Hull Private Hire Association (HPHA) has declared an unacceptable shortage of drivers in the city.
Owner of local private hire firms, David Smith, reported that he has resorted to “begging” drivers to do extra shifts in order to meet public demand.
Mr Smith said he’s been sending requests via text to his self-employed drivers and not only at peak times.
He commented: “I’m begging my drivers to log on because we just don’t have the numbers anymore.
“It’s not even just during busy periods like Friday and Saturday nights that we’re short. I’m also sending these messages out at 10am midweek.”
“I’m begging my drivers to log on because we just don’t have the numbers anymore.”
A Barrier in Recruitment
Members of the HPHA are blaming the introduction of the Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualification for the lack of drivers. The qualification can take up to ten months to obtain and must be held in order to gain a license.
Owner of Seven ‘O’ Six Cars and member of the HPHA, Magnus Murray, said the qualification is putting potential drivers off of joining the trade.
Hull Daily Mail conducted a survey, contacting several private hire firms in the area after midnight on Sunday to order a taxi.
The survey revealed that none of the firms contacted were able to provide a taxi within an hour and one firm said that its waiting time was three hours.
Mr Smith agreed that the council needs to reassess the current recruitment process.
He said: “What it all boils down to is that there are more obstructions in the way of getting a licence now. This is having a big impact on our abilities to recruit drivers.”
UK City of Culture 2017
Hull has been crowned UK City of Culture for 2017 which is expected to attract an extra one million visitors to the city.
With this in mind, members of the HPHA have growing concerns over how the city will cope with the extra demand.
Mr Smith said: “City of Culture is only a matter of months away. Three weeks ago, I met with a senior member of Hull 2017 and expressed my concerns to him.
“I told him, ‘I don’t want to be alarmist, but I think you should know about the problems.”
Working Together with Private Hire Firms
“We want to work with them, not against them.”
Hull City Council welcomes the drivers to attend the next licensing committee meeting to discuss the issues raised.
Deputy chair of Hull City Council’s licensing team, Councillor Sean Chaytor, said: “We’ve had a request from operators today for a meeting.
“We’re very happy to meet with them at the earliest opportunity and are willing to discuss any issues they may have. We want to work with them, not against them.”