Local Taxi firms are warning that 'utterly ridiculous' new regulations are set to bring misery for thousands of drivers across the whole of Greater Manchester, with local Salford cabbies set to be hit hard.

Well first of all we have to back track a little on that last statement, as if these new regulations are brought in then companies like Saltax Taxis and Swan Taxis will no long be able to use the word Taxi as part of their marketing and branding. Instead they would have to use the term 'Private Hire Vehicle'. Obviously that is a teensy little bit of an issue when your company name has the word Taxi in it.

However, the farce does not end there, no sirree, it seems that in order to adhere to the minimum standards set out, ALL private hire vehicles will have to pay a visit to the paint shop for a lick of Burnhams bestest Dulux white in order to meet the expectations of the strict new 'Livery' standards.

As you can well imagine, this may not have gone down at all well with those drivers who opted for a vehicle that was for example... anything other than the colour white.

There is nothing within the literature we have seen that would suggest this new regulation would be phased in to give drivers time to naturally replace their vehicles.

Good news for black cab drivers though as they can sigh a little relief as most of their vehicles are the right colour to fit their proposed requirements, they just need a huge badge on the bonnet to pass. 

Local Taxi - sorry, Private Hire Operators are asking, who will be expected to foot the bill for these new proposals? Will there be some kind of funding available to help the already struggling companies and drivers? Many of which are set to be hit even further with upcoming proposals for charges of £7.50 per day to access some areas around GM as part of the Mayors clean air charging scheme.

'It all seems kind of pointless', said one Taxi.... Private Hire Vehicle driver. And if we are being honest, we here in the salford.media bunker kind of agree as we're totally flummoxed as to just what effect the colour of a Taxi... sorry Private Hire Vehicle would have on air pollution. We suspect none at all.

Although just to be sure we did consult with our resident expert, Professor Tony Flynn (He is not a real professor), who told us that there is some science behind it as the colour white is widely known to reflect sunlight and thus help cool the planet. He then started talking about polar bears and rising sea levels by which time we had zoned out.

The stark truth is that when you get down to the meat and potatoes of it all, most people really don't care what colour the vehicle is that picks them up, so long as it is licensed, safe and gets them where they need to go as quickly and safely as possible and also as cheaply as possible too, most are happy.

And let us be honest here, any additional charges are inevitably going to have to be passed on to the paying public in increased fares, something that none of the drivers or companies want to do as it is counter productive. Increasing fares results in more and more people looking for cheaper ways to travel and in turn less custom.

One driver who asked not to be named - told us,

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"I am at my wits end mate, it's hard enough to make a living as it is in this game, what with the competition from the likes of Uber and now this, it's like a massive kick in the teeth.

"I know people who have already folded and given up, some have been lucky enough to have gone on to find jobs elsewhere but for every one of those there are two others stuck on the dole, desperate for work but not finding anything that pays the bills.

"They are not skivers or shirkers, they want to be out grafting and earning a living, they are proud and hard working people and what is happening is just utterly criminal.

"There are loads quitting, even more considering it too but clinging on in the hope something will give and they will get a break, they are making it harder at every step to earn a wage, what for or why, well I don't know but if things don't alter soon then I can see many more giving up, myself included, my missus won't be happy but it is what it is."

Another told us,

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"I've had people do a runner without paying fares, sometimes after long journeys.

"I've had to pay bills for cleaning everything from vomit to milkshake out of my car seats.

"I've been punched in the back of the head, spat at and even once had my passenger door dented by a lass who didn't want to pay for her fare.

"The cost of derv (Diesel) is forever going up and it sure is a lot harder to make a living in this game.

"Despite that it is something I love doing, you get to meet some really nice people, there is one elderly lady I drop off at keep fit twice a week, she is lovely and has a cracking sense of humour, over the years we have become friends and it is that which I love most, the regulars.

"I don't want it to end but unless changes to these proposals are made then I can see it having a massive impact on us all, I am already looking for another job but I wasn't that good at anything else at school and driving is my life, I know my prospects ain't great. It's only going to get harder and more will quit, it's just not paying the bills."

