Taxi Driver Online

This all smacks of people behind desks and on committees who think the world can be perfect if the right boxes are ticked. Especially the more leftfield stuff near the end

Except, of course, for the vested interests and grandfather rights


North Yorkshire taxi licensing policy aims to make all new cabs able to carry wheelchairs

https://www.yorkmix.com/north-yorkshire ... heelchairs

Plans to improve the accessibility of taxis and private hire vehicles for passengers with additional needs across North Yorkshire are set to be considered by councillors.

Executive members will be asked to approve a new Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, and a new Inclusive Service Plan, on Tuesday, 17 March.

The aim of the new policy is to address the shortage of licensed wheelchair accessible vehicles across the county. The council currently license 60 wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles, which represents one for every 10,250 people.

The national average across rural areas is one wheelchair accessible vehicle for every 8,150 people.

The best performing rural authorities provide one for every 2,000 to 3,000 people.

Rather than imposing a mandatory wheelchair accessible vehicle requirement on licensed vehicles, the council has previously introduced incentives by waiving the licence fee and by relaxing the age limits.

If approved, all new hackney carriage vehicle licence applications would need to be for a wheelchair accessible vehicle, a zero-emission vehicle, or a hybrid electric vehicle.

Existing licensed hackney carriage vehicles would retain ‘grandfather rights’ until they are no longer fit for purpose and would not need to be upgraded to meet the new requirements.

Executive member for licensing, Cllr Richard Foster, said: “Hackney carriage and private hire services play an important role in transporting members of the public safely, and our plans would ensure that there is a mixed fleet, which is in line with the Government’s guidance, and will help to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

“The aim of the new policy is to increase the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles on our roads whilst balancing its impact on the trade. We have consulted with the trade, wheelchair users and groups to help shape the updated policy.”

A hackney carriage vehicle can be hailed by passengers on the roadside, stand on a rank, or be pre-booked.

In contrast, private hire vehicles can only operate through pre-booking.

Under new plans, private hire operators would need to identify a passenger’s accessibility needs prior to taking a booking, to ensure that an appropriate vehicle is provided.

The proposals to increase the provision of wheelchair accessible vehicles have resulted in significant feedback from the trade, wheelchair users and groups that represent them.

There was agreement that it was important or very important that everyone has equal access to taxis and that there are enough wheelchair accessible vehicles to meet demand.

Councillors will also be asked to adopt a new Inclusive Service Plan focusing on the needs of people whose access requirements are apparent when using public transport as well as the needs of people with less-visible disabilities, including autistic people or those with mental illness.

The Inclusive Service Plan aims to improve the access and availability of licensed vehicles, address any reports of non-compliance, and educate drivers and operators of the needs and legal rights of disabled passengers.

If introduced, a review of the policy would be carried out after a year to decide whether any adjustments are needed, with further research and consultation.

Questions asked by operators when the clubs close at 4am:

1 Anyone likely to vomit? If so, we can send the one that can be hosed out most easily

2 Is everyone capable of standing up? If not, we can send the one without seats

Good look finding drivers who can afford to invest in a wav

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

All-electric cars will go down well in rural areas, especially when 50% of a day's work is dead mileage. How many rural charging stations are there?

But if you haven't got the appropriate vehicle, what's the point in all that?

And I can think of 60-80,000 reasons why people will not have the appropriate vehicle.

_________________
IDFIMH

Wondered if this guy might pop up

This isn't the whole piece, since the first bit is just rehash. In fact, after the additional few paragraphs the latter bit of this is just rehash as well

But I think the trade rep here sums it all up in quite a succinct manner regarding the proposed new vehicle specs...


North Yorkshire taxi drivers in appeal over new rule changes

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/ ... e-changes/

[...]But taxi drivers have warned that the new policy could damage their businesses, which they say are already struggling.

Ripon-based Richard Fieldman, who represents around 100 members of the North Yorkshire Taxi Drivers group, said: “I just cannot believe what they’re trying to do.

“The taxi trade is already in a massive decline due to Uber and one thing and another, and what they’re trying to do will just finish us off.”

He added: “There’s absolutely no way, and I’m speaking personally here, that I would have a wheelchair vehicle or an electric vehicle, so myself, like many others, will just pack in.”

