Taxi ‘de-zoning’ in North Northamptonshire opposed by cab drivers

Taxi drivers across North Northamptonshire have spoken out against the council’s plans to ‘de-zone’, with cabbies overwhelmingly disagreeing with proposals.

Plans to bring the four legacy boroughs of Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and East Northants under one unitary set of rules have been branded a ‘blind ambition’ by a frustrated member of the trade.

Harmonising the zones would mean that drivers would only need to apply for one licence to cover the whole of North Northants and with it would come a new all-encompassing knowledge test and freedom to pick up customers in all zones.

North Northants Council (NNC) held a consultation on the proposal to remove the four separate licences at the end of last year with cabbies across the county taking part.

Of the 168 responses received that clarified their opinion on the plans, 110 drivers disagreed or strongly disagreed and just 52 agreed or strongly agreed- the rest were uncertain.

At a Place and Environment Scrutiny Committee held by NNC on April 30, disgruntled cabbies attended to voice their opinions on the potential legislation.

One taxi driver said: “I’ve spoken at many meetings about the issues that the council created with a blind ambition to harmonise all services at all costs.

“Myself and others have tried to explain the complex nature of our industry and how these changes will not only impact taxi operators but could also impact others due to the lack of drivers available.

“You’re discussing the merger of zones, but one of the key points in it is the merger of the new knowledge test to include the whole of North Northamptonshire.

“If you don’t start listening to us, you’re going to see the demise of the hackney trade across North Northamptonshire.”

Instead of sitting a test on their ‘home’ area, all drivers will have to take an exam assessing their knowledge of the entire county - an area covering 382 square miles.

NNC said the new test - which has not yet been finalised - will consist of a mix of knowledge of key places across the county, such as train stations and town centres, and also being able to use a satnav to get to other locations.

Another cabbie said at the meeting: “I would suggest to all of you if you’re going to any other town, city or anywhere else in the country, and you get into a black cab and you tell them where you want to go you don’t expect them to put it into a satnav.

“The knowledge test at the moment says the following - English knowledge proficiency, general knowledge of local locations, driver and vehicle conditions, highway code, basic arithmetic.

“This is fundamentally what you would expect from a black cab - a detailed knowledge of the local area by zone, route planning and byelaws.

"We need to know where we’re going.

“For the geographical area to know all of that is impossible.

"It is in the interest of all parties that we work in our own local areas and the zones be retained.”

NNC maintains that the de-zoning will allow businesses who want to trade across the whole of North Northamptonshire to be able to, without applying for four separate licenses.

It added that it is a ‘personal decision’ for drivers and that if somebody wants to stay in their original zone they have every right to.

However, the same county-wide knowledge test must be taken regardless of the drivers’ intentions for where they work.

Iain Smith, assistant director of regulatory services, said: “We do need to make sure that we set the test at the right level which effectively reflects what’s required in a modern test, the increased size of North Northants as an area and the key locations that people would need to know.

“It’s not in anyone’s interest for us to set the bar in relation to this geographical knowledge test so high that people can’t meet that.”

The scrutiny committee recommended that the report be taken to the executive for their next meeting at the beginning of June to make a decision on the de-zoning.

A recommendation was also put forward for officers to conduct a consultation on the relevant tests and ensure that it is ready simultaneously with the introduction of any single zone scheme that comes in.