Taxi Driver Online

This article could do with a bit of editing


1,000 Glasgow taxis could disappear from city streets due to Low Emission Zone rules

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... r-23065077

Unite Glasgow Cab section is warning that the trade will lose hundreds of cabs and livelihoods if an extension to the Low Emissions Zone Phase 2 is not forthcoming for hackney cabs.

The union which provides a collective voice for the Glasgow Hackney trade is warning that 1,000 taxis could disappear from the streets when Phase 2 of Glasgow's Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) comes into force in June of 2023.

Around 1,000 Hackney cabs - out of a fleet of 1,420 - are currently non-compliant with the emission standards that all petrol and diesel vehicles entering the city centre LEZ will need to meet next year.

The union which provides a collective voice for the Glasgow Hackney trade is warning that 1,000 taxis could disappear from the streets when Phase 2 of Glasgow's Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) comes into force in June of 2023.

Around 1,000 Hackney cabs - out of a fleet of 1,420 - are currently non-compliant with the emission standards that all petrol and diesel vehicles entering the city centre LEZ will need to meet next year.

Unite Glasgow Cab section is pleading with Glasgow City Council for an exemption for at least two years of enforcement for hackney cabs, while warning that the trade will lose hundreds of cabs and livelihoods if an extension is not forthcoming.

Steven Grant, Secretary of Unite Glasgow Cab section, believes the LEZ requirements to be "probably the biggest crisis we've ever faced" and says the expectation on Hackney drivers to renew their cabs to meet the deadline of June of 2023 is "impossible" -especially coming after the covid pandemic - which saw drivers' earnings fall by around 80%.

He told Glasgow Live: "We see this as probably the biggest crisis we've ever faced to be quite honest. We've had two years of covid and the pandemic and earnings being down 80% during all the lockdowns and the restrictions we had as well when we weren't locked down, so a lot of peoples finances have been absolutely shattered through it.

"So to expect us to start renewing cabs to meet a deadline of June of 2023 is impossible, we just can't do it. Just to put you into the picture about how serious it actually is, we are talking of somewhere in the region of 1,000 cabs out of a fleet of 1,420 that are non-compliant at the moment.

"That could disappear from the streets along with 1,000 jobs at least of the operators that operate those taxis. So yeh it's pretty serious stuff. It actually dwarfs what's went on in McVities in response to that.

"There's already a shortage out there because a lot of drivers didn't make it through the pandemic, it was just too difficult and support was limited. So they went and done other things and haven't returned to the trade. You'll see it this weekend again that there's going to be severe shortages of taxi drivers and private hire drivers in the city. What's happening now will be a drop in the ocean compared to what will happen in June of 2023.

"Even if the guys could access finance - which is a problem at the moment because a lot of the finance companies left the market because of the problems with the taxi industries through the pandemic - there is a huge shortage of new and used vehicles to replace our vehicles with if we could get the finance. That's a huge problem we have.

"We've only realistically got two choices of vehicles at the moment and that is the electric taxi that you'll see on the street in limited numbers. It comes with a price tag of £60,000 so that's why there's been so poor an uptake for it."

Steven believes that the council should allow for a delay in the implementation of Phase 2 of the LEZ until 2024 to allow for a one-step transition for hackney drivers to move to electric vehicles, rather than retrofit diesel vehicles to comply with the rules, which require Euro 4 emission standards for petrol vehicles and Euro 6 for diesel vehicles.

He said: "There's really big problems down the road. The best route for taxi drivers at the moment is to retrofit their vehicles, there's grants available to retrofit vehicles, but what I said about the used vehicle market, it's damaged beyond repair through the covid pandemic. The Euro 5 vehicles that we need are so scarce to convert to Euro 6, you can't convert Euro 4 vehicles - and a lot of the fleet is Euro 4 so they can't do those conversions and will have to scrap those vehicles and get a replacement Euro 5 vehicle to retrofit to Euro 6.

"There's going to be a hiatus for electric vehicles coming onto the market. We've tried to explain this to the council, that we'd like them to give us a bit more time due to the effects of the pandemic. A lot of guys have had their finances ruined just to stay solvent. If they gave us more time the transition might be done in one-step to electric vehicles rather than pushing guys into diesel vehicles that they are going to invest it and will have to keep on the road for much longer.

"We should be making the transition in one-step, but the electric market is not there at the moment. It's not mature enough, we don't have the infrastructure. It's just at the beginning and there's just not enough choice and enough competition."

"Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee will not be enforcing this on their hackney trade until mid-2024 so we feel there is some discrimination there as well in being made to start in June 2023. That year could make an awful lot of difference, we would like longer to try and make that transition straight to electric, but a year could make an absolute world of difference for us."

He feels that Unite Glasgow Cab section's pleas for a delay - or exemption for hackney cabs - have fallen upon deaf ears at the council, which has forced them to start a petition to try and encourage councillors into a rethink.

"We spoke to Anna Richardson who is the Convenor for Sustainability and Traffic Reduction and we put all our points to her to be quite honest there is no sympathy at all, they see it as a public health policy and they are not for budging on it.

"We have emailed all 85 councillors in Glasgow with our LEZ objection, we done a formal objection to it pleading with them to consider an exemption for the hackney trade until we can find our feet and until the electric taxi market is more mature.

"I don't think they quite realise just how damaging the pandemic was for taxi finances. It's something that really needs to be addressed."

In response, a Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We have already seen improvements to Glasgow’s air quality since the LEZ was introduced in 2018, with a greater number of greener, less polluting, buses now travelling through our city centre and beyond.

“Increasing the scope of Glasgow’s LEZ to include all vehicles by June 2023, is far-reaching, but also necessary to ensure that longstanding breaches of air quality objectives are tackled, particularly given the disproportionate health impacts that air pollution has on the most vulnerable.

“There has been extensive engagement with the taxi trade since Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone was initially proposed to ensure the trade are fully informed and are aware of the financial aid available to operators to become compliant.

“While core aspects of Low Emission Zones in Scotland have been determined at national level, the council can decide upon the shape, size and scope of our LEZ, based upon local requirements . As such we have committed to enforcing Glasgow’s LEZ from June next year subject to the relevant approvals, following an initial delay caused by Covid-19.

"This approach has included due consideration of a number of factors such as the nature and extent of pollution levels, the expected recovery from the pandemic and impact on future pollution, the delay from the original timescale and the financial aid available to affected groups and individuals.”

To sign the Unite Glasgow Cab section petition, click here.

Fella talks a lot of sense.

Huge numbers of drivers, who have earnt next to nothing for the last couple of years, ain't got the money nor the financial status to buy a £60,000 plus motor, nor is the availability there for 1000s of new motors.

Times will hopefully be better in a few years time. Let's have the electric discussions then, not now.

_________________
IDFIMH

Spot the huge clanger in the first paragraph


Glasgow LEZ plans drive on as taxi owners seek longer exemption

Plans to press on with the city centre Low Emission Zone are expected to be approved this week despite nearly one in four of the city’s taxi fleet not meeting the standard.

Cab owners say they have not had enough time to vehicles ready and the pandemic has hit finances hard leaving less cash to spend on retrofitting engines.

The next phase of the LEZ is due to come in on May 31 this year.

There will however be a years grace until June 1 2023 before it is enforced.

Of the city’s 1419 strong hackney taxi fleet, 395 are LEZ compliant.

The other, 1024 or 72% of all cabs on the road, are not.

The LEZ regulations mean that generally diesel engine vehicles registered after September 2015 and petrol vehicles registered from 2006 onwards will meet these standards.

Taxi drivers have objected with 123 of the 134 objections lodged coming from the hackney trade.

They say the pandemic has restricted the ability to invest in compliant vehicles.

Owners say it is costly to wither purchase a new taxi or one that can be retrofitted to meet the standard.

They say exempting taxis from the LEZ for a few years will allow for the market in electric vehicles to mature and become more attractive and cheaper for operators.

The council recognises that Glasgow has an older taxi fleet but that is part of the air pollution problem.

George Gillespie, Executive director of neighbourhoods, regeneration and sustainability told councillors in a report: “The hackney taxi fleet in Glasgow is unique from other taxi fleets in the country in that it comprises a large number of older, non-compliant vehicles.

“This results in this sector being a significant contributor to the air quality problems experienced within the zone, particularly in those streets which experience the highest levels of NO2.

“However, the taxi fleet is also an important part of the transport mix within a busy and vibrant city centre, serving workers, residents, tourists and the night time economy. For these reasons, a generous program of support for taxi improvement is a core element of the LEZ support fund.”

The LEZ final scheme design is to go to the City Administration Committee and Scottish Ministers for approval.

Without financial support it's simply not a viable business proposition to buy a £60,000 plus motor. Which part of that can't the politicians work out?

These motors will need to be double shifted which means there will be no time to charge the bloody things up.

