Cab drivers in Scarborough are hailing a council’s decision to carry out on-the-spot taxi checks on a busy Saturday night as “truly stupid”.
Cab Check Blunder
At a time when businesses are struggling and outgoings are rising for cab drivers, Scarborough Borough Council made the decision to perform safety checks on the busiest night of the week.
This is despite the fact that cabbies throughout the UK are finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet. The majority of cab drivers head out for an extra-long shift on a Saturday night in the hope that it will boost their earnings for the week.
However, the council didn’t seem to take this into consideration when deciding when they should enforce their inspection operation.
During the ‘sting’ a total of 26 hackney taxis were pulled off the town’s ranks to be inspected by council officers. The move took place as thousands of visitors poured into the Yorkshire seaside town for the free arts and culture festival, Coastival.
One taxi business owner anonymously commented: “Here’s a Saturday, already the busiest night of the week but with an extra 4,000 people in town for Coastival and they decide to take my drivers off the road – I was lost for words.
“Saturday is really the only night of the week cab drivers have a chance of making decent money. There really is just no logic in it.”
Council Outlook
Nevertheless, Scarborough Borough Council stands by their decision and has branded the operation a success.
Licensing Committee chairman, Councillor Brian Watson, commented: “I’m pleased with the way the cab operation has been conducted.
“We take the safety of the travelling public very seriously and it’s important that licensed drivers adhere to the law with regard to vehicle maintenance, tax and insurance, to ensure the safety of all road users.”
Licensing Manager, Una Faithfull, also supported the decision. She said: “The timing of inspections largely relates to the availability of all the different agencies that have to be involved and therefore the time slots we can work to are limited.
“The detailed inspections were carried out as quickly as possible to allow drivers to return to work and all cars were inspected well before 10 pm, as we appreciate after that time is usually the busiest for drivers.”
Outcome
The inspections took place at the council depot on Dean Road, where more than half of the taxis were given an entirely clean bill of health. Some warnings were issued, mainly for faulty lights and two cabs were found with illegal tyres.
Sergeant Peter Wood, North Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Group, said: “It’s pleasing to see that only a small number of vehicles had any safety issues.”
We’re sure the same outcome could have been reached on another night of the week, with much less disruption for the local cab trade. Let us know what you think.