200 taxi drivers brought traffic disruption to Redditch on last weekend when they took part in a go-slow protest against new council charges.
After meeting in Silver Street The Redditch Taxi Association carried out a rolling road block in the Worcestershire town.
With taxi sales income from street fares and contracts on the slide, members are angry at a price increase for vehicle checks since Redditch Borough Council took over the procedure.
It’s been reported that the cost for taxi tests will rise from £25 to £64.
Taxi Association Protest
Safder Hussain, chairman of the taxi association, said: “The council have embarked on the road to perdition and have not thought through their policy.
“The losers again are going to be the drivers and ultimately the general public. We have done everything possible to keep the fares low, in some cases lower than the bus fares.
“But this is the straw that will break the camel’s back. Fares will have to rise to cover the extra costs the council are asking us to pay.”
Councillor Juliet Brunner, portfolio holder for community safety, said: “Taxis can do huge mileage and are often on the road 24 hours a day with several drivers and the old inspection checks, though cheaper, were failing.
“We accept that taxi drivers would probably prefer not to incur an extra £60 a year, but the old checks were failing to ensure that the taxi fleet was maintained to the standard Redditch residents would rightly expect.”