As a regulatory authority Cornwall Council has a duty to perform the following functions with regard to the Taxi and Private Hire Industry:
- Safeguarding the public through maintaining suitable regulatory conditions for both vehicles and drivers ensuring safety .
- Ensure the correct supply of Taxi and Private Hire services, at the correct levels and in the correct areas, and prevent any areas from being abandoned and left unserviced, hence the 6 Zones & numerical limits.
- Air Quality – the biggest and latest challenge to us all. De-zoning and removing the numerical limits will only increase numbers of vehicles, saturate the market forcing prices too low, forcing operators to cut every corner to survive, meaning older vehicles and more pollution – a bad decision by any means.
- Congestion and parking – being able to control the numbers as opposed to having ‘no limits’ makes sense, and provides a simple, very practical and effective way forward to combat congestion and parking problems on both ranks and streets.
Removing the 6 Taxi Zones and the numerical limits has been described in the past as the logical next step, but what seems like the next step can very often prove to be many steps backwards with very negative results, as de-zoning and removing the numerical limits offers no practical solution to the above listed challenges, in fact it relinquishes control all together rendering you powerless to act – how is that logical? How is that responsible?
So what is the LOGICAL NEXT STEP?
- In such a big and diverse place as Cornwall, the former district zones offer an ideal way of managing regulatory functions, so the 6 zones combined with the numerical limits are a perfect way to manage the link between capacity & market (unmet demand) in relation to localised economic factors unique to each zone. This also guarantees that those areas are well serviced and not abandoned for greener pastures with mass migration of services due to no borders, which has a massive knock on effect in air quality and poor working conditions by creating out of control and unsustainable numbers through market saturation.
- Supporting existing Taxi/PHV businesses is essential in order to ensure their viability, and help them to ultimately afford the changes toward net zero. However, this will not be an overnight change, as the cost of vehicles has doubled recently, making it even more difficult for operators to acquire newer models of vehicles, and certainly keeping zero capable vehicles generally out of reach (even though at present, there is not a fully electric vehicle fit for the purpose). It will take time for newer technologies to naturally feed into the Taxi/PHV industry, but creating competition surplus to demand will work against any expected improvements – it is totally counterproductive.
- The Committee should consider – as per ‘recommendation 8’ of the Task & Finish Group’s report to Government – not only maintaining the current numerical limits in Restormel, Carrick & Penwith, but also introducing numerical limits in North Cornwall, Caradon & Kerrier, and in addition consider capping Private Hire Vehicle numbers as well . This offers an excellent opportunity to address the air quality issues within the trade moving forward, at the same time supports a good minimum standard of working conditions for all drivers, and ensures a continued high standard of safety and service, safeguarding the public who use it.
This is a golden opportunity to enhance the present framework by extending the current level of regulation to provide the most practical way to address the current challenges facing the local authority, such as congestion and air quality. It also continues to ensure good safeguarding and safety standards for the public and at the same time is thoughtful of minimum working conditions and standards for those who work hard in the industry. This can be done very simply by extending the 3 yearly Unmet Demand Surveys to all 6 Zones and to consider including the PHV trade as well; these surveys are paid for by the trade and of no burden to the tax payer.
This is the Logical, Practical & Responsible next step – a positive step forwards, not 100 steps backwards putting public safety at greater risk and plunging the taxi & private hire industry in Cornwall into an unsafe, polluting & uncontrollable chaotic free for all!