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IDFIMH

Unless these electric taxis come down significantly in price from the astronomical current cost of around £60,000 or so (without interest?) then the councils all around the country implementing these destructive policies will have to reverse course and completely remove all vehicle restrictions on their licensing policies to attract drivers back to the trade who will inevitably leave from these enforced extra and unnecessary costs.

£60,000 is completely ridiculous and as an investment represents maximum risk for minimum reward.

Most taxi drivers that make this "investment" will be chasing their tails for the remainder of their life trying to get ahead and making the repayments on the vehicle.

It's actually disgusting what the councils are doing thinking that taxi drivers can actually afford to pay these costs.

You could buy a luxury vehicle for less than half the price of an electric cab and provide an executive service to more wealthy clients.

The only way I can see people making money from owning one of these electric taxis is if they rent it out and have it utilised almost 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

For a single cab driver on a regular cab driver income it's never going to happen.

Drivers will just pack up and leave rather than paying silly money for a vehicle.

It's going to be interesting when these policies come into effect.

Divers have struggled to survive covid and who are also now facing a potential doubling up of fuel prices which will be further compounded by an ever increasing rate of inflation and it's resultant drop in passenger numbers as people try to save money on non essentials such as nights out, holidays etc.....all in all the perfect economic storm, so now is not the time to be taking a green stance that would only serve to destroy the economy.

Why can't they make Taxis and PH's ULEZ exempt until the economy can bear such punishing green stealth taxes

Indeed, but their ideology trumps good old common sense.

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IDFIMH

Bid to delay expansion of Glasgow's low emission zone to aid taxi trade fails

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... w-23322587

The city's Labour group had proposed delaying enforcement of the LEZ until June 2024 due to the impact of the pandemic on taxi drivers, but it lost out in a narrow vote.

An attempt to delay the expansion of Glasgow’s low emission zone (LEZ) to aid the struggling taxi trade has failed.

The next phase of the city's LEZ is set to come into force on May 31 this year but with a “one year grace period” on enforcement until June 2023. A further grace period is proposed for residents within the LEZ, until June 2024.

A total of 134 objections to the roll-out were received, with 123 from the taxi industry, and figures show that, in December last year, just over a quarter of taxis were LEZ compliant — 395 of 1419.

The city’s Labour group had proposed pushing back enforcement of the zone until June 2024 but lost out in a narrow vote.

It said the taxi industry has been decimated due to the covid pandemic and drivers need more time to get their cars prepared.

Plans to widen the scope of Glasgow’s LEZ — designed to tackle air pollution in the city centre — to include all vehicles from June 1, 2023 have now progressed. Phase one of the LEZ affected local service buses only.

The phase two proposals will go before the council’s city administration committee on Thursday for approval and would then be sent to Scottish Ministers.

At the environment committee, Glasgow’s Labour group deputy leader Eva Murray called for enforcement to be delayed to “more fairly” recognise “the impacts of the pandemic on the taxi trade”.

She said: “There must be an acknowledgement of the additional struggles that have been faced over the past two years, with specific regard to those who work in our hackney cab trade.

“We must recognise that many of our hackney cab drivers are unable to afford a retrofitting or purchasing of new vehicles due to the decimation of the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“A delay would allow drivers to obtain vehicles that are compliant, without it we potentially face a further crisis within our city’s taxi industry.”

The amendment, backed by Labour and Tory councillors, lost by seven votes to five, with SNP and Green councillors in favour of continuing with the 2023 roll-out.

A council officer said there is “no doubt” the taxi trade has “had a particularly rough time” but added support funds had been available to upgrade vehicles.

He said drivers could receive 80% of the costs up to a maximum of £5,000 and Transport Scotland has reported the total cost of retrofit work is just under £7,000.

Cllr Chris [edited by admin], SNP, said: “This is an issue that has not sprung on anyone, we have been dealing with it for many years now and there has been plenty of notice for taxi drivers to engage with the process.

“I do wonder about what signal we send if we delay the implementation of this to those taxi drivers who have made the effort to have their cabs retrofitted or ensure their cabs are compliant, perhaps by buying new ones.”

Council leader Susan Aitken said she had “enormous sympathy” with the taxi trade but is “concerned” if “we keep extending, is there then an argument always made for extension?”.

“We know that air pollution is killing people in Glasgow, it is killing people every single year. How many more people continue to either die or fall ill or have existing chronic illnesses exacerbated the longer we delay on this?”

