Taxi Driver Online

‘The taxis and private hire industry in Eastbourne are in a significant crisis’, says local taxi representative



Concerns have been raised about the taxi industry in Eastbourne as drivers are required to install CCTV in their car costing £500.

Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell said she is urging the borough council to meet with drivers over fears many will quit over the costs.

She said there are already not enough drivers to meet demand, especially late at night.

Mrs Ansell added: “I would very much like to map out a way forward and establish the scale and scope of the issue and work with drivers and members of the public to get a full picture of the impact low driver numbers are having and I hope the council will be part of it.

“Another area is understanding the rollout of CCTV to find a proper evidence base and impact assessment of this decision.”

A representative from the Eastbourne Taxi Operators Jeff Defalco said: “The taxis and private hire industry in Eastbourne are in a significant crisis, something many residents will testify to when trying to receive timely service. Post-pandemic numbers have fallen steadily, and financial burdens placed upon drivers by changes introduced by the Eastbourne Licensing Department have only exacerbated this decline.”

Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) said an increasing number of councils are bringing in mandatory CCTV for taxis in response to guidance from the Department for Transport.

A spokesperson added: “CCTV provides greater safety and security for anyone using a taxi, not just for women and vulnerable passengers, but also for taxi drivers.

“In Eastbourne, the council gave taxi drivers two years to prepare for this change, with the October 31 deadline still some months away. The decision by the council’s licensing committee was cross-party, fully supported by Sussex Police and followed consultation with the local taxi trade.

“It is the view of EBC and the Department of Transport that CCTV provides a safer environment for passengers and drivers by deterring and preventing crime, reducing the fear of crime and assisting the police in investigating incidents of crime.

“The Department of Transport has also reported that where CCTV has already been introduced, the experience has been ‘positive for both passengers and drivers’.

“Finally, it is worth noting that many taxi firms in the UK fully support the use of CCTV and have proactively installed it in their vehicles.”

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IDFIMH

There are over 22,000 topics in TDO's news section, going back 23 years.

And this one is the one that leaves me the most speechless.

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IDFIMH

seems perfectly straightforward to me he's trying to convince the council to offer a sweetener

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

They're so busy earning a fortune that they don't have time to stop for a couple of hours to have the camera fitted

All seems a bit over the top, though. Ditto how they felt the need to pixellate the door plate and whole rear end of the car in the photo, which is more obvious in the high-res version

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/ ... uality=100

You would have thought the trade rep would have contacted the B&H trade to see how successful they were in adopting mandatory CCTV.

The rep could have asked how the trade went about it at the time, and asked why B&H council adopted that policy.

It wouldn’t have been too much of a task, as all the trade rep needed to do was look in the f***ing mirror.

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IDFIMH

'44 per cent of people in Eastbourne have waited more than an hour for a taxi' says MP's survey

Eastbourne and Willingdon MP Caroline Ansell says a survey about taxi use in the town has revealed that 44 per cent of those who replied said they had waited more than an hour for a cab.

She commissioned the online survey to gauge residents’ experiences of taxi use following concerns from drivers that regulations are making drivers leave the trade.

The MP is hoping to bring the council’s licensing department and taxi drivers together to try and ensure more taxis are on the roads.

Without more taxis, the MP fears tourism will be hit, hospital appointments missed and women late at night will be vulnerable.

So far, 139 people have responded to the survey. Of these, 61 (44 per cent) said they had waited more than one hour.

Around 20 per cent said a taxi was their primary form of transport and 53 per cent said they get a taxi at least once a week.

Mrs Ansell said: “The survey is giving me a clear picture that there are simply not enough taxis in our town even for residents, let alone for visitors.

“This backs up what Jeff Defalco (Representative from the Eastbourne Taxi Operators) has told me about the shortage and how drivers are leaving the trade because of the hike in costs and requirements. One example is CCTV at a cost of £500 which has been made mandatory.

“As I have said before, we need to ensure we retain current drivers and recruit new drivers as an important part of public transport provision and support our visitor economy.”

The survey closes on Monday, June 12 and to participate visit carolineansell.co.uk/news/taxi-survey

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IDFIMH

Don't know about the survey. Seems reasonable enough, but participants are likely to be self-selecting, and thus unrepresentative of taxi users more generally, so not a scientific poll - those taking part more likely to be the ones having trouble getting a car.

