Good news on taxis in Wirral
As well as my responsibilities as Councillor for Leasowe and Moreton East, I am also a member of the Council’s Licensing Committee. Soon after I was first elected in 2008, I was contacted by a resident, who is a Hackney (‘Black cab’) driver, concerned about the way in which Wirral was managing the system.
Virtually anyone, barring criminal convictions, was being allowed to operate a Hackney and many in the trade believed this was not only lowering the incomes of existing drivers but also leading to too many cabs at the various ranks around the Borough, idling their engines.
I was concerned that existing drivers were being hit by rising costs (such as insurance, fuel and maintenance); additional regulation (through the Licensing Committee) but falling incomes (as more drivers meant fewer passaengers per cab).
The Council wasn’t listening to these concerns and continued to allow the numbers of Hackneys to increase. I suggested to the trade that they firstly show the Committee that it wasn’t one or two drivers having a moan and so a petition was organised, calling for the Council to commission an independent survey (paid for by the drivers, through the fee they pay the Council).
This was then followed by two years of debate at Committee meetings when every possible objection to such a survey was given by officers of the Council. However, due to the lengthy debate and deiscussion, most councillors agreed that a survey should be commissioned.
The survey, undertaken by Halcrow, demonstrated that there is no ‘unmet demand’ for Hackneys in Wirral. Last night, after consulting on the various options, I am really pleased that our persistence paid off and the number of cabs will be limited to 289 (the ‘optimum’ number in the Halcrow report). This means that additional drivers will only be able to enter the market as others leave and that existing drivers have some stability in their employment.
I’d like to thank the Chairman of the Licensing Committee, Cllr. Bill Davies, for allowing me to speak at virtually every meeting, without limit; Cllr. John Salter for his role while he was on the Committee and, of course, the drivers who have been (fairly) patient with the whole, long-drawn out process.
From now on, there will be a survey every three years to make sure the Council’s licensing of Hackneys is in line with what the market needs, without forcing drivers to work longer and long hours, chasing fewer and fewer customers.
You can read more about this issue on the Council website here
