Taxi Driver Online

Proposals to help Covid-hit West Cheshire taxi trade

https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/ ... axi-trade/

TEMPORARY measures are being proposed in an attempt to help tackle the current crisis facing the taxi trade as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has put forward proposals to ease the pressure on both the hackney carriage and private hire trades who are currently struggling to meet post-lockdown demand for their services.

In a report to licensing committee members, who will meet on September 7 to consider the plans, it states that the borough's taxi trade has seen a 15% reduction in the number of drivers and a 20% fall in licensed vehicles due to the pandemic.

It also adds:

• One large private hire operator has reported "a serious driver shortage" and difficulties meeting the needs of "the increasing night-time economy".

• Cheshire Police have expressed "concern" over the increased queues and waiting times, especially during the late night/early morning periods.

• The council has received an increase in complaints from the public about delays in obtaining transport home late at night.

The report, written by the council's regulatory services manager Andrew Rees, says: "Officers note that there has been a significant reduction in the number of available licensed drivers.

"In addition, because of the pandemic, a hackney carriage/private hire driver has been recognised as being in a high-risk occupation.

"Being recognised as such, may deter some potential new applicants from entering the trade. Some existing drivers have also chosen not to work during the pandemic for this same reason and on health grounds.

"The private hire operator has stated that other Licensing Authorities have relaxed some driver entry requirements and has therefore requested that we do the same. Members will have the option to determine any possible policy changes."

What are the proposals?

Before a new driver can be licensed, the current policy requires that they pass both The Cheshire West and Chester Council Licensed Driver’s Qualification and The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Driving Assessment (private hire) or other Driving Assessment Scheme approved by the regulatory services manager.

The report states: "A large private hire operator has indicated that the prerequisites for new drivers are both costly and time consuming for new applicants, who may have little or no money to enable them to enter the trade."

As a result, it is proposed:

• That all applicants be given a 12-month period in which to pass these qualifications.

The report also outlines a further obstacle facing the trade: "In recent months officers have had to reject a number of renewal applications for vehicles that were licensed up until the pandemic but subsequently the licence has been allowed to expire.

"These specific vehicle renewal licences were being applied for up to a year + after the original licence expired. As such, they must be treated as a new application and as the vehicles were more than five years old, they did not meet the entry requirements and therefore could not be licensed.

"In all cases if the vehicle licence had been renewed at the time of expiry, subject to meeting all the other licensing criteria, they would have continued to be licensed until they reached the relevant exit age."

As a result, it is proposed:

• Any vehicle previously licensed as a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle whose licence expired after March 23, 2020 would not need to meet the current entry age policy. This is subject to any such vehicle not being older than the relevant exit age policy and being a suitably qualifying vehicle that meets all other licensing requirements.

Another issue raised in a separate agenda item for the same meeting highlights the difficulties that licensed drivers are currently facing in obtaining a medical examination, which is required when either renewing or acquiring a licence, as a result of the restrictions in place at GP surgeries due to the pandemic.

Members are asked to consider the following options:

• Approve the continuing medical self-declaration for a period of no more than 12 months for applicants renewing their licence.

• For new applicants, the current medical requirements be amended to the council needing a certificate of medical fitness undertaken and signed by their GP, or other registered doctor who confirms they have had access to their medical records. If the medical is not undertaken by their own GP, the doctor must also confirm that they have undertaken an identity check against a valid photo ID document.

The report concludes:

"The hackney carriage and private hire trades need support and assistance to recover from the impact the pandemic has had on their finances and ability to comply with policy.

"Officers recognise that both licensed drivers and vehicle number are reduced compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

"The proposed changes to the application requirements could both encourage new driver applications – by speeding up the application process and reducing the initial financial outlay for the applicant – and allow previously licensed vehicles back on to the fleet; and thereby helping to meet rising demand.

"Officers recognise that these proposals could temporarily weaken the standard of new drivers and slightly delay improvements in vehicular emissions."

What a shower of sh**.

New applicants have 12 months to prove they are 'fit and proper' to drive a taxi/PH, and existing drivers can self certificate their own medicals.

A plate baron's/operator's charter.

