Cost of unclogging city streets is 'too high'
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A LEADING environmentalist has waded into a row about the "over-provision" of taxis in Inverness.
Anne Thomas, secretary of the Highlands and Islands branch of the Scottish Green Party and founding member of both Transition Black Isle and Friends of the Earth Inverness and Ross, said she supports city taxi drivers who want Highland Council to bring in new rules to cap the number of taxis and private hire cars operating in the city.
The Inverness Taxi Alliance, which represents the views of the trade, believes there are too many taxis and private hire cars circling the city, polluting the streets and making it less viable for drivers to earn a decent living.
The group was livid this week after the council’s licensing committee rejected its request on grounds it would cost too much to enforce.
The committee said the costs – starting at more than £30,000 for the initial surveys required – combined with the "practical difficulties", "would not be outweighed by any potential benefit to the public".
But Mrs Thomas said the council’s own figures showing 440 taxis and private hire cars are plying for hire in the city which has only 31 spaces on taxi ranks suggested over-provision.
She said: "Having too many will contribute to air pollution – which is already high in certain parts of the city – leading to increased respiratory disease. And too many taxis circling will increase carbon emissions which cause climate change."
The number of taxis and private hire vehicles working in Inverness has been a bone of contention for some time.
The difference between the two is that private hire vehicles are only permitted to pick up pre-arranged bookings and are not permitted to pick people up from the side of the road.
Andrew MacDonald, Inverness Taxi Alliance chairman, wants the council to curb the number operating in the area.
He said: "The cake has been divided so thin that a slice will no longer provide an income to bring up a family."
But the licensing committee said the costs associated with making legal changes would have to be passed on to taxi drivers.
This would increase the cost of license application fees for every driver in the Highlands.
A committee spokeswoman said it would be unreasonable to expect every driver to pay extra for the sole "potential benefit of Inverness operators".
She said the council would have to prove there was over provision before it could make any changes.
And this would require "detailed surveys, costing in excess of £30,000 plus VAT" by independent travel consultants.
Together with ongoing costs of regular surveys, it would "lead to an increase in all taxi and private hire car licence application and renewal fees".
Mr MacDonald said that was "a load of nonsense."
But he added: "In any event, even £30,000 would only come to approximately 20p per week for each driver operator."
Mrs Thomas also questioned the cost of the surveys.
However a council spokeswoman said: "The travel consultant’s quote states: ‘The cost of the combined survey is estimated to be around £30,000 excluding VAT’.
"By combined they mean a survey of unmet demand for taxi services and a survey of over-provision of private hire car services."
The alliance is also continuing to fight council plans to shut a taxi rank at Castle Wynd, used by up to 12 taxis. The council said "provision will be made elsewhere".
