Quite apart from a PHD founding a Taxi Drivers' Association, a couple of other slightly odd things here.
First, he seems to be saying he's tied into three-year council contracts at fixed prices. Is that common?
Second, hardly unknown for a driver to live twenty miles away (Huntingdon) from where he's working (Cambridge).
But his kids attend school in Cambridge rather than Huntingdon because he works in Cambridge?
Cambridge taxi driver worries he might ‘go bust’ if congestion charge goes aheadhttps://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/c ... t-25579950Tariq will be joining hundreds of others rallying against the congestion charge this Sunday
Image: Warren GunnA Cambridge taxi-driver has called the GCP’s proposed Cambridge congestion charge “absolutely ridiculous” saying the charge could drive him to “go bust”. He also said it would affect his “vulnerable” and “isolated” customers in hard-to-reach-areas.
Tariq Ahmed, one of four founders of the Taxi Drivers’ Association, also runs his own company called “private hire to go”. Tariq said that “buses can’t be everywhere”, and because of this, the service he provides to elderly Cambridgeshire residents was particularly important during the winter period.
He said: “For elderly people in rural areas who need to go to Sainsbury's' or Tescos it’s a bit more convenient for them to take a taxi. Vulnerable people need to use taxis, especially due to the weather in the wintertime. Taxis are the main way this group gets from a to b. If the congestion charge comes in, this service is going to die”.
Tariq will be joining hundreds of others rallying against the congestion charge this Sunday (November 27). As one of the leaders of the Taxi Drivers' Association he represents more than 200 drivers in the Cambridge area, he said that many of them were quietly worried if a charge were to go ahead.
For Tariq one of the most galling aspects of the congestion charge fiasco has been what he says is the lack of consultation with local businesses. He added: “They should’ve come to us. They should’ve contacted every small and big company in Cambridge - they never did that. I haven’t received a leaflet, an email or anything”.
Tariq has lived in Cambridge since 2011, and said in his time as a taxi driver he hasn’t seen any “significant improvement” to traffic lights or congestion in the city. He said: "We’re the main people getting affected by the congestion - no one has approached us. The changes are absolutely ridiculous."
Tariq’s private hire business relies on taxi jobs from schools, these jobs are agreed through Cambridge city and Cambridgeshire county councils and these contracts are typically locked in for several years. If the congestion charge were passed through in the middle of an existing contract Tariq is worried it could lock him in at a loss.
He said: “My biggest worry is that we might become bust. If we can’t amend the prices, then we’re stuck with these for three years."
Tariq explained there are also more personal reasons for his opposition to the congestion charge. Tariq and his family live in Huntingdon, but because he does most of his business in Cambridge his children go to school there.
He said: “I have my two sons studying in Trumpington Community College so I put them in a Cambridge School, if they put in the Congestion charge how am I going to drop them off every day at school? School starts at 8.20am, I leave around 7.30am.
"If they were to come on the bus from Huntingdon they’d have to change three times and it’d take them two hours in the morning - it’s impossible for them to school by public transport. I think my worry as a parent dropping off kids is shared by lots of people”.
Login
Register
FAQ
