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PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2019 8:58 am 
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Another longish thread on this, but it got a bit messy.

Most of this is a rehash as well, but worth reading as a refresher.


Taxi drivers warn of more strikes in council licensing row

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... es-2877094

They've also threatened to up sticks and take their £360k a year in council income elsewhere

Cabbies have warned of further strikes if controversial licensing changes go ahead.

Taxi drivers in Newcastle-under-Lyme say they could also register with other local authorities to get around Newcastle Borough Council's new taxi policy.

The council is due to approve the re-written policy on June 11. It includes new rules for vehicles testing, a reduction in the age-limit for vehicles and a new English language test, to be provided by the council.

Black cab and private hire drivers brought chaos to Newcastle town centre when they refused to pick up passengers on a Friday night in March.

Drivers and managers warn there could be further disruption if the council does not listen to their concerns.

Trevor Colclough, right, of Sid’s Private Hire in Chesterton says drivers have ‘no confidence in the council’ to provide the English test and feels the current BTEC examinations at Stoke-on-Trent College are sufficient.

“We’ve completely lost trust in the council,” said Mr Colclough. “We’ve got no confidence in the council and we want the college to do the test because they’re unbiased. It should not be done in-house by the council.”

Mr Colclough added: “I’m fearful of more industrial action after June 11 if this doesn’t get sorted.

“We’re a family-run business, we’ve always been in the borough, we love it and we don’t want to leave. But if it comes down to it, we will.”

The council’s income from taxis last year was £360,435. Sid’s says it contributes about £50,000 a year to that, and warns a large chunk of public money could be lost if there is a mass exodus of cabbies.

Quote:
Newcastle-under-Lyme taxi drivers' issues with the new policy

Taxi drivers claim to have the following issues with Newcastle Borough Council's new taxi licensing policy for 2019/20:

• Operators claim they will have to keep logbooks of service history for self-employed drivers - at a great cost of time and effort to their businesses;
• Vehicles can't be licensed past four years old for their first time and beyond seven years in total;
• Switching to electric vehicles is too expensive and they'll lose money when charging;
• A new type of testing system won't be as efficient as the Stoke-on-Trent College BTEC qualification they already have;
• They don't like the penalty points scheme;
• They say they'll have to wait between five and eight weeks for an appointment to renew their licences;
• It'll cost customers more;
• It will reduce service and safety standards;
• It will send drivers out of the borough for licences.


Shahraz Yaqub, business development manager at Autocab, says passengers will also be affected by the changes. He said: “Public safety will be impacted because there is now going to be drivers going out of the borough to get registered in places like Wolverhampton.

“Because there’s no restriction on cross-border operating, Newcastle Borough Council will have no say on the drivers operating in their borough.

“Ultimately, the costs of all this will be passed on to the customer.”

Stephen Sweeney, cabinet member for finance at the borough council, said: “The council is committed to communicating with all stakeholders involved in developing the new taxi licensing policy and has gone to great lengths to keep an ongoing and open dialogue with representatives from the Hackney carriage and private hire trade.

“The council has met with taxi drivers on numerous occasions, extended the consultation twice at their request and officers have amended some of the proposals.

"Councillors agreed to a further meeting before they make a decision on 11 June and are allowing two representatives from the trade to address councillors and put forward their points at the meeting.

“In these circumstances, and as the draft policy is still being finalised, the council feels that threats of further strike action are premature and unfortunate.”


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PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2019 9:54 pm 
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Council want to improve standards, operator's hate the idea.

Nothing unusual there.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:37 pm 
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Nothing particularly new here, but to the average member of the public reading this it must sound like the firms are threatening to up sticks and move their businesses lock, stock and barrel, whereas all they're threatening to do is get their licences in another borough.

Also suspect readers will think these people are representing the whole trade, whereas it looks like they're mainly offices and operators.


'We love the borough and don't want to leave' - Cabbies set for showdown meeting with council leaders

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/we ... nt-2963368

Drivers in Newcastle are at odds with the local authority over policy changes

Cabbies will make their final pleas to council bosses tonight ahead of a controversial change in licensing policy – and they’ll strike again if they don’t get their way.

Black cab and private hire drivers in Newcastle are furious with the proposed changes they say will increase costs to the consumer, make the practice less safe, and ultimately cause a mass exodus of operators seeking registration in ‘friendlier’ boroughs.

Newcastle Borough Council bosses have twice changed the policy since cabbies brought chaos to the town centre with a go-slow protest in March.

They also refused to pick up revellers on a Friday night, prompting an increased police presence in the town to keep order.

The new policy includes new rules for vehicle testing, a reduction in the age-limit for vehicles, and a new English language test, to be provided by the council.

But drivers say not much has changed and they’re still unhappy with a service they say can leave them off the road for up to three months.

Parvez Khan, of City Cabs, read the most recent revised policy. He said: “We wouldn’t really say much has changed to be honest with you. It’s still the same language.

“They’re going to allow us 10 minutes each to speak at the meeting, 10 for private hire and 10 for Hackney carriages.”

Drivers met for an emergency summit in Shelton last night to discuss a plan of action when they come before council chiefs tonight.

In May, Trevor Colclough, of Sid’s Private Hire in Chesterton, warned the business would leave the borough if serious changes weren’t made, and others were willing to follow suit.

“We’ve got no confidence in the council and we want the college to do the test because they’re unbiased,” said Mr Colclough. “It should not be done in-house by the council.

“I’m fearful of more industrial action after June 11 if this doesn’t get sorted.

