Taxi Driver Online

This started off looking a bit tedious and stating the obvious - something about a few revocations and a trade rep simply saying the trade had been 'let down', or whatever

It then gets a bit more interesting...

And a major problem is that, in my opinion at least, the article totally loses the plot in terms of logic...

(Don't know why I bothered, but links to high-res versions of the photos also included below...)


Taxi sector 'let down' as 15 drivers lose license in 2 years

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/249906 ... e-2-years/


https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/19180193
Mohammed Azram, 41, and Shafiq Jhaznav, 38, who are hackney carriage taxi drivers licensed by Southampton City Council.
Image: Alex Cooper/Southampton Daily Echo

A union rep for taxi drivers in Southampton has said that his industry has been "let down" by over a dozen people who have had their licenses revoked since 2023.

A Freedom of Information request to Southampton City Council revealed that 15 drivers have had their taxi licenses snatched since January 2023 as the direct result of customer complaints.

Some 368 complaints were lodged in 2023 with a further 604 coming in 2024, with this number included those placed against both hackney carriage and private hire drivers.

Perry McMillan, a Unite the Union Shop Steward with a taxi license in Southampton, said he feels that those who have lost their licenses have "let us all down".

The former Southampton City Council councillor said: "We always get across to our cabbies to be on their best behaviour and to keep the standards high.

"It’s always disappointing to hear a cab driver has his license revoked. However, we work under a strict code of being fit and proper, and if a person isn’t doing their job properly, it’s totally understandable for the council to take their license."

Perry also made it clear that there are big differences between self-employed hackney carriage drivers who wait in ranks and private hire employees who work for bigger companies.


https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/5852733
Image: Southampton Daily Echo

Hackney carriage drivers say they are only licensed to work in Southampton, not under any other council's jurisdiction.

But private hire drivers can work anywhere they like, though Perry believes they lack the local knowledge to do so effectively.

"They don’t know the area, they’re looking at their sat navs, thinking I’m out of my area so I’ll cut down this road because I’m out of my area and won’t get in trouble," Perry explained.

"Other cab drivers then think if he’s doing it then I’ll do it. It’s dropping the standards."

One of the 972 complaints since 2023 was concluded with one driver being sent on an Awareness Course.

Some 66 drivers were given warnings while 12 had their licenses temporarily suspended.

There are 1,851 drivers currently licensed by Southampton City Council.

'It's a warzone out here'


https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/19180194
Image: Alex Cooper/Southampton Daily Echo

His sentiment was shared by Mustafa Mohammed, 45, who has been a taxi driver for 13 years.

Mustafa said private hire drivers "are not trained people" and "are not professional".

"Why should I do 2 or 3 different tests every year, and they do the same job as I do," he told the Echo.

"These days we really struggle, I've had only two jobs this morning. With £16, what am I going to do?"

Mohammed Azram, 41, who has 10 years of experience, said that those losing their licence "probably weren't road legal".

"If drivers neglect that, drivers become a liability and we can't afford to be a liability," he said.

"Their cars are not even fit for purpose. I wish I was still doing security. We're up against coaches, shuttle bus most of the customers should be getting in a taxi.

"Most of the drivers don't speak English, there's only a few of us British taxi drivers and we’re the ones that speak up. It's a war zone out here."

Particularly in the Sussex area

Anyway, the problem with most of the latter part of the article is that it's presumably predominantly about cross-border drivers, and to that extent casual readers will assume it's all related to the earlier stuff regarding complaints about Soton-badged drivers, and the suspensions and revocations etc.

But, of course, even assuming the cross-border drivers are as bad as claimed here, it wouldn't be up to Soton Council to suspend or revoke, or whatever.


No, they're almost certainly not 'employees' of 'bigger companies' - they're almost certainly self-employed, unless they're working for Uber, in which case they're 'workers' under employment law, and not 'employees'.


Well that's kind of correct, but it's conflating locally-badged PHDs with cross-border drivers, but that important fact is totally brushed over by the whole narrative.

Worth quoting Mr Mohammed Azram here if anyone's ever accused of anything if they make similar comments to those highlighted at the bottom

I think I would put a bit more of a positive spin by saying that the fact that these iffy drivers have had their licenses revoked is clear evidence that ongoing safety checks are working.

But then most trade reps love to be negative about almost everything.

_________________
IDFIMH

Absolute f***ing numpty.

_________________
IDFIMH

Please see the above post.

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IDFIMH

This almost reads like a council PR release stating how good their regulation and procedures are. So if the union put an overly negative spin on revocations etc above, this is maybe the council's more positive spin in response.

And if the article above would confuse the average Echo reader by conflating local licensing issues with cross-border ones, then this usefully clarifies things by completely ignoring the cross-border angle

And if readers of the piece above thought PHDs generally were more problematic, then this would misleadingly allay their fears because it reads like this below is about all PHDs. But ignores the cross-border stuff completely, which was mainly what the HCDs above were complaining about. Presumably.

But, of courses, it suits the Southampton HCD narrative to ignore the distinction between local and cross-border PHDs, thus maybe making the local PHDs sound more untrained and unprofessional than they actually are


How Southampton City Council keeps taxi passengers safe

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/249956 ... gers-safe/

Questions have been asked on how taxi passengers are kept safe after some drivers feel said the sector has been "let down" by those who had their licences revoked.

Southampton City Council has told the Echo there are a number of safety measures in place to ensure dangerous drivers are held to account.

A spokesperson from the council explained that Southampton remains one of a small number of authorities that mandate the use of cameras in all licensed vehicles.

This is done to keep both driver and passengers safe. It comes as 15 drivers lost their licences in two years.

The authority also told the Echo that every complaint is investigated, with the history of the driver being checked so that complaints are not dealt with in isolation.

Licensing staff also carry out a variety of checks to ensure compliance with the policy and conditions.

All Southampton City Council taxi license holders also must have an enhanced DBS check and must subscribe to the DBS update service, and status checks are carried out every two weeks.

The Taxi and Private Hire Policy and Condition 2024 document, available on the authority's website, details how drivers are held to account.

It notes that there is a "continuing requirement on the part of the licensee to maintain their safety and suitability" when licensed by Southampton City Council.

A spokesperson from the council said: "When decisions are taken about the suitability of drivers, we follow national guidance provided by the Institute of Licensing. Guidance that the Southampton City Council Licensing Manager helped to create.

"Each case is determined on its own merits and assessed on the balance of probabilities. The current Institute of Licensing suitability guidance details the reasons for not licensing an applicant and the new guidance also contains references to behaviour.

"Licences have been revoked or refused for a range of reasons including relevant convictions or complaints."

Southampton City Council currently has 1851 licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers.