Taxi Driver Online

There's a video on the Chronicle's website of one of the drivers explaining why the removal of the Gate rank has been so problematic. Sounds about right - pen pushers doing these things at the stroke of a, er, pen, with little appreciation on how it will affect things on the ground, or indeed total indifference.

Taxi drivers behind Newcastle protests which have caused gridlock have a message for the council

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/no ... s-15083475

The Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association says members have been forced to take drastic action by Newcastle City Council


An unofficial taxi protest takes place in Newcastle City Centre (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Meet the taxi drivers willing to bring streets to a halt to protect their livelihoods.

Newcastle’s black cab drivers are taking their fight to the council, which they accuse of devastating the city’s hackney carriage trade.

Drivers say Newcastle has seen an influx of private hire drivers, particularly working for Uber, which has squeezed the market for traditional cabs.

Coupled with a reduction in ranks around the city centre, the men behind the Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association (NHCDA) claim they are being forced to take drastic action to make themselves heard.

On August 23, drivers descended on the a rank between Eldon Square and Haymarket, causing serious congestion on the surrounding roads.

Just five days later, they did the same again on a smaller scale - and they haven’t ruled out more civil disobedience.

NHCDA spokesman John Hirst, 57, who has been driving cabs in Newcastle for 30 years, said: “We want to apologise to people who have been disrupted but we feel ignored by Newcastle City Council.

“We don’t have an alternative, we need to exercise our right to go to work and take this action because people’s livelihoods are at risk here.”


L-R John Hirst, Urfan Hussain, Mohammad Youssaf, Richard Ahmed and Mark Cowie outside the gate where a taxi rank has been removed (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

The NHCDA, which represents over half of the city’s roughly 800 hackney carriage drivers, insists it is not “protesting”, instead referring to the action as “go to work days” which highlight the lack of rank spaces.

The tactic sees drivers turn up to one rank and, because it’s already full of other drivers, they go on to the closest one.

When that’s full too, they return to the first rank, overwhelming the roads between the two and causing gridlock.

Meetings have taken place between the NHCDA and the council but the drivers are prepared for a long fight and have organised formally under the chairmanship of Mohammad ‘Inty’ Youssaf.

Newcastle has seen a rise in the number of private hire drivers on the road.

The required test a driver needs to do has also been simplified, which NHCDA says encouraged an unsustainable influx of drivers.

By law, local authorities are not able to impose a cap on the number of licences issued.

But the group says this has put strain on existing drivers who have seen new drivers eat into their trade, legally and, they claim, illegally.

Mr Hirst said: “Having lots of cars around might be a good thing for passengers because you’re less likely to have to wait a long time.

“But we’ve seen private hires parked around the city centre plying for trade which hasn’t been pre-booked which they’re not legally allowed to do.

“What that means for passengers is if that car is in an accident, the insurance won’t cover you if you’re hurt.

“The locality test has been massively stripped back too making it much easier for drivers to get a licence.

“We have a ‘quantity over quality’ situation going on in Newcastle.”

Rank space near The Gate has become a contentious issue between the NHCDA and the council.

Spaces on Newgate Street, which drivers said was one of their most important spots to find work, have been removed in favour of a reduced number of spaces on nearby Clayton Street.

Mr Hirst said: “We had a perfectly good, working rank outside The Gate which was removed without any consultation.

“The council have made it much harder for us to pick up passengers at busy spots and harder to move around the city due to lanes we can’t use and roads we can no longer turn onto.

“All it has done is damaged our livelihoods and pushed up fares for passengers.”

The council says the Newgate Street rank was removed to aid the reliability of buses.

Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality, said: “The council is committed to working with the taxi trade to develop locations that work in the best interests of all road users.

“We are aware that some hackney carriage drivers have raised concerns about other drivers illegally plying for hire. This is an issue Newcastle City Council takes very seriously. In cooperation with Northumbria Police, test purchases and spot checks are frequently carried out and prosecutions sought where necessary.

“Changes to the Locality Test were introduced in 2015 following Government recommendations. The interview has been re-developed with emphasis toward licensing responsibility, legislation and driver conditions in addition to disability and vulnerability issues, passenger safety and customer service, medical fitness, road safety and expected compliance.

“It also continues to include local geography assessment.”