However, Cllr Matt Kerr, Labour, said: “I was one of those people who was very keen to bring in an LEZ quicker and I make no apologies for taking that position at the time.

“I think LEZ is a good policy, it’s a policy that we need to plough ahead with. The difficulty is events, we now have a taxi trade that has gone from being a reasonably thriving trade to one that is on the brink of collapse, and there are wider implications to this.”

He said the effect on people’s livelihoods had to be considered and that the hospitality sector is “similarly on its knees and there are workers in that sector who presently can’t get home from work because they can’t get a taxi because drivers are leaving the trade”.

Cllr Anna Richardson, SNP, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, has welcomed the progress on the full roll-out of the LEZ.

She said: “Seeking to restrict the most polluting vehicles from the zone area is the right thing to do to ensure that we mitigate the disproportionate impacts of air pollution upon the most vulnerable in our society.

“As we move toward full implementation, there will be continued publicity of the scheme and we shall continue to support a wide range of projects and initiatives that ease LEZ compliance including those that encourage higher levels of active and more sustainable travel and a reduced reliance on private vehicles.”

A recipe for more confusion...


Glasgow Taxi drivers to get LEZ reprieve if they prove they are trying to comply

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/199 ... ng-comply/


Image: Glasgow Evening Times

Taxi owners will get extra time to comply with Glasgow’s Low Emission zone if they show they have taken steps to get their cab ready.

The LEZ final plan is due to take effect on June 2023 but taxi drivers and owners said that they need more time as compliance is costly and the pandemic has massively hit their income.

Glasgow Taxis had warned that unless there was another extension then up to 1000 of the citys 1400 black cabs could be forced off the road.

Dougie McPherson, Glasgow Taxis chairman, wrote to Anna Richardson Glasgow’s Carbon reduction convenor asking for a further extension to the scheme.

He said: “Without the ability to source, finance and operate compliant vehicles, the City Council is condemning the loss of the majority of the city’s current provision of taxis of 1,428 to circa 400 cabs.

At a council committee tomorrow, Ms Richardson has put forward an amendment to give more time but only if owners have shown they have taken steps to comply.

She is not proposing an extension to the LEZ timescale but instead making concessions for drivers who are trying to comply.

It means if drivers have applied for grants to retrofit their vehicle, or are waiting for work to be carried out or are in the process of buying a new cab they will not face enforcement action when the rules change.

She said: “If by June 2023, a taxi isn’t compliant but the driver can show that the process is underway to convert their vehicle, such as applying for a grant, we want those drivers to be able to continue to run their business in the meantime.

“But they would need to be able to demonstrate that the process was underway, that they were already taking action, by early 2023.

“The taxi trade has had a torrid time this past couple of years because of the pandemic and the loss of income has clearly had an impact on uptake of the retrofitting scheme.”

Glasgow Taxis Ltd said there are issues with production of new cabs and no second hand ones for sale.

They stated: “Euro VI Mercedes and Pro Cabs are no longer under production and available to buy.

“Furthermore, as you may be aware, the availability of the LEVC Hybrid is subject to uncertainty due to the worldwide semiconductor chip shortage.

“Given the position across the UK, there is little or no second market availability either for Hybrid and Euro VI cabs.”

While recognising the difficulties faced by taxi owners, Ms Richardson said the LEZ has to go ahead.

She added: “Traffic emissions are on the rise again as the city recovers from the pandemic, and this is having an impact on the air we breathe.

“Whether it is the impact on cardiovascular disease and breathing conditions such as asthma, or the less obvious contribution to conditions such as dementia, diabetes or cancers, air pollution affects us all.

“I know that other cities have longer lead in times for their LEZs but Glasgow’s situation is more pressing, not least because of the chronically poor levels of air quality in some streets.

“I hope that this offer of a time-limited and practical exemption provides the trade with the space to modernise and play its part in a cleaner and healthier city.”

But haven't you made this worse with your elitist Covid-inspired traffic schemes clogging up the streets?


But don't councils 'work tirelessly' to clog up traffic in towns and cities in various ways? So in large part it's your fault?

Own it

Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens are trying to ban drive-thru takeaways in Glasgow. (And as they're part of Nicola Sturgeon's SNP Government and also hold influential positions on Glasgow City Council, they can't just be ignored.)

So people would just leave their car in the McDonald's car park or get food delivered, so that would help a lot

I would assume that in itself will help out owners.

The problem only arises if the application is rejected.

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IDFIMH

Numpties, absolute 100% numpties.

