Taxi Driver Online

Looks like the cap has been lifted, but it's only right at the end when that is specifically stated.

Reads like the article was written mainly about the protest and before the meeting, and the stuff at the end about the meeting was added once the result was known.

But it's quite a tough spec for new plates, so can't really see the streets being flooded in the way that's portrayed.

But they should have kept the cap off when it was lifted 20(?) years ago, rather than reimposing it and now lifting it again


Taxi drivers in Cardiff say plans to allow more will 'destroy' livelihood

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... s-27752179

Cardiff taxi drivers staged a protest against plans to lift the cap on taxis in the city


Image: John Myers/Wales Online

Taxi drivers from across Cardiff have staged a protest against plans to lift the cap on the number of Hackney carriage licences in the city. Protestors gathered outside County Hall on Wednesday September 20 while Cardiff Council met inside to discuss the plans that the protesters claimed will "destroy" their livelihood.

Cardiff Council said it has received complaints from the public in Cardiff about the number of taxis available as well as their quality. With the current moratorium on issuing new taxi licences there are 946 hackney carriage licences in Cardiff but only 707 of those are being actively used as taxis. The removal of the cap will only pertain to vehicles that are fully electric or, in the case of wheelchair accessible vehicles, that are under five years old and meet the Euro 6 emission standard.

But some drivers in the city believe that the lift of the cap will put even more pressure on an already struggling trade. Tariq Majid has been a taxi driver in Cardiff for six years and he says it's been a struggle. "The trade is already suffering in many different ways. We are up against it everyday in this job now," he said. "If they open up the cap and allow another 200-300 hackney cabs in Cardiff, this business is finished for the people who are already working in it."


Image: John Myers/Wales Online

With the council having no control on the number of private hire taxis such as Uber, Tariq says it is an "ongoing battle" to get work. Over recent years the taxi service has been effected by a number of different factors including Covid-19, fuel prices, the cost of living and now even the new 20mph speed limit. "These are all things that when you put them together are making this job very difficult as it is. What we can't understand is rather than supporting the drivers that are already in the trade, they want to introduce more."


Image: John Myers/Wales Online

Tanveer Nawaz has been working for the taxi service for 32 years. He says the service is the "worst" he's ever seen it at the moment. "There are not enough ranks in the city, and we can't park on the street. We don't want any more black and white Hackney cabs because at the moment we are suffering a lot. There has also been a lot of problems because of the narrowing of the roads and push bike lanes and traffic problems around the city."

To protest against the council's plans, taxi drivers working in Cardiff joined with chants of "keep the cap." Many held placards reading "save our jobs" and held Unite Union flags. Over 50 black and white taxis drove a procession around the car park of County Hall while beeping their horns in protest.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: "Cardiff is the only local authority in Wales to still have a cap on the number of black and white Hackney carriage licences issued. The removal of the cap is in line with guidance from both the Department for Transport and the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)."

“A six-week public consultation took place at the end of January on whether to remove the moratorium for Hackney carriage licenses. The results of this consultation have been reported back to Cardiff Council’s Public Protection Committee and they have decided that the moratorium should be removed this morning."


Image: John Myers/Wales Online

Does that mean EV saloons will be allowed on, considering that Cardiff has a mixed saloon and WAV fleet at present?

That would certainly be more of a game changer than WAV EVs...


...either way, can't really see numbers of that magnitude taking up the chance of a new HC plate in Cardiff

200 to 300 he should change career and become a comedian !

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

So in practice there was no restriction on anyone wanting an HC plate, but now there kind of is a financial restriction.

Does beg the question as to why the drivers were moaning.

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IDFIMH

I'd agree, but not sure precisely what the numbers portray.

It might be that plates have been handed back in but not reissued, in which case lifting the cap would have an impact, albeit that it wouldn't have the impact claimed.

Or maybe it's some kind of survey which classed cabs which weren't observed during the survey as inactive, somehow. Which of course might not show the true picture.

But I suspect it doesn't actually mean that if EV HCs and Euro6 WAVs are granted a licence then there would be zero impact. There would be some impact, but not to the extent portrayed by the trade.

So no change there, then, as regards how these things are generally portrayed by trade vested interests