'It's like forcing every shop in town to paint their frontage the same colour'
Taxi drivers' anger at plans to force cabs to stick to strict colour scheme
Barrow hackney taxis will be brought in line with Carlisle where the vehicles are white. Taxi driver Wayne Casey from Carlisle
PLANS to limit the colour of cars which can be used as taxis in Barrow can drive will "force cabbies out of work", drivers have said.
Barrow Borough Council's licensing department has launched a consultation to adopt a new regulatory policy which will apply to all 365 licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers.
The new policy includes imposing restrictions on the colour of vehicles allowed as hackney taxis and banning any vehicle which is older than seven years for all drivers.
The proposed changes state the exterior colour of all 157 hackney carriages must be white, except for the London type black cab; which can be either white or black. Private hire vehicles must be any colour, other than white.
It’s like forcing every shop in town to paint the frontage the exact same colour BOB MULLEN
All drivers are self-employed, which means any expenses incurred have to come from their own pockets.
Bob Mullen, from the Furness Taxi Trade Association, said the stress and cost would add to the "already unhealthy lifestyle that we are forced to lead".
Mr Mullen, a taxi driver of 14 years, said more than 150 hackney cars would be forced to adhere to the "white-only" rule.
"The reason given is to distinguish between hackney and private hire vehicles but, as has been pointed out by the trade time and time again at trade liaison meetings, all that needs to be done is to remove roof signs from private hire vehicles, then if the vehicle has a roof sign it’s a licensed hackney taxi," he said.
Furness Taxi Trade Association members
"It’s like forcing every shop in town to paint the frontage the exact same colour.
"Nearly every wheelchair-accessible vehicle in the area is private hire and white, which would not be allowed under the proposed rules.
"Evidence can show that any other colour except white is very difficult to source and that these vehicles are very expensive, therefore these proposals would lead to either a vast price increase or a scarcity of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. This is disability discrimination at its worst."
Responding to Mr Mullen's concerns, Cumbria county councillor Sol Wielkopolski said the Conservatives would "scrap this insanely petty rule" if his party was in power on Barrow Borough Council.
The chair of Barrow Conservatives said: "If Furness Conservatives are elected in Barrow, we'd scrap this insanely petty rule and listen to taxi drivers."
The restriction on the age of a vehicle is being brought in to drive up standards. Around a third of current taxis in Barrow are believed to be older than seven years.
Mr Mullen said: "The age restriction would lead to a vast increase in expense both for the owner driver and the operators who rent out vehicles to drivers.
"We have already noticed a scarcity of new faces entering the trade and any of the operators will confirm that they are struggling to recruit new drivers."
Barrow Borough Council's licensing committee is expected to decide whether or not to adopt or amend the new policy in December or January.
The proposed changes are the latest in a series of new restrictions and regulations being imposed on Barrow's taxi drivers.
Applicants for licences now need to undergo a test and existing drivers would need to take the exam when their licence is up for renewal. Failure to reach the pass mark would result in their licence being revoked.
Taxi drivers will have three attempts to take the test – if they fail the third test, they will be banned from resitting it for six months.
Last Christmas a number of drivers were pulled up for decorating their cars with festive signs and ornaments.
source: http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/barrow/It ... 5937435-ds
