Nick Newman, Chairman of Cardiff Licensees Forum, has called for the council to resolve the long-standing problem of taxis refusing short fares and leaving people stranded, including vulnerable young people in the early hours of the morning. There’s also claims that customers are having to pay double their normal tariff, if travelling on a Friday or Saturday night.
Cardiff Taxis Discuss Allegations
Taxi Drivers Cardiff, representing licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers in the city, said that the vast majority of drivers do their job correctly and efficiently, though there are a small minority of Cardiff taxis who have tried to cherry pick their fares. One company, allegedly among those who refused short fares, is Dragon Cars. The company says that it can’t monitor the journeys made by drivers when using their own hackney licence independently of the company and advise booking directly for the best service. There’s a concern that the city’s reputation could be brought down among visitors due to the fare-picking drivers.
Taxi Drivers Cardiff, representing licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers in the city, said that the vast majority of drivers in the city do their job correctly and efficiently
Need for Public Cooperation
Cardiff Council carried out 20 planned enforcements around the fare refusal issue, including mystery shopping to find rogue drivers. The council appealed for help from the public by asking them to report any instance of fare refusal. It’s an offence for any taxi driver to refuse a fare unless they believe they’re under threat from the potential passenger. Until recently, Cardiff had a large number of taxi marshals around the city centre until March, helping people to safely access a cab though these were phased out, perhaps there is a need to revisit this solution.
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