LONDON TAXI MEMBERS PROTEST

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2012 :: RMTnews 15 R MT’s London Taxi branch organised a ‘drive in’ at Stratford Broadway last month to protest about a number of issues which are seriously affecting the trade, especially in suburban areas. Suburban drivers, those licensed for areas outside of the centre of London, are being systematically denied the opportunity to work as taxi rank spaces are removed. Unlike taxi drivers in central London, suburban drivers rely on the provision of rank spaces at rail stations and other public venues to be able to work yet the proliferation of minicab licensing has impacted on the available work available to these drivers. Taxis have also been excluded from Olympic Lanes, part of the Olympics Route Network, despite the fact that the London Taxi is a highly visible and important icon of London that was used to help secure the 2012 Olympics. Attempts to engage with the Transport for London Taxi Directorate have met with resistance, denying RMT taxi driver members the opportunity to discuss their concerns. These difficulties have been exacerbated by Transport for London's policy of introducing a colour-coded identifier which drivers will have to place on the front and rear windows of their taxis to show whether they are licensed for "All London" (Green) or just certain suburban sectors (Yellow). London Taxi branch secretary Stan Murat said that it was divisive and set taxi driver against taxi driver even if yellow identifier drivers were driving in central areas legitimately. “Transport for London (TfL) has also failed to halt the explosion of private hire vehicle licensed minicabs which severely impacts on the availability of work for regular yellow indentifier drivers, normally referred to as yellow badge drivers. “TfL appears to be systematically removing taxis from suburban operations to increase the number of minicabs available to work,” he said. Stan also warned that the Knowledge of London (KOL) test for new taxi drivers had been severely reduced over the last year with substantial resignations by examiners who resented the interference by new management in their established methods. “We are seeking to bring to the attention of London's travelling public the way that the taxi trade is being treated by the Mayor Boris Johnson who is responsible for transport in London. A fter months of campaigning RMT’s London taxi branch, with the support of the RMT parliamentary convenor John McDonnell, has removed proposals enshrining the right to register pedicabs and provide them with rank spaces contained in the London Local Authorities Bill. If the Bill with the offending clause had been enacted it would have meant the introduction of a fully fledged licensing and right to ply for hire regime for pedicabs, undermining the tightly regulated licensed taxi trade. “The idea that someone on a lashed together pedicab should enjoy the same rights as a taxi driver who is tightly regulated on safety and knowledge was one that RMT taxi branch had fought tooth and nail, alongside parliamentary convenor John McDonnell,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. “Everyone in the taxi trade knows that RMT has led the way in this fight and it is the hard work and determination of our members, using the full resources of the organisation, which has secured this important victory. “However, we are well aware that the pedicabs have a history of bending and breaking the law and of flouting public safety and the RMT campaign to get them off the streets of London altogether will continue,” he said. RMT TAXI DRIVERS SECURE PEDICABS VICTORY LONDON TAXI MEMBERS PROTEST