Taxi trade 'down by 40 percent' as city council dishes out hundreds of penalty points to drivers
https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/not ... nt-1962189
Council has suspended drivers for bad behaviour with one driver losing his licence this year
Taxis in Nottingham city centre (Image: Nottingham Post)
Taxi drivers have racked up nearly 700 penalty points since a controversial scheme was launched by Nottingham City Council to cut bad behaviour from the trade.
But drivers say officials need to be lenient and allow them more time when dropping people off.
Parking in bus stops, on double yellow lines, and switching off the meter can see taxis issued with penalty points.
Drivers can receive up to 12 points over a three-year rolling period before their licence will be reviewed.
But if they exceed 12 points, action is taken and their licence can be suspended.
The Driver Improvement Penalty Points Scheme (DIPPS) was introduced by the city council on April 1, 2017.
The aim of the scheme was to improve overall driver behaviour, customer service and passenger safety.
Points are handed out by the council's community protection officers (CPOs).
Between April and December in 2017, a total of 301 DIPPS notices were issued, which saw two drivers interviewed. No action was taken in one case and a written warning was issued in the second.
But this number has risen this year as between January and August 2018 where 392 DIPPS notices have been issued and 19 drivers interviewed.
The following actions were taken; two received no further action, 11 received written warnings, four received two week suspensions, one received a four week suspension and one saw their licence revoked.
Chander Sood, 59, acting chair of Unite, which represents more than 100 Hackney taxi drivers, said that drivers had become "easy targets" and there is "less space to park" in the ranks.
He said: "In the city centre we have a 411 fleet and in the daytime there is 60 to 62 spaces - so how can you justify that?"
However, the city council said there is more than 90 Hackney ranks in the city.
He also believes trade has dramatically dropped from drivers making £250 to £300 a week to now earning between £100 and £140.
He blames private hire drivers who are snatching trade by illegally 'plying for hire' on the city streets at night.
Private hire vehicles can only pick up passengers when they have been pre-booked. They cannot be hailed down in the street in the same way as a Hackney cab.
This is called plying for hire and is illegal as the customer is not insured if an accident occurs and the driver is in breach of his or her licence.
This year, 14 Nottingham City Council-licensed drivers have had their licences reviewed for illegally plying for hire, using information gathered from police-led operations and evidence from CCTV.
Five drivers who received their licence from Gedling Borough Council have also been reported for illegally plying for hire as well as one Rushcliffe Borough Council-licenced driver.
Mr Sood added: "The night work is dying out so more hackney drivers are coming out in the morning. There are two reasons for this - plying for hire which is carried out by the private hires is not under control and people are not coming out into the city so much."
Javeed Akthar, senior manager for Nottingham Cars, which represents 400 private hire drivers, said: "The penalty point system is a good idea and it does keep drivers on their toes.
"But some of them are being targeted too harshly and CPOs are not giving them enough time to drop off. If you have got an elderly passenger who wants to be dropped off on Parliament Street and has luggage in the boot, what does the driver do?
"He has to park somewhere and he needs some time. They need to be lenient. It is affecting trade because drivers can be potentially suspended after 12 points."
A taxi driver being stopped by a community protection officer on Friday night (Image: Nottingham Post)
A Nottingham City Council spokesman said: "The Driver Improvement Penalty Points Scheme (DIPPS) was introduced on April 1, 2017 with the aim of improving overall driver compliance with legislation and licence conditions in order to secure improvements in driver behaviour, customer service and passenger safety.
"A DIPPS notice can be issued by an authorised officer to a driver licensed by Nottingham City Council for breaching any of the predetermined standards.
If the driver receives 12 points within a three-year period, they are subject to a review of their licence by the reviewing officer and a decision will be made whether or not to take formal action based on the individual circumstances of each case.
"This may include: take no action, written warning, refuse to renew licence, suspend licence or revoke licence.
"The 'Mytaxi app' was introduced in Nottingham to help Hackney drivers reduce the amount of time they were parked on ranks waiting for fares – many have reported this to be the case since. There are more than 90 Hackney ranks in the city."
