Taxis '˜doing council's job'

Christopher Riley, co-owner of D&C Taxis, believes the council is being “reactive, not proactive” when it comes to protecting drivers’ livelihoods.

He said: “Although there are more drivers now, the council has placed bollards in an area we used as a taxi rank.

“We were told we could no longer use the area on Queen’s Walk as a rank, because we would obstruct emergency vehicles, but now emergency vehicles can’t access the area either.”

Mr Riley is also concerned about “foreign” plated vehicles trading in Mansfield –private hire vehicles which have obtained their licence under a different local authority, but still operate in the district.

Although not unlawful, Mr Riley feels Mansfield council is not doing enough to protect Mansfield licensed drivers’ livelihoods against these other cabbies.

The council said it is working with other authorities to “ensure standards are met”.

Mr Riley has calculated that the loss to Mansfield’s economy, based on 40 out-of-town-plated vehicles operating over the past two years, comes to £1.3 million, while he has concerns about these non-local vehicles plying for hire unlawfully.

He said: “We want to work with the council, but us drivers are having to alert the council to illegal activity.

“I’d like to see the council improve our working conditions by improving the ranks, and giving us more space.

“They can’t stop the influx of foreign plated vehicles, but they can proactively promote their own licensed drivers.”

Ben Bradley, Mansfield MP, has been out with the drivers to see how they are affected.

He said: “I share a number of Chris’s concerns about the rising costs and lack of support for cab drivers in Mansfield and I’ve met with him on numerous occasions to discuss and support local drivers.

“I also took the time to go out and spend a Friday night on the ranks with the drivers, and many share the same concerns.

“I have raised issues with the shortage of pick-up points in the town centre and it seems to me that by continuously limiting space and raising costs all they are doing is forcing drivers to go and register elsewhere, which will ultimately mean Mansfield council loses money.”

However, Jacqueline Collins, council director of governance, said: “Private hire drivers have been able to be licensed in other areas since deregulation in 2015.

“ The operator, vehicle and driver must be licensed in the same area in order to operate lawfully and the council continues to work with other authorities to ensure standards are met.”

“The council is also working with Nottinghamshire County Council in a bid to increase the number of spaces on the ranks.”