Local cab trade penalised, say drivers’ union reps

Taxi and private hire drivers in Brighton and Hove want the council to make changes that would benefit local drivers over those from out of town.

Their request was not rooted in favouritism but intended to recognise the higher standards and costs that the council imposed on drivers licensed locally.

Brighton and Hove GMB reps Kevin Thomas and Fazlul Haque led a deputation to Hove Town Hall to set out what they want.

They called for restrictions such as limiting bus lane to private hire drivers licensed in Brighton and Hove, transparent fares and proper enforcement of taxi ranks which some drivers say are used by out-of-town operators when they shouldn’t be.

Only licensed “hackney carriages” – taxis not provate hire vehicles – are permitted to use taxi ranks where the public can be picked up without pre-booking.

A written submission to Brighton and Hove City Council from the GMB before the meeting last Thursday (18 December) said that there were about 40 per cent fewer licensed drivers locally since the covid-19 lockdowns.

Drivers have been hit with a “double whammy” of rising costs and a “huge influx” of out-of-town private hire vehicles.

Many were licensed by Lewes District Council and Chichester District Council. Others were licensed by councils in Portsmouth, Havant and across the south east and worked for Uber.

The GMB reps called for a meeting with the council by the end of next month to discuss the effect that out-of-town drivers and operators were having on local members.

At the meeting of the full council last Thursday, Mr Thomas said: “Whether its doctor’s appointments, shopping, hospital appointments, helping in the night-time economy, Brighton and Hove taxi drivers and private hire drivers are essential.”

While public transport was excellent in Brighton and Hove, he said, local taxis and private hire drivers met a need that public transport could not always be catered for by public transport.

He said: “Before the covid lockdown there were around 1,800 Brighton and Hove licensed drivers. Now that figure is less than 1,100. The reason is the general economic situation.

“One of the major factors for the loss of drivers is the influx of private hire vehicles licensed by outside authorities from Lewes to Chichester all the way down the south coast – and these vehicles come here working in Brighton and Hove for an app-based operator.”

Mr Thomas said that Labour’s council election manifesto pledged to promote the local economy and keep money in the area.

But, he said, the app-based operator – which he referred to as a four-letter word starting with “U” and ending in “R” – sent money spent in Brighton and Hove to Silicon Valley.

He called for bus lanes to be restricted so that private hire vehicles could use them but notthose from outside the area. They would remain available to all taxis.

On fare transparency, Mr Thomas said that both the driver and passenger should know how much the driver received for each journey. There were, he said, cases of passengers paying £300 to reach London but the driver receiving only £90.

Out-of-town operators were not required to follow the same strict safety-related rules as Brighton and Hove licensed drivers such as fitting a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system.

Many out-of-town vehicles were used for home-to-school transport services because they were cheaper. Mr Thomas said that Brighton and Hove licensed operators had to pay to meet the higher standards required by the council but were then at a disadvantage when bidding for such contracts.

Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said that Brighton and Hove City Council upheld high standards for licensed drivers and operators.

Councillor Muten said: “The council values the professionalism of its licensed drivers and encourages two-way collaboration to address concerns such as bus lane obstruction and adherence to the engine idling ban which supports ambitions for a cleaner, more accessible city including cleaner air.

“We will work with you and please work with us.”

He welcomed intelligence from the trade on illegal ranking and plying for hire by out-of-town vehicles and taxis, blocking the flow of buses in front of Brighton railway station.

Fare transparency would be raised through the local taxi forum next month with Labour councillor David McGregor, who chairs the council’s Licensing Committee.