DISABLED taxi users would benefit from deregulation of the industry, one former York cabbie claimed today.
As previously reported in The Press, City of York Council is considering removing the restriction on the number of hackney licences it issues.
The consultation has sparked bitter debate among the city's hackney and private hire drivers.
Today, one man who has driven in both sectors said the restrictions should be lifted - for the sake of wheelchair users.
The man, who did not want to be named, said very few hackney cars were accessible to wheelchairs, and all such private hire ones were always pre-booked en masse at peak times.
He said: "All the wheelchair-accessible ones are always taken up between 7am and 9am on the school runs.
"The council is aware that there are not enough wheelchair-accessible taxis in the city.
"People who want hospital appointments and school times in the morning or afternoon can not get a suitable vehicle."
But a leading disability campaigner warned against an assumption that all disabled people wanted the wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Lynn Jeffries said: "It is an issue. If you are a wheelchair user who needs to stay in your wheelchair it can be very difficult to get a taxi spontaneously, because they are often booked for the school runs. But there is a bit of a myth with people becoming obsessed with the notion of accessible cabs for wheelchair users.
"Those cars can be quite inaccessible if you have a mobility problem but are not a wheelchair user, because they are quite high.
"It is important to strike a balance."
The current consideration of deregulation has been called because the Government is opposed to restrictions.
York's long waiting list for hackney licences has led to a spin-off business, with plates changing hands for up to £60,000 a time.
Deregulation would mean drivers who had invested in plates would lose a fortune, but the former cabbie, who drove taxis for more than 20 years, said he had little sympathy for them.
He said deregulation had been on the agenda since the 1980s, adding: "There's a lot of talk about poor, hard-done by people, but a lot of them do not even drive their taxis."
The council's consultation runs until August 14. To take part, visit www.york.gov.uk/consultation |