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IDFIMH

Glasgow taxi trade facing 'biggest crisis ever' in face of low emission rules

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... t-23334380

Around 1,000 of the taxis could be forced off the road for being non-compliant with the new LEZ rules coming into force next year causing a 'black cab blackout'.

Glasgow's taxi trade is facing its biggest crisis ever ahead of the introduction of Low Emissions Zone in 2023.

It's been warned that Black Cab drivers could walk out in their hundreds over the new rules that would see vehicles that don't meet Low Emission Zone standards fined for driving in the city.

Despite the council allowing drivers who can prove they are in the process of upgrading their cars a 'temporary exemption', hundreds of taxis could be lost from the trade, it's been warned.

Unions have warned of a 'black cab blackout' that would mean fewer wheelchair accessible vehicles and fewer drivers to serve the hospitality sector.

Unite Union Glasgow Cab section are calling for the introduction of the scheme to be pushed back until 2024 to allow the sector time to recover from the pandemic.

The decision to allow drivers who have applied for retrofitting grants, are awaiting work to be carried out on their cabs or in the process of buying new vehicles a 'temporary exemption', has been described as a 'non-starter'.

Steven Grant, Branch Secretary, said: "We're extremely disappointed, the plan is a non-starter. Drivers will just hand their plates back between now and 2023 unless the landscape changes before then.

"Drivers are feeling a great deal of stress and anxiety over this.

"The situation is the perfect storm. After two years of the pandemic, the industry is already on its knees.

"Add in the fact that the number of cars available has been cut to just one - the £60,000 LEVC TX. The Mercedes-Benz Vito Euro 6 diesel taxi is no longer being manufactured, nor is the Ford Procab Euro 6 diesel taxi.

"There's a severe shortage in the used car market in London so our usual supply chain has disappeared. As well as that the retrofitting is only being done in dribs and drabs, it's taking a long time for anyone who pays to actually get it done.

"Most cars will have the retrofitted at a large cost. The average age of drivers in Glasgow is 57, they're not at the age where they want to take on £60,000 of finance to retrofit and the plates are now worthless so hundreds will just walk away.

"I can't see myself continuing this career in the future."

Earlier this week, an attempt to delay the expansion of the LEZ to help the trade failed. The city’s Labour group had proposed pushing back enforcement of the zone until June 2024 but lost out in a narrow vote.

Glasgow Taxis Ltd has now written to the council warning of the devastating impact on the trade going ahead with the June 2023 deadline would have.

Chairman Dougie McPherson has given one final, stark warning to the council that no further extension will expedite the demise of the trade.

In a letter emailed to Councillor Anna Richardson, he said: “The introduction of the LEZ as proposed on 1 June 2023 will … be devastating to the service provision of public hire taxis, a key component of the public transport network in the City.

“Without the ability to source, finance and operate compliant vehicles, the City Council is condemning the loss of the majority of the City’s current provision of taxis of 1,428 to circa 400 cabs.

“If this is the plan, then I believe you have duty to make the councillors and the wider public in Glasgow aware of this and the justification for doing so on the back of COVID.

“I request that the Paper before the CAC on 10 March 2022 be amended to exclude the application of the LEZ to public hire vehicles (black hackney taxis) from 1 June 2023 in order to align with other Scottish cities and to allow for further dialogue with taxi trade on achievable transition arrangements.”

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We have already seen improvements to Glasgow’s air quality since the LEZ was introduced in 2018; with a greater number of greener, less polluting, buses now travelling through our city centre and beyond.

“Increasing the scope of Glasgow’s LEZ to include all vehicles by June 2023 is necessary to ensure that longstanding breaches of air quality objectives are tackled, particularly given the disproportionate health impacts that air pollution has on the most vulnerable

“There has been extensive engagement with the taxi trade since Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone was initially proposed to ensure the trade are fully informed and are aware of the financial aid available to operators to become compliant.

“Whilst core aspects of Low Emission Zones in Scotland have been determined at national level, the council can decide upon the shape, size and scope of our LEZ, based upon local requirements . As such we have committed to enforcing Glasgow’s LEZ from June next year subject to the relevant approvals, following an initial delay caused by COVID-19.

"This approach has included due consideration of a number of factors such as the nature and extent of pollution levels, the expected recovery from the pandemic and impact on future pollution, the delay from the original timescale and the financial aid available to affected groups and individuals.”

Had some Edinburgh HCDs in the car the other night. Said plates in Edinburgh had been changing hands for £1k at one point during lockdown, but had now increased to £7k

Peak price was over £50k, I think