Chronic shortage of Hull minicabs leaves customers waiting for hours – or face walk homePeople are being forced to wait up to three hours for a cab or risk walking home late at night because of a chronic shortage of taxi drivers, the Mail can reveal.
In order to gauge the extent of the problem, a Mail reporter contacted several companies just after midnight Sunday and attempted to order a car.
Not one company was able to collect us within an hour and the longest expected wait was three hours.
Some firms said they were unable to send a taxi at any point that night.
The Mail is now backing calls from the owners of private hire companies to get more taxis on the road.
Magnus Murray, of the Hull Private Hire Association (HPHA), says there are now 400 fewer drivers than there were in June 2014, when Hull City Council began demanding all new cabbies gain a Btec qualification.
He said: "People cannot get a taxi because there are not enough drivers, so they are walking home and that's putting people at risk.
"I fear for the people of Hull ahead of UK City of Culture 2017. We can not provide a full, proper service now. Next year, we will be diverted to tourists. But what about the people of Hull?"
Mr Murray gave a recent example of how the shortage of drivers is impacting on safety.
"Two weeks ago, I went to pick up a woman in Tweendykes Road," he said. "She'd been drinking at The Lambwath.
"She couldn't get a cab home, so started walking. She was accosted by a man and sought refuge in someone's home.
"Normally, at that time of night, she'd have been looking at a two-hour wait, but because of what happened we made her a priority and took her home."
Drivers shell out about £600 to gain a private hire licence, which includes the £245 fee to gain a Btec qualification.
Mr Murray says HPHA see the Btec requirement as "restrictive" and he refers to a Department for Transport document entitled 'Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing: Best Practice Guidance'.
"Nowhere within that document does it state that it's best practice to make drivers gain a Btec," he said.
According to figures supplied by Hull City Council, there are currently 1,391 drivers' licences and 1,338 vehicle licences.
The number of drivers' licences is higher because cars are often shared.
"Our own figures show there are only around 900 drivers actively working in Hull at the moment," said Mr Murray.
Mr Murray owns Seven 0 Six Cars in Marfleet Lane, east Hull, but is considering quitting the industry.
"Pre-June 2014 I had 85 drivers," he said. "I now have 70 drivers. I have only been able to recruit one driver in the past year. We have lads in this city who want to work but are being stopped by the council's policy.
"People are leaving the industry, but the new blood is not coming through, and this is being reflected at all 11 remaining cab offices in Hull. It's critical."
A letter sent to former council chief executive Darryl Stephenson last October, seen by the Mail, warns of the impact of the council's policy on driver recruitment.
The letter is signed by the owners of Sutton Cars, Seven 0 Six Cars, 65 Cars, Seven O Cars, 57 Taxis, Hull Cars, 35 Taxis, Belmont Taxis, East Hull Cars and Six 0 Cars.
Mr Murray believes the process required to gain a licence is too lengthy and expensive.
"It's taken the one driver I have taken on five months to get his Btec," he said. "I know of another example where is has taken ten months through no fault of his own.
"We are trying to provide a professional and safe service for the citizens of Hull, but can't."
Mr Murray says a number of "temporary" drivers have quit the industry since 2014.
"Before, you had a lot of people apply for a licence so they could dip in and out of taxi work," he said. "We welcomed them.
"That doesn't happen now because it costs so much in time and money to get your licence."
Darren Beckett, manager of 65 Cars in Princes Avenue, west Hull, says between 50 and 100 people queue in his cab office between 9pm and 3am on a weekend.
"We just can't get the drivers," he said. "When I started 25 years ago you had to prove you were a fit and proper person to be a private hire driver.
"You were asked to plan a route and you were police-checked. In addition, you were asked seven questions.
"Now, you need to score 50 out of 60 on a knowledge test, which is on top of the Btec course.
"All cars have sat-navs these days. It makes no sense."
'We'll listen to cab firms' says council
In A statement, Hull City Council said: "A request was made by a number of private hire operators represented by the Hull Private Hire Association, with regard to the council's policy on applications for new drivers making it more restrictive for new applicants to join the licensed trade.
"Following this, Hull City Council agreed that comments from the trade would be invited during the annual review of policy and conditions.
"It is our intention to discuss the results of this consultation at the licensing committee in March. In setting its policy on applications for new taxi drivers the council must ensure the correct balance is struck between the needs of drivers, operators and passengers."
Read more:
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Chronic- ... z411f3rc1c
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