Taxi Driver Online

East Sussex taxi services in 'diabolical state' with people regularly waiting more than a hour for a cab

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/pe ... ab-4264636

People in the Lewes District are waiting for up to an hour for a traditional cab, as taxi companies continue to see driver numbers dwindle.

Earlier this month, Lewes District Council revealed that 44 per cent of taxi users said they had waited more than an hour for a cab.

Nicola Taylor, a resident in Seaford, told SussexWorld that she is regularly left waiting for more than one hour to get a ride home from work or social events.

She said: "I worked a night shift and stayed on until 3pm the following day. I then went round my friend's house and had a drink, so was not going to drive home. I tried to get a taxi at 6ish and nothing was available.

"I tried five different companies and it took an hour to get a reply. I’ve had a number of problems with this over the last couple of months. I went out on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago and there was no taxis available for an hour and a half.

"For people that require taxi’s because they can’t drive for health reasons, they are in real trouble. Some people are bound by taxis. In the event of someone that needs to get to a hospital, but can’t get hold of an ambulance, the only way they can get there is via taxi.

"People could be dying in there homes because of this. It’s having a major impact on the whole country.”

Candy Wells, the owner of Beacon Taxis, claims that Lewes District Council's rules and regulations for traditional taxi drivers has led to mass numbers leaving firms and becoming Private Hire drivers for companies such as Uber.

Candy explained: “It’s so diabolical. My drivers are dwindling. I get abuse on a daily basis from the public because I cannot send them a taxi for one reason or another. I’m fed up saying no to them all the time.

“The Lewes District Council licensing officer opened the back door for all these drivers to get their private hire badge. We now have six or seven hundred private hire drivers, when before we only had a handful.

“All these drivers are now working out of Brighton and not helping us with the customers that we have.

“That’s the crux of the problem. They don’t have to pass any stringent test, like Hackney drivers need to. You can just go with your divers licence and get your private hire badge. Once you have that badge you can work anywhere in the country.

"The council are giving us so many rules and regulations that we need to follow that we never needed to before."

A spokesperson for the district council said it was proposing to make changes to its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Guidance, following feedback from residents and those in the trade.

They added: “We urge people to read about the changes and take part in the consultation.”

To view the council’s consultation on taxi services click here. https://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/LDCTaxiConsultation

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IDFIMH

Yep.

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IDFIMH

The Lewes office proprietor seems to be conflating two different issues - the more general shortage of drivers and the cross-border working.

I mean, she makes it sound like the Lewes-plated drivers working in Brighton for Uber would be working in Lewes for her if they weren't working in Brighton. Don't think so, somehow

They are working in B&H because they can earn shed loads more cash.

They are licensing in Lewes due to the fact a gnat or goldfish could meet their licensing criteria.

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IDFIMH

I'm surprised our poster 'Lewes' hasn't commented or is he no longer around ?

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

The thing is 95% of drivers licensing in Lewes have no intention of ever working in Lewes.

So the supply of drivers working in Lewes is only going to get worse. Nothing the council can do.

They can make entry criteria easier (if that's actually possible) but new license holders want to work B&H with Uber to earn good money. They can make entry criteria harder, but then drivers will merely license in Chichester.

So in short, Lewes are simply pi**ing in the wind if they think they can do anything about supply to the local trade.

On a different matter, the Lewes consultation asks if those doing the survey think the Home Office checks on working status is a good thing. Love to know what they are going to do if it comes back 100% don't agree with it.

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IDFIMH

The number of Lewes District taxis has halved since 2019

Since 2019 the number of registered taxis in the Lewes District area has dropped by over 50%, from 716 to 349 vehicles, and just 8 wheelchair accessible cars.

According to a statement from Lewes District Council: “Since the pandemic, most parts of the UK have seen a reduction in the number of taxi drivers. This is largely due to many leaving the trade to take up other roles, most notably as delivery drivers for online retailers and supermarkets.