It's a bit like people only posting on the Argos or Amazon sites when they have a problem with their TV, dashcam, washing machine or whatever - they're less likely to post if they're happy with their goods

Anyway, anyone who was curious as to what the plate number on the PHV that the press saw fit to blur out should look at this photo here:

https://www.carolineansell.co.uk/sites/ ... k=mImHB7eq

And this is the original of the photo in which the press pixellated the plate and rear end of the car. Still can't work out why the pixellated the rear end - I mean...

https://www.carolineansell.co.uk/sites/ ... k=mImHB7eq

And that goes to the heart of what I mean - the headline says one thing, but the paragraph adds the two highlighted words which demonstrate that the headline is misleading.

And, I mean, the headline says 44 per cent of the 'people of Eastbourne', not just taxi users, and not just those who replied to the survey

And, anyway, doubt if drivers will be leaving in their droves because of a £500 CCTV system. Indeed, may encourage a few more drivers to work nights...

Not much to see here, except for the comments at the end about what's happening in Lewes

For anyone not up to speed, as I recall it Uber drivers were badging in Lewes to work in Brighton because it was more difficult to get a badge and plate in the latter. So Lewes tightened up their spec to deter that, including imposing compulsory CCTV like in Brighton and Hove

But the Eastbourne rep's brief comments suggest that Lewes might be reconsidering, and may water things back down

Anyway, I'm sure Sussex will have the full SP...


Eastbourne MP urges launch of new consultation to taxi trade in town

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... wn-4190526

Eastbourne and Willingdon MP Caroline Ansell and the representative from the Eastbourne Taxi Operators have urged for the launch of a new consultation on the trade in the town.

A survey by the MP has found that nearly half of Eastbourne residents who responded are waiting more than an hour for a taxi due to driver shortages.

The Eastbourne and Willingdon MP commissioned the online survey to gauge residents’ experiences of taxi use following concerns from drivers that regulations are making drivers leave the trade.

The MP is also hoping to bring the council’s licensing department and taxi drivers together to try and ensure more taxis are on the roads.

This has led to Mrs Ansell and the representative from the Eastbourne Taxi Operators, Jeff Defalco, to call for the launch of a new public consultation to help keep drivers in the trade.

Mrs Ansell said: “I want to urge the borough council to recognise the loss of taxi drivers is a huge blow to residents and visitors alike and it is potentially putting people in danger late at night.

"There are many issues at play and I have asked the council to sit down with me and Jeff as the taxi representatives before the next licensing committee meeting.

“But it is crucial a new consultation is launched so that everyone can have their say on what is a good way forward that keeps people safe in the cars and allows them to be safe by actually being able to call a cab when they need one late at night or to go to a hospital appointment.

“The consultation can also address another key ask: to better understand the roll out of CCTV to find a proper evidence base and impact assessment of this decision, especially when other local councils are not implementing it.”

Jeff Defalco added: “Lewes Council has announced that the mandatory CCTV licence condition is returning to full public consultation, along with much-needed changes to testing to enable the trade to attract drivers and bring Lewes in line with other progressive authorities around the country.

“We, the Eastbourne taxi/private hire operators, would kindly request the same be afforded to Eastbourne by the council.

A few things getting mixed up here, by someone who has learnt how to play the game from someone else in the past.

It would appear Eastbourne is suffering from a lack of drivers, or more to the point the operators appear to be suffering from a lack of vehicles/weekly radio rents.

Not unique to Eastbourne methinks.

Lewes are having a look at their rules and regulations, which was what the committee asked officials to do when the new rules were put in place.

Are there proposals to dilute Lewes' entry criteria? Not really. What is being proposed is to drop the English comprehension tests from the PH entry criteria. Not something that makes any sense to me, but it's not exactly the end of the world IMO.

As for the mandatory CCTV requirements, well that's not really changing. The council's existing requirements state that CCTV must not have audio. This has caused a bit of a kerfuffle with the near 100 vehicles that undertake contract work with councils, including B&H, that require audio in their terms and conditions.

Lewes has contacted the Data Commissioner who rolls out the same old speech saying that audio is only acceptable if there are good reasons for it. But doesn't give any advice as to what would be an acceptable reason.

IMO the transport of special needs kids is a very good reason.

So the article quoted above is a great example of spin, IMO it would have been better to lobby the council to review their terms and conditions, not moan that Lewes is doing it too often.

For the record both Lewes and Eastbourne share the same licensing staff.

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IDFIMH

Which confirms your suggestion that the Eastbourne trade rep is spinning a line.

Either that or he's misinformed, or totally clueless

But thanks for the insight, Sussex. Interesting.