PH drivers raise concerns about council licensing teamA TAXI driver who keeps being sent letters for going into bus lanes despite having permission to do so has said the council licensing department is not doing enough for drivers.
Nuruz Zaman, 39, from Toothill, has been a private hire driver in Swindon for five years and says the relationship with the council is becoming a constant cause of frustration among his colleagues.
Nuruz has registered his Skoda Superb vehicle with the licensing department as is his responsibility as a taxi driver, this should prevent him from receiving letters if he uses a bus lane.
But the V Cars driver said: “The council have my number plate because of my licence, but I keep getting these letters for driving in a bus lane.
“I have three here from since November last year, there are nine more at home.
“I’ve notified them two times and they said they will sort it out but I still keep getting them.
“I told them three months ago, why do I keep getting letters?”
Nuruz claimed that although he knows the fines will not be enforced, he can spend hours trying to get through to the department because they never answer the phones.
“They never pick up the phone, they have two numbers but you won’t get an answer most of the time” he explained.
“I tried eight times today, no answer. It takes up all my day trying to speak to them.”
Nuruz was clear that when he did eventually get through to the department they were generally helpful and tried to assist him, he thinks there are simply not enough staff to do the role properly.
Aklus Miah, from Moredon, has been driving taxis in Swindon for thirteen years.
He echoed Nuruz’s concerns: “I think it has got worse recently, you could phone for days but they hardly ever pick up the phone.
“But then they put up the licensing fees, and by more than inflation too.
“We pay for the service but they are not providing it.”
A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council said: “The taxi licensing team is very busy and licenses more than 1,100 drivers.
“There are five people working in it, and while the phone can’t always be answered immediately there is a voicemail and this is monitored at least twice a day.
“Drivers also know that if they have been sent a letter in error when they have been legitimately been driving in a bus lane they will not be subject to a fine.
“These issues have been discussed in our regular meetings with the taxi operators and while errors do occur, nine letters to one driver would be exceptional and isn’t something we’ve been made aware of.”
Administering the taxi system in Swindon is set to become more complex with the imminent arrival of the app-based company Uber.
With fears over driver vetting and customer protection high on the list of objections to the move, questions about the licensing team’s capacity to cope will be a cause of concern for some.
source:
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/14297902._/
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