New regulations for taxi drivers in Northampton approved by council despite opposition

Taxi drivers across West Northamptonshire will be subject to new regulations, despite objections from the trade.

Hundreds of angry drivers took to the streets of Northampton last night (Tuesday, January 9) to protest the council’s policy. Now, they must follow the council’s rules if they want to keep their licence.

The meeting was called after the initial proposal in October was deferred to give committee members more time to consider the consultation response from the trade.

Councillor Gareth Eales, a member of the licensing committee, described the previous meeting as “somewhat of a spiky affair” after the App Drivers and Couriers Union accused the council of “racist” and “regressive” regulations.

One of the proposals that has been highly disputed by drivers but has now been given the go-ahead is a penalty points system designed to record rule breaks and misconduct from drivers.

Where a complaint is made from the public, an investigation will then determine whether any action is taken and if points are imposed. If a driver has accrued more than 12 penalty points over 12 months their licence may be revoked or suspended with immediate effect.

Mohamed Dogan, a taxi driver at the protest, said that he was “extremely worried” about the implications of the new regulations and felt that the points system was the “biggest issue”.

He added: “We have to be careful all the time. I have a family to support – I’ve been doing taxi driving for 18 years and we never had a problem. This policy is created to penalise us.”

Breaches include failure to comply with the dress code, not offering reasonable assistance with luggage, and turning up late to a booking without proper reason, among other measures.

Cllr Eales told the meeting that the points system was actually an “upgrade” from the previous rules. He argued that there is a right to appeal at every step if a complaint is lodged, however under the old Northampton Borough Council policy the first time there would be an opportunity for the warning to be challenged would be “when they’re in front of a sub-committee with their license under review”.

Other amendments to the policy include a “certificate of good conduct” whereby all drivers must provide documents from every country they have lived in for more than six months.

Changes to requirements, for example proper signage on vehicles and more training to be undertaken by drivers, will be given a period of grace to complete. Existing licenced vehicles that don’t stack up to the new standards will also be granted ‘grandfather’ rights until a new one is purchased.

The policy will be kept under constant review to ensure it remains fit for purpose- quarterly meetings with the taxi and private hire vehicles trade are also to be reintroduced to “rebuild working relations” and address any concerns with the implementation.

Northampton chair of the ADCU, Shafqat Shah previously warned that drivers would be forced to hold strikes if the draft policy was enforced. He said the union had been “held to ransom” by the council and that drivers were being “unfairly targeted”.

The council wrote that the new systems were seen as an “open and transparent way” of dealing with licensing issues and that ultimately each case would be dealt with “on its own merit”. It insisted that the policy was not “designed or intended to be punitive” and the main aim is to “improve safety” and provide the “best possible service to the public”.