200 complaints from other drivers.

But it looked likely members would back the controversial proposal after legal officers informed them that the Dundee trade is “highly contentious” legally and could be challenged in court.

Finance convener Willie Young raised the spectre of a possible upcoming change in the 2010 Equality Act that would make it illegal not to have an accessible taxi.

Members unanimously voted to extend the deadline for upgrading the taxis while they sought answers about the new law from the UK Government.

source: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... ther-info/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

The 2010 act will not apply in Scotland, unless its adopted by the Scottish parlament

Great Britain = England, Wales and Scotland. This is where the Equality Act 2010 applies.