Taxi Driver Online

Another Glasgow LEZ thread, but this is maybe a bit different because it's a member of John Swinney's cabinet answering questions about it

And mostly utter BS, as far as I can see. Can't be bothered examining the details - will leave that to others who'll know better - but she's either pretty clueless, or gaslighting the trade


Transport minister said drop in Glasgow taxis not LEZ fault

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/243 ... lez-fault/

THE Low Emission Zone has not led to a fall in the number of taxis in Glasgow according to the transport minister.

Fiona Hyslop said the fact there are fewer black taxis had more to do with a fall in demand.

The minister was asked by Annie Wells, Glasgow Conservative MSP about a fall in the number of cabs in the city.

She said it was down to the LEZ enforcement, putting non-compliant taxis off the road as costs are prohibitive.

She added: “Glasgow City Council has announced that it will offer a further extension to the exemption for some taxis beyond June 2024, if taxi operators can demonstrate a commitment to retrofit vehicles or purchase compliant replacement vehicles.”

Wells said hundreds of taxis are still non-compliant and risk going out of business when the exemption ends next month.

She asked: “For the sake of Glasgow’s black taxi drivers, will she back the extension of the exemption for those taxis—not the 76 that are already exempt?” Hyslop confirmed the reduction from 1390 taxis in Mary last year to 1347 in January this year.

“However,” she said: “That reduction can be attributed to declining public demand for taxis rather than being a direct result of the low-emission zone, because Glasgow City Council offered its taxi fleet a 12-month exemption, from June 2023 to June 2024, from LEZ penalty charges.”

Hyslop said there is an extension available if owners can provide proof they are making efforts to comply.

She said: “If the member was listening, she would have heard that that is exactly what Glasgow City Council is doing. It is offering a further exemption, should there be a demonstration that retrofitting is planned.”

The minister added the LEZ retrofit fund is open for applications and provides up to £10,000 towards the cost of retrofitting a taxi.

Paul Sweeney, Glasgow Labour MSP said the grant was not enough and asked for it to be reviewed.

He said it can cost between £60,000 and £100,000.

Sweeney said: “The £10,000 grant is simply not sufficient, particularly when a lot of the affected taxi drivers are approaching retirement age or are in their 50s and cannot take out that huge amount of finance.”

The minister replied: “On the finances for individuals, I am sure that engagement with Glasgow City Council will help to scope out requirements.”

Meanwhile, Bob Doris, SNP MSP for Maryhill and Springburn asked if the LEZ was having an impact on the quality of air.

Hyslop said: “Because it takes many years for fleets to adapt to LEZ entry standards, the improvement is spread over a long period ahead of LEZ enforcement, rather than happening overnight, when enforcement commences.”

She said there has been improvement in Hope Street with lower nitrogen dioxide readings.

God help you lot up there if that's the best info the Transport Minister can come up with.

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IDFIMH

absolute keech

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

9.1.2 To determine unmet demand, the Index of Significant Unmet Demand (ISUD) has been used an indicator of the level of unmet demand, where values over 80 are generally considered to indicate that there is significant unmet demand for Taxis. For GCC it is concluded that the representative value of ISUD is 108.22, indicating that there is a significant unmet demand for taxis within the authority.

9.1.5 It is considered that there is a significant unmet demand for taxis in the GCC licensing area, but there is evidence that this is a result of a lack of taxi drivers as opposed to a lack of taxis. The number of licensed taxis is largely consistent with when the cap was last reviewed in 2018 and when there was no significant unmet demand, but the number of licensed drivers has reduced by approximately 29%, which is expected to have contributed to a reduction in the number of taxis in service at any given time.

- Review and Assessment of the Demand for Taxi and Private Hire Cars in Glasgow [April 2023]

Differing agendas might point to LEZ consequences or fewer available drivers as the reasons, but there clearly isn't a 'declining public demand for taxis' - Fiona Hyslop's claim is wrong.

Separately, I can see Bob Doris beginning to stir two different pots - (1) air quality aims were already achieved in the first phase of the LEZ (buses) and the second phase won't lead to further improvement and (2) the Glasgow LEZ has the M8 motorway just outside its north and west limits. So nothing stops M8 pollution blowing into the LEZ anyway. Both pots featured in the 2023 legal challenge:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... t-67276111

A cynic might suspect Glasgow CC is already planning to keep extending the LEZ outwards a la London. In reality, I don't think they're actually that clever - they'll just lurch from one crisis to another.

So they're saying new plates wouldn't make a difference because, whatever...

Actually, it's always been like that, only to a much greater degree now

In fairness, the survey recommended ditching the lower HC plate limit of 1278 (and keeping the upper limit of 1420). But I don't think there's been a stampede of owners ordering new cabs as a result.

In the meantime, I read elsewhere of a 4-month wait for a topographical test. So the council is doing its bit to sort the driver shortage. Think my test was 6 weeks from application.

Maybe someone needs to email the pulpit councillor and ask him why his staff aren't doing their jobs.

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IDFIMH