Hackney taxi drivers in Southampton say they will bring the city to a standstill if the council go back on their word, in relation to partial funding of CCTV cameras and the extension of the shelf life of cabs.
Double U-turn
In 2009 Southampton City Council made CCTV a compulsory component of hackney taxis with the promise to subsidise £250 of the equipment and installation costs.
However, at a recent committee meeting it was proposed that, due to the Council’s uncertain financial situation, the funding should be scrapped. This would leave the cabbies to cover the full, and considerably large, cost of £700.
On top of this, the council are also considering reducing the lifespan of taxis by two years, just months after the decision was made to extend it. This would see cabbies having to renew their standard cabs every seven years and every ten years for wheelchair accessible taxis.
Council leader, Simon Letts, said: “After the original decision we got some correspondence from members of the business community suggesting that they were disturbed and disappointed by the original decision.
“Also, the older the car the more pollutants it will be producing.
“So I asked for the committee to have another look at it. They may decide they are happy with the original decision, that’s up to the committee.”
Cabbies will Strike
The news has angered local cabbies and they say they are willing to go to great lengths to show the council how they feel about the proposed plans.
Clive Johnson, from the Southampton Trade Association, said: “There is talk about demonstrations and blockading because we are angry about the fact that the councillors voted to extend the lifespan but now they want to overturn it really quickly.
“If drivers go ahead with the demonstration it could bring the city to a standstill.”
At a time when most cabbies are feeling the pinch and competition in the taxi trade is forever increasing, it’s not surprising the drivers are so upset about the proposal.
Kevin May, from Radio Taxis, commented: “They gave us an extension of two years and if they take that away I will take them to court.
“It was democratically voted on by the councillors and it is the only thing they have given us in the last seven to eight years that will help drivers a little bit financially.
“We aren’t asking for that much – in Eastleigh the lifespan is 15 years for renewals. We’re just fed up about it – it stinks.”
A vote will take place at the next committee meeting to decide whether or not the plans will be put into place.