brick?

­PHC
magazine
­ news | phv trade under pressure
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
Also, in attendance...
10 | November 2016
Mr Blake replied: “I hear what you are saying, but I come at this
from a different point of view. The mayor’s action plan outlines
that we want two vibrant industries. And we have to listen to
what your customers are saying at the focus groups and discussions
that we have had. We can’ just sit here and hope that these
(poor standards) will go away.”
With the backing of a hostile crowd that was beginning to shout
at Mr Blake, Mr Polley said that TfL was, “tightening
the noose” on a trade that was beginning to falter
under the heavy weight of new regulations.
Mr Blake retorted there had been a consultation
about the changes but Mr Polley replied: “Yes,
there was a consultation. But, what we said and
we wanted was just not heard.”
ANGRY AND UNITED
Keith Keen, managing director of The Keen Group in Wandsworth,
South London and the GMB union’s Professional Drivers’ Branch
president Steve Garelick were invited to address the meeting and
voice their dissatisfaction with the taxi and private hire action
plan.
Mr Keen said: “The mayor says he wants to ‘protect the iconic
black taxi’ but in the act of protecting the hackney trade he is attacking
the private hire trade.
“The diversity of services we provide and the level of service we
provide is unmatched by anyone. But the mayor and TfL don’t
seem to appreciate or recognise that.
“I think the mayor has been misinformed, so we need to talk to
him and explain exactly what is going on. But, we can’t do that
without the support from the wider industry to make these things
happen. Whining and moaning about regulations after they
come in is not the way to do it.”
Steve Garelick then told the meeting: “The taxi trade only want
fleet insurance for us for their own purposes, it benefits them.
“As for the removal of the Congestion Charge exemption for private
hire vehicles, this would be a tax on drivers and would place
a financial barrier between us and those who really need us to
make their journeys.
“Eddie Townson (chairman of the Private Hire board) recently
asked a very good question. ‘When is the taxi consultation going
to take place?’ It’s all very well the taxi trade telling us what is good
for us but what is
Keith Keen (The Keen Group) and Steve Garelick (GMB Union) good for the
goose is also good
for the bloody
gander.
“And we also
have got to get
the PHV message
across to the general
public and tell them about all the good stuff that we do. Because,
if we don’t and let the taxi trade set the agenda, then we
could be in big trouble.”
COME TOGETHER AND FIGHT
Taking stock of the reaction that Mr Blake received, LPHCA chairman
Steve Wright said the trade must unite behind a common
banner and fight for the future of the London private hire trade.
“We as a trade are being categorically and systematically ignored.
The mayor’s action plan was run past the taxi trade and TfL
really ought to have shown it to us before they went ahead and
published them.
“Our industry is six times the size of the taxi trade and this has
to stop. But, to do this, we need a strong association. We have to
change our gameplan because playing long, fair and square isn’t
working. We’ve got to ramp this up and start to tackle these issues
very hard indeed. Let’s get our legal and political act together
and take our argument to the people that really matter.”