Removal of any approved rank has to be advertised in a traffic order.

Was that missed by the trade?

However the trade should have been consulted on the removal of the rank, and one wonders if they weren't should a complaint go to the Local Government Ombudsman?

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IDFIMH

Taxi driver protest causes gridlock in Newcastle for third time in a week

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/no ... n-15081217

The Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association are organising dissent to challenges faced by the trade in the city

There's a shedload of photos, videos and statements etc via the above link, but largely of local interest and nothing really new to report except for the fact that there's been a third protest.

Very determined action by the HCs by the looks of it though - it's claimed that 300 cars took part - and very comprehensive coverage by the Chronicle.


Image: Newcastle Chronicle


Image: Newcastle Chronicle

Council under pressure to resolve Newcastle taxi crisis as protests look set to continue

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/no ... e-15092467

The Liberal Democrat opposition have urged the council to improve relations with drivers to avoid more disruption

Newcastle City Council has been told to get a grip on a spiralling conflict with black cab drivers as protests look set to continue.

Hackney carriage drivers have brought city centre streets grinding to a halt three times in a week in an attempt to secure changes from the council to help the ailing trade.

Simmering resentments over pressures created by an influx of Uber drivers in recent years and changes to ranks and road layouts have contributed to the impasse.

Dissent is now being organised around the Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association, a group which informally represents over half of the city’s black cab drivers and uses a private channel to coordinate action.

Newcastle City Council have defended their position and assured cabbies that they will continue to clamp down on rogue drivers.

But the Liberal Democrat opposition have put pressure on senior councillors and officers to calm tensions in order to prevent more disruption on Newcastle’s roads.

Shadow transport spokesperson Greg Stone said: “Clearly there is a growing tension between the council and the trade, particularly on the number of taxis operating and the clear reduction in rank space over a number of years.

“The council’s city centre traffic changes, most recently at Newgate Street but also around John Dobson Street and Grey Street seem to be having an impact on taxi operations and clearly the drivers feel that the council is set on making changes without taking on board their concerns.

“The council’s aim of deterring car use in the city centre needs to take into account the needs of taxi users who may be elderly and disabled and who increasingly find it difficult to get a taxi to and from the heart of the city centre.

“The opposition thinks a review of the council’s taxi strategy is needed.”

Coun Stone added long term goals, such as linking licensing to the new North of Tyne devolved authority or moving to low-emission vehicles, can only be achieved if “there is a constructive dialogue between the council transport team and the taxi industry”.

Speaking at a protest on August 29, John Hirst, a NHCDA spokesperson said: “I’d like to make an apology to the public for any distress this has caused today but we feel as Hackney carriage drivers that...We’ve had to resort to this.”

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “We work hard to make sure every taxi driver in the city is operating legitimately, carrying out spot checks and prosecutions to clamp down on rogue drivers.

“The private hire market has expanded nationally, resulting in more taxis on the roads. This has been as a result of investment, deregulation and the introduction of new technology.

“We cannot legally impose a limit on the number of Private Hire Vehicle licences issued.

“We are continuing to seek to work with the taxi trade in Newcastle, to develop sufficient and sustainable rank provision in the city centre.

“Our next regular meeting with the Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association is due to take place in the coming weeks.

“We would urge drivers to work with us to find a solution rather than take action which causes inconvenience and disruption to people in the city centre.”

Full statement from Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers’ Association

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/single-pos ... -continues

The Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers’ Association (NHCDA) has been formed to represent the Hackney Carriage industry, to address ongoing challenges and to establish support and unity within the trade. Hackney Carriages are crucial to the city’s infrastructure, transporting members of the public around the city centre and its various regions. They are legally able to accept a fare from the street without a prior booking and to be referred to as a ‘Taxi’ which Private Hire vehicles are not, on both counts.

There are approximately 780 Hackney Carriage vehicles licensed by the City of Newcastle Licensing Department and drivers are of diverse ethnicity, backgrounds, cultures, faiths, age groups, mostly male but with some female members and with varying levels of experience within the trade.

Although the NHCDA are currently in negotiation with members of Newcastle City Council, including Councillor Nick Kemp, Member for the Environment and Councillor Arlene Ainsley, Transport and Air Quality, drivers held a Go To Work Day on Thursday 23 August 2018 to emphasise their concerns and frustration with Newcastle City Council policy. It has become increasingly apparent that Newcastle City Council have their own transport and fiscal agenda whilst claiming that they want to work with the trade.

