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The West Briton
November 29, 2007 Thursday
Taxi drivers propose guide to expand role in county
Taxi drivers in Kerrier want their industry to have a greater role in the integrated transport system in Cornwall.
Currently, each district council controls the way taxis operate in its area. But when the unitary authority begins in 2009, it is likely that the county will operate as a single licensed area.
Kerrier's taxi drivers are keen to have an input into the way their industry is run in the future and have come up with recommendations.
They believe Cornwall should operate as a single licensed area, allowing Hackney cab drivers the freedom to ply their trade anywhere in the county.
Richard Rogers, secretary of Kerrier District Taxi and Private Hire Association, said: "For example, it makes no sense that a driver from Camborne, having dropped off in Falmouth, has to refuse the offer of a fare in Falmouth, simply because he is on the wrong side of an arbitrary geographical line - i.e in Carrick, but only licensed to operate in Kerrier."
They also feel that applications for drivers' licences should be more strictly assessed.
Mr Roger said: "Public safety is paramount and we are concerned that drivers with a record of serious motoring offences, accidents, acts of violence or an incomplete or inaccurate Criminal Records Bureau file could be permitted to hold Hackney or private hire licences."
Furthermore, the drivers say, saloon cars should be allowed to carry on being licensed as Hackney carriages, even though they have not been modified to take disabled passengers. As Mr Rogers explained: "The majority of disabled passengers are not wheelchair users. Nor do the elderly or the infirm particularly like climbing in and out of larger vehicles. In many cases they simply cannot."
And taxis and private hire vehicles must be fully recognised by the authorities as an integral part of the public transport system. He said: "Licensed vehicles should enjoy advantages and benefits on a par with those given to buses, for example financial subsidies, use of bus lanes and bus stops to pick up and set down passengers, and a concessionary fares scheme.
"We want to see the taxi trade brought into the 21st century, but it needs the positive support of the authorities to allow us to provide the travelling public with a service that they can use with confidence."
Last week the association presented its proposals to Cllr Georgie Fryer, chairman of Kerrier's licensing committee.
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