Taxi Driver Online

Nothing particularly new here, and thought this was a rehash of old Bath article. But can't actually find anything from Bath specifically about this, although apps and cross-border stuff mentioned in previous articles about the city.


Bath cabbie claims Ubers are 'threatening livelihoods' of local drivers

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/in-your- ... ng-2769775

Council says it has no powers to stop licensed drivers from outside Bath driving away with customers


Image: Richard Mills/Somerset Live

A Bath cabbie claims Uber drivers who are not registered in the area are threatening the livelihoods of local taxi drivers.

For many years now, taxi drivers have complained about the arrival of Uber drivers.

Cab drivers across the UK have accused local councils of making it too easy for Uber drivers to enter the trade.

When the law changed in 2015 with the Deregulation Act, drivers with a private-hire licence from a local authority could use it to operate anywhere in England and Wales.

Bath taxi driver, Reza Mirnezami, said this has allowed Uber drivers who are registered in Gloucestershire, for instance, to operate in Bath and Somerset, among other areas.

He says that Bath and North East Somerset Council should do something to stop Ubers encroaching on their patch as it is hurting them financially.

Mr Mirnezami said: "It has has been the worst time for me in my 10 years as a taxi driver.

"We have Ubers from Bristol and Gloucestershire who are taking away our customers.

"They also do not know the roads here so sometimes they go the wrong way down one-way roads.

"Ubers are threatening our livelihoods. They are not registered with this area like we are. We are about to pay thousands to the council very shortly to renew our taxi plates.

"We contribute money to the council's coffers, these Ubers who come from outside of the area do not. That is not fair.

"They contribute to more traffic and more pollution. We need more help from the council."

In 2017, trade union GMB accused Uber of exploiting a legal loophole that allowed its drivers to operate in UK towns and cities where they don’t have a licence, leaving local authorities powerless to regulate them.

Mick Rix, the GMB union’s national officer for the Hackney and private-hire taxi trade, said Uber was 'acting with impunity' across the UK.

He also said it was increasingly 'spreading its tentacles' into smaller towns and cities.

Taxi drivers have said that ride-hail cars saturated the market, forcing many to quit their jobs.

What did Uber and the council say in response?

The council said that Uber was not breaking the law and it was powerless to stop licensed drivers from elsewhere coming to the city.

A spokeswoman for BANES said: "The wider issue is around the way the industry is changing rapidly and the way taxis are booked through apps.

"With regard to Uber more and more Bath & North East Somerset licensed vehicles are affiliated to the platform so Uber is not exclusively using vehicles from other areas.

"Those that do come from other areas are not breaking the law which means the council does not have powers to stop this."

An Uber spokeswoman said: "We recognise there have been concerns about private hire journeys crossing jurisdictional boundaries.

"Last year we introduced changes that means drivers are only able to use our app within the region where they are licensed as a private hire driver.

"We continue to work closely with local councils on this issue.”

What is Uber doing about this?

An Uber press release from February 2018 said: "Uber now operates in more than 40 towns and cities across the UK, with tens of thousands of drivers and millions of riders using our app every week.

"While cross-border driving is something the law allows for and is common in private hire journeys across England and Wales, we’ve heard from local licensing authorities that the way our app works can make it hard for them to oversee what some drivers are doing in their jurisdiction.

"That’s why next month (March 2018) we are making a significant change which will mean drivers will only be able to use our app within the region where they are licensed as a private hire driver.

"For example, a driver licensed by Leeds City Council would still be able to do trips with Uber in Wakefield, Bradford or anywhere else in the Yorkshire region, but not in Manchester, Birmingham or anywhere outside the Yorkshire region.

"A driver will still be free to choose where they want to drive, but to do so they will need to be licensed by an authority within the region where they want to drive.

"While we will of course keep everything under review we believe this change strikes the right balance for the drivers, riders and cities we serve.

"It will help local licensing authorities tackle the challenge they currently face in regulating drivers in their area when they are licensed in another part of the country; passengers will still be able to take affordable long distance trips (such as to and from airports, hospitals or back home after a night out in the city centre); and drivers will be able to carry out those longer trips without being forced to drive back without a fare paying passenger.

Can't really see how the Deregulation Act changed any of that

yeah right

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

And it's taken Bath drivers how many years to work that out?

Thank the Lord for the rest of the UK's trade that have been on the case and, hopefully, they might even have success in the years to come.

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IDFIMH

Some exaggerated/questionable claims here by the looks of it


Claims Uber drivers working 'illegally' and contributing 'absolutely zero' to Bath economy

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/loc ... ly-3096413

Taxi firms' leader says Uber has broken promise on local drivers

Taxi firms have urged council leaders to clamp down on Uber drivers who contribute “absolutely zero” to the local economy.

Bath Taxi Association chairman Bob Hollingdale called for their privilege to use bus lanes and bus gates to be revoked after the app “broke its promise” to use local drivers.

He claimed Uber drivers from outside the city were abusing licences to operate in Bath and in some cases, acting illegally.

He said a number of other towns across the country had brought in tighter controls and argued it would cut pollution and congestion in the city.

Speaking at Thursday’s full council meeting, Mr Hollingdale said: “A few years ago, when Uber were granted their licence to operate in Bath, they promised to use mainly local cars.

"When I say local cars, I mean cars licensed by Bath and North East Somerset Council.

“They have not kept that promise. Today, I’m asking you to restrict the use of bus lanes and bus gates to local taxis, private hire and buses only.

“A lot of towns have already done this.

“There would be less congestion and pollution.

"If they’ve had a job, they should drive back to their own area and not clog up the city.

“Most just drive here on the off-chance of getting a job, or take one illegally, which I’ve personally seen many times."

Mr Hollingdale said two of the city's biggest taxi firms have dramatically reduced the number of cabs they operate.

“A few years ago Abbey and V Cars had over 400 cars. Now they’ve got less than 200 between them," he said.

“We have the clean air zone being introduced shortly.

"Restricting these cars will have a major positive impact on the city.

“Quite often a tourist’s first point of contact is a taxi.

"They can advise the tourist of the history and other local knowledge. Out of town cars cannot.

“The contribution to the city by out-of-town cars is absolutely zero.”

Mr Hollingdale said the council had lost thousands in licensing fees from private hire vehicles being registered elsewhere, and claimed the drivers were “technically uninsured”.

Private hire taxi driver Paul Roles reminded councillors that he and his colleagues voted for them, but those from Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire did not.

He said the out-of-town Uber drivers buy their fuel and use mechanics outside of Bath and North East Somerset, and, unlike taxis or private hire vehicles, are empty much of the time.

Mr Roles said the net cost loss was around £10,000.

Councillor Manda Rigby agreed to meet with the two speakers.

Uber has been approached for comment.

Bit of a contradiction here - most Uber drivers are just in Bath on the "off-chance" of getting a job, yet two of the city's major players have seen their numbers halved?



If plying for hire, maybe, but more generally I'm not sure if there's an insurance issue.




More generally, not sure which other towns "have brought in tighter controls". The only policy specifically mentioned in this regard is bus lane access, but not sure if there's been a flood of councils restricting access to local vehicles to deal with cross-border working

That is one way to sort of help, have considered similar locally.

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IDFIMH