MP Imran Hussain speaks out about treatment of cabbies in Bradford

Writing to the Leader of Bradford Council, Bradford East MP Imran Hussain has levelled a number of questions over the council's treatment of hackney carriage and private hire drivers.

In his letter, Mr Hussain has stated that over recent weeks, numerous taxi drivers have approached him regarding their treatment by Bradford Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Service, with many deeply concerned about the conduct and way the service has been working.

The majority of the concerns raised with Mr Hussain centre around “excessive delays” in issuing new licenses to drivers which have expired over recent months.

He said the delays have left drivers unable to work and facing financial difficulties at a time when they have already experienced large shortfalls in income due to the decrease in passengers created by the Coronavirus crisis.

Mr Hussain has also raised concerns around further delays and obstacles in plating new, eco-friendly vehicles, despite the council’s push to improve air quality and implement a Clean Air Zone in the city centre, which is again preventing drivers from working and is putting their livelihoods at risk.

The experience of drivers when dealing with Bradford Council has also been singled out for criticism, with many experiencing long delays between raising issues and receiving a response.

Mr Hussain said: “Bradford’s taxi drivers are an important and much valued peg in our local economy, but over the last few months, they have been hit hard by the Coronavirus crisis with decreased trade because of lockdown and many spending their own money in ensuring that their vehicles are safe.

“Yet despite the challenges they have faced and continue to face, the support they have received from Bradford Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Service has been woefully insufficient, and their treatment in many cases has simply been deeply unacceptable.

“Bradford Council’s leadership now need to take an urgent look at the work of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Service and how it can be improved to meet the needs of our taxi drivers and to address the challenges that they face, not put even more in their path.”

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Bradford Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers have been providing a great public service in tough times.

“When COVID-19 hit the district all new driver and vehicle applications were suspended, as this process wasn’t viable due to social distancing measures in place.

"To mitigate we issued free licence extensions to approximately 2,000 drivers and vehicle proprietors up to the end of July 2020.

"The service has since commenced the licensing of new vehicles in particular to assist in cases where a broken down or accident damaged vehicle was being replaced.

“The service has also temporarily allowed vehicles, which have reached the end of their licensed life, to be extended rather than replaced and allowed vehicles to be replaced with older vehicles, over five years of age which is against licensing policy, whilst awaiting the CAZ vehicle specification.

“We empathise with all of the difficulties facing the trade and we continue to process applications as they are received. There was a drop in the number of applications during the full lockdown period because of the uncertainty caused by a decline in trade. Due to this, we offered a ‘licensing holiday’ so that they could suspend their operating costs and re-apply for a licence when they were ready.

"Once the situation began to improve, we received around three times the number submitted with the required documentation to be processed without delay.

“The service is also expanding to accommodate additional vehicle testing which will facilitate the introduction of all new vehicles without any detriment to the processing of currently licensed vehicles. We thank the licensing trade for their patience during this difficult time.

"We are happy to meet with the MP to hear any continuing concerns he may have.”