Hackney taxi drivers from Worcester, in the West Midlands, are up in arms as the council refused to stop issuing taxi licenses while a review of the current system takes place.
The issue was flagged up by members of the Worcester Taxi Association (WTA), who are concerned by new figures which show a huge increase of council licensed hackney carriages over the last decade.
In 2001 revealed that there were 102 licensed hackney taxi carriages in Worcester, which has now increased over 50%, to a whopping 217 licensed taxis.
Member of the WTA. Lesley Borthwick, told councillors that taxi owners would be willing to contribute towards the cost of the research required to support a limit on total taxi numbers.
Mr. Borthwick commented: “The hackney carriage plates should have been capped in 2001. Back then we paid £13,000 for a survey to be done to determine demand.
Taxi Standstill
“Since then the number of licences has rocketed and there are some nights where the city is brought to a standstill because of the amount of taxi cars now out there.”
Licensing committee chairman, Paul Denham, said: “It seems to me that if any survey was carried out this year then unmet demand for taxis would certainly be proved this time”
Cllr. Denham’s views were supported by Cllr. Richard Udall, who commented that the streets were overrun by taxis, especially at night, when cabs are seen queuing the length of Foregate Street.
No Freeze
In response to the Worcester Taxi Association’s request to put an immediate freeze on licenses, licensing officer Carl Phillips said: “It’s my opinion that you cannot suspend issuing hackney carriage plates while this survey is taking place.
“A number of local authorities are concerned about the number of taxis on their roads but the only way to start to look at the issue is through an unmet demand survey.”
A further meeting is planned between Worcester Taxi Association and Worcester City Council to move forward on the issue.