Taxi Driver Online

Well one bit of the article did bring a smile.

Crawley Borough Council takes legal advice over Uber’s use of Gatwick Airport

Crawley Borough Council is taking legal advice over Uber’s use of Gatwick Airport to pick up business.

Gatwick taxi drivers gathered outside the town hall on Wednesday evening (December 11) to demand that more be done to enforce the borough’s licensing laws.

The drivers can only operate within the borough – which includes the airport – once they are licensed by the council.

But they have reported that Uber cars registered in London were taking around half of the fares and ‘destroying the livlihoods’ of local drivers.

Don Barnes, who works for Airport Cars and serves as the Unite branch secretary, told the meeting that the problem had first been reported in 2020, with a complaint being lodged with the licensing team in March this year.

Yasmin Khan, cabinet member for public protection, said officers had been asked to carry out an investigation in June.

She added: “I’ve received confirmation that the investigation has progressed. The officers have explored all avenues and they have reviewed the relevant evidence.

“Officers are now in the process of seeking legal advice which will determine the next steps.”

While she said updates had been shared with Unite, Mr Barnes said this had not happened.

The drivers conducted themselves well during the meeting – even though their mood may not have been helped by one councillor showing up to the town hall in an Uber.

One Langley Green driver described the situation at the airport as ‘the wild west’, accused Uber drivers of ‘stealing’ customers and questioned the levels of health and safety being observed.

Cllr Khan said she would raise the matter with officers and come back to them.

To applause from his colleagues, the driver said: “We’re all being let down – massively let down.”

_________________
IDFIMH

they'll huff and they'll puff but ubers walls are made of reinforced concrete.

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

The huffing and puffing is, IMO, about getting drivers to sign up for the union.

The law is currently settled, and Uber is doing nothing unlawful.

Now if Unite spent a bit of time educating their sponsored MPs, that might change the future.

_________________
IDFIMH

Always wondered what happened to this one. Assumed the council's pledge to investigate it all was just kicking it into the long grass, and it might be forgotten about. But you'd think they'd have come to some sort of conclusion by now without taking more than six months to conclude that they now need to take external legal advice

So looks a bit like more deflection and/or kicking it into the long grass, particularly as it's announced shortly before the council's festive shutdown

And, Edders, there's again an element of the tall poppy stuff here - I'd guess Uber's arrangements here are broadly similar to what's gone on at dozens of stations and airports etc up and down the land for decades, even years before Uber

All of which reminds me of the T&G's 'free and open access' campaign for rail stations and the like, which must have been at least twenty years ago

Which I suspect didn't manage that much in the way of traction, but, as Sussex alludes, probably gained the T&G a few more members, not to mention those all important subscriptions...

Of course, the T&G is now Unite, and the current Gatwick campaign probably not dissimilar to the 'free and open access' stuff back around the late 1990s - lots of huffing and puffing, but probably very little in the way of concrete results.

And, ironically, I'd guess most of those complaining from Gatwick are probably beneficiaries of some sort of exclusive access deal

Which, of course, was fine until a competitor moved in and took a lot of their work...

All of them complaining.

_________________
IDFIMH

Indeed, Sussex - I didn't really read the article initially, and just looked for the official council stuff, because the Unite stuff is pretty predictable and vague/non-specific as regards what the legal issue is, precisely.

So I missed this:

Normally I would have oodles of sympathy for the traditional trade, and in all fairness the service offered by Gatwick Cars is a very good one, albeit at a superior price.

But I don't remember them complaining when Gatwick decided to bring in a drop-off charge for those bringing folks to the airport by car.

I suspect they thought it would increase their workload, as they don't pay for it.

However, they seem to have forgotten that the owners of Gatwick don't give a flying f*** where they get their money from.

If Uber wants to pay them loads of money for a Uber waiting area and some marked Uber pick-up points at the terminal, then Gatwick will gratefully receive such funds.

_________________
IDFIMH

Slightly different take in the Argus, including slightly more on how the council is perpetually kicking it into the long grass, basically.

Maybe someone from the council should tell them that there's little in the way of obvious illegality, and there's nothing prima facie wrong with the whole set up

But maybe the big question is whether the council just clueless, or simply stringing the trade along

Or Unite strining the drivers along for their own narrow purposes


Uber at Gatwick Airport 'could put taxi drivers out of work'

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/2480566 ... vers-work/

A Crawley taxi driver has claimed Uber vehicles at Gatwick Airport could put his profession out of business.

Don Barnes, Unite Branch secretary and taxi driver at Gatwick, is concerned for the future due to the rising number of app-based lift services, like Uber, at the Sussex airport.

A Crawley Borough Council investigation is currently taking place exploring the legality of their presence at Gatwick.

Taxi drivers in Crawley are only allowed to operate in the area providing they are licensed by the council.

The investigation was opened on March 19 this year - but Don claimed that the issue has been ongoing since 2020.

Don said that the current situation is ‘taking the livelihoods’ of local taxi drivers, adding: “The situation is massively impacting me. It’s killing us."

Don told The Argus that one day, despite starting work at 9.30am, he only received his first job at 2pm.

