Dear Sir,
New rules governing taxi drivers will have a detrimental effect on the most vulnerable members of the community. All taxi drivers must pass a police records check, a medical and full driving license check, repeated at regular intervals.
The new requirements have added local knowledge and an extra driving test with the D.S.A.which are too expensive for new drivers.
Hackney drivers are becoming impossible to attract due to the increased expense and the time it takes to acquire a license.
Sedgefield Borough Council has lost control over the licensing of private hire drivers. I’m sure a lot of readers have noticed the private hire cars around the town with Berwick-upon-Tweed plates. Some drivers who have been deemed unfit to drive a hackney carriage have simply applied to Berwick-upon-Tweed for a private hire license so they can operate in this area as only very basic checks are done and licences are handed out like sweets.
There are some good drivers that are going down this route as it is a quicker and cheaper way to start a job. These drivers cannot use the taxi ranks or pick up passengers hailing on the street and cannot have special needs contracts with schools.
The hackney carriage drivers are at a higher demand and higher wages are being offered to attract them, combined with increased fuel prices the common practice of Aycliffe taxi companies subsidising fares out of their own pocket is sadly coming to an end.
Hackney drivers do a very important job supporting and helping the more vulnerable members of our community. We are there for the aged, disabled and infirm taking them to and from hospital appointments and the shops.
We are there at the end of the evening when our young men and women need to get home in the most vulnerable of states. We are there to take disabled youngsters to specialist schools. This is becoming harder, due to the lack of new drivers.
It is becoming more and more common to see elderly people stood on the rank in the bitter cold, because taxis are out of town or are in too short supply to stop. On night shifts I often see young girls trying to walk home alone from the pub after being unable to get a taxi. As a parent of two daughters this puts the fear of God into me as I fear for their safety.
Concerned Hackney Driver
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