Black cab drivers in Nottingham have slammed the council for not being proactive enough in preventing illegal touting in the city.
Over 200 of the city’s cabbies attended a meeting held by the Nottingham Licensed Taxi Owners and Drivers Association in which they unanimously voted to take action. A protest at the Police and Crime panel meeting has been scheduled as the first stepping stone in their course of action.
Chairman of the association, Jamil Ahmed, said: “Thousands of citizens of the city are unknowingly stepping into the uninsured vehicles of disreputable drivers.
“Many parents like I will be deeply concerned that their children might be driven around unprotected and uninsured and that the city council seems uninterested in acting on their responsibility to keep taxis well licensed and safe.
“I am sure the city council cares about the safety of the people of Nottingham. We believe now is the time for them to prove it with action.”
Private Hire Perspective
Speaking on the topic, ex-secretary of the Notts Private Hire Operators and Drivers Association, Ray Butterworth, suggests that Mr Ahmed is over exaggerating the issue. He said, in his 12-years of being secretary, he had heard of only a handful of drivers who were willing to take the risks that come with this offense and that the vast majority of drivers would not jeopardise their livelihood.
He added: “It’s called ‘flying’ in the trade and, as with anything that involves human nature, there will be those who take risks. But the price that people pay is high – losing licenses and big fines.”
“We don’t believe there is a problem” Says Council
By law, private hire drivers cannot accept a fare unless it has been pre-booked. If this rule is broken it will nullify their insurance and they will be subject to a fine between £400-£5000 as well as having their license withdrawn.
Council members have tried to reassure the cabbies that they currently carry out frequent enforcement checks which show that it’s only a small minority of the trade that are breaking the law.
Jane Urquhart, Planning and Transport Division, said: “We don’t believe there is a problem of illegal plying for hire by private hire cars in Nottingham on the scale suggested by the local Taxi Federation.
“However, we do carry out regular enforcement to clamp down on this, often resulting in prosecution, and we were encouraged during the latest operation by 96 per cent compliance.
“We also raise awareness about the need for people to pre-book private hire vehicles to be sure they are getting into legitimate private taxis and that only registered Hackney cabs can be flagged down or hired on-spec from ranks in the city.
“However, both types of taxi operate in a commercial marketplace, which has changed to some extent with the wide use of mobile phones and apps which make booking quicker and easier and the city council cannot intervene to restrict legitimate competition.”
The cabbies of Nottingham will continue with their plea to do more to stop illegal touting but it remains to be seen whether the council will act on their concerns.