Yellow Cabs Set To Hit City Streets
11th September 2008
A massive overhaul of Birmingham’s taxi trade could soon see New York-style yellow cabs on the city’s streets.
Licensing chiefs and industry leaders have agreed that private hire cars should be branded with a distinctive colour scheme to make them easy to spot.
Drivers are said to prefer silver but council bosses hope to create an eye-catching new identity for Birmingham which will rival the charm of the Big Apple. Other changes set to be introduced by trade bosses are restrictions which will take older hackney carriages and private hire cars off the road.
A working party has sifted through a survey filled out by dozens of drivers to find ways of modernising the image of the job.
Coun David Osborne chair the city’s licensing committee meeting, said: “This will be the most radical shake-up that Birmingham’s taxi trade has witnessed in decades and is something that is much needed.
“It has been decided that a uniform colour for all of our private hire cars is likely to come in to effect.
“I favour something very distinctive like the yellow of New York because it’s a colour you don’t often see on the roads over here and it will certainly stand out.
“We’re the Second City and our private hire cars need to be distinguishable.”
Coun Osborne (Lib Dem, South Yardley) said the committee would work closely with drivers to clear any hurdles likely to be created by the cost of the scheme and hoped to avoid soaring fares.
There is also likely to be a 12-month freeze on granting new licences for black cabs after drivers said they were struggling to make a living in a saturated market.
A study by independent consultants employed by the city council found that there was no “unmet demand” for the service.
Drivers’ groups said cabbies often spent hours queuing on ranks at weekends and regularly went home early.
Despite fare increases which made Birmingham’s black cabs the sixth most expensive in the country earlier this year, it was still becoming harder to make a living because of rising fuel costs.
Other proposals to be considered by the committee include refusing licences for private hire cars unless they are new vehicles.
If Birmingham decides on a uniform colour for its private hire cars, it will follow towns like Dudley where all its private hire cabs are white.
Pat Murtagh, Birmingham’s representative on the National Private Hire Association, said: “From the perspective of safety and image, a uniform colour is a fantastic idea and I agree that it ought to be something easily recognisable."
“Some of the issues over age of vehicles will cause hardship to drivers."
“I will be making a case against making new cars compulsory because I don’t think it’s necessary and it would do little more than mean drivers would need a fare rise to cover the cost.”
Coun Osborne said he felt that the private hire trade should be brought in line with Hackney carriages.
“Black cab drivers have to go out and spend about £35,000 on a new vehicle,” he said.
“For about £12,000 you can get a new car to use as a private hire car so I don’t see why private hire drivers should be different.
“They are setting up a business and there are costs that come with that.”
Ray Beech, of the Birmingham and Solihull Taxi Association, said that he was pleased that the committee appeared to have agreed to impose a moratorium on new licences but expected drivers would oppose plans to scrap vehicles over ten years old.
“I’m pleased about the moratorium but we wait to see what else happens,” he said.
Source; Birmingham Mail
Login
Register
FAQ
