Taxi Driver Online

Judge to rule on taxi case

A JUDGE will rule next week whether a decision by Newport council to impose age limits on city taxis was reached unfairly.

A judicial review at the High Court, sitting in Cardiff, on Friday, heard that Lionel Morris, chairman of the Newport Hackney Drivers Association brought the case over the decision to court.

Newport City Council’s licensing committee decided in July that from October, hackney carriages in the city can be no older than 12 years old. All applications for taxi licences must also be made within five years of the vehicle first being registered with the DVLA.

The decision was made based on the safety of the traveling public and the environment.

Representing Mr Morris, Pushpinder Saini QC, claimed Newport council's cabinet member for environment and community safety Councillor David Fouweather, who rubber stamped the proposals, shouldn’t have been involved.

The council consulted representatives of the trade, including Cllr Fouweather’s brother, Wayne, a hackney carriage driver, the court heard.

“Wayne Fouweather was positively supporting age limits,” said Mr Saini. “It was wholly inappropriate not to declare this. Cllr Fouweather simply shouldn’t have been involved because his brother took a position adverse to Lionel Morris.”

Mr Saini also claimed not enough evidence was given to allow taxi drivers to respond reasonably during consultation and their views weren’t used in reaching a decision.

He called data on performance of older vehicles as “vague” and said the premise they pose a safety risk as an “assumption”, with “a gaping hole in evidence”.

Currently, all hackney carriages are tested twice a year. “These are quite rigorous and just as many new cars are failing as old cars,” added Mr Saini.

Representing the council, Ruth Stockley, said it is inevitable older vehicles will require maintenance and develop problems.

Miss Stockley said the decision had the safety of the travelling public at heart and was in line with the Local Government Act 1976, which gives councils the power to impose conditions to Hackney Carriage licences it sees necessary.

She said: “There is no cast iron evidence, but a reasonable assumption was made by the authority.”

Miss Stockley added that Cllr Fouweather is “on nodding terms” with his brother, but isn’t close to him, and had no requirement to declare an interest.

Mr Justice Beatson will give a ruling next Friday