Mr Fieldman said WAV vehicles were unpopular with the trade because they were expensive to buy and drivers were not paid any extra for the time taken to load and unload wheelchairs, while electric vehicles were not suitable in a rural county like North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive members will be asked to approve the updated hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy next Tuesday.

Executive member for licensing, Cllr Richard Foster, said: “We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, so the aim of the policy is to improve the access and availability of licensed vehicles across the county.

“Hackney carriage and private hire services play an important role in transporting members of the public safely, and our plans would ensure that there is a mixed fleet, which is in line with the Government’s guidance, and will help to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

“The aim of the new policy is to increase the number of WAVs on our roads whilst balancing its impact on the trade. We have consulted with the trade, wheelchair users and groups to help shape the updated policy.”

A hackney carriage vehicle can be hailed by passengers on the roadside, stand on a rank, or be pre-booked, while private hire vehicles can only operate through pre-booking.

Under new plans, private hire operators would need to identify a passenger’s accessibility needs prior to taking a booking, to ensure that an appropriate vehicle is provided.

The council says the proposals have been prepared following consultation with the trade, wheelchair users and groups who represent them.

Councillors will also be asked to adopt a new ISP focusing on the needs of people whose access requirements are apparent when using public transport as well as the needs of people with less-visible disabilities, including autistic people or those with mental illness.

If introduced, a review of the policy would be carried out after a year to decide whether any changes are needed.

This is an opinion piece in the Stray Ferret by the driver rep featured above (predictably enough). And which is so tightly paywalled even the headline isn't easily available

So it's taken a bit of effort to cobble this together, but nothing spectacularly new, although one or two interesting tidbits...


'New taxi policy this week could kill the trade - and customers should be worried', says Ripon cabbie.

https://thestrayferret.co.uk/news/lates ... be-worried

I have been a taxi driver for 30 years and for many years enjoyed the job and made a reasonable living.

I live in Harrogate and operate out of Ripon.

But since North Yorkshire Council replaced Harrogate Borough Council in 2023 things have gone downhill rapidly to the point where me and many colleagues are thinking of leaving.

North Yorkshire Council, which licenses hackney carriages, seems intent on killing the trade and anyone who uses taxis should take note of what’s going on — particularly a vital decision this week.

Firstly, the council got rid of the restrictions on where hackney carriages can operate. Previously only taxis licensed in the Harrogate borough could operate in the Harrogate borough. Now, as cabbies warned, they come in from all over the area to affluent areas like Harrogate town centre but ignore rural areas, which is why it can be hard to find a taxi at night.

In the latest development, the council wants to introduce a new taxi licensing policy that says all new hackney carriage vehicles must be either a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, a zero-emission vehicle, or a hybrid electric vehicle. It means drivers would not be able to update their cars without facing an additional cost of thousands of pounds.

As a representative of about 125 drivers on the North Yorkshire Taxi Drivers Group, I will urge councillors not to implement this disastrous move at a meeting tomorrow (March 17).

The local taxi trade is already on a downward spiral, with drivers leaving the trade in numbers due to the influx of Uber drivers, and the constant negative conditions being put on the trade. Almost no new drivers are entering it.

The council, which sets fares, hasn’t allowed a fare increase since 2023 — but it has increased how much drivers pay for a licence.

The new vehicle recommendations will only result in an even bigger decline because what is being proposed is either too expensive or impractical.

Drivers in rural areas of the county are not making enough income to afford the required vehicles, and there is no solid evidence that there is demand for a big increase in the number of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. It is not good enough for the council just to compare us to other regions before making decisions that have a massive impact on drivers’ lives.

The council should undertake an unmet demand survey, which the trade would pay for, that looks at how many extra vehicles disabled people need.

Councillors are under no obligation to accept the latest proposal. They should reject it, as many other councils up and down the country have done.

Many, such as City of York Council, have recognised the damage it would do to the trade, and have accepted instead a policy that all vehicles should comply with Euro 6 emission standards. This is what should happen in North Yorkshire.

The current proposals will not increase the quota of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, they will only achieve a decline in taxi numbers in North Yorkshire.

Uber is not the answer.

Drivers feel like we are constantly being hit over the head with a big stick.

