Shropshire taxi drivers seeing red over colour policy
Taxi drivers across the region say many of them could lose their livelihoods if Shropshire Council votes through its draft policy on taxis and private hire cars.
The council wants to see all vehicles used for taxi or private hire comply with increasingly tough European emmissions standards over the next four years.
And, by 2018, all taxis will have to be black and be wheelchair accessible.
The latter condition is, drivers say, not only unfair to them, but discriminatory against most disabled people, the elderly and those with mobility problems, who cannot clamber up into the high vehicles needed to accommodate a wheelchair.
They are urging as many licensed cab drivers to attend a forum meeting at the Shirehall this month where the issue will be discussed.
One of those who claims he will fall foul of the proposals is Mark Higgins who runs Berwyn Cars.
"I have just bought a fully wheelchair accessible taxi – but it is white," he said.
"It would cost about £4,000 to change the colour, which is money I don't have."
"For most people it will mean changing their vehicle. With the economy at it is at the moment this is something that will be the last straw for a lot of taxi drivers.
"They will be forced out of business."
Both he and Nicholas Cox of Oswestry Cabs, said that having to have every taxi wheelchair accessible rather than one in a fleet, is a nonsense.
Mr Cox said: "I have a saloon car and a wheelchair accessible mini bus.
"For many of my elderly or disabled customers, getting into any wheelchair accessible vehicle would be near impossible because they would have to step up into it."
They said the ruling would also affect many customers who do use wheelchairs.
"I have a regular customer who uses a wheelchair but who transfers out of her wheelchair and into an ordinary seat in one of our taxis. The wheelchair is then folded up and put in the boot," Mr Higgins said.
"She would not be able to transfer into the wheelchair accessible vehicle and I know she would hate to sit in her wheelchair in the back of it."
Drivers are also concerned about the proposed policy's views on emissions. The draft policy says vehicles of new or renewing licences between 2015 and 2017 will have to comply with "Euro 4" emission standards then "Euro 5" until 2018 and "Euro 6" after that.
"As far as we understand there are no taxis produced at the moment that comply to 'Euro 6' ," Mr Higgins said.
No one from Shropshire Council was available to comment on the proposals
