Found this on another forum
Consultants really get their Wyres crossed
Consultants bungled a £10,000 taxi survey for Wyre Forest cabbies – by confusing the area with Wyre Council in Lancashire, 130 miles away.
The Wyre Forest Taxi Drivers’ Association had hoped the survey, for which it paid £10,000, would back their calls for a limited increase in vehicles for hire in the Wyre Forest.
Now angry taxi drivers say the survey carried out by the consultants was riddled with more than 40 faults which included data from the wrong Wyre, getting the numbers of licensed vehicles wrong as well as the fees they charge.
The consultants used information on fare charges for Wyre Borough Council in Poulton-le-Fylde, near Blackpool, by mixing up the names.
Wyre Forest Council had been recommended to approve licences for 10 further hackney carriage vehicles.
They would have been added to the 83 already granted to taxi drivers.
Wyre Forest Council has now asked the consultants to correct the errors but worried taxi drivers say they have been left in limbo while the problem is addressed.
Wyre Forest Taxi Drivers’ Association spokesman Vince Price said today: “You should be feeding A into the survey and getting B out. In this case they have fed in something totally wrong and got Z out.
“It is very stressful as our cars come up for renewal in June and would you spend £30,000 on a new car if your livelihood was at stake.”
Councillors have now agreed not to make any decision on taxi numbers until they and drivers can hold talks with the consultants.
A licensing spokesman at Wyre Forest District Council said the survey was satisfactory apart from an error where the the fare structure included in the report was in fact the one charged by drivers at Wyre Council in Lancashire. However, he insisted that had not had any bearing on the outcome.
Login
Register
FAQ
