Can we take it that North Tyneside Council admits there are too many Taxis, when they request that we refrain from parking on Tynemouth Front Street before 9pm? Are they suggesting we work part time?

One would assume that prior to the issue of Licences; the licensing committee would have looked at Demand for taxis, Rank spaces for Taxis, any congestion issues with the increased numbers of Taxis etc., then allocated or ‘Not’ new Licences accordingly. Clearly this did not happen as the Council is now telling us that ‘we are causing congestion’ Excuse me! but we said all along there was no need for anymore Taxis, and I am sure we would have mentioned congestion issues, but who listens to us? Do they honestly think they are not in the least bit responsible for the long lines of Taxis blocking Tynemouth Front Street or South Parade in Whitley bay?

Before the Balance was disrupted there were cars on the Ranks causing no congestion, waiting for Fares, There were other cars cruising for Fares that were ‘Flagging’. The rising numbers of Private Hire put paid to any Fares that used to Flag a Taxi on the street, as large operators expanded their fleets. Now these operators had more cars available to take those fares that would have previously flagged a taxi or taken one from a Rank. Eventually in North Tyneside Hacks had nothing to cruise for and joined already overcrowded Ranks. The Money lost was not transferred to Private Hire drivers, as you may think, there were now more of them. They gained nothing from our loss. The Money was actually converted into ‘Rents’ as office proprietors took on more cars. Hackney Carriages lost an important part of their trade and Private Hire Drivers gained nothing from our loss as they were now sharing their workload with more drivers.

Some years later, when Private Hire drivers started to feel the pinch as they were now sharing work with an ever increasing Private Hire fleet. Various ideas came about that they, Private Hire, could only make a decent living if they were a Hack! Ironically the cars that had taken away most of our work were now struggling and thought that salvation was in a Hackney Licence. Various protests, newspaper publicity and court cases followed as 122 Private Hire drivers opted to take North Tyneside Council to Court in order to win Hackney Carriage Licences. Newcastle Crown Court ruled that each case would have to be heard separately. As I remember 4 licences were won before the Council eventually said”anyone can have a licence as long as they buy a wheelchair accessible vehicle.” All of this took place in 1992. At the time the then Chairman of the Licensing Sub Committee, Coun. Bob Usher stated “The Council has fulfilled it’s duty to act as a fair and honest broker between the needs of the public and the Taxi trade” The rest as they say is ‘History’ We now have a Hackney Fleet double the size of the Fleet in 1992, we had little work then, even less now and very little “Honest Brokering”. Back then the Private Hire trade was 500 strong now it is 800 and still growing.

There’s a little bit of History to illustrate the causes of today’s Congestion, not our fault!

What is the ‘Driving Force’ behind the continual issue of more and more Licences? Not just here on Tyneside but nationwide. Night time economies, in our area at least, have been in decline for a number of years now, evident in the fact that we have 2 night clubs were only a few years ago there were 12 or more. The Daytime economy is all but non existent. It was never great but yet again more and more cars take their toll. More Taxis, More Drivers, Higher operating costs and less work. A recipe for economic disaster. Could anyone imagine Sir Alan Sugar running his business this way, of course not it is ridiculous to increase the workforce when productivity is low.

There are people that we, in the industry, put our trust in. We trust that they will make the right decisions taking all factors into account for the good of our industry and it is our industry, not just the Rent collectors or the Licensing officers. We put our trust in them to get it right, to keep the balance right so that each and every driver can make a decent living for carrying out a very important public service. Keeping that balance is also for the benefit of the public. More cars means higher Fares and there are some who are not satisfied with the Fare structure and will ‘Rip Off’ customers in all sides of the trade.

I am sure the decision makers are on the ball when it comes to decisions made about their livelihood, if not they would be out on strike wouldn’t they? If anyone took the time to go to North Tyneside Council, Request minutes of previous licensing committee meetings. They would read about lots of important decisions made over the years. Some of these decisions have not been adhered to and not enforced! why? The single most damaging decision I can remember was the one to issue 40 Hackney Carriage Licences overnight, this was an irreversible decision and one that had devastating effects on existing Licence holders. The majority of that issue, all wheelchair accessible Fiat Doblos, have become cash machines for large operators, Rented out at around £280 per week (I have known drivers to go home with as little as £50 after Rent & Fuel costs) No matter what you call it you cannot hide the fact that people are being exploited, the regular Taxi driver is being exploited especially new drivers who know no better. As it has begun to sink in that £280 per week is a bit ‘Much’ these cars sit around all week doing nothing. They can be found in the yard at North Shields Metro, dotted around the Fish quay and not very far from Tynemouth Priory. Until the weekend when they are rented out on a daily basis. You know! The weekend that thing that full time drivers have waited for all week to try and recoup some of the weeks losses, only to find all those cars that have been dotted around doing nothing all week are know in front of them on a “CONGESTED RANK” We supposedly live in an age of equal rights, human rights, equal opportunities, minimum wage, tax credits etc, etc, yet many of us are worse off than we were 20 years ago. It’s supposed to be a fairer system for all yet a guy can be rented a car for £280 and go home with £50 after 80 hours work. This is what ill thought out decision making gets you, a few people gathered round a table make decisions like this and the repercussions are never ending.

You can’t blame the operators; they’re in business to make money, that’s understood. Government and local Government have a responsibility to all of us, not just large, wealthy operators. In the past I have been told “we have no such responsibility, we cannot make work for you!” Well we had work, Thank you very much which has been eroded to such a point that we are barely getting by. You just have to read the papers to see what an average family needs to get by, £19,000 or thereabouts, show me a Taxi driver here who makes that in take home pay on a 40 hour week!

Increasing the numbers of Taxis is big business is it not, not for the Taxi Driver but for everyone else certainly. Office proprietors have a vested interest in increasing numbers, each driver pays on average £108 per week to work from an office, an office with 200 cars? Pretty good but could be better if there were 250 cars! The Local authority gains from every licence issued. Licence fees, badge fees, retest fees you name it there’s a fee for everything. If you doubt this take a look at Berwick Council. A former Mayor of Berwick Coun. Anthony Murray welcomed the extra licensing income but he questioned whether the media attention that the controversial policy is generating was a good thing for Berwick.

He said: “It would appear the money is going to come in to replace the cost of the salaries we would be creating but I would question the publicity we are getting at the present time because of our licensing policy which has resulted in Berwick-licenced taxis operating all over the north of England.”

The council’s reception is currently despatching 60 or more hackney carriage application packs a week but this increases when there is media coverage.

Mr Wilson said: “It’s said that all publicity is good and that is the way it is in this case. Every time there is media focus on this issue and we get bad publicity it results in a wave of inquiries from taxi drivers looking for licences.” (Full article Here: http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/Extra-council-jobs-to-cope.3847467.jp )

By law, a council can only set the fees it charges at a level that covers the costs of providing the service and should not make a profit. In the event there is a significant revenue surplus, the council would be required to reduce its fees accordingly.

I have never seen fees reduced, they have been frozen but that is another story……