DRIVENOUT: CABBIESTURN TO FOODBANK
Taxi association renews call for council support
TAXI DRIVERS across Wokingham are using foodbanks to sustain their families, which they say was caused by a lack of support from the council during the pandemic.
In June, members of theWokingham Borough Hackney Drivers Association called for the borough council to take a more lenient approach with licence fees.
At the time, Muhammed Arshad, who chaired the Association, said: “Rather than giving us some relief, the council is forcing us to pay for nonurgent courses, while we are out of a job and not making any money. If we don’t, we’d face license suspensions.”
Now, Mr Arshad has stepped down from the Association and has decided to permanently end his taxi career in Wokingham.
“I’ve had enough,” he said. “We’ve tried to find a solution but the council has offered no support at all.
“They made us take online courses during lockdown, which can cost £20 to £50. We’re not working and they’re pushing people to the limit.”
Mr Arshad added: “I know many drivers who are the only breadwinners, and they’re now looking to foodbanks and Universal Credit for help.”
He said the closure of taxi ranks on Broad Street worsened the situation.
“They closed all the ranks and didn’t have any arrangements in place for us when they installed the barriers,” he said. “NowUber has taken over completely.”
He said that although trade should be picking up, Uber has moved some of its London drivers into the area and local taxis are losing out.
“I can’t do any business in Wokingham, I might make £20 or £30 a day — last year a good daywould be £100 to £150.
“We just can’t cover the running costs.”
Instead of ferrying people, Mr Arshad said many drivers have turned to deliverywork instead.
“People are working for Deliveroo and Amazon. At the moment I’m doing food deliveries — there are not many jobs available.”
Cllr Rachel Burgess, Labour councillor for Norreys, sits on the Licencing and Appeals Committee within Wokingham Borough Council (WBC).
She said: “It is not surprising that Wokingham’s taxi drivers feel let down by WBC. For too long there has been a dearth of genuine engagement from the council on the many challenges facing our drivers.
“It is clear thatWBC has failed to take appropriate action to support taxi drivers after their income plummeted during lockdown.
“And their earnings are still significantly suppressed today due to the lack of major public events and social gatherings.”
Cllr Burgess added: “While the council could have been considering the relaxation of payment deadlines, suspending training and other charges, extending the permitted age limits of vehicles and more, in reality the WBC Licensing Committee has not even met once to discuss these options.
“Three of the last four Licensing Committee meetings have been postponed or cancelled. To add insult to injury the Licensing Committee in July was cancelled due to lack of business. Is this anyway to treat our taxi driverswho are in desperate need of support?
“Even before Covid-19 took hold, actions that were agreed with the trade almost a year ago byWBC have not been completed, or even begun to be reviewed.
“This lack of engagement is unacceptable, especially at a time when many taxi drivers being forced into poverty, and are even having to abandon their careers after many years in the business.”
Cllr Christopher Bowring, chairman of the Licensing and Appeals Committee at Wokingham Borough Council wrote to Wokingham.Today on Thursday, August 20 to say the committee would consider mitigating action.
He wrote: “The whole regime of licensing fees will be discussed at the next meeting of the Licensing and Appeals Committee in September (30).
“As a matter of course, we will be discussing fees for 2021-22, but we will also be looking back at how fees are currently affecting taxi drivers and others due to the pandemic. Wewill see if there is anymitigation we can offer.”