You really couldn't make it up.

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IDFIMH

Rubbish.

The amendments being proposed are for one section of the trade, one small mouthy section.

The vast majority of the trade, the workers, I would guess are very happy as things are.

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IDFIMH

The only thing forming queues at our ranks are the TAXIS. Council policies have not only killed our trade but have decimated the late night economy.

Very strange how different areas are managing with the current level of demand.

Some areas are booming, some are sadly still struggling.

My view is the trade will recover and prosper in the years ahead, but then I'm quite a positive fella anyway.

But there is one difference between the areas buzzing and those that aren't, and that's in buzzing areas operators are lobbying for the lowering of standards and entry criteria, whilst in areas where it's a bit slow at present I've not seen any operators lobbying for increased standards and entry criteria.

Who would have thought?

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IDFIMH

To be fair, Chester is busier now at weekends than it was a few months ago. Saturday nights are very busy with queues at most ranks and private hire offices between say, 10pm and 3am. The rest of the time it is still quiet. As anyone knows , you can’t make a living on one decent night a week. These ‘new’ temporary measures don’t help any of the existing drivers, it’s just a ploy from the biggest operator in town (and basically the only operator in town!) KingKab, to try and recruit more drivers. If they’re so concerned about the plight of drivers why don’t they reduce they’re settle down again, it’s now at the same level as pre-COVID. They have also put a 10p charge back onto the driver for every job they take.
We (Chester license Hackney association) haven’t even been consulted on any of the measures being discussed. Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) have treated the trade disgustingly during the pandemic. There was/is no one in the office and if you ring it goes to answer phone. You will be lucky if you have a reply back within two to three weeks, if at all. I’m still waiting for my ‘new plate’ my existing one expired 26/06/21. I haven’t even received the paper one, just an email to show anyone who queries the ‘expired’ plate on the back.

The current situation is many areas including my own are a pirates charter. I was in the office on Saturday night from 18.00 In the first 2 hours i couldn't take a job and I could take nothing after 21.30 unless there was a cancelation. The phone was ringing constantly but I could only say sorry fully booked. Facebook pages are full of people saying that you can't get a taxi in the town or that drivers are charging extortionate prices and some people saying send me a message I will do it for X amount.
Our Councils answer to me suggesting they look on the facebook pages, We are not allowed to use facebook at work. The Council employed a chap last year specifically to work on licensing enforcement. I was told 2 weeks ago that he has been seconded to work in planning enforcement.

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Grandad,

Certainly nothing like that here, in fact had been in pole for an hour last night and had to pull off to go to the toilet - might have managed to wait another short while if I'd known a job was in the offing, but had been on the rank two hours in total, and didn't look like there was the likelihood of a hire anytime soon

That was about 2220, and the driver behind (who's with a small office) said all he'd done since starting at 1600 was two short runs from the rank.

So I did some shopping, tried the station rank, then another spell on my normal rank, then went home

So including my last job on Sunday, that was about four hours on the ranks for one £5.95 job

To be fair early evening on Sunday was slightly better than normal, and the public holiday yesterday was presumably a factor (although strictly speaking it's not an official holiday up here).

Irony was I could barely get up the street later on after midnight when suddenly all these students appeared from the union and nearby pubs. And freshers' week doesn't even start till the weekend. So that's another odd feature.

So could have waited another hour or two until the pubs chucked out, but most of these students will be the older crowd who live centrally and unlikely to get a taxi.

So could have waited an other hour and two and gotten nothing. Or there might have been a shedload of students who couldn't get a cab as we'd all gotten fed up and gone home. So to that degree there might be people complaining that they couldn't get a taxi

And apart from the odd occasion there's been maybe one or two people waiting, can't recall any real queues at the ranks since lockdown lifted.

So like X-ray, I'd be a bit annoyed if my council's policy is being dictated by the likes of the operator in another zone who's lost half-a-dozen drivers who worked at weekends for holiday money.

To be fair, it couldn't really be much easier to get a badge here, so I doubt if much will change in that regard anyway, or at least if they've already relaxed the rules with regard to medicals (say) then there's not much more they can do in terms of making it easier for new applicants