Concerns about public safeguarding and “the thicket of bureaucracy” facing new drivers as they attempt to navigate licencing regulations have been raised by the Thanet Private Hire Association.
Issues were initially raised in a meeting with South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay and have now been highlighted with Thanet council once more ahead of a meeting to discuss possible changes to the knowledge test taken by drivers.
The TPHA wants to streamline the process of licensing new drivers with Thanet council because of a shortage of private hire drivers since the covid pandemic with most companies operating with just half the number of drivers they had three years ago.
“A drop of over 50% of both licensed vehicles and drivers”
Chairman Andy Doody, on behalf of TPHA, said: “The Covid pandemic and lockdown periods resulted in a drop of over 50% of both licensed vehicles and drivers. This has led to widespread complaints from the public to the firms as well as negative reports across press and social media platforms.
“All of the private hire operators, firms and the staff are and have been under pressure to cover work or to even take bookings.
“This has resulted in abuse to staff and in turn to drivers. This has affected the general public attempting to go about their daily lives, employees getting to their jobs, care workers and essential members of the NHS and the emergency services being unable to get to their places of work on time or home in a timely, safely manner.
“The school transport system, not just from the taxi services point of view but from parents and KCC tender’s department, is seriously affected too, leaving schools, children, and their parents/guardians very frustrated.
“There has been an enormously negative push back from the hospitality sector including hoteliers, publicans, restaurateurs, entertainment venues and concerned parents, youngsters and vulnerable members of the public wanting to get to and from home safely. This is especially at weekends and nights as this has historically been the busiest times.
“Since not only the pandemic and the problems that brought to us all but also since changes that were implemented by the licensing department, the numbers of drivers either new to the trade or renewing, has fallen at an unsustainable rate with the result being the continuing and frustratingly difficult communication from all the operators with the licensing department to find a solution.”
Safeguarding concerns
Mr Doody says there are concerns that drivers’ badges no longer include the name of the operator they work for, something he says could represent safeguarding dangers.
He said: “The council has started renewing drivers badges with no company that they work for named on them.
“Previously if there was a problem licensing knew where the driver was registered to work from. Now they’ll have no clue if there’s an emergency, accident or God forbid worse. They didn’t formally notify operators they were doing this.
“It’s an absolute recipe for disaster. My wife, daughters or friends could be picked up by a driver that’s ‘working’ for the taxi company I call so I know who to get in touch with if there’s a problem but drivers will be able to swap companies and (for instance) cover school runs for anyone that asks.
“I’ve asked on behalf of the Thanet Private Hire Association repeatedly over the last two plus years that licensed drivers and their cars must be clearly identifiable and that the licensing department should know what company every driver is registered to be at and regularly check with the various companies that they’re records are right but now they rely on the drivers to notify them.
“In mine and the operators -Thanet Cars, Thanet Taxis, Central Cars and United Cars – opinions this is utter madness and totally unsafe for the public.”
Knowledge test
The TPHA say things like the knowledge test are “outdated and unnecessary” due to all companies and drivers have modern despatch systems and satellite navigation built into the drivers equipment which give directions to the pick-up point and customer information and the correct prices.
One of the solutions proposed is to have one practical test with a licensing officer or external locally licensed testers to check driving aptitude, English language, basic maths, highway code knowledge and a visual check of the vehicle.
Mr Doody said: “This would streamline the at present multi-step process solving many parts of the application in one appointment, just leaving the safeguarding, medical, tax, and DBS checks to be carried out beforehand. This type of process has been implemented in many other areas nationwide and led to the private hire and hackney services getting back to a healthy level for the needs of the community and creating a much-needed increase in revenue for the councils.”
He said a report published for the licensing meeting next week looks to “weigh in favour” of the TPHA requests although it doesn’t cover the safeguarding concerns.
Robust checks
Thanet council says there are robust checks in place to protect passenger safety and that most drivers are self-employed, so may work for more than one operator. The council adds that knowledge tests are necessary for tourism.
A spokesperson said: “We have a robust process in place to manage the accreditation of taxi drivers in our district. This is to protect the welfare of our residents.
“Most private hire drivers are self-employed and may work for one or more operators. We have removed the need for the operator name to be included on the badges that we issue. This means that drivers will no longer have to pay for the issue of a new badge if they change operators, and this is in line with the majority of other councils.
“Badges do show the driver’s name, a picture and their badge number however, and we ask drivers which operator they are going to work for and retain that information on our files.
“The knowledge test is held every fortnight, typically with up to 20 candidates, who are booked on to the next available test should they need to resit. DBS clearance can be applied for prior to taking the test and this is stated on our website.
“The knowledge test ensures that taxi drivers can give customers information about the local area, including places of interest and local attractions. This is an important part of our offer as a tourist destination.
“Ensuring that our residents are safe is a key council priority, and safeguarding is an important part of this. We have a duty to protect all of our residents and visitors.”
The content and cost of sitting the knowledge test will be discussed at a meeting of the Licensing Board on Tuesday 21 March.
Further information on the Knowledge Test is available at: https://www.thanet.gov.uk/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-knowledge-test/