You would think ludicrousness would end there right? Well you would be wrong as it is proposed that when a vehicle is first licensed, it would have to be under 5 years old (from the date of manufacture) and would only be licensed until it was 10 years old. Which would mean that many owners of perfectly well maintained vehicles that comply with the standards would still be forced to replace them.

A prospect that many local Taxi - sorry - Private Hire companies say could put them out of business or at the very least, adversely hinder and impact on how they operate to such an extent that they may as well be out of business.

The literature sent out to companies and drivers even recognises the part the drivers play,

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Around 32 million trips are made in taxis and private hire vehicles in Greater Manchester each year. It’s an important way for many people to travel around the city region.

So why are these drivers and companies that play such an important role in travel around our City being hammered so much?

It really does not make sense when the same Mayor is pushing for people to leave their cars at home. Both Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles are instrumental in how Cities like Manchester run, people rely on them heavily to get around, none more so than the elderly, sick and disabled who without them would in many instances be housebound.

These companies provide a vital role in our City and without them... well for many the City would grind to a shuddering halt. So why are we putting so much undue pressure onto them? Does it really matter what colour the vehicle is that comes to take you to sit in the hydro pool at Salford Royal? Does it really matter if the vehicle that picks you up to get you safely home after a night out in town is white? Does it also matter if the car that you travel in is over 10 years old so long as it meets the safety and emissions standards?

To be fair, yes we agree with many of the new regulations in the document but if we are being utterly honest here (and we try to be) some of them are a little silly by any stretch of the imagination.

If standardised colouring of these vehicles is to become the norm then this should be phased in over a fair enough period of time to enable the operators and drivers alike to prepare for the changes. You honestly can not expect them to roll up the next day with a sparkly new fleet of vehicles as that is just not how the world works and someone has to pay the bill for that, we highly doubt that there will be subsidies and grants available to help cover the costs. This means that many of them will have to go into debt just to stay employed so they can pay off that debt.

One line in the documentation did stick out more than others for us and it was this,

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Currently, older licensed vehicles are damaging our environment and action is needed to address this important issue.

The greatest irony of course is that even if you were to take these vehicles out of the equation, the impact would be utterly insignificant when faced with the reality that the current Greater Manchester Spacial Framework is proposing hundreds of thousands of new homes and businesses across the region, bringing with them the very plausible possibility of hundreds of thousands of extra vehicles on the roads, the SAME roads they claim to want to improve air quality on. The majority may be newer vehicles that meet higher standards but the sheer volume of them would add massively to the problem and far negate any possible gains made. It really doesn't make any sense at all.

As I said above though in some proposals we do agree, mainly in providing safety for passengers and ensuring that drivers comply with regular criminal record and health checks. We also agree with the proposals for more stringent booking records and CCTV and Audio recording in some licensed vehicles. Security for both passengers and driver are of the upmost importance

We commend them for trying to tackle the air quality problems but you really can not have it both ways, you can not be claiming to be solving one problem whilst knowingly creating a much larger one with your other actions.

The humble cabby is part of the backbone of Greater Manchester, without them this City would be a whole lot harder to get around, continue to increase pressure on them and they will become fewer and fewer and when one day we need them, they may no longer be there.

We have approached Greater Manchester Council for comment but as yet have not received a reply.

All views and opinions are those of the author.

It's hard not to have noticed the onslaught of articles popping up in the local news over the past few weeks, regarding the air quality across Greater Manchester.

It is hard to argue that the air we breathe in this region is not full of pollutants. A study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018 discovered that Salford on the whole was estimated to be substantially exceeding the limit of acceptability with 15 micrograms per square metre.

This placed our City as holding the unenviable joint title holder of having the worst air quality in the UK alongside Scunthorpe.

The pollution levels in Salford were surprisingly even higher than our larger neighbouring sister City of Manchester.

So with those facts and figures in mind it has quite rightly been seen as an urgency to reduce that pollution as the effects it is having on the general health and well being of the public is utterly staggering. Shortly after the figures released the Friends of the Earth declared it to be a "Public Health Crisis", and they are certainly not wrong.

The City is clearly failing to meet the standards for fine particle air pollution or PM2.5 as it is also termed. The effect on health can have a huge impact with cancer and respiratory disease clearly on the increase across the region.

