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Welwyn Hatfield taxi drivers warn wheelchair requirement will doom trade

Welwyn and Hatfield Taxi Drivers Association has launched an objection against wheelchair accessible conversion plans.

Richard Bunday, while raising the issue at a borough council meeting on Monday, explained that the standardisation of vehicle type has been done without proper consultation with the drivers.

Mr Bunday said: “We appreciate that there is a need for more [accessible cabs] within the borough but believe it is neither necessary nor advantageous to anyone to insist that all vehicles accommodate wheelchairs.

“Many wheelchair-bound customers prefer to transfer into the more secure seat of the taxi and find it both uncomfortable and frightening travelling strapped into their chair, especially when facing backwards.

“The disability spectrum is vast and not all disabled customers are in wheelchairs, this is just a small proportion.

“By limiting the scope of the vehicles provided within the fleet, you potentially create problems for customers with other disabilities and alienate other customers who require alternatives such as an executive car or six, seven or eight-seater.”

But, he acknowledges, a survey by the council found that 98 per cent of the public were in favour of this plan.

“If the council continue on this route, many Hackney carriage and private hire or chauffeur cars will choose to be licensed by another district or change careers altogether. The loss of revenue to the council already exceeds £10,000 and there will be more to follow. The council will end up without a taxi service at all.”

“Some drivers’ vehicles are near the eight year age limit or have to replace their vehicles owing to mechanical problems or accidental damage. It is wholly unreasonable for the council to expect these drivers to find the thousands of pounds extra immediately or in the next few weeks or months.”

He thinks this should instead be done when carriers enter the trade, which will replace the whole fleet in time.

In response, Cllr Fiona Thomson – executive member for governance, public health and climate change – said there had only been four new drivers in Welwyn Hatfield over the last years and this was a fair way to ensure taxis are replaced as there are no wheelchair vehicles currently in the council fleet.

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IDFIMH

Didn't see that one coming at all

As always a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I would be fairly sure that if they asked the consumers which they prefer the answer would not be WAV's !

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

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Well, you would say that, wouldn’t you? Didn’t you take note of the survey that claimed 98% in favour? Was there Russian interference in the survey?

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Former taxi driver

the survey was of the "public" and in my experience of council surveys that means a very carefully selected sample

In my experience which is considerable punters dislike Wav's and much prefer saloon cars or MPV's

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

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In my even more considerable experience, which is almost 30 years of actually owning and driving WAV Taxi’s, some of us don’t have any other option. #wavonlylincoln.

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Former taxi driver

well I drove Wav's for 15 years in an area with no Wav only policy and I would not be at all surprised if many Lincoln punters prefer PH. I Have had a Hackney licence as long as you have

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

I’ll bet your cat is blacker than my black cat too.

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Former taxi driver

That 98% was more than likely not 98% of the general public but 98% of those members of the public requiring a WAV or those involved in helping the disabled.

nah I'm allergic to them



That was the point I was trying to make earlier but less directly. Councils always try and do things the sneaky way

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

Aye, it's called "Massaging the figures" a method of processing and presenting data in a manner that gives a misleading impression of a preferred position, but falls just short of being an outright lie.

I’m shocked that a lot of you seem to think there is no market for accessible taxis. Let me tell you that I’ve had accessible cabs since 1992, and since then have been hired by at least twelve disabled passengers.

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Former taxi driver

If it’s anything like our council’s surveys, it would have been a ‘focus’ group with loaded questions.

Quite possibly the survey sample would be what critics call 'self-selecting'.

pay by card, Get the bank to claim it back,