Taxi and private fare representatives speak out in Lowestoft after East Suffolk Council decision

Taxi and private hire representatives have spoken out regarding the ‘dire state’ of the trade following a council decision.

Councillors of East Suffolk Council’s licensing committee met on Monday evening to discuss the trade representatives’ concerns regarding the ‘horribly long and costly’ licensing process new drivers must go through.

Trade representatives called for the streamlining of the licensing process, and ways to alleviate the financial burdens placed on drivers when applying.

However, they say they were left saddened by the meeting’s result after councillors decided to carry only one of the recommendations.

Stacey Lock, the managing director at Fice One Taxis, in Lowestoft, said: “They have no interest in supporting our trade, they have no interest in supporting local businesses, and what they’re doing is compromising public safety.”

The issues had already been raised during a scrutiny committee meeting on September 23, from which several recommendations relating to the licensing regime were put forward.

According to Ms Lock, attaining a license would set back drivers at least £800 before they could even start to work.

This, she says, is ‘driving people away’ from getting into the trade and has resulted in services being limited due to there not being enough drivers.

She added: “We can’t do the job that we need and want to do, if someone calls at 4 a.m., we physically cannot get to them.

“Not having those drivers, turning customers down, puts doubts in their minds that we can’t take them home and do it safely and deters them from using our services.

“It’s a vicious cycle.”

Ms Lock explained this was even affecting the delivery of some school transport, including that of SEN children.

She continued: “We are the third wheel so to speak — everyone forgets about the taxi service, but when the ambulances don’t run or you can’t get the kids to school, we’re there to help.”

However, while councillors from the licensing committee acknowledged the financial burden on drivers and carried a motion to look into ways to alleviate it, they did not feel streamlining processes were adequate.

Cllr Colin Hedgley said this would lead to a ‘watering down of the standards’ expected from trained drivers.

He added: “I have seen some rogue taxi drivers and they get through the system we’ve got at the moment which we think is quite strict.”

Cllr Mark Jepson added: “While I fully understand the financial burden on taxi drivers, I do think we have an obligation to make sure that those taxi drivers operating in East Suffolk should be adequately trained.

“As much as I understand it, I think we should maintain that high level of assessment.”

Steve Wright MBE, chairman of the Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA), said making the licensing process faster and more attainable would not have the adverse effects councillors noted.

He explained: “I’m very disappointed, streamlining processes is something that every single responsible council should be doing.

“The watering down of standards is not something that happens with making the system more efficient.”

Cllr Mike Deacon, who chaired the scrutiny committee in September and presented the recommendation on Monday, said he was let down by the decision.

He added: “Everything that we would like to have seen was covered by the recommendations.

“Quite frankly, I’m disappointed that the licensing committee didn’t see it the way we saw it.”

The taxi and private hire sector has been particularly badly hit by the effects of the pandemic, leading many drivers to take on other roles such as delivering.

Despite the lifted restrictions, many decided not to come back to their previous job.

Councillors pointed out, however, that between January 2020 and September of this year, the number of operators had increased from 72 to 76.

Similarly, the number of licensed drivers went from 589 to 555 during the same amount of time, with 67 license applications still in progress.

But Mr Wright says these statistics do not tell the whole story, with licensed drivers not necessarily working for the trade.

He explained: “You cannot even consider applications in the process because they may not materialize to drivers, that’s just extremely inaccurate and unhelpful information.

“At the end of the day, you’re ending up with operators unable to provide a safe service anymore.”

Following the licensing committee’s decision, officers will now look at ways to ease the financial burden relating to the application process.