And so the powers-that-be have been duly and legally obligated to reduce those numbers, provide a cleaner environment and a healthy City for all.

Greater Manchester's Metro Mayor Andy Burnham has decided that the best way forward would be for Clean Air Zones around the City, these areas would require a charge for the most polluting vehicles to access, in general it is thought that the cost would be £7.50 per day for Taxi's and £100 per day for HGV and Buses that do not comply with the standards. It is said that the money raised would go towards aiding companies modify or replace their vehicles with less polluting ones.

Car drivers and those who drive compliant vehicles would not be hit by the charge and so Andy has been quick to declare that this is NOT a backdoor way of introducing a congestion charge.

That has been tried before and it dismally failed after 79% of Greater Manchester voters declared a resounding NO after a City Wide referendum. It even temporarily cost Irlam Councillor Roger Jones his seat as he was the chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority and seen as the public figurehead of the scheme. Woe betide any politician who tried to implement a congestion charge again.

Some have argued since, that roads have been deliberately engineered to be more congested across the City in order to push to implement a congestion charge at a later date. They evidence this by pointing out traffic calming measures and lane restrictions brought in on many of the arteries in and out of Manchester. Chapel Street being one of prime examples of an area which draws much anger due to the reduction of the carriageway for use as a bus lane, the introduction of speed humps and strict speed limits which some say are causing even bigger delays on the route. Delays which in turn mean more stationary traffic and more pollutants being pumped into the air. It has been said that such measures are counterproductive and undermine any positive gains from the bus lanes.

Regardless of conspiracy theory the stark truth is that in the future we will have a much larger dark cloud looming over our Cities head in the form of the Greater Manchester Spacial Framework or GMSF for short. This second drafting is a clear improvement over its first revision but none-the-less it will still see a huge surge of property building and development on a massive scale across the region.

In some areas like Irlam and Cadishead, large sections of the greenbelt are being carved up for future expansion plans for both homes and businesses. 1,600 homes are earmarked to be built on land close to Irlam Station within Councillor Jones Ward of Irlam, Ironically on what the Council deems to be degraded greenbelt land, the same peat bog that acts as the Cities natural carbon sink. This move has created huge anger that was manifested at the ballot box this year as the candidate for the Core Independents 'Darren Goulden' romped past the finishing line in an embarrassing blow to Labour who have long held the seat.

In the neighbouring Cadishead fellow Core candidate Dave Pike lost out on taking another seat by a mere 64 votes after a tooth and nail battle that saw Labours candidate Lewis Nelson take a well earned victory as a result of an epic battle for the spot.

Full Results of the 2019 Local Elections: https://salford.media/elections/local2019

The people are obviously not happy about it and the cracks are now starting to show.

Councillor Jones's Irlam ward already suffers from historic traffic problems due to its geographical location and the lack of exit routes in and out of the area. The addition of a new lifting Bridge into Trafford has done little to alleviate the problem as people still face delays on the only Salford bound route in and out of Eccles. This is impacted even more when the local Rugby club is playing at its home stadium.

So where do we go from here? On the one hand we have a Metro Mayor telling us that our Cities need clean air, whilst on the other we are being told that our Cities need massive expansion which will in turn mean hundreds of thousands of new properties and countless additional vehicles on the roads across the region. Not to mention the impact of those new homes on already stretched local service.

Irlam is just the tip of the iceberg as homes are scheduled to be built in many other areas, adding to those that have already been built over the past few years and have seen huge impacts on local services and the road infrastructure.

The Salford Star has recently done an article regarding the red flag being waved over the increasing demands for more school places that is more than worth a read. 

http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=5112

The impact of all these new homes and cars being introduced to the area will more than undermine any gains made by the clean air scheme. We have a ludicrous situation in which we are being told to get out of cars and onto public transport whilst at the same time they are proposing taxes on that same public transport. With a cost of £100 per day each bus that does not meet the new standard will have to pay £36,500 per year to operate in those clean air zones. If those companies only operated 10 buses then that would cost them a staggering £365,000 per extra per year and who do you think those costs will be passed on to? There are clear and justified concerns that ticket prices will increase across the bus networks and that will result in the most likely scenario of the the public being hit in the pocket to cover the losses. It could also have the knock on effect of making people reconsider how they get around Manchester with some possibly opting to use cars.