This new proposal would put us at a massive disadvantage to the ever-increasing number of Uber drivers in the area, who do not have to operate under the same conditions.

Some people might say ‘what’s wrong with Uber taking over because it’s cheaper?’. Well, Uber isn’t regulated as tightly as we are and its business model is based on destroying the opposition then putting up fares. The council sets our fares — would you prefer to see the demise of black cabs and everything left to a private company?

It is imperative that solid evidence is achieved before any decision is made on the new licensing police, otherwise there will be irreversible damage to the trade.

I have been working closely with Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and former transport secretary Louise Haigh on cross-border taxi issues and the overhaul of the taxi and private hire trade regulations.

I have seen what’s happening nationally and this new policy would harm drivers and customers by leading to the demise of taxis in the Harrogate district.

Except the influx of Uber drivers, presumably

Anyway, shouldn't really laugh, but it's typical of this genre in that it's portraying Uber as something wholly new, as opposed to just the most modern incarnation of private hire. As per numerous past pieces, the above gives the impression that private hire has just never existed

To be fair, though, I wouldn't be surprised if the trade he's used to is a bit like ours in NE Fife - mostly HCs, and the PHVs that do exist work side-by-side with HCs in the same offices, with a kind of mixed-fleet/hybrid/blended trade, as opposed to the more binary industry in most of the bigger cities.


...but to that extent he's probably not the best person to be advising those two

The fella makes some good points in relation to the new vehicle requirements, but then gets a bit carried away with his Uber bias.

If Uber had hackneys in that area, there would be no bigger supporter of those opposing the council's new vehicle proposals.

_________________
IDFIMH

North Yorkshire councillors agree policy to boost wheelchair-accessible taxi numbers

https://www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk/no ... i-numbers/

North Yorkshire council bosses have agreed a rule change to make taxis more accessible to wheelchair users — despite warnings the change could hit the elderly, disabled and rural residents.

The new policy will mean all new hackney carriage vehicle licence applications need to be for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs), zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

North Yorkshire Council hopes the policy will address the shortage of WAVs currently operating in the county, with just 60 wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles currently licensed.

Councillor Richard Foster, executive member for managing our environment, admitted the policy was a compromise but said he hoped it would increase the number of WAV taxis in the county.

He added: “We have an issue around disability and access to vehicles, but we also realise there are challenges to the trade, especially the hackney carriage trade from app-based taxi hire firms, both in our county and from across borders.

“So we’re hoping that we’ve come up with a policy that reflects the modern world.”

Ahead of the vote, taxi operators warned that the change would force some drivers out of the industry.

Lisa Ridsdale, from the taxi operator Take Me Group, told councillors the policy was “out of touch with rural reality”.

“Requiring all new or replacement taxis to be wheelchair accessible, electric or hybrid might work in cities, but here it’s impractical and potentially devastating.

“Wheelchair accessible or electric vehicles cost in the region of £70,000 to £90,000 when financed, compared to standard cars at around £20,000 to £30,000. Most rural taxi drivers are self-employed, running small businesses with tight margins. For many, this is a financial crucifixion.

“It will mean fewer drivers, fewer taxis, longer waits and reduced service, and the people who rely most on taxis — the elderly, disabled and rural residents — your families will suffer.”

Disability campaigners, however, said the policy did not go far enough to increase the number of WAV taxis.

Asking councillors to change the policy to insist that all new taxis were WAVs, Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said: “Without enough accessible vehicles, people face longer waits, fewer spontaneous journeys and reduced opportunities to participate fully in everyday life.

“The public sector equality duty requires the council not only to avoid discrimination but to actively advance equality of opportunity.

“With the current shortage of accessible vehicles, we ask councillors to consider whether the recommended option does enough to meet that duty.”

The new policy will mean private hire operators need to identify a passenger’s accessibility needs prior to taking a booking, to ensure that an appropriate vehicle is provided.

The 10-year age limit on both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles has been replaced with a requirement to meet Euro 6 emission standards.

The council will also issue restricted private hire driver licences for those who drive licensed vehicles for the sole purpose of fulfilling school or social care contracts.

The new policy will be reviewed after a year to ensure it has increased the number of WAV vehicles.

_________________
IDFIMH

Is that a world where drivers have to pay £60-80,000 for a vehicle?

_________________
IDFIMH