On Tuesday 17th January, the Full Council will be asked to rule on a recommendation from the Miscellaneous Licensing Committee, to remove the ‘Numerical Limits on Hackney Carriages’ from Restormel, Carrick & Penwith Taxi Zones.
Item 11.1 Licensing of Hackney Carriages – Review of Numerical Limit Policies
The basis for this recommendation is an inaccurately reported shortage of Taxi services in Cornwall.
The Numerical Limits exist for a VERY, VERY Important reason, and are NOT, I repeat NOT the cause of any shortage in supply of Taxi/Private Hire services in Cornwall. The Numerical Limits relate ONLY to the availability of Taxis on a physical Taxi Rank, and the ability to physically flag or hail down a Taxi on the street, and are not related in any way whatsoever to the availability of advanced booking services via telephone, mobile app or any other web based media; that is a separate part of the industry altogether.
The number of Licensed Vehicles (Taxis & Private Hire Vehicles) has shrunk from 1,500 down to 1,011 over the last 4 years. That’s a reduction of 33%, caused mainly by a significant change in the way people conduct their lives due to the pandemic, resulting in a shrink in demand with no resurgence currently in site. This in turn has caused a major shortage of Taxi & PHV drivers, as this work force has moved into the logistics workforce with companies like Amazon & DPD, which has been the main cause for a reduced availability of advanced booking Private Hire Vehicle and Taxi services. There are still plenty of vehicles available but sat idle with no one to drive them. A matter we have raised with the Misc Lic Committee time and again.
It is very important to note, that in the 3 zones which operate a numerical limit, there has been no reduction in the number of Hackney Carriages (Taxis); the shrink has been in available Private Hire Vehicles (advanced booking services) due to the shrink in demand, shortage of drivers and overbearing and unsustainable rises in costs, which has nothing to do with numerical limits!
Removing the Numerical Limits will not solve the problem of reduced services. I repeat, removing the Numerical Limits will NOT solve the issue, but it WILL cause catastrophic damage to the availability of Hackney Carriages on Ranks.
The effects of removing the Numerical Limit will not see a flood of new vehicles onto the road, but instead will see existing Private Hire Vehicles simply switching from Private Hire to Hackney Carriage. This will then result in those vehicles flooding the Taxi Ranks, and forcing the small Hackney operators that are loyal to servicing the local Taxi Ranks out of business, which in turn will result in the larger companies gaining a monopoly on all available services and a reduction in competition. This will result in a rise in prices for the consumer, but will NOT solve the issue, and will instead create further and bigger issues. There will be far less Taxis on the Ranks, as most of the Rank only operators will have been forced out of business, and the Private Hire vehicles that converted to Hackney will not have time to service the Ranks in their place, as they are too busy with Private Hire advanced bookings, by phone and web etc. If you want to control issues like pollution, then numerical limits are the way to go.
There have been many authorities in England who have gone down the route of removing numerical limits, only then to realise the catastrophic and poorly advised mistake they made and have then done a U-turn and reinstated these limits. However, by then irreversible damage is done to the Taxi (Hackney Carriage) trade.
The issue which is being put before the Council to rule on has sadly been based on a total misunderstanding or refusal to accept and deal with the actual problem, despite the trade explaining it to Licensing Officers and the Chairman of the MLC time and again, that the issue is a lack of drivers, not vehicles; and is also sadly based on rumour, myth and very fake news, such as people holding multiple Hackney Carriage Licenses back for investment purposes, as apparently they are worth a fortune (I wish), which is complete and utter nonsense.
Heaven help us!
