A plea from cabbies to cut the number of licensed taxis in Tamworth has fallen on deaf ears at the council.

Members of Tamworth Hackney and Private Hire Association say ‘good drivers’ are being forced out of business because too many cabs are competing for the same trade.

But at a meeting to discuss the issue, councillors refused to recommend reducing the number of cabs to 100, saying ‘market forces’ alone should dictate the level.

“That’s all very well but it’s the best drivers, the most conscientious, who are suffering,” explained Richard Rose, association chairman.

“We’ve got drivers who are having to work 18 hours a day just to make ends meet, which is not a healthy situation for anyone. It’s the good drivers, the ones who won’t scrimp on their services and MOTs, who will go to the wall first and we?re already seeing it happen.

“So what the council is doing is helping to create a situation where the town gets left with the drivers who are not as rigorous and who?ll work for less money because they?re investing less in their cabs.”

He added: “We’re disappointed but we’ll lobby the Cabinet members before the final decision is made.”

Prior to 1997, there was a limit of 50 licenses for hackney carriages. This was changed in July 1997, since then the number of cabs has risen steadily to the current level of 132.

Tamworth Hackney and Private Hire Association wrote to the council in April, asking for the number of licenses to be reduced over the next few years by ‘natural wastage’. But the Licensing board, which met last week to discuss the issue, did not agree.

The sticking point for most appeared to be spending up to ?25,000 on a survey to determine the appropriate level of taxi numbers.

Only Independent member Cllr Chris Cooke said he was ‘torn’ about the decision, because he felt some limit should be imposed. But the majority recommendation was to refuse the taxi driver’s request.

The recommendation will now be determined at a Cabinet meeting on August 13.
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