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Taxi drivers to stage strike
Saturday 19th December 2009, 11:59AM GMT.
More than 250 private hire drivers in Shropshire are to stage a seven-hour “walkout” tonight – one of the busiest party nights of the festive season.
Pub and club-goers in Telford face being left stranded because of a row between the drivers and Telford & Wrekin Council. The Telford Private Hire Drivers Association claims its drivers are being unfairly punished for minor transgressions by the council’s licensing department.
And a spokesman for the association says its drivers intend to protest outside Telford’s main bars and nightclubs and will refuse to pick up fares between 11pm until 6am.
But today Councillor Jacqui Seymour, for Telford & Wrekin Council, made a last-minute plea for the drivers to change their minds.
She said: “Telford & Wrekin Council has been informed that some local private hire drivers may temporarily withdraw ‘taxi’ services over this weekend with a potential to cause inconvenience for the public at this busy seasonal time. We are only too aware of the impact that the economic downturn has had on our community including local businesses and public transport services.
“At times like these it is important for the whole community to pull together and so we urge the drivers to reconsider their position so that the public are not inconvenienced or put at risk.”
The Telford Private Hire Drivers Association says its drivers voted unanimously to take the action after expressing a vote of ‘no confidence’ in licensing officers.
A spokesman said: “This is nothing to do with the public. Our issue is exclusively a dispute with Telford & Wrekin Council licensing department and a vote of no confidence. We have decided to take the action because enough is enough. This will cause chaos in Telford. It is the last Saturday before Christmas, the biggest Saturday night of the year for the pubs and clubs.
“We don’t want to do it, we would avoid it if we could but a point has been reached and something has to be done.”
He added the Association would meet to consider further “strike” action over the Christmas and New Year period if the dispute was not resolved.
By Alexander Walters and Brett Gibbons
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Let’s just clarify seeing as your story’s strapline and image used both feature the word ‘TAXI’ – it’s private hire drivers not TAXI drivers that are striking.
For the uninformed, the difference is that you can ‘hail’ a TAXI to pick you up on the street – they have the word ‘TAXI’ on them, a ‘private hire’ car must be pre-booked.
It seems the private hire drivers are suddenly unhappy at the licencing clamp-down on them picking up fares on the street without being booked – fares their control room know nothing about, fares that will not be covered by the private hire firms liability or vehicle insurance, fares that will be cash in pocket to the drivers aka undeclared earnings, fares that take business way from the properly licenced and insured TAXI DRIVERS !!!
Much sympathy for the poor innocent party-goers who sensibly want to use public transport rather than drink n drive this Christmas – absolutely no sympathy for the minority who have been abusing the system and giving their trade a bad name.
By the way, I’m not a taxi driver …
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I totaly agree with Shropsman on this one..
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Looks like the proper taxi-drivers will be making hay then.Considering the parking arrangements near to the night spots can I suggest the local constabulary take out extra books of parking tickets?
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Bearing in mind that most taxi drivers have been complaining that business is the worst it has been for quite a while, I find it incredible that these drivers can afford to mess about on the busiest night of the year.
Also the only people that will be affected are the innocent public as you can guarantee the Licensing officers will be sat at home in the warm !!.
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Let them strike, who’s noses are being cut off by these actions?
Rules are there for everyone…most of us follow them without any problems, those that cannot will suffer the consequences.
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10/10 Shropsman its time the licencing authority and police clamped down on these cowboy private hire companys. Massive fines and impounding of cars and equipment.
I am not a Taxi driver either
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Shropsman, modern “Private Hire” cars work on GPS, The control rooms always know where the cars are!
I’m not Taxi or Private Hire driver either, but i have friends that are…
I don’t believe the dispute is over “un-booked” fares!
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petition your local councillor to oppose any rise in fares when the revue is due. And increase the licence fee they pay. Let them strike again and again they are cutting their noses off to spite their greedy faces.
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If the taxi drivers played by the rules that are there for everyones benefit there would not be a problem.
If they don’t want to play by the rules perhaps they should find alternative employment.
Under no circumstances should the council back down on anything as a minority of the taxi drivers have been trying to force them to do this for many years.
The council and the police should work together to talk the law breaking taxi drivers off the road for good and leave the trade to those who want to work properly.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen speeding taxis with at least one light out racing around Telford.
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Andy @ 7 – From the horses mouth so to speak – or from the moaning Private Hire driver I had the great pleasure of listening to – the dispute centres on the Council utilising ‘Taxi Marshalls’ a scheme which has proven highly successful in other areas where they ar eutilised.
The Taxi Marshalls ensure amongst other things that both taxis and private hire vehicles are lawfully parked in the correct holding areas, not causing chaos and obstruction as many of them do when plying for fares.
In addition, and this is the contentious bit, they are there to make sure the people getting in the cabs are the people who booked them – preventing queue jumping and of course people who haven’t booked at all – For some reason the private hire drivers aren’t happy about having to toe the line !!!!!
As to the cars having GPS – they may well do – but it doesn’t mean the controller knows who’s in the car at any given time and why !!
Hopefully, they are also reporting back drivers with defective vehicles, lights not working etc, and drivers not wearing their seat belts when they don’t have anyone in the back – seems the police don’t enforce these matters properly – probably because they just want the punters out of the way quick so there’s less problems for them.
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