Bradford passengers urged not to use Rossendale cabs amid safety fearsA CABBIE 'war of the roses' has moved up a gear, as Bradford Council tries to clamp down on drivers getting licenses from across the Pennines.
The deputy leader of the council has said she would not feel safe getting into a minicab which had got its licence from Rossendale Council in rural Lancashire, instead of Bradford.
Councillor Val Slater claimed drivers who were turned down for licenses in Bradford were going to Rossendale, where standards are lower.
But she said she has not been able to convince Rossendale Council to tackle the problem.
She said: "We have tried, officers have tried, we have all tried to talk to their leader about why they are setting these low standards.
"I would not get in a private hire that was licensed in Rossendale."
Now she is urging anyone ordering minicabs locally to specifically ask for ones with a Bradford licence.
She said: "If you want to be 100 per cent safe in a private hire, make sure it has got a Bradford plate on it. Ours are bright yellow."
Cllr Slater, whose portfolio includes taxi and private hire licensing, said Rossendale had lower standards for knowledge tests, English tests and criminal record checks.
Cabs with Rossendale licenses are also immune from Bradford Council's vehicle safety spot-checks.
Last month, an enforcement officer from Rossendale Council agreed to join Bradford staff on a spot-checking exercise.
Four Rossendale-licensed cars were pulled over, with officers finding problems with all four.
Two were deemed so serious, the cars were taken off the roads immediately.
Cllr Slater said many councils across the north of England were having the same problem with an influx of Rossendale-licensed vehicles.
She called on the authority to ask all would-be drivers where they intended to work, and refuse licenses to those who wanted to work in other areas.
And she questioned why Rossendale seemed so keen to hand out so many licences, as by law councils had to ring-fence this cash for taxi services, and couldn't use it to prop up other council work.
She said: "Somebody needs to look at their accounts, because our accounts here are kept totally separate."
Rossendale has 1,200 licensed hackney carriages in total, for its population of 65,000.
In contrast, Bradford has just 222 hackney carriages, for a population of more than 500,000.
Cllr Slater (Lab, Royds) said she was also concerned about a national change in the law which came into effect on Thursday.
This means private hire operators can sub-contract work to other firms, including those from other districts.
So she said councils across West Yorkshire had agreed to work together to set minimum driver and vehicle standards for the whole county.
And she said Bradford was also considering starting a 'scores on the doors' style rating scheme for minicab safety, saying many local cabbies and operators were setting an excellent standard.
A spokesman for Rossendale Council said the authority was reviewing all its taxi policies and procedures to improve "our already robust application regime".
This included looking at a basic skills assessment, an updated convictions policy and a policy looking at where drivers intended to work.
She said any proposed changes would be going before the relevant committees for a decision later this year.
But she rejected any claim that Rossendale's cars were unsafe to use.
She said: "We are extremely pro-active and regularly undertake enforcement outside of Rossendale, in Bradford, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Rochdale, Oldham and Keighley, et cetera, and we are happy to continue this.
"There is no evidence to support the allegation of drivers being refused a licence in Bradford going on to be granted a licence in Rossendale; year to date figures up to August show that 63 per cent are refused at Licensing Sub Committee.
"Where it is known that an applicant has been licensed in another area, a check is made with the relevant council and a refusal or revocation in another area is likely to result in a refusal here.
"The suggestion that our vehicles are unsafe is wholly unsubstantiated."
And she added that any money made through the taxi licensing process was "ring-fenced to cover the significant operating costs of the licensing service".
source:
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... ety_fears/
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