TAXI FOR BURNHAM? CABBIES SAY SOMETHING SMELLS RANK AS NEW PROPOSALS COULD PUT DRIVERS OUT OF JOBS

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.