Taxi Driver Online

A gold star to anyon who can read through and not fall asleep

TAXI drivers from Newport packed Newport City Council’s chambers this evening to voice concerns over fares and vandalism.

Around 70 drivers attended the meeting — held by the recently formed Newport Private Hire Drivers Association (NPHDA) — which aimed to gather feedback from drivers about issues they face on the job.

Following a private section of the meeting — which included a Q and A session with a Newport City Council licensing officer — drivers expressed several concerns.

These included calls to improve the testing procedure for new drivers in terms of local knowledge and their level of English and the need for more testing centres in Newport.

The committee also noted the divide between licensed private hire taxis and hackney cabs, with the majority of taxis in Newport being designated as private hire vehicles.

The NPHDA— which aims to represent the interests of taxi drivers in Newport — believe hackney cabs have an advantage over private hire, as they can be hailed down by passengers or park in taxi ranks.

Private hire cabs (or mini cabs) are traditionally pre-booked and operate on a fixed fare basis.

At the meeting, many private hire taxi drivers noted they would prefer to have a meter installed over a fixed fare system.

The NPHDA added it's aiming to work with taxi operators in Newport to develop a fairer pricing structure for all drivers, with six out of 10 taxi operators in Newport attending the meeting.

These included Dragon Taxis, ABC, Town Taxis, Roman, Servu Taxis and Star Taxis.

NPHDA chairman, Ryan Milton, added a fairer pricing structure would allow taxi providers to compete in terms of “service” rather than price.

The majority of drivers at the meeting added they had been victims of targeted vandalism, from eggs being pelted at their vehicles to smashed windows.

Taxi driver of 22 years, Kaz Ahmed, 46, said that taxis were “targeted” by vandals in areas including Ringland and Alway.

Driver of 30 years, Bashir Hussain, 67, added he has seen windows being smashed and stones being thrown at taxis.

"I have never seen anything like it," he said.

When all taxi drivers in attendance were asked to raise their hand if they had been a victim of vandalism, over half did so.

The NPHDA also outlined plans to develop a formal system for taxi drivers to log vandalism incidents.

Each crime will by logged by the committee and submitted to Gwent Police for further action.

The group stated they would meet again in early March following discussions with operators to agree on a fairer pricing structure for both hackney and private hire licensed cabs.

NPHDA vice chairman, Manzoor Ahmad, added that the committee will represent the views of Newport’s taxi drivers on issues ranging from highways to police matters.

“We were formed just over two months ago and had our annual general meeting on January 10 where we had over 100 drivers turn up and we progressed from there," he said.

“Any issues (drivers) have we will take forward. We’re the voice of the taxi drivers of Newport.”

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

follow up story equally as boring but it is about a serious issue

MORE taxi drivers have come forward to voice their concerns over increased acts of vandalism against cabs in Newport.

Incidents committed against drivers from numerous taxi companies have escalated, according to workers, with Ringland and Alway described as hotspots.

Some drivers told the Argus that they had actively turned down jobs to these areas out of fear that they would be targeted.

Missiles used by vandals range from stones and eggs to bricks which have smashed windows and tail-lights as well as dented cars.

According to Anhar Miar, 43, who works for ABC, the “massive” problem is one that is unique to Newport.

He said: “I’ve got friends who work in other towns in the area and they have never experienced anything it, it just seems to be happening in Newport.”

Such issues were brought up at a meeting between around 70 members of the recently formed Newport Private Hire Drivers Association (NPHDA) on Tuesday evening.

A spokesperson for Newport City Council shared the concerns of drivers on vandalism, adding: “We welcome the setting up of this new committee and thank the trade for inviting the licensing team to the meeting and look forward to working with the members.”

Speaking yesterday, Manzoor Ahmad, vice-chairman of the NPHDA, said that drivers were being targeted due to the vehicles having the Newport City Council logo on them.

According to Mr Ahmad, a minibus operated by ABC Taxis with customers inside had stones thrown at it by hooded youths.

“The customers said to the driver ‘please don’t stop us here’ and they asked to be dropped further away to walk down a back lane,” he said.

“We cannot accept issues like this, it’s the same areas all the time.”

Drivers are forced to take days off while their cars are repaired, one driver claiming that a smashed window cost him more than £300.

“In these days that I’m off, I’m losing money on top of what I pay to fix the car, it’s not fair on me, the company or the customer.” he said.

NPHDA secretary, Dave Bryant, 55, has worked as a driver for 16 years and said that all public services including buses are being targeted.

He said: “The problem is much more serious now than it was a couple of years ago.

“You just have to think what if a brick came through the window and it hit a customer, the consequences would be phenomenal.”

According to Gwent Police, there has been a decrease in damage to motor vehicles in Ringland and Alway for the months of October, November, December 16 and January 17 (combined) compared to the same period last year.

Local police sergeant Jamie Jones said: “We are aware of the concerns raised, and I would like reassure residents we do take reports of this nature very seriously.

“However, I would like to stress these incidents do need to be reported to police directly, as we have been made aware of a social media account where many reports of criminal damage and intimidation to taxis is being discussed but not reported.

“Officers have met with taxi drivers to discuss the problem and to reassure them that we believe this type of criminal damage is not specifically directed at taxis.”

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Is kids throwing stones at taxis a national problem ?
We have it round here, one week it will be one group in one area and the next different kids in another area.

They brick the busses and ambulances too, I mean who the f*ck throws bricks at an ambulance with its lights and sirens on ?

They will stop when one of them gets run over by a driver who gets distracted.

_________________
Grandad,

Or a driver gives them a clout.

_________________
IDFIMH

Nah that would be license gone for sure

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

The usual spiel from the police! I worked in Zooport between 2000/2004, cabs and buses including yours truely were being bricked/stoned on a regular basis - I have yet to hear of ONE prosecution. If it had not been for my windshield I would have had my eye socket smashed to pieces! On that occasion a few drivers vehicles got stoned/bricked and duly reported the incidents to the police. The police released a statement to say that "Incidents like this were rare"! The following week the local rag reported that 37/38 buses had been stoned the previous month

_________________
if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.