NOTTINGHAM

Private hire taxi drivers have said they risk falling foul of new council rules every time they come into the city because there is nowhere for them to wait.

Under the controversial Driver Improvement Penalty Point Scheme (DIPPS), taxi drivers are given points for any unacceptable driving behaviour, such as parking on double yellow lines or in bus stops.

Nottingham City Council launched the scheme in September 2016 in a bid to crackdown on bad driving and taxis illegally plying for hire.

It means drivers committing a variety of offences, such as parking on double yellow lines, in bus stops or blocking traffic could be given penalty points.

If they rack up enough points, which are handed out by community protection officers (CPO) their licence could be suspended by the council.

But private hire taxi drivers, who cannot pick up passengers from ranks like hackney cabs, say they are risking picking up penalty points whenever they come into the city due to there being nowhere for them to wait.

Aneel Ghafoor, who has been a taxi driver for seven years, said: "If you drive into the city, there is no where for you to park other than on double yellow lines or in bus stops or places like that.

"Every time we come into the city for a pick up or a drop off we are risking picking up these points because we are having to wait in areas where there are double yellows.

"It is a major issue for us in the city centre."
Imran Idrees, who has been driving taxis for more than 17 years, said he and his colleagues are considering holding a protest or striking over the issue.

The 37-year-old said: "I have spoken to a few of the other drivers are we are considering taking action because this is a big issue for us.

"We have certain amounts of times we are told to wait for passengers before cancelling the job. For Uber it is five minutes, for a private hire firm it is 10 minutes.

"We cannot wait that long in the city centre without a CPO coming over to us and telling us to move or we will get penalty points. It has happened to me twice now."

Nottingham City Council has said taxi drivers waiting for customers are given a grace period and reiterated the main focus of the scheme is to tackle taxis illegally plying for hire.

A spokesman for Nottingham City Council said: "Private hire taxis must be pre-booked and if this is the case, they can pull up on yellow lines for a short period to drop off or pick up their passengers.

"However, they cannot park on yellow lines waiting for potential passengers, since this is illegal plying for hire.

"Our taxi enforcement team has been clamping down on this recently and will continue to do so where private hire drivers are effectively creating an illegal taxi rank in the city.

"They allow a grace period for drivers who are legally collecting or depositing passengers, although we would discourage the use of bus stops for this."

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WALLSEND

A taxi driver has won a battle against Volkswagen in the latest twist in a row over an emissions fix to his car.

John Denholm was told he would not get compensation for loss of earnings after his taxi broke down after the work was carried out.

The breakdown led to 11 days loss of earnings.
John, of Wallsend, estimated he had lost £1,300 in income.

But now VW has admitted there was a way he could have continued working.

The car company admitted he could have been kept on the road under a pay-and-claim scheme.
He has been offered £1,400 as a gesture of goodwill.

We revealed in September how John was angry after putting his VW Passat in for an emissions upgrade.

He said the car came back in a worse state and needed major repairs.

VW said the faults were coincidental and not related to the ongoing emissions scandal or the upgrade.

But the manufacturer reduced the cost of repair from £3,200 to £750.

At the time bosses ruled out any compensation for loss of earnings.

But a goodwill payment he has been offered and covers John’s estimated loss.

He said: “I received a letter from VW saying there had been a mistake.

“They said I had not been offered anything under a scheme which would have kept me on the road.

“The payment is welcome but I think someone should have realised I was eligible for help under the pay-and-claim scheme at the time.

“It would have stopped a lot of stress and worry.”
John had been given a courtesy car while his taxi was off the road but was unable to use it as a taxi.

The letter confirmed VW’s stance that the problems on the car were not related to the emissions scandal or the upgrade.

VW had made no reference to the pay-and-claim scheme when we investigated John’s complaint earlier.

A spokesman said at the time: “We understand that Mr Denholm is seeking £1,300 for loss of income.

“Mr Denholm’s vehicle experienced a fault, as any mechanical product will do from time to time and for various reasons, and Volkswagen would not normally reimburse loss of profits in such a scenario.

“In light of this, we do not consider it appropriate to reimburse him for any loss of profits, not least due to the amount of individual goodwill already offered to him towards the component replacements despite the fact that Volkswagen had no obligation to do so.”

But VW claims it found a way to help John anyway.

A spokesman for the company said: “We do not consider the changes Mr Denholm reported are related to the technical measures and as such did not consider it appropriate to reimburse him for any loss of profits.

“That said, and in the knowledge that Volkswagen has no obligation to do so, we discussed Mr Denholm’s case with the retailer who assisted him.
“During this discussion it came to light that a general pay-and-claim scheme which would have allowed him to continue his work as a taxi driver, was available, and was not offered.

“In light of this and following our aims to maintain our high levels of customer satisfaction, we have voluntarily decided to offer Mr Denholm further financial support as a gesture of individual goodwill.
“To be clear this offer of goodwill is not based on the NOx issue nor the technical measures, neither of which caused the issues Mr Denholm reported, but rather due to an apparent failure to follow the proper process.”

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CHELTENHAM

The council has launched a consultation on amendments to its taxi and private hire licensing policy.

The policy regulates every aspect of the taxi and private hire trade in Cheltenham including driver, vehicle and operating licences.

The biggest difference between taxis and public hire vehicles is that one can hail a taxi, whereas private hire vehicles have to be pre-booked.

The proposed changes are to make amendments to the original document that was laid out in 2014.
The main changes include:

1.       Improving vehicle emission standards for all licensed vehicles

2.       Introducing a ‘three strikes’ policy relating to the conduct of licensed drivers and associated sanctions

3.       Bringing in measures to regulate working hours for licensed drivers in the interest of public safety

4.       Measures to help address the increasing problem of vehicles licensed elsewhere but working in Cheltenham

5.       Improved vehicle fitness standards particularly in relation to taxis; and

6.       A new equalities legislation in relation to duties places on drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinet member for development and safety, says: “We have started a consultation on important changes to our current policy regulating the taxi and private hire trade in Cheltenham.

“This policy affects a lot of people not least the licensed trade, but also every person who has, or will in the future, take a journey in a taxi or private hire car licensed by this council. It is an important policy that ensures the safety and protection of the travelling public.

“I would encourage anybody with an interest to comment on the consultation to ensure that we have a wide range of views on issues relevant to the taxi and private hire trade.”

The consultation is running until 21 December and more information on how to respond can be found on the council’s website at

www.cheltenham.gov.uk/taxipolicyreview.