Taxi Driver Online

22 Feb 2008

Coventry taxi drivers in new strike threat

TAXI drivers are threatening to strike again in protest over what they
regard as too many cabs working Coventry centre.

They blame the city council, which licenses hackney carriages, for allowing
the huge growth in the number of cabs plying for trade.

And to add to their problems, the drivers say taxi-rank spaces in the city
centre have been dramatically reduced.

They believe it is a problem made worse by drivers from Nuneaton and
Bedworth "poaching" passengers in Coventry.

The city centre is so over-run, drivers say they are being forced out to
suburbs and it's having a impact on residential areas, such as Earlsdon
and Cheylesmore.

Coventry taxi driver Pat Royle, aged 58, of Parry Road, Wyken, said: "We
wait in a rank for about an hour before we can even get a £5 job. Out of
that we've got to pay petrol and tax.

"I've had to work an extra three hours a day to get a decent amount. It's
less than the minimum wage."

Shy Chudasama, 46, of Longford, said: "The council has got to stop
handing out these licence plates.

"I've been a taxi driver for 17 years. When I started, there were about 99
hackney carriages, now there are over 700."

The Coventry Taxi Drivers' Association has called an urgent meeting to
discuss the matter and will ballot its 600 members next week.

Officials says its members are frustrated by the lack of response from the
council's hackney carriage department, which is responsible for issuing
black cab licences.

The association wants the council to investigate demand for taxis in the
city and says it has strong support for a walk out if negotiations fail.

In August, taxi drivers staged an impromptu four-day walkout after a
driver claimed he was racially attacked.

Driver Alias Yousef said: "If we go on strike the city will come to a halt,
but we will only go on strike as a final measure. The council has lost
control, you just have to come out into the city centre at weekends to see
the chaos."

A council spokesman said the council was aware of the issues raised by
the drivers' association. He said: "They submitted a report to the council
which officers have considered in detail.

"A report is now being prepared for the licensing and regulatory
committee, which members of the Coventry Taxi Drivers' Association will
be able to attend."

Residents up in arms

ON Tuesday the Coventry Telegraph reported the plight of residents in
Earlsdon who are furious about the number of taxis parked on double
yellow lines outside their homes.

They claim taxis park bumper to bumper on Earlsdon Street for about
200m from 10pm until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights.

They plan to park their own vehicles on the double yellows in protest.

The Coventry Taxi Drivers' Association blamed the issue on the excess
number of taxis operating and the popularity of Earlsdon's late-night pubs.

Source: ic Coventry
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