Wakefield cabbies to protest outside town hall again over “unfair” suitability policy

nhappy taxi drivers are set to protest outside the town hall on July 20 over the suitability policy they deem unfair.

Taxi drivers who rack up more than six points on their licence in three years are facing lengthy bans from the trade because of Wakefield Council's 'unfair' suitability policy.

In March, taxi drivers from the Wakefield Driving Association (WDA) picketed the town hall over the policy and called on senior councillors to resign.

Taxi drivers and the council have been at crossroads with each other since 2019 when the suitability policy was brought forward.

WDA president Yasar Ahmed, said that drivers in the district were “promised so much” before the elections but nothing has come to fruition yet.

The council does not recognise WDA as a trade organisation but says it “continues to liaise with them.”

Mr Ahmed wants the council to scrap the six point ban on drivers and extend the vehicle’s age limit so that taxi drivers do not need to buy new cars after 10 years for a saloon vehicle and 12 years for a multi-seater.

The WDA is also calling for an extension on grandfather rights which means eligible cabbies will be able to extend the life of their vehicle for a given period of time, above the 10 or 12 years as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and face the cost of living crisis.

Mr Ahmed said that drivers in Wakefield were backed by one of the UK’s leading unions, GMB, and talks to introduce a new consultation framework was supposed to be introduced after progress was made with the leader of Wakefield Council , Denise Jeffery, but they have not “heard anything since”.

He said: “A full council meeting is scheduled for July 20 which is why we have chosen this date to protest.

“We’ve had to do this because we don’t have another option. WIth the cost of living crisis, it is difficult for drivers to buy a car and the September deadline is not realistic.

“Whatever needs to be done, needs to be done now.”

Mr Ahmed said that WDA’s demands are about “equal rights”.

He said: “It is not just about the rules of the road.

“It is fair enough that they want us to abide by the rules of the road. Let's say I buy an electric car, they would say it's over 10 years old so I can’t drive it. But, council vehicles don’t have a 10 year age limit. There is one rule for them and another for us."

Mr Ahmed also said that many drivers are choosing to get their licence out of West Yorkshire and in places like Wolverhampton because of the issues the policy is causing.

“I was born and bred in Wakefield, why should I run away?”, he said. “We are not going to go away, we want to make and spend our money in Wakefield. We’ve been fighting this struggle for a few years now.”

Fazilla Loonat, Labour Councillor for Batley East and regional board member for Unite and an equalities officer for GMB, has previously called the issue - which is impacting taxi drivers across West Yorkshire - “draconian”, stating that “public safety is paramount” but after the vigorous checks drivers go through, they are “are subjected to loosely worded policies that allow the Local Authority to be judge jury and executioner.”

Glynn Humphries, Wakefield Council’s Corporate Director for Communities, Environment and Climate Change, said: “The council continues to be committed to working with the taxi trade whilst protecting the health and wellbeing of the travelling public.

“Policies are reviewed on an ongoing basis which is overseen by the Licensing Committee.”