Cap on hackney carriages looks like 'rank' bad idea
Published: 05/03/2011 08:00
COUNCILLORS are considering capping the number of hackney carriages operating in Burton — but the idea looks likely to hit a dead end.
East Staffordshire Borough Council is examining the issue after some cabbies complained there were too many of the vehicles on the roads and not enough taxi ranks to accomodate them.
However, Greg Hall, chairman of the council committee reviewing taxi licensing, said members were minded to rule out the scheme, which would require a consultation costing around £15,000 before it could be implemented.
Councillor Hall told the Mail: “We were asked to consider capping the numbers as there were concerns raised by some operators who felt there may be too many hackney carriages in the area."
“It looks very much as if we won’t need to cap. We found that neighbouring council areas were not capping and there haven’t been any traffic problems here caused by this issue."
“The consensus was we don’t need to be spending £15,000 on a consultation. We felt the sensible thing would be to keep things as they were."
“If we did cap the number of hackney carriages we felt it would just result in there being more applications for private hire vehicles so it would be not only expensive but also ineffective.”
The latest meeting of the cleaner, safer, healthier and happier scrutiny sub-committee heard there were 185 private hire vehicles licensed in the borough and 130 hackney carriages — taxis which do not have to be pre-booked.
The borough has 14 taxi ranks, 11 of them in Burton, but while the number of hackney carriage operators has steadily increased in recent years, the number of ranks has fallen, meaning drivers sometimes struggle to find a pitch.
Margaret Wooley, senior enforcement officer, told the meeting: “We’ve lost two ranks since 2006 when High Street was closed to traffic.
“We did offer to accommodate drivers near the library but it’s not an area they want. There is a lack of rank spaces versus the number of hackneys.”
The meeting heard Cannock Chase District Council had previously imposed a cap on hackney carriage numbers but had been forced to scrap the policy after one of its operators launched a successful legal challenge against it.
Councillor Hall said the committee, which will publish its report on the issue next month, may ask colleagues at Staffordshire County Council to consider allocating more taxi ranks to accommodate hackney carriage drivers in the town.
Source; http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Cap-on ... d-idea.htm
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