3.2 PHASE 2 - TAXI TRADES
3.2.1 During the summer of 2008, a postal survey of all taxi and private hire operators and drivers was carried out. The questionnaire was accompanied by revised licence conditions for the hackney carriage and private hire trades.
3.2.2
Some 1501 questionnaires were posted out resulting in 129 being completed and returned, a response rate of 8.6%.
3.2.3 73 (61%) of respondents were against the delimitation of taxi licenses and 47 (39%) in favour.
3.2.4 Respondents were asked to give reasons for their answer. Members of the hackney carriage trade who were not in favour of delimitation generally expressed the view that there was insufficient work currently available and delimitation would result in more drivers chasing fewer jobs.
3.2.5 Comments from those in favour of delimitation were that they were unable to satisfy current demand, particularly on Salford Quays; others were turning down work in other parts of the City. A number of drivers welcomed the opportunity to buy their own vehicles and run their own businesses. Some respondents who were in favour of increasing taxi licence numbers favoured managed growth by ‘drip feeding’ new licences.
3.2.6 Concern was expressed by a number of respondents on the proposal to introduce age restrictions on vehicles. A general view was that so long as a vehicle passed the test it should be allowed to continue in service irrespective of its age.
3.2.7 The survey also sought the views of the trade on the location of new taxi ranks as many of the existing ranks are not used. There was a good response to this question and work is already progressing with the Licensing Section, Highway Authority, the taxi trade and disabled groups.
3.3 FURTHER CONSULTATION WITH THE TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE TRADES
3.3.1 Following the initial round of consultation with the taxi trades a decision was taken to incorporate the amended draft licensing conditions into a comprehensive policy document. In December 2008, copies of the newly prepared draft policy were sent to all of the respondents from the taxi and private hire trades who, during the initial round of consultation, had expressed an interest in attending a focus group to discuss taxi policy. Members of the private hire and hackney carriage trades were invited to separate meetings at the Turnpike House auditorium on the evening of the 13th and 14th January 2009 respectively. Letters were sent to all other drivers who were not invited to the meeting advising them that:
a) a new draft policy had been formulated
b) copies were available from the Licensing Officer, libraries or via the internet
c) the Directorate was seeking feedback on the draft proposals
3.3.2 Eleven members of the private hire trade attended the meeting on the 13th January and forty two attended the hackney carriage meeting on 14th January.
3.3.3 At the outset of the meetings, attendees were asked to give careful consideration to the issues that would be discussed during the course of the evening and to put their comments in writing to the Licensing Section before the end of the consultation process in order that full and proper consideration could be given to them.
3.3.4 An Environmental Monitoring Officer from the Environmental Protection Team gave a presentation on the subject of air quality management in Salford and Vehicle Emission Standards and explained the rationale for introducing emission standards for taxi and private hire vehicles.
3.3.5 The major cause for concern expressed by the private hire trade was in relation to vehicles complying with the proposed emission standards. It was claimed that the recession was having an adverse impact in the taxi trade and the requirement to invest in newer cleaner vehicles would result in financial hardship.
3.3.6 It was felt that the proposed requirement for vehicles to meet Euro 3 by April 2010 was too early.
3.3.7 The proposed dress code gave cause for concern to one attendee.
3.3.8 In the case of the hackney carriage trade the major causes for concern were:
(a) The proposed removal of the restriction on hackney carriage licences in a time of recession would result in financial hardship.
(b) The inability of TX2 taxis to be converted to meet Euro 4 standards by April 2012.
(c) Insufficient numbers and poorly sited taxi ranks.
3.3.9 Some attendees at the meeting were critical of the Directorate’s consultation exercise with the community. It was felt the low numbers of responses to the questionnaire inviting feedback on taxi availability and delimitation meant that no meaningful conclusion could be drawn as to whether it was appropriate to lift the current restriction. The general view of several of the major taxi operators was that –
An unmet demand survey should be commissioned as a pre requisite to any change in policy. If the survey revealed there to be no unmet demand the existing policy should remain unaltered. If there was evidence of unmet demand it should be met by managed growth of licence numbers.
The postal survey carried out by the Licensing Section was not statistically robust and should not be used as a basis for delimitation.
There was no current unmet demand for taxi services in the City
There would be insufficient work for existing drivers
3.3.10 The concerns of wheelchair users were raised by Officers in terms of their difficulty in hiring a black cab by phone. The response from the trade was that the very nature of the hackney trade was that vehicles ranked and plied for hire and that was their major role in providing transportation. If people wanted to phone for transport they should ring a private hire company and not a black cab. There is the only one hackney carriage operator in Salford who has radio contact with their fleet.
3.3.11 The trade requested that a further unmet demand survey should be carried out which they were prepared to fund. If the survey showed there was no unmet demand then that should be sufficient reason for the Council not to proceed with delimitation.
3.3.12 Concern was expressed by one individual and then supported by several others that the consultation period was insufficient and that it be extended to March.
3.3.13 It was pointed out that this was the second stage of consultation and the major areas of concern to the hackney carriage trade were fundamentally the same. The request for an extension of time was not agreed, but it was agreed that a further meeting with representatives of the hackney trade would be held when all of the written responses to consultation exercise had been considered.