Private hire drivers condemn 'Bristol Blue' scheme - because their cars must be other colour
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Private hire drivers are the latest to condemn Bristol City Council's blue taxi scheme – because they have to make sure their cars are another colour.
The city's 799 Hackney carriage drivers are unhappy they have to respray their vehicles "Bristol Blue" by May 1 due to the cost involved.
But they aren't the only ones who have had to reach into their pockets because of the policy.
The council also says that private hire licences will no longer be granted to blue vehicles, so anyone with a blue car needs to change it to anything but blue.
Hackney carriage drivers can ply for trade at stands or on the street, while private hire cars have to be pre-booked and are banned from picking up passengers who hail them.
The council wants Hackney cabs to be blue so customers do not mistake one kind of taxi for another.
There are currently 914 private hire drivers in Bristol, licensed to drive 933 vehicles, 31 of which are blue.
Private hire driver Jim Delaney said having to respray his blue car black has set him back £2,000.
Mr Delaney works for Streamline Taxis and has been a taxi driver for three years.
Although the council is allowing five shades of blue for Hackney carriages, private hire vehicles cannot be any type of blue.
Mr Delaney, 54, described the situation as "ridiculous".
He said: "I have just had my car sprayed black at a cost to myself of £870 and I lost a week and a half's work, so in realistic terms it has cost me about £2,000.
"What is stupid is that if a Hackney cab was the same colour blue as my car Bristol City Council would say it is not close enough to the shades they want – but as a private hire cab they say it is too close."
Three applications for exemptions have been submitted by private drivers who say they can't afford to respray.
Hackney drivers say this is a double standard as that is the same reason many of them want a delay to the deadline.
Private driver Adam Crabtree successfully applied for an extra nine months to respray his blue car another colour. The father-of-two said he couldn't afford to respray his car until next year because of loan payments and fears of not keeping up with his mortgage.
A second applicant was refused permission and a third is due to be heard next week.
Shafiq Ahmed of the National Taxi Association for Bristol said: "It makes a mockery of the message the council is trying to send out if private hire can have exemptions."
Council spokeswoman Vicky O'Loughlin said: "Part of our measures to protect the safety of passengers is to ensure that private hire vehicles are easily distinguishable from Hackney carriages.
"The safety measures adopted by the public safety and protection committee were that Hackney carriages should be Bristol Blue to be easily distinguishable and that private hire cars can be any colour other than blue."
Source; http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Pri ... ticle.html
Login
Register
FAQ
