Plenty of time to have taken taxi training

I DON’T understand why Dundee City Council has changed its stance on taxi badge renewals.

Drivers were told repeatedly if they did not have the SVQ/NVQ certificate by May 2017 then their licence would not be renewed.

Now there is a three-month extension if your name is on a waiting list to sit the course.

As I understand it, every driver has had at least two years (excepting new drivers of course) to get on a course.

At the beginning several courses were cancelled due to lack of numbers ie drivers not interested.

Now there is a late rush for places when they should have thought of it before.

No certificate = no renewal.

WITH regards to Councillor Hunter over public safety for taxi passengers, perhaps he should be more concerned with the number of taxi drivers who work more than a hundred hours a week and those who may be concealing medical conditions.

These should be the main priority of the licensing committee.

An annual medical for all taxi drivers should be compulsory — combined with a compulsory drug test.

In the know taxi driver.

IT was with interest I read a response in the Tele from Stewart Hunter, convener of the Dundee licensing committee, on taxi training.

I agree the vast majority of taxi drivers in the city do a great job — these are the taxi drivers who work by the rules and regulations of taxi licence 1982.

The Dundee taxi trade has become the biggest employer in the city — there are plumbers, joiners, electricians and all other tradesmen doing the taxi trade now.

Why? Because there are no jobs in the city for them so they have to find a living somewhere.

When Mr Hunter speaks of the members of the trade he met, I’m guessing these are the members who put forward the idea of the training course. In my view these are a minority who speak up for themselves and not for the majority of the trade.

I’m sure Mr Hunter should be listening to the views of the majority.

And as far as public complaints go, they should be dealt with by the council, not a training course.

Dundee taxi driver.