'Slaughter' in Belfast yesterday, 'apocalypse' in Glasgow today
Glasgow facing 'massive' taxi and private hire driver shortage
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... e-21344084
Glaswegians enjoying the reopening of the night-time economy are facing waits of over an hour for taxi and private hires due to a lack of drivers on the road after the pandemic.
Glasgow is facing a 'massive shortage' of taxi and private hire drivers in what has been called the 'taxi apocalypse'.
The reopening of the night-time economy has brought the issue to a head with revellers left queuing at taxi ranks for up to an hour after pubs and nightclubs close.
Those booking through private hire apps are also facing lengthy waits and increased fares due to a lack of drivers on the road.
The situation has been described as a 'powder keg' with trade increasing but only a few hundred drivers reportedly working night shift over the weekend.
As well as some drivers deciding only to work during the day, many were forced to leave the industry due to the amount of money they lost during the pandemic and can't afford to come back.
Eddie Grice, the Glasgow Chair of the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU), has said that the industry is 'on its knees'.
He explained: "The primary thing is that during the pandemic, the level of support just wasn’t there for drivers. It’s forced a lot of drivers to leave the trade and in some cases, they’ve just gone bust. They tried to weather the storm and but it wasn't sustainable and they just went bankrupt. That applies to taxi drivers and private hire - all the effects hurt both sides equally.
"We’re now at the point where there is a massive driver shortage but trade is starting to increase and demand is coming back because restrictions are gone. People are out and about more but the damage is already done. There are not enough drivers to cope with the demand.
"One of the other things is as a result of the pandemic, people’s habits have changed and a massive number of late shift drivers don’t want to go back out at nighttime. They’ve realised they can just go out in the daytime without the stress and the hassle.
He added: "Now the nightclubs are back on there will be more anti-social behaviour with the frustration of having to wait for a driver adding to the tensions.
"From a driver's perspective, you log on, you don’t get a break, then every time you show up people are in a sour mood, in some cases, they can be abusive. The industry is around 85% Black, Asian, and minority ethnic so there’s a lot of racial abuse happening as well. It's really difficult.
"The knock-on effect of that is drivers who work the night shift are trying to avoid working past 3am. We’re trying to make our money with the least amount of hassle and stress and with the least amount of risks both from a violence point of view and a covid point of view."
Both Glasgow Taxis and Uber have launched recruitment drives to plug the holes in staff left from the pandemic. Uber is looking to recruit around 20,000 drivers across the UK.
However, the time between hiring a driver and getting them on the road is said to be over a year with various qualifications and exams to gain first.
From next year, taxi and private hire car drivers will be required to complete their Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) before they can renew their license.
For those who have already enjoyed the return of late-night hospitality, the lack of taxi and private hires has been extremely evident with some taking to social media to vent their frustrations.
One tweet saying "the glesga taxi apocalypse 2021 is real" has attracted more than 4,200 likes with hundreds of people replying with their frustrations.
Eddie continues: "Our union warned about this. We were constantly campaigning, we had meetings with the Scottish Government. The warnings were there from the reports coming in saying it's going to be a disaster and that’s exactly what’s happened. You’ve got a massive shortage of drivers there’s still no accountability around it."
Dougie McPherson, Glasgow Taxis chairman, said: "Following the recent relaxing of restrictions, which has led to thousands of Glaswegians making a welcome return to our night-time economy, we are currently experiencing a positive upsurge in business tempered by a lack of operators and drivers to cover the business. We are working with our members to mitigate this and make sure we can provide as many drivers as possible to serve the city at peak times.
"One flip side of this is that we currently have a recruitment opportunity - namely, the capacity to welcome a significant number of new drivers to the trade. This may appeal to anyone out of work or seeking a new challenge, within which they can enjoy flexible hours, good earnings and potentially be their own boss."
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “We have not identified any decline in the number of licences currently in place for drivers of taxis and private hire cars, although we are aware of the concerns being expressed by the taxi trade.
“The number of registered taxis and private hire cars remains above the thresholds where we consider there to be an unmet demand for licensed hire vehicles.
“Licensing legislation allows for up to 12 months to process an application for a licensed driver, but if an application attracts no objection from the police it can be processed much more quickly.
“Taxi marshalls were in place at all of the city centre nite zones in anticipation of nightclubs reopening and no issues were reported back from the frontline.
“But we do liaise regularly with the taxi and private hire trade and can discuss directly with them any concerns they may have.”
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