Taxi Driver Online

May 10, 2007 Thursday

Cabbies 'must be proactive'

Richard Vernalls

Kidderminster Shuttle

WYRE Forest cab firms will have to draw up alternative plans to the district council's rules governing different types of taxis operating in the area and back them up with evidence if they are to stand a chance of changing the councillors' minds over the issue.

At a taxi trade liaison committee meeting, on Tuesday last week, district councillors told cab trade representatives they must put forward concrete alternatives to the council's deregulation programme before the next meeting, later this year.

A row between cab operators and Wyre Forest District Council has been running since the deregulation plan to change all Hackney Carriage saloon-type vehicles to wheelchair-friendly cars by 2013, was agreed, in 2005.

Mark Kay, the district council's licensing manager, said: "This is the third, fourth or fifth meeting we've had and the taxi trade has said we don't want this and we don't want that' and committee members are saying then tell us what you do want'."

He added although the cab companies did not want the expense of replacing their saloon cars they wanted new operators coming into Wyre Forest to use the more expensive purpose-built vehicles.

Cab companies are up in arms over the district council's plans to open up Wyre Forest to other taxi firms and replace the existing 93 Hackney Carriages with either purpose-built or people carrier-style vehicles.

More than a quarter are already wheelchair-accessible.

They argue the replacement cabs are not suitable for all their customers, particularly elderly residents who cannot get into the purpose-built vehicles, and are unhappy the district council has opted for a changeover affecting all Wyre Forest's Hackney Carriages.

Austin Caulfield, who runs his own vehicle for Regency Taxis, said: "They told us we've got to get the evidence and submit it to the licensing committee, who could put it forward to the district council.

"We've got to come forward with a good set of proposals and, in all honesty, maybe get a happy conclusion. The cab operators are together but we're not really very proactive sometimes and we've been dragging our feet and we haven't got time to do that anymore."
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Interesting that the council have asked the trade what they want.

Especially from the 'councils know best' brigade.

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IDFIMH

Well they could at least try to think of something more original and less self-serving

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