Wes Streeting Labour, Ilford North
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to issue new statutory taxi hire standards.
(Citation: HC Deb, 4 February 2020, cW)
George Freeman Minister of State (Department for Transport)
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READING
Daytime taxi fares could go up in Reading, with a vote on planned increases taking place this week.
A report has unveiled Reading Taxi Association (RTA) proposals which would see daytime charges increase by an average of around 3.75 per cent.
Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Licensing committee will vote on the plans tomorrow (Thursday, February 6) at a 6.30pm meeting at the Civic Offices.
The Reading Cab Drivers Association (RCDA), the other Hackney Carriage trade union in Reading, has backed the plans.
Chairman Mirza Beg said: “The RCDA has no objections to the RTA’s fare increase proposal.”
The licensing committee could either back the plans, reject any increase or call for new proposals.
What is the current situation?
In Reading, fares are set by the Licensing committee and all journeys taking place within Reading are paid in accordance with the fares on the vehicle meter at the end of a journey.
Fares were last reviewed by the committee in August 2017, with councillors granting a 20p rise to the flag-down charge.
There are no plans to increase the flag-down charge this time around, but the RTA instead wants to change how quickly the charge is topped up after that.
https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk
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WHITEHAVEN
‘Evil’ pupils cut off by taxi company
Pupils have been left stranded after a taxi company has refused to take them to and from school, telling parents their children are “animals”.
Since the parent-funded yellow bus which took St Benedict's School pupils to school completed its final journey in 2018, some parents have paid for taxis to get their children to school.
But now, Mirehouse parents say they are worried for their children’s safety and education as Whiteline Taxis refuse to drive their children to the Whitehaven school.
A spokesman for the company confirmed that the drivers do not want to pick the pupils up anymore, due to their behaviour.
The Whitehaven taxi firm had been used by the pupils since September, and they have now been left unable to get to school.
“My daughter loves school, so now she’s always worrying about being late and missing lessons because we’re struggling to get her there,” parent Craig Hukins said.
The concerned dad added that the company has let them down before, leaving the five children who get the taxi together, including Mr Hukins’s 12-year-old daughter, stranded at the side of the road.
He added: “My wife died last year, so I’m the only person available to give my daughter a lift to school, and I’m having to go to work late because we have no other option.”
“We’ve basically been told [by Whiteline], ‘your kids are animals so we won’t take them anymore’.”
Another parent left frustrated by the situation is mum Siobhan Poland, whose 11-year-old daughter, Kaitlin shared the taxi with Mr Hukins’s daughter.
“Every time we speak to Whiteline they say, ‘your kids are evil’, and refuse to take them,” she said.
A spokesman for St Benedict’s said they “have sympathy for the concerns over transport issues", but as the families live within three miles of the school, a Cumbria County Council-funded bus cannot be provided to them.
They added: "There are two service buses the children can get from Red Lonning bus stop, one to Woodhouse at 3.03pm and one to Mirehouse at 3.04pm, and although it means them waiting half an hour to go home, we have a supervised library they can sit in to stay warm and safe while waiting."
But this doesn't help Ms Poland, who said: “My daughter suffers with anxiety – she can’t go on public buses because she has panic attacks, so the only option for us is a private taxi.”
The mother-of-three has started a petition for more school buses, as “something needs to be done”.
“Enough is enough," she said. "Kids should be able to get to school safely and on time, and we need everyone to work together to get something in place.”
A Whiteline Taxis driver explained: “Before we even got off school grounds they would wind the window down, hang out the window and shout to their friends.
“If the police went past and they were all hanging out the car like that, I’d be the one in trouble.”
They added: “I can’t force the drivers to do something they’re not comfortable with, and nobody wants to drive those kids anymore.”
www.whitehavennews.co.uk
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