In order to obtain a Hackney Carriage licence each driver has to pass a locality test to demonstrate their knowledge of the city and surrounding areas. A private hire driver used to be required to pass a similar test as part of their licence application until approximately three years ago, which co-incided with Uber being granted their operating licence within the city. Since that time the criteria for obtaining a private hire licence has been relaxed and made easier.

This change in policy has resulted in a threefold increase in private hire vehicles causing many problems for traffic movement within the city. The numbers of private hire vehicles illegally plying for hire, flooding into the city centre and parking up, particularly at weekends, and taking non pre-booked work is untenable. This in part, is due to the fact that their designated operators do not have sufficient work to distribute.

The problem is not exclusive to Newcastle upon Tyne as many inner cities throughout the UK are dealing with similar issues and have challenged their region’s existing policies.

The NHCDA request that the council re-instate the locality test in full when applying for a private hire licence in parity with applying for a Hackney Carriage licence.

Councillor Arlene Ainsley made a press announcement last week that the local authority are unable to impose a cap on the numbers of private hire vehicles. The NHCDA would like to emphasise that they have never requested a cap on private hire licences and acknowledge that there has never been one. However, Councillor Arlene Ainsley and the Licensing Department are deliberately misleading in their statement as the lowering of criteria for the attainment of a private hire licence has expanded the numbers of private hire vehicles to an unmanageable and unpoliced level.

The NHCDA insists that it is the local authority’s responsibility to ensure private hire working is lawful and regulated.

The NHCDA would fiercely argue that the council have put revenue and the desires of private hire operators before public safety, public well-being and the environment.

Furthermore, Operation Sanctuary with it’s subsequent prosecutions within the private hire sector, highlighting the vulnerability of young women, emphasised the absolute necessity of ensuring that the criteria for issuing licences should be heightened, not lessened, to protect public safety and hopefully public confidence.

One of the most challenging problems faced by Hackney Carriage drivers is the lack of sufficient inner city rank spaces due to the historic and recent removal of ranks, especially The Gate, with other ranks under threat.

The NHCDA object to the removal of The Gate rank based on it’s popularity, accessibility and convenience for members of the public and the council’s reluctance to propose a viable alternative.

Ironically, drivers have been officially advised by taxi enforcement officers that if there are no available rank spaces they should drive around the city until a space becomes available which, of course, increases carbon emissions.

The current restricted access for Hackney Carriage vehicles does not work and prevents drivers from using certain bus lanes and gates. Consequently routes within the city have become longer, more expensive to customers and have created significant problems for traffic congestion and traffic flow, ultimately impacting on pollution and carbon emissions. This situation is counter- productive to Newcastle City Council’s stated aim to protect the inner city environment.

The NHCDA want Hackney Carriages to have the same access as buses to all streets, bus lanes and gates in order to keep the city moving. The majority of Hackney Carriage fares begin within the city centre and the access given to Hackney Carriages should reflect this.

In response to Councillor Arlene Ainsley’s comment that last Thursday’s Go To Work Day disrupted the journeys of hundreds of members of the public, the NHCDA would stress that the congestion and chaotic gridlocking of traffic, particularly at weekends, has an enormous impact on public safety and the ability to be transported around the city, including the movement of buses/public transport and is exacerbated by current policy.

Finally, Hackney Carriage drivers are profoundly keen to have the respect and support of the public, and would like to be viewed as ambassadors of the city, easily recognised and identifiable. We ask for public support whilst in negotiation with Newcastle City Council in the belief that we have the genuine interests of Newcastle at heart and pride in our great city.

It has become increasingly apparent that Newcastle City Council have their own transport and fiscal agenda whilst claiming that they want to work with the trade.

typical council

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

To be honest what the drivers are asking for is not that unreasonable.

Reinstate the PH knowledge, reinstate the rank they lost, and allow bus lane access.

If I was the chair of licensing I would come to an agreement with the drivers, as really they are no-brainers IMO.

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IDFIMH

Newcastle like so many authorities think Bus=public transport

not bus plus train plus taxi plus shanks pony

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