Taxi Driver Online

Not sure if this could be hugely significant or what - is Wolverhampton Council using this to try to 'throttle back' PHD numbers, or maybe trying to bolt the safeguarding stable door once the horse has bolted?

Or is this just the local trade kicking off about something fairly routine and of little national significance as far as the council's 50,000 PHD badges are concerned?

Anyway, not sure I've got the whole article here, but it's behind a very tight paywall


Wolverhampton taxi drivers meet to discuss possible action over new course

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/202 ... ew-course/

Around 100 Wolverhampton based private hire taxi and black cab drivers are expected to gather this afternoon to decide action over new rules which will see them have to take extra courses.

But Balbir Singh, who has called the peaceful meeting at The University of Wolverhampton Science Park claims drivers in the city already follow safeguarding procedures and that the course is unnecessary and will leave them out of pocket.

He said: "Wolverhampton Council licenses around 40,000 drivers nationwide and this will affect a lot of them, but on a local level we are looking to gauge reaction to the new course.

"We don't mind taking refresher courses which we do every few years and feel anything from the course they want us to take could be absorbed into this.

"I myself was licensed in 1999 so I will need to take the new course and as someone who has had 25 years plus in the trade to have to take a day out to do the course at the cost of £50 is a bit much and I believe a lot of the older drivers and some of the newer ones feel the same.

"If necessary we will make representations to Wolverhampton Council on this but today is a preliminary meeting to see what the consensus is.

Last August saw the Private Hire Drivers Alliance protest outside Wolverhampton Civic Centre to make their feelings known on pay, recruitment and safer working conditions.

our local newpapers online site used to let you read a bit of some stories but recently you can see headlines only and have to be registered and signed in to read which of course involves a hefty monthly charge.

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

Another tightly paywalled article, so not sure if the stuff below is all there is. But there's a video which I'd guess tells us all we need to know, although the detail of what's going on is obviously difficult to discern from all this. And although there are worse videos of this genre, and the drivers are quite articulate, the background noise, West Midlands accents and the like means it's difficult to catch every word of what's said.

So are the drivers making a meal out of something that's just a box-ticking exercise and a formality, or could it really mean drivers with decades of experience going out of work

Daily Motion video here, or watch it via the source article from the link further below:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9fiomw

High-res photo here:

https://resizer.nationalworld.com/95ab1 ... ?tr=w-1200


Wolverhampton taxi drivers gather in protest of 'controversial' rule change

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/202 ... le-change/

Around 100 Wolverhampton taxi drivers have gathered to protest a change in taxi application rules.

Private hire and black cab drivers across Wolverhampton have staged a protest in the University of Wolverhampton Science Park on Glaisher Drive on March 3 to oppose changes that would mean some of them would have to take their tests again.

The rule change means that taxi drivers nationwide who took their tests before 2019 would need to go through a new application process each year.

Now, around 100 drivers met in protest in the science building car park to show solidarity at the opposition of the proposed rule change.

Talking at the protest, Wolverhampton based taxi driver and campaigner, Balbir Singh, 59, said: "The council are asking for us to do an assessment for anyone who passed before 2019.

"We have got drivers who have been driving for over 40 years who have clean records, now they have to take tests. In the tests, you get three chances, but if you fail, you can't apply again for a year.

"We aren't saying we would fail the tests. But if we do, we are going to be out of our jobs.

"The rule change means any taxi driver who took their test prior to 2019 will need to retake their test again.

The rule changes sparked controversy with Wolverhampton drivers, who earlier this week said that while they wouldn't mind taking refresher courses, having to take another course at the cost of £50 would be a bit much.

Mr Singh said: "We are willing to do refresher courses, we wouldn't mind paying for that, we shouldn't have to pay, but if we had to then we would.

"This is our livelihood, we aren't going against the council, we just want them to reconsider.

The rule change was implemented in January, with the group saying that if need be, they would make representations to Wolverhampton Council over their concerns.

This does beg the question as to why this current kerfuffle wasn't happening before implementation.

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IDFIMH

Usual boilerplate from the council

Think this is the whole article, but maybe not...


Wolverhampton council have reacted after taxi drivers staged a protest

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/202 ... a-protest/

Wolverhampton Council have said that they are committed to safe travel following a protest by taxi drivers over having to retake training courses.

Around 100 private hire and black cab drivers stood in protest in the University of Wolverhampton Science Park on Glaisher Drive on March 3 to oppose recent rule changes that would require them to retake training courses.

The rule change, which was imposed in January of this year, would mean that any driver who passed their test prior to 2019 would need to go through another assessment process, and if they fail the process three times, they would risk losing their licence for a year.

Now, following the day of action by the cab drivers, Wolverhampton Council have said that they are 'committed to the safety and wellbeing of passengers' and that despite the £50 cost of the assessment, application fees 'remain low'.

A spokesperson for Wolverhampton Council said: "The City of Wolverhampton Council is committed to the safety and wellbeing of passengers who use taxi and private hire vehicles licensed by us. All customers should be reassured that drivers are up to date with a range of important topics.

"Drivers who need to update their training are being asked to attend a one-day course, which covers areas such as disability awareness, county lines, child sexual exploitation awareness, face-to-face English assessments and customer safety.

"The rule change means any taxi driver who took their test prior to 2019 will need to retake their test again."

The council spokesperson added: "The Government has recommended that refresher training is carried out every three years. This course has undergone a full consultation with the trade and was approved by the council’s regulatory committee in July 2024.

"Affected drivers are currently being written to as part of their licence renewal application. The training costs £50, however, even with this cost, the council’s application fees remain low compared to other authorities."

Times 40,000 means someone is making sh** loads of money out of this.

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IDFIMH