"Demand for taxis during the pandemic was obviously low and it was inevitable that drivers looked for alternative employment opportunities. Bodies representing the taxi trade have also confirmed this trend.

“We are currently consulting on changes to our Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Guidance that will help recruit new drivers: www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/LDCTaxiConsultation”

Councillor Sean Macleod said: “As the previous licensing chair at Lewes District Council it was becoming clear that there were problems in retaining drivers. During the Covid 19 pandemic the government put out new guidance that meant lots of new strict and stringent rules on the trade.

"It felt during my time as chair that the trade just couldn’t catch a break. I feel some decisions have really had a negative effect on the trade and the numbers now left in the trade are genuinely alarming.”

Cllr Macleod largely puts the decline down to Lewes District Council’s requirement that all Hackney carriage vehicles (HCV) be white since 2019. Since then the trade has gone from 204 to 64 HCV vehicles.

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IDFIMH

Let's all play a game of pick a number and hope for the best.

The reason the number of hackneys in Lewes has declined has SFA to do with the colour of the bloody car, and everything to do with the fact that drivers are changing to PH and working Brighton & Hove via Uber.

The fact that Lewes councillors don't get that speaks volumes about their knowledge of their local trade.

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IDFIMH

As if a white colour requirement could be responsible for a decline in numbers of that magnitude. Embarrassing

And he's a former licensing chair?

And, while unusual for me to wholly agree with Sussex on two different points, as he says, the complete failure to mention the cross-border dimension speaks volumes

Don't see many of the existing taxi drivers moaning about that reduction.

Strange that.

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IDFIMH

Back to the white colour code again. And this piece doesn't even mention the cross-border thing with Uber in B&H...


Lewes cabbie says taxi drivers are being impacted by white car policy

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/2409431 ... ar-policy/


Image: The Argus

Taxi drivers are being forced out of the industry because of a council policy which dictates vehicles have to be white, a cabbie has said.

Hackney carriages could be any colour until Lewes District Council imposed the scheme in 2019.

James Kiernan, shop steward for Unite the Union’s Lewes District for hackney drivers, says drivers are now facing month-long waiting lists for suitable cars in white to become available.

He said someone he knows waited 18 months.

The 46-year-old said this is resulting in many drivers, including himself, deciding to work in the private hire industry instead which has raised fears about passenger safety.

Lewes District Council said there are "numerous reasons" why people are leaving the trade and that there are shortages nationwide.

Mr Kiernan, who has been a driver for 22 years, said taxi drivers are also experiencing abuse from frustrated passengers who are struggling to get a taxi when they need one.

“We can’t get the desired vehicles now in white,” he said.

“Myself included.

“I tried to find a white vehicle because I needed a minibus and I couldn’t find one.

“There’s plenty of other drivers who have done the same as me.

“So now we’ve had to become private hire just to stay doing the job.

“Now there’s less than 100 hackney carriages left in the district.

“When I first started there was nearly 400.

“People cannot get a taxi; operators are getting abuse because they can’t provide a taxi when they ring up for one.

“It’s a mess.

“It’s shocking.”

Mr Kiernan wants the council to reconsider its position and revert to the previous policy allowing cars to be any colour.

But a spokesman from Lewes District Council said its policy is not responsible for the fall in driver numbers.

“There are numerous reasons why people are leaving the taxi trade, but the white car rule has had a negligible impact on the number of drivers,” he said.

“We recently carried out a wide-ranging consultation with the taxi trade and 112 drivers and operators responded. Only four said the white taxi rule should change.

“Since the pandemic, most parts of the UK have seen a reduction in the number of taxi drivers.

“Demand for taxis during the pandemic was obviously low and it was inevitable that drivers looked for alternative employment opportunities.

“Bodies representing the taxi trade have also confirmed this trend."

Oh well, at least he's put the former licensing chair right


Good to know Unite have got their fingers on the pulse of the local trade

Aren't most minibuses white FFS?

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IDFIMH

I think you are wrong there but it is a fairly common colour

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