Taxi Driver Online

Looking back at 2002 and in this particular case highlighting Bradford it would seem that some of the issues in focus at that time are being prominently debated today.

For instance the NPHA was in the process of negotiating a training course of sorts for private hire drivers and perhaps even hackney carriage drivers?

There was also the vexed issue of low fares and speeding drivers but oddly enough the accusation of speeding was only attributed to private hire drivers? I don't for one minute think speeding is the sole domain of private hire drivers but the Bradford Taxi association seemed to think so.
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Yorkshire Post

September 5, 2002

Councillor urges taxi safety monitors

THE actions of reckless taxi drivers are putting lives at risk in Bradford, says a councillor who wants their behaviour curbed.

Labour councillor, Rev Tim Flowers proposes that drivers take advanced driving tests and wants to establish a centre through which the public can report bad driving.

Coun Flowers, who sits on the council's Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Panel, says a minority of private hire drivers are responsible for poor driving.

He said: I should stress that the vast majority of private hire licence holders are good and law-abiding drivers but there appears to be a significant minority who cause problems on the streets and whose driving can at best be described as reckless.

Creating a body to allow reports of bad driving to be monitored would help to reduce it, he believes.

The mere fact that public reporting was possible would be one way of curbing bad driving by a minority who bring other drivers into disrepute, he said.

It is important that we should have safety on the streets for everybody.

Coun Flowers, who represents Great Horton, has written to council chief executive Ian Stewart with his proposals.

Taxi drivers' representatives agreed that speeding and reckless driving was a widespread problem.

They blamed low wages and pressure from employers as the root causes, saying drivers were struggling to make ends meet because the cut-throat business had driven down fares and wages.

Bryan Roland, general secretary of the National Private Hire Association, said advanced driving lessons were not the answer. He urged councils to increase Hackney Carriage fares, which he said would have a beneficial knock-on effect on the private hire industry.

Mr Roland also called for training courses to be established for new drivers.

New drivers found it hard to cope with driving up to 70,000 miles a year and dealing with difficult passengers, he said.

The NPHA is on the verge of getting Government approval to begin its own training courses.

Bradford's drivers had a particular problem making a decent wage because of the high cost of insurance, he added.

Drivers with a no claims record might have to pay over (GBP)3,000 a year and those without a clean record may have to find over (GBP)5,000, he claimed.

But it was the cut-throat nature of the industry that led to speeding and the cutting of corners.

The number of hours that drivers have to work to earn enough money for their families was rising all the time.

The rest of the country is going down to 37 hours a week. Taxi drivers are already looking at double that and some do over 80 hours week to earn a living.

Operators tended to make more bookings, which put more pressure on drivers to go fast.

It leads to an emphasis on the accelerator, he said.

Councils should pump up the rates charged by Hackney Carriages if they wanted to reduce bad driving and accidents.

If the earning potential was higher, you would find the frenzy to get money in would ease off.
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