“We’re a family-run business, we’ve always been in the borough, we love it and we don’t want to leave. But if it comes down to it, we will.”

The council’s income from taxis last year was £360,435. Sid’s says it contributes about £50,000 a year to that, and warns a large chunk of public money could be lost if there is a mass exodus of cabbies.

Shahraz Yaqub, business development manager at Autocab, says passengers will also be affected by the changes.

He said: “Public safety will be impacted because there are now going to be drivers going out of the borough to get registered in places like Wolverhampton.

“Because there’s no restriction on cross-border operating, Newcastle Borough Council will have no say on the drivers operating in their borough.

“Ultimately, the costs of all this will be passed on to the customer.”

Stephen Sweeney, cabinet member for finance at the borough council, said: “The council has gone to great lengths to keep a constant, open dialogue with representatives from the Hackney carriage and private hire trade throughout the draft policy’s development.

“It has listened carefully to the points made during the consultation – which was extended twice at the taxi drivers’ request – and at numerous meetings by changing four proposals which include no longer recommending that all new/replacement saloon hackney carriages (black cabs) must be electric vehicles. Two drivers have now been given permission to address the committee.

“It’s understood some drivers are still not happy with the draft policy and are threatening more action, which will impact on their customers, if they do not get all of their own way.

“This is deeply regrettable, but the council believes its first priority is to safeguard standards and safety/welfare for the travelling public.”


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:49 am 
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I bet Wolverhampton are rubbing their hands with glee at this :lol:

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:56 am 
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'Common sense has prevailed...' - Cabbies hail victory in council fight over controversial new taxi policy

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... il-2970066

But Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has brought in new English test rules

Image
Image: Stoke Sentinel/Joe Burn

Further industrial action by angry cabbies looks set to have been avoided after council bosses compromised on a controversial new taxi policy.

Taxi drivers have breathed a collective sigh of relief after Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council scrapped a new age policy that would have meant vehicles more than four years old or with more than 40,000 miles on the clock could not be used as cabs.

The change means vehicles must now be less than seven years old when first licensed and vehicles more than 10 years old must have safety and MOT checks every six months.

A controversial penalty points system has also been scrapped by the council - and replaced with three warnings over a set period.

But council bosses are pressing ahead with a new English test and knowledge test for all new drivers as well as cabbies in need of a refresher.

Hackney carriage drivers are particularly concerned about a change in the 'grandfather rights' policy. Under current rules, black cab licences can be sold on with the vehicle, effectively allowing a business to continue in the hands of a new licensed driver. But the new rules mean the Hackney carriage licence plate will belong to one driver alone.

Tariq Mahmood, chairman of Newcastle Hackney Carriage Association, claimed the rule change would put drivers out of business and send a large proportion of the borough's fleet to Stoke-on-Trent.

He said: "If I buy a car for £20,000 and the next day I have some problems and I can't work as a taxi, then I can't transfer the car to somebody else's name, I can't sell it. So all the money I've paid for the car has gone down the road. Normally I get the car on finance, so I have to pay all that money on my own, which is not right."

Following this week's licensing meeting, speaking on behalf of the private-hire trade, City Cabs owner Parvez Khan, said: "It went unexpectedly quite well. All the work we've put in through the meetings has paid off.

"There have only been one or two disappointments - firstly the English test which we think should have only gone to new applicants. There may be one or two appeals but we're happy with what's happened."

A spokesman for Sid's Private Hire, of Chesterton, said: "We are pleased that the councillors have gone against some of the recommendations of the licensing officer and followed the trade's suggestions. In most parts this policy works for the trade and for the protection and safety of the public. Common sense has prevailed."

The council says it has listened to the cabbies.

Councillor Stephen Sweeney, cabinet member for licensing, said: “This policy puts a framework in place which allows us to protect the safety and well-being of the travelling public. These are the foundations of what this policy is all about and public safety is not something we are prepared to compromise on.

“Throughout the development of this policy we have kept a constant, open dialogue with representatives from the hackney carriage and private-hire trade. We extended the consultation on the policy twice at their request and we have also made a number of concessions after listening to points they raised with us.

“We have not conceded to the trade on every single issue they raised with us and while they may not be totally happy I think the concessions made show we have listened to try to get the best possible outcome for all concerned.”

Other Newcastle taxi driver policy changes 2019/20

Changes agreed to previous proposals included:-

• Scrapping a proposed penalty points system for driver indiscretions and replacing it with three warnings during a set period and following that the person would be referred to a meeting with councillors.

• No insistence that all new/replacement saloon black cabs must be electric despite Government pressure on councils to tackle air quality issues.

• Removing an obligation from operators on keeping logbooks of the service history for vehicles of self-employed drivers. This obligation will stay on drivers though.


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:59 am 
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HCA chairman wrote:
"If I buy a car for £20,000 and the next day I have some problems and I can't work as a taxi, then I can't transfer the car to somebody else's name, I can't sell it. So all the money I've paid for the car has gone down the road. Normally I get the car on finance, so I have to pay all that money on my own, which is not right."


So if you can't sell it on, how can you buy it in the first place? :-s


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 13, 2019 12:09 pm 
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Quote:
Taxi drivers have breathed a collective sigh of relief after Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council scrapped a new age policy that would have meant vehicles more than four years old or with more than 40,000 miles on the clock could not be used as cabs.

The change means vehicles must now be less than seven years old when first licensed and vehicles more than 10 years old must have safety and MOT checks every six months.


poor journalism again they omitted the words "at first licensing"

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:12 pm 
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Quote:
as well as cabbies in need of a refresher.

Very nice of the council.

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