Private hire drivers could leave city out of pocket
Thursday, May 12, 2011, 09:00
Nottingham City Council could lose thousands of pounds from private hire drivers as they register with other local authorities instead.
Drivers are fed up with an increase in private hire licence fees in the city and delays in new licences being processed.
They are also angry about traffic restrictions which prevent them from using bus lanes, while London-style Hackney cabs are allowed to.
NG11 Cars in Clifton is among the private hire car firms looking to license its drivers and vehicles with another local authority.
"As a growing company we are making provisions to licence drivers with Gedling Borough Council," said Rob Foster, NG11 Cars co-director.
"The whole city council licensing system is a disgrace.
"Applications for new drivers are taking too long. One application we have has already taken longer than six months.
"It should take six to eight weeks."
Ian Pole, co-director of DG Cars, said he was concerned by the rise in Nottingham City Council's annual private hire badge and licence plate fees. "Fees have gone up and they have gone up quite a lot," he said.
"We objected to that but it fell on deaf ears. We do not think we are getting value for money, as there's been no increase in the service."
Mr Pole said licensing his drivers with a neighbouring local authority was an option that he would "seriously consider".
But he stressed that DG Cars was "more than willing" to work with Nottingham City Council to address their concerns.
Licensing laws allow private hire car drivers – taxis which can only go to pre-booked jobs rather than being flagged down on the street – to be registered in a neighbouring authority but still work in the city.
The potential loss of licensing revenue for the city council follows concerns raised last month by Ray Butterworth, secretary of the Association of Notts Private Hire Operators and Drivers.
He believes that allowing Hackney cabs, but not private hire cars, to use bus lanes has angered customers and given Hackney cabs an unfair advantage.
Mr Butterworth also said sole access for Hackney cabs onto Carlton Street at its junction with Fletcher Gate, and restricted access to the city centre's Turning Point scheme, around Milton Street and Upper Parliament Street, was damaging private hire car trade.
Private Hire licence revenue was worth £643,666 of the £869,819 received by the city council in private hire and Hackney licence revenue between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010.
The figures were obtained by the association under the Freedom of Information Act.
A Gedling Borough Council spokesman said that badge and plate licence applications from both Nottingham private hire cars and Hackney carriages had "risen slightly" recently.
But a city council spokesman said: "We are not concerned about private taxi operators leaving the city to register elsewhere. Our prices for large-scale operators are lower than other areas, such as Gedling.
"Not only that, but they would currently still not be allowed into bus lanes or the Turning Point area for the simple reason that ordinary cars like theirs are more likely to be followed by other traffic, undermining the benefits that such schemes bring."
Source; http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/ ... ticle.html
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