He said: “We want to enforce the law to stop this all happening. It’s taking the livelihoods of drivers. It could put all the cab drivers out of work.”

Last Tuesday, drivers from across the area attended a Crawley council meeting where they asked councillors for answers on the current situation.

In last week’s meeting, Councillor Yasmin Khan stated that: “In June 2024 at the licensing committee we asked the council officers to conduct an investigation as quickly as possible. I have received confirmation that the investigation has progressed.

"The officers have explored all avenues, and they have reviewed the relevant evidence. This includes the additional evidence that was received only last month.

"Officers are now in the process of seeking legal advice which will determine the next steps. In recent months officers have provided updates to Unite and Unite will be kept updated as appropriate under legal process.”

Don said he intended to join other taxi drivers at the next council meeting in January to keep pushing for answers on the issue.

Uber has been approached for comment.

By the standards of some of the below-the-line comments, this one's quite articulate. Trouble is, it's mainly complete and utter bollocks


And, as per usual, someone trying to look like a disinterested member of the public, but failing dismally...

Saw this on TaxiPoint, and got all the way through until I realised it didn't even mention the G-word

Then I also realised it didn't use the U-word either

But, of course, the previous stuff was presumably mainly about the PHVs in the area, and the PHVs 'ranking' at the airport in particular. This is more specifically about 'ride-hail drivers' in the headline and how they're affecting the town's HC trade.

(And, of course, in most previous pieces the t-word was used generically, when it seemed to be mainly about PHVs...at least here the term HC is quite specific, so to that extent maybe the t-word here is supposed to be synonymous with HC )

Other than that, to a large extent this is similar to the previous stuff - lots of vague stuff alluding that the 'app-based ride-hailing companies' are unregulated/unlicensed, but nothing specific. Nor is there much detail about the supposed illegality, suggesting that there's nothing much in the way of illegality at all, or they're just doing the usual trick of throwing a lot of $hit around and hoping some of it sticks...

The most specific thing here seems to be allegations of plying for hire, but again if that's the case then why not explicitly say so?

But this is just one-sided propaganda, essentially. If it was any attempt at any kind of serious discussion then it would least provide a brief outline of the fundamentals of cross-border working.

Oh, and a couple of words about the opposition would also be useful for any serious discussion on the issue. Words like, I dunno, 'hire' and 'private'.

Of course, unless your at least a cog in the Uber machine, or someone higher up the foodchain, none of us are going to be producing crude propaganda for Uber.

But even if your mission is to promote the interests of the legacy trade, in my opinion stuff like this doesn't achieve very much in terms of serious discussion

(I've highlighted a few words and phrases which seem to suggest or at least allude that the 'ride-hailing' apps are acting illegally, or are at least unregulated.)



Crawley taxi drivers battle increasing threat to their livelihoods from out-of-town based ride-hail drivers

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/crawl ... -ride-hail

Hackney Carriage drivers in Crawley are raising serious concerns about their ability to compete in a market increasingly dominated by app-based ride-hailing companies.

According to Crawley Hackney Carriage Association (CHCA), despite meeting strict licensing requirements set by Crawley Borough Council, drivers are facing mounting challenges from out-of-town operators and unregulated practices.

The association says local Hackney Carriage now find themselves struggling against drivers licensed in other areas, many of whom bypass local knowledge tests and rigorous licensing conditions in comparison. App-based platforms enable these drivers to operate in Crawley, creating significant competition that local drivers argue is both unfair and unlawful.

The CHCA go on to allege that many out-of-town drivers engage in questionable practices, such as parking in restricted areas like Crawley town centre, Crawley train station, and Three Bridges station without pre-booked jobs. These actions breach local licensing laws and undermine the regulated taxi trade, say the drivers.

Crawley’s taxi drivers are urging Crawley Borough Council to take decisive action to address these growing challenges. They argue that enforcing existing laws and penalising illegal operators is essential to restore fairness and protect their livelihoods.

A CHCA spokesperson said: “It is critical for Crawley Borough Council and relevant authorities to address these issues decisively. Local Hackney Carriage drivers urge officials to enforce the law, crack down on illegal operations, and protect the livelihoods of Crawley-licensed drivers.

“Robust measures are essential to ensure fair competition and uphold the high standards that Crawley drivers work diligently to maintain. By taking action, the council can restore fairness to the local taxi trade, preserve jobs for local drivers and ensure residents benefit from safe, professional, and knowledgeable taxi services.

“Crawley’s Hackney Carriage drivers remain steadfast in their commitment to serving the community with professionalism and dedication. They call on local authorities to support their efforts by enforcing regulations and creating a level playing field. Together, these actions will safeguard the future of the local taxi industry and uphold the high standards that Crawley residents have come to expect.”

It's got nothing to do with apps per se. I mean, I'd guess Wolves licenses well over 400 operators using cross-border cars that aren't 'app-based platforms'

There is definitely no illegal plying for hire at Gatwick. I spend a lot of my life there and have never witnessed it.

As for the other areas mentioned, maybe there is an issue but it's no different than any other area.

The main issue the Crawley hackney trade has is the main issue many other area's hackney trade have, punters are using apps rather than using the ranks.

Welcome to 2025.

_________________
IDFIMH