The need for clean air in our Cities is obviously a priority, the deaths attributed to premature deaths in this region due to air borne particulates is shockingly high and it is only set to increase, something has to be done and it has to be done now.  The tiny particles, emanating from sources such as transport, heavy industry, coal and burning wood, fuels or waste, are very clearly linked to debilitating diseases that include stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory infections. It would be utter madness to stand by and do nothing.

But the reality of the situation is that more needs to be done to improve public transport and entice people out of cars, you simply can not remove trucks and buses from select areas of the region whilst at the same time introducing a potential quarter of a million vehicles by the expansion of the City.

A recent article in the Manchester Evening News details how a town the size of Lancaster is due to be built between Collyhurst and Manchester town centre. Thousands of homes each producing more and more rubbish for landfills, more demand for school places, more demands on NHS services and even more cars. The Northern Gateway Project is set to see over 15,000 new homes built over the next 20 years.

MEN Article: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-housing-chinese-loan-collyhurst-16455486

Sooner or later something will have to give.

The issue is not so easy to resolve, there will be problems ahead but rest assured it does need to be tackled and sooner rather than later for the sake of the health of the people. Things can not carry on like this.

I took a drive through Weaste and seedley to see the improvements made to the fly tipping situation over the past year, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I think its fair to say that I occasionally go on a rant a bit on Salford Online's Facebook Group about the state of Salford's streets and back entries. Recent re-working of the bin collection rota had seen black bin collections go from fortnightly to tri-weekly across the city and the impact was never felt harder than in the already struggling areas of Weaste and Seedley.

Well over this past year things in both of those areas have been definitely changing for the better and I am pleased to see a huge improvement. That improvement has mainly been down to the hard work and dedication of its local councillors who have been at the forefront of the change, along with local groups that have gotten their hands dirty, they have clearly shown what a difference a little pride in an area can do.

Both Councillor Paul Wilson, his father and current ceremonial Mayor, Ronnie Wilson and their colleague Councillor Stephen Hesling have brought about a huge shift in the areas direction by simply listening to the problems that people are enduring and working with them to get them rectified before they escalate into larger issues.

Paul in particular has been extremely proactive and spent a lot of time to understand the unique issues that each part of his ward has, this has enabled him to see the unique issues each face and so has better equipped him to deal with problems as they arise. 

As someone who has previously spent endless hours online slating the area for its issues in the past, I have found the improvement is blindingly obvious in some areas with levels of litter and rubbish adorning the streets dramatically cut over this past year.

Many of the issues are still there but they are now being dealt with much more swiftly and to greater effect than before. This has minimised the impact in many areas.

So it would seem the team in Weaste are getting it right, their actions are bringing positive results and those results are in turn being noticed by both residents as well as those passing through. Yes it is not perfect, lets face facts it would take a miracle and a huge cash injection into the refuse collection and street cleaning department by the Mayor to get that; but the results so far have shown clearly just what having good proactive councillors in an area can achieve.

The positivism also reflects well for the local councillors with Paul's popularity at an all time high, having become one of the most respected Councillors I have come across in recent times. His no nonsense direct and straight to the point attitude has been seen as a refreshing change and resonates with the community he serves.

I was recently chatting to one lady that I know to have been plagued by issues with fly tipping at the rear of her property for years, she was delighted to report that her suffering was now over and that there had been a huge improvement. She was quick to give credit to the local councillors when asked what she thought had turned things around.

It is fair to say that Weaste in particular had become a bit of a mess but there has been a massive shift over the past few months and the streets are looking a lot cleaner and people are actively getting involved and encouraging others to join in with improving things.

For instance an amazing group of residents on Barf Road have made a huge difference to the back gated entries and streets by holding regular litter pick days, weeding front and back gardens and arranging for dumped items to be removed ASAP. The "This is it Salford" group (main photo) recently won a much deserved heart of Salford award for the work they have put in to their area and bringing their community together this year.

The change they have made is staggering and shows clearly just what can be achieved when people come together to alter their surroundings for the better.

In a city in which Labour councillors are constantly criticised it is refreshing to see a success story instead. So, long may that last, the councillors actions are clearly working and the results can quite literally be seen on the cleaner streets.

Obviously more work needs to be done, it's a never ending task, but finally Weaste is starting to look like Weaste again, Seedley is starting to look a lot better and may they continue to make great changes.

For well over a year or so I have been reporting news on this website and so It's fair to say I have a pretty decent understanding of just what our police forces are up against when they are out there doing their jobs, not only in Salford and Greater Manchester but up and down the country.

I see it everyday in press releases and they are just the tip of the iceberg when you consider just how many calls per day they are tasked with dealing with.

With ever increasing cuts to their funding, huge stresses being put upon them by government to do more and more with less and less, as officers leave their roles due to being overworked, exhausted and underappreciated, it is pretty sickening and damn right insulting to hear one of our own local Councillors telling the police that they should "Stop Moaning" and "Live Within Their Means".

Councillor Robin Garrido, who represents the electorate in Boothstown and Ellenbrook made the comments during yesterdays Full Meeting of Council (10/10/18).

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 "There’s a lot more that can be done by the police to help solve the problems.

"I think it’s about time they stopped moaning about resources and got on with the job and started organising themselves more efficiently."

"It seems to me that they need to start learning to live within their means. They have to start learning to use their resources in the best possible way."

Meanwhile back in the real world the service has been cut to the bone, with it being revealed earlier this month that the force is no longer investigating some types of crime due to not having the resources to do so.

They are being forced to prioritise crimes that they consider they can get a more likely positive outcome on, which is leaving many feeling that they are being let down.

As a result of these cuts, crime across the region has increased since 2017 by 31 percent, back in 2008 the force had over 8000 officers to deal with crimes, today it has little over 6000 and they expected to take on the same workload of the estimated 10,000 officers needed.

To tell this obviously overstretched work force that they should be doing more with less is like a smack in the teeth.

Earlier this year we had totally out of control youths rioting in Walkden, two officers were hospitalised as a result, not long after a similar occurrence happened in Eccles and a man was assaulted.

The police tried to show an increased presence in both cases and it seems to have worked to some degree. But those extra officers were drafted in from other areas and ultimately other jobs, this in turn could put the public at risk and in the very least it results in fewer officers available in their own areas.

This clearly showed that when you put an increased police presence on the streets it works, the kids moved on and the situations in both cases were diffused, you can have as much technology as you like but the most simple and cost effective solution is to have extra boots on the ground.

The Councillor is probably more than aware of the current crimes being reported by people in his own area, with reports being made on a near daily basis of thefts from cars, attempted and successful burglaries on homes as well as an increase in reports of Anti Social behaviour with drug paraphernalia being found around the area.

However the Councillor should thank himself lucky that he covers a relatively quiet patch of the City as in other areas like Pendleton, Ordsall and Broughton the situation is far far worse and I can't help but notice that some of these areas are those bearing the worst brunt of the Governments Austerity measures.

Alas though these crimes are not being dealt with simply because the police really do not have the resources to tackle them and the criminals know that.

Yes there are some areas in which technology and streamlining of the service can make improvements but for the most part you really do need officers on patrol. 

One of the largest complaints I read about on the Salford Online group is that of crimes like bike and car thefts not being investigated. Maybe, just maybe, if there were adequate officers to be dealing with them then our crime rates would be far lower?

Criminals in Salford seem to be going about their unlawful business unchallenged. 

Earlier this week police successfully arrested a 16 year old boy who they suspect had been involved in multiple phone thefts in Salford, he is just one of many out there doing it though and the police don't have the resources to deal with them all.

So in the long run, WE the public suffer, we complain when we can't get hold of an officer or it takes an hour to get through to 101 but the sad reality is that the police are out there trying their hardest to cope under ever increasing pressures to "Do More" and "Live Within Their Means".

Telling our hard working over stretched police force that they should be doing more whilst at the same time supporting a Government that is shredding them to pieces and cutting them to the bone is just simply madness, it would be hilariously funny if it was a joke, but sadly I don't think it is.

We should be applauding them for at least attempting to maintain some kind of law and order.

The police forces across the land are not Oliver Twist characters with begging bowls forever asking for more, they are one of the most important public services we have and they are only asking for the means to carry out their duties.

Remember, they do the best they can with what they have. Give them more if you want to see them do better.

The small community station ran by volunteers from its base in Swinton has now been pumping out a unique  eclectic mix of music and chat over the airwaves of Salford for 11 years and yet oddly enough many people within the city still don't even know this fantastic community asset exists.

With over 80 regular volunteers producing live and pre-recorded shows from its studios snugly nestled behind the Civic Centre in Swinton, the station has helped support more than 400 local residents to develop careers in the media and other industries.

SCR was first awarded a 5 year broadcasting licence back in 2007 and had that licence extended for another 5 years in 2012, however the stations survival was put in jeopardy last year after Salford City Council cut funding as part of its cost saving measures to protect front-line services.

Things could have been a whole lot different this year as the huge shortfall in funding threatened to put Salford's very own radio station off the air for good and so that makes this birthday that much more special, as fortunately the stations staff, presenters and the good people of Salford rose to the occasion as a crowdfunding campaign managed to raise enough to extend the stations licence for a further 5 years.

The station which broadcasts on 94.4 FM, won a Golden Jubilee Award from the Queen back in 2016 for providing an "inclusive, educational and entertaining service for local people of all backgrounds and cultures".

So just why do so many people not know about SCR? Well we thought we would find out.

By far the most common response we got was that reception of the station in some areas of Salford was "Sketchy", something the stations operators already know about and is mainly down to the terrain of the city and the relatively low power of the transmitter which is imposed upon them as part of the terms of  the regulator OFCOM. Many people didn't know the station was there because their radios would often scan past it.

In order to try and remedy that the station operates an online streaming presence on its own website http://salfordcityradio.org and we also recently added a radio player for the station on this website in order to try and help boost listening figures.

You can even listen into the station on any mobile phone or internet connected device capable of running the TuneIn radio app such as Amazons Alexa or the Google Home Hub etc.. 

Simply saying "Alexa, Play Salford City Radio" will prompt the smart speaker to load up the station and stream it live to you. Although admittedly sometimes you may need to pronounce Salford as SALFORD and not SOLFORD as Alexa is a bit naff and doesn't understand the language of the gods which is fluent Salfordian.

Admittedly the content of some shows may not be for all, I spent a couple of weeks listening to show after show and I have to be honest and say that a few of them were personally a little lacklustre to me BUT the important thing to remember is that the station is not trying to be like the BIG FM stations over the border in Manchester and it really does excel in areas that they don't, Mainly its links to the community. Just because I don't like a particular show or genre of music doesn't mean it does not have an audience. This is where Salford City Radio is unique as it gives those people and those shows a chance to shine, its content is created by its volunteers and what they may lack in some areas they more than make up for with their never ending enthusiasm, determination and dedication.

As my 2 week listening marathon came to a close I realised that for the most part the station is pretty amazing at what it does, YES it needs a little spit and polish and there is always room for improvements and changes BUT on the whole the station is uniquely Salfordian, its quirky, odd, sometimes a little frustrating but when it gets it right it gets it fantastically right. 

There really are some gems, my personal favourite presenter being Phil Wiz, quickly followed by shows such as the Irish Connection, the Indie show with Monty and a great little show presented by Sufiya Rehman who gets local people in for interviews on local topics affecting Salford.

And so in conclusion, the little station with a BIG heart is a BIG 11 year old and after securing another 5 year licence last year it is destined to keep on rocking.

In order to do that it needs more listeners to pull in more ad revenue and funding to help keep it afloat and maintain the expensive equipment needed to keep it on air. 

As for myself, I have enjoyed listening to the hard work and creativity put into shows presented by local people, I may not have liked all the content but I found myself enjoying much more than I thought I would. With a few little tweaks here and there I see a bright future for SCR and I will continue listening.

Just please, no more Kate Bush for a few months

I am really happy to be able to wish the station a happy 11th Birthday and more importantly I am hoping to be wishing them